Gravity Domain! Sengoku in Buddha Form!

A shrill alarm siren immediately resounded throughout the entire Marine fleet!

Marines on all warships quickly entered a state of maximum combat readiness.

Gunners frantically cranked the winches, adjusting the angles of the cannons, all locking onto the suffocating black silhouette of the fleet approaching at high speed.

On the decks, the urgent orders of officers of all ranks and the sound of soldiers running mixed together.

However, at the bow of the flagship, two tall figures draped in "Justice" coats stood as immovable as mountains.

They were none other than the Admiral candidates—Buddha Sengoku and Black Arm Zephyr.

Relying on their powerful Observation Haki, the two of them had long since sensed the approach of the Rocks Pirates.

At this moment, there was no shock on their faces; instead, they wore a calm, prepared expression of expectation.

The two fleets rapidly closed the distance on the sea, the gap shrinking constantly: eight thousand yards, five thousand yards, three thousand yards...

Suddenly, the sea surface on the right flank of the Marine fleet began to churn violently without warning.

Countless massive bubbles surged up with a "gurgling" sound.

Following that, four Marine warships, completely covered in coating and no less in size than the main battleships, suddenly burst out from beneath the sea.

The coating shattered and vanished in an instant, and the four warships steadied themselves on the surface. Their broadside gun ports opened in unison, with pitch-black muzzles pointed directly at the flank of the Rocks Pirates.

The decks were packed with fully armed elite Marine soldiers, clearly having been prepared for a long time.

At the bow of each of the four warships stood an elite Vice Admiral of the Headquarters, possessing a formidable aura and draped in a "Justice" coat.

These four Vice Admirals were only slightly inferior to Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr.

To put it simply, if Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr were not present, the new Admiral candidates would certainly have been chosen from these four.

"This is... the Marine's ambush?!" Whitebeard's eyes narrowed.

He hadn't expected that the Marines were not only prepared but had also hidden a fresh force beneath the sea in advance, intending to create a pincer attack or even an encirclement!

"Captain! Our plan has been leaked. Clearly, the enemy is far better prepared than we anticipated."

"Hmph, so what if they noticed? So what if it leaked?"

A fierce light erupted in the eyes of Rocks. He scanned the dense ranks of elite soldiers on the warships, his tone filled with disdain:

"Do you think these ants, even if there were twice as many, could stop the Rocks Pirates?!"

Rocks looked at Luo Tian: "Luo Tian, you are to strike immediately alongside Newgate and Shiki!

Your primary objective is to crush or pin down the Marine's high-end combat power and create an opening for the fleet to break through!"

"Understood!" Luo Tian nodded solemnly, then stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Whitebeard and Shiki.

"The two of you, let me take the vanguard, how about it?"

In terms of high-level combat power, they might still have Captain Rocks holding the line, and with the three of them, they might not be at a disadvantage—or might even have a slight edge—against Sengoku, Zephyr, and the four elite Vice Admirals.

But compared to the well-trained, disciplined, and potentially more numerous Marine soldiers, their own rank-and-file pirates were at an absolute disadvantage in both coordinated combat and defensive formations.

Once an all-out melee began, the swarming Marines, coordinated by their officers, would surely cause heavy casualties among the fierce but uncoordinated pirates.

Since that was the case, it was better to reduce the enemy's effective strength as much as possible before the full-scale boarding battle erupted!

Break their formation! Clear the obstacles for the subsequent assault!

"Oh? Kid Luo Tian, what do you intend to do?"

Shiki raised an eyebrow with interest, looking at the young man beside him who always seemed to have some unexpected tricks up his sleeve.

"Hmm?" Newgate also glanced over slightly.

As the words fell, Luo Tian closed his eyes and opened them again, his gaze seemingly piercing through space to lock directly onto the sea area where the entire Marine fleet was located.

"Gravity Domain!"

An invisible, intangible force field instantly enveloped the entire Marine fleet ahead!

Every Marine soldier, whether they were gunners on deck, lookouts, or logistics personnel inside the cabins, felt their bodies suddenly sink!

It was as if they had been instantly thrown into the deep sea, with unimaginable pressure crushing down from all directions!

Breathing became difficult, and many of the weaker Marines even collapsed to the ground, their weapons slipping from their hands.

"My body... I can't move! Is this a Devil Fruit ability?!"

"Gravity?! Someone is manipulating gravity?!"

Cries of shock and horror rang out across the various Marine ships.

Sengoku and Zephyr looked up sharply at almost the same time, their eyes like lightning, staring fixedly at the young figure at the bow of the Rocks flagship in the distance.

Luo Tian slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread wide, aiming toward the Marine fleet, and whispered:

"Shinra Tensei!"

Hum—!

A buzzing sound rang out!

Following that, a translucent spherical force field, massive enough to cover all the warships, manifested out of thin air.

This terrifying repulsive field began to expand outward and downward at an astonishing speed, crushing everything in its path!

Wherever it passed, the air was pushed aside to the extreme, emitting a piercing shriek.

Zephyr's roar rang out: "Sengoku! You must not let him succeed!"

Zephyr's fists were already covered in jet-black, gleaming Armament Haki that resembled black steel; he prepared to use pure brute force to strike the high-speed, crushing force field.

"Leave it to me!" Sengoku growled, abruptly throwing off the large Justice coat draped over his shoulders.

A dazzling, eye-catching golden light erupted from within his body!

His physique expanded and grew rapidly amidst the light, his skin turning a brilliant gold as his muscles bulged and swelled.

His face took on a solemn, dignified expression, and a faint halo appeared behind his head.

Zoan-type Mythical Human-Human Fruit: Great Buddha Form, fully unleashed!

In the blink of an eye, Sengoku transformed into a golden giant Buddha over ten meters tall, his gaze like lightning as he locked onto the rapidly approaching repulsive barrier.

He raised his massive golden right palm, facing forward, as vast, boundless Haki and fruit energy gathered frantically!

"Great Shockwave!"

BOOM—!!!

An energy shockwave over five meters in diameter, resembling a golden torrent, erupted from the palm of the giant Buddha, Sengoku!

The next instant, two attacks containing terrifying destructive energy collided violently in mid-air!

The sea surface below was pressed down violently by the shockwaves spilling from the collision, forming a massive, bowl-shaped crater.

"Crack... crackle..."

The shockwave erupting from the giant golden Buddha's palm continued to pour forth, its power endless and inexhaustible.

The repulsive barrier resisted stubbornly, wearing down this force, but cracks began to multiply.

Finally!

With an incredibly crisp, thunderous sound, the repulsive barrier shattered into pieces.

The shockwave erupting from the palm of Sengoku in his giant golden Buddha form also slowly subsided.

His massive Buddha body swayed slightly; maintaining the Great Buddha Form and releasing a full-power shockwave of this scale consecutively was a massive drain, even for him.