The collapse of Marineford

The Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared blankly at the collapsed iron wall, as if he had lost his soul.

His beliefs suffered a heavy blow.

A meticulously planned trap, a painstakingly assembled elite force, weapons of war crafted at great expense, and even the sacrifice of naval officers and soldiers.

The sacrifices here weren't deaths in battle, but rather being crushed by Sakazuki's fire meteors or drowned by the seawater after the Ice Field fields melted.

This was done to maximize the element of surprise, deliberately withholding information from the marines fighting on the front lines.

It's easy to imagine how intense their sense of betrayal must have been.

Why was the Navy forced to conduct a "World Military Draft" after the Paramount War?

Of course, it was to fill the vacancies left by Sakazuki's promotion to Fleet Admiral and Kuzan's departure from the navy, but more importantly, it was to make up for the losses caused by the disunity of 100,000 elite naval personnel.

Otherwise, would recruiting a few top experts really require a name like "World Military Draft"?

Instead, we should use "world champions" or "world talent show".

In short, the Navy paid a huge price, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku even sacrificed his reputation, to drive the Whitebeard Pirates into Extremis.

But no one expected that, when pushed to the Extremis, Whitebeard himself abandoned all his concerns and stepped forward, breaking through Marineford with just two blows and shattering the iron wall surrounding the pirates.

At this point, the Whitebeard Pirates to encircle and annihilate them had failed; at most, they could only save Whitebeard himself and half of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The Fleet Admiral Sengoku's anguish lasted only three seconds. He took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and began to consider what he should do next.

Fight Whitebeard and defeat him with your own hands?

The Fleet Admiral Sengoku gave up on this tempting idea after just one glance.

Whitebeard is now at godlike status; his boundless Conqueror's Haki fills the sky, and his invisible pressure is like that of Kami looking down upon all living beings.

Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki overwhelmed the entire area, and he single-handedly wiped out the Marines below the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

The shockwaves from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit explosion created white ripples that blasted people and rocks away, some even turning into pieces of minced meat on the spot.

All the Marines who tried to approach Whitebeard were overwhelmed by the force of the shockwave.

Not only did all the members of the main force suffer setbacks, but the giants were also knocked down by his punches, and even Admiral Aokiji couldn't get close enough to rebuild the Ice Wall.

We can't go there!

Although Sengoku was not afraid of Whitebeard, he was even confident that he could fight him.

But—what if?

While Kuzan froze the Iceburg to seal the breach in the wall, he also froze the Camera Den Den Mushi into an ice block, ending the live broadcast of the battle.

But there are also marines and pirates present. If they see the Fleet Admiral defeated, who knows what kind of terrible consequences it will have?

If I can't fight Whitebeard, then what am I supposed to do?

Sengoku's eyes swept across the battlefield. He saw the navy's morale waning, gritted his teeth, and didn't know what to say. After all, he was the one who had let them down.

Sengoku saw the sailors floating on the sea, lying on the ice, and sacrificing their lives in the square, and his Mind Stone was filled with guilt.

He also saw the 77th Branch, which maintained its neat ranks but adopted a peculiar formation.

The Fleet Admiral thought to himself: The 77th Branch is so elite! We must turn them all into troops directly under our command!

Of course, Sengoku also saw Shazo and his extremely dissatisfied gaze, which even made the Fleet Admiral shiver.

Finally, he saw Ace on the execution platform, and a flash of inspiration struck him, as if he had thought of something.

But before Sengoku could figure out his inspiration, he discovered that Sakazuki had also charged towards Whitebeard.

The failure of "Iron Wall Plan" was not only a major defeat for Fleet Admiral Sengoku, but also nearly caused Admiral Akainu, who was responsible for its execution, to faint from anger.

The navy's long-planned and seemingly foolproof scheme was ruined just like that!

Although the current Fleet Admiral Sengoku will inevitably take the blame, Sakazuki unyielding, and the Absolute Justice he upholds will not allow pirates to run rampant in front of him.

Admiral Akainu rushed forward, determined to personally kill Whitebeard and restore the Navy's honor.

Upon seeing this, Sengoku immediately shouted, "Don't be impulsive, Sakazuki!"

However, his reaction was still a step too slow.

Sakazuki used Geppo to instantly appear above the plaza, and the next second he was in front of Whitebeard.

Whitebeard saw him and immediately burst into laughter. "Gurararara, Akainu, why did you stop setting off the fireworks?"

Whitebeard was naturally amused. He had brought 50,000 men to rescue Ace, but they were repeatedly ambushed, suffering heavy casualties and even becoming sitting ducks.

But all of this was shattered by his two slashes with the Whitebeard, and of course he had to laugh with extreme smugness.

You don't need a large cleaver to fight sea lions.

Whitebeard planted his sword in the ground, and his thick, powerful arms suddenly swelled up, his muscles becoming even more muscular.

He reached out and grabbed at the void, his ten fingers gripping the invisible space as if he had grasped a physical object. He pulled hard and then released it sharply, and the vibration of the space spread out like Slingshot.

The higher the hardness of the medium, the faster the vibration propagates; and the hardness of any material in the world cannot compare to that of space.

The Quake traveled through space at more than 30 times the speed of sound, reaching Sakazuki, who was walking on Geppo in mid-air, in the blink of an eye, and refocusing.

In an instant, Admiral Akainu swayed, his chest caved in as if struck by a hundred-pound hammer.

Sakazuki turned pale and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Unable to control his Geppo, he stumbled and fell to the ground in a disheveled state.

Whitebeard, having knocked Sakazuki down, unleashed another punch, pounding the space itself and creating countless white spatial rifts.

Sewing.

The entire Marineford was thrown into chaos once again, the surrounding seas shook violently, and a new fault line suddenly appeared on the island and the sea surface.

It was as if the sky had been ruthlessly smashed by Gods; the sky tilted, the earth shook, and everything was being destroyed.

Rumble!

Marineford was like a magnitude 8 earthquake; both the navy and the pirates were thrown into chaos, and everyone trembled under Whitebeard's power.

"Whitebeard!!"

Akainu scrambled to his feet, raised his head, and stared fiercely at the tall figure before him. "You're dead today! I will definitely kill you!!"

Whitebeard was also coughing up blood; he would cough up blood every time he unleashed his full power.

Hearing Sakazuki's boast, Whitebeard laughed triumphantly, "Gurararara, Akainu brat, it seems my punch has already blew your mind out!"

Akainu snapped, "Stop talking nonsense, Whitebeard! Don't try to act like you're the World's Strongest!"

As he spoke, Sakazuki unleashed a cruel and ruthless killing intent; in his eyes, pirates were nothing but scum on the sea.

No matter how flowery language pirates use to beautify themselves—with things like "freedom," "dreams," "friendship," "bonds," or "great treasure"—it cannot change the fact that a thief is a thief, and evil is evil.

Freedom and loyalty are just fig leaves; pirates are a group of lawless, thieving, and reckless criminals who disrupt order and deserve to die.

Sakazuki aimed a punch at Whitebeard and unleashed a massive Rock Fist attack, a fist comparable in size to that of a giant, which crashed down in front of Whitebeard.

[Great Eruption]

Marco and Jozu, who were guarding Whitebeard, were about to step forward to stop him, but Whitebeard pushed them aside. His old but strong body stepped forward, and he raised the large naginata he had pulled from the ground high.

Whitebeard is Whitebeard. When he no longer cares about the risk of death, he can naturally extract power from his body continuously, and his powerful Haki emanates from him, making people's hearts tremble.

When facing Logia Devil Fruit user, Whitebeard wisely refrained from using the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Instead, he concentrated his black Haki into his large naginata and swung it fiercely, cleaving the molten lava fist in two.

The splashed lava rolled onto the ground, and the high temperature of thousands of degrees corroded the ground bricks and stones into molten lava, instantly turning the area into a thick cloud of smoke.

Undeterred by his failed attack, Sakazuki roared and charged at the great naginata, unleashing another pillar of viscous, scorching magma.

The bright red magma churned and rolled, turning large swathes of land into lava. The scalding lava then evolved into a giant lava hound, as terrifying as a guardian of Hell.

[Dog Biting Crimson Lotus]

The terrifying lava hound opened its orange-yellow maw and instantly lunged at Whitebeard, about to bite down on Whitebeard neck, face, and wrists.

Whitebeard laughed heartily, casually released the great naginata, sank his feet, and slammed his arm down on his own foot.

A milky-white, transparent halo appeared around his body, then transformed into a shockwave that instantly blasted away the charging lava hound.

And all four of them flew together.

Whitebeard pushed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power to its limit, thoroughly demonstrating what it means to be "the strongest man on the sea," and just how unstoppable his power truly is.

Faced with Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the magma giant dog was blasted away and only exploded into a lava mess in an instant after flying a long enough distance.

The shockwave, still spreading, then refocused on Sakazuki's location, blasting him to pieces with a loud bang.

However, Sakazuki didn't bleed or have any flesh or bone broken; only scalding lava spewed out, clearly indicating he had been struck by the Quake.

He had already dodged it earlier and left behind a lava clone to attract attention.

Even in battles between the world's top experts, little tricks can be very useful.

Admiral Sakazuki of Akainu surprisingly put up a strong fight against Edward Newgate, much to the surprise of the Marines and pirates.

The navy's morale was thus greatly restored, while the pirates fled even more vigorously, their fear and anxiety becoming increasingly palpable.

Compared to the panic of the lower-ranking pirates, the main officers of the Whitebeard Pirates, such as Marco and Jozu, were even more terrified.

They knew Whitebeard's physical condition well: internal injuries, hidden wounds, illness, aging, and the burden of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had long been overwhelming Whitebeard, and he could collapse at any moment.

Moreover, now that he had been stabbed, and had even stabbed twice with all his might, his aura had suddenly dropped to a shocking level.

Twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, the so-called Admiral Akainu would have been a guy who could have been dealt with in a single encounter by Whitebeard.

The Marine Admiral of that time were nowhere near the level of the Emperor of the Sea.

But things are different now. The Marine Admiral have reached their peak, while Whitebeard is nearing the end of his life, and even Charlotte Linlin is clearly weakening.

No wonder Fleet Admiral Sengoku suddenly became bold, not only taking on the blame thrown at him by the World Government, but also going all out to set a trap to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates.

The strategist of the Warring Sengoku was sensing the changing times.

Perhaps he was able to make up his mind because it wasn't just the Three Emperors who were aging, but also the former Marine Admiral — Sengoku.

The remnants of the previous era are old, Whitebeard's strength has declined, no longer deserving the title of the World's Strongest. Facing Sakazuki, who is in his prime, Whitebeard actually has no chance of victory.

Forget about the chance of victory; even if he just stood there and continued to fight with ordinary navy personnel, he wouldn't last long. He would inevitably succumb to his injuries and lose his life.

Marco and Jozu were Whitebeard's closest "sons," and they knew more about Whitebeard's condition than anyone else. How could they let their Pops face a powerful enemy alone? Naturally, they rushed to help.

But this time, the Marine Admiral won't go overboard.

Sakazuki took on Whitebeard; if Kuzan and Borsalino don't show some support, how will they survive in the Navy?

The ground where Jozu landed suddenly froze into ice, and Admiral Aokiji appeared in front of him, covered in frost, and blocked his way with an Ice Saber.

Marco, who was flying through the air towards Sakazuki, was struck by a precise Laser beam halfway through his flight, causing him to stagger and fall to the ground.

Borsalino solidified in light, blocking Marco the Phoenix's path.

The three strongest Whitebeard Pirates faced off against the combined forces of the Three Admirals Marine Admirals. They displayed high-end combat techniques such as Quake, magma, ice, blue flames, Laser, diamonds, and Haki to their fullest extent. Even the aftershocks of the battle kept ordinary pirates and Marines from getting close.

The battle group, like a mountain, once again blocked the pirates' escape route.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze back to the execution platform, looking at Ace thoughtfully.

Sakazuki's ability to withstand Whitebeard's attacks was ten times better than he had even hoped.

This shows that Sakazuki has indeed grown a lot and is clearly superior among the Three Admirals. It can be said that the next Fleet Admiral of the Navy has been determined.

It's true that Sakazuki has become stronger, but Whitebeard's decline in strength is also far beyond what was imagined.

Seeing that Whitebeard coughed up blood every time he exerted himself, and that blood gushed from the wound in his abdomen, anyone would know that he was doomed.

With Whitebeard dead, the Whitebeard Pirates are destined for ruin.

Even if the navy stops hunting them down, countless pirates will still pounce on them, like hyenas, desperately tearing at the king's flesh to grow stronger.

Unless the Whitebeard Pirates can rise to a new, young leader who can command respect.

For example— Ace!