To be honest, of the Three Admirals, only Akainu was taking this seriously. Kizaru and Aokiji looked like they were putting in a lot of effort, but in reality, they were both slacking off.
Only five Admiral-level fighters seemed to be on the field, but in truth, at most two of them were taking things seriously.
The Three Admirals blocked Whitebeard's furious attack, giving the Marines time to prepare.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood atop the Execution Platform and gave an unequivocal order: "Use every resource in the town, activate all the machinery, and raise every Siege Wall. Seal the pirates inside the bay!"
The order was relayed to every position.
All the power at Marine Headquarters was mobilized, and the roar of enormous machinery drowned out even the din of battle.
The massive metal walls seemed to have been infused with a violent force. They surged upward with unstoppable momentum, completely blocking everyone's view.
"Rumble..."
At last, with a heavy crash like a mountain collapsing, the four Siege Walls locked together high above the ground.
The Whitebeard Pirates and their subordinate fleets, along with Luffy and the others who had just broken in, were trapped like fish in a barrel.
"Pops, the walls are too thick! We can't break through!" One pirate attacked the iron wall with all his might, but only left a faint mark.
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed. He gathered the power of vibration again, and his enormous naginata, wrapped in a white aura, slammed into the nearest wall.
Boom!
The deafening impact made the entire wall shudder violently. The terrifying shock wave even traveled through the metal, shaking the Marine positions outside.
Yet the astonishingly thick metal wall had only caved inward, leaving a huge dent. It hadn't been pierced.
"Gurararara..." Whitebeard gave an inscrutable chuckle, a note of solemnity in his voice. "The Marines really are willing to do anything. I never thought they'd resort to this."
Seeing the pirates trapped, Sengoku didn't hesitate to press their advantage.
"Prepare the entire fleet to fire. Sakazuki."
Akainu, who had long been ready, stepped forward. His arms turned completely molten, becoming two towering pillars of magma that shot skyward, straight into the sky enclosed by the iron walls.
"Great Eruption!"
The next moment, the tops of the magma pillars burst apart high in the sky, transforming into countless enormous, mountain-sized fists of molten rock, burning with dark red flames.
Like a meteor shower at the end of the world, the fists howled down from the sky, raining indiscriminately upon the trapped pirate fleet below.
"Get out of the way!"
"That's magma! Don't let it touch you!"
The entire bay became a fiery hell. Wherever the molten fists landed, they triggered violent explosions and fires.
Ice vaporized, ships caught fire, and some pirates were melted on the spot.
This was a true disaster-level attack, with an immense range and devastating power.
That was the terrifying might of an Admiral.
Amid this hell, Luffy watched his companions fall around him. Ace was so close on the Execution Platform, yet he couldn't reach him. His heart was in turmoil.
"Ace!!!"
But Luffy would never give up.
The only way out now was through the gap where Oars's body had become lodged.
Although the walls had closed together, Oars's mountain-sized body had kept one of them from rising.
"Over there! We can get out that way!"
Luffy charged toward it without hesitation.
But how could the Marines fail to notice the gap in the Siege Wall? They poured cannon fire relentlessly into that area.
Molten meteors rained down overhead, and explosions flared all around him. At any moment, he could be blown away.
But Luffy never considered backing down.
At the same time, the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates charged alongside him.
"Cover Luffy!"
The Whitebeard Pirates had also realized what he was trying to do. They gathered of their own accord, ready to risk everything in a desperate assault.
Unfortunately,
The firepower aimed at that area was simply too overwhelming. Luffy was eventually blasted away.
Time passed, second by second.
By then, Luffy had regrouped with Knight of the Sea Jinbe and Ivankov.
At Luffy's insistence, Jinbe used Fish-Man Karate to hurl him skyward along with a wooden mast.
Luffy finally made it to the gap in the Siege Wall, braving the rain of molten fire.
When he landed, seawater splashed around him. He had finally broken through the iron wall and reached the plaza where the Execution Platform stood.
Waiting for him were the Marines' strongest fighters, already standing at the ready.
The Three Admirals—Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu—stood side by side between him and the Execution Platform, like three insurmountable mountains.
"This stage is still too much for you," Aokiji said, his voice utterly cold.
"You're so young. How frightening," Kizaru drawled, his mouth crooked.
Akainu merely said coldly, "So you're the Revolutionary Dragon's son. That explains a lot."
Luffy panted, covered in wounds and long past exhaustion, but he stubbornly said:
"Move! I'm going to save Ace."
Luffy was clever. First, he threw the mast at the Three Admirals. Aokiji was the first to freeze it into ice, then sent it flying back at him.
Luffy furiously smashed the frozen mast apart. Countless chunks of ice shot forward, only to turn into steam when they met Akainu.
Using the steam for cover, he broke through.
At last, Luffy managed to get past them.
His heart instantly filled with elation. The Execution Platform was right in front of him. He could even see Ace's face.
"Ace!!!"
He roared and leaped forward with all his might.
But a golden flash, moving faster than his eyes could follow, overtook him.
"You're frighteningly good at using little tricks like that."
Kizaru's mocking voice rang in his ear.
The next instant, Luffy felt an indescribable blow to his side, as if his entire body were being torn apart.
He didn't even have time to react. Like a soccer ball kicked with all someone's strength, he spat blood and flew backward as a blur, slamming into the chaotic battlefield behind him even faster than he had come.
"Luffy!"
Ace roared from the Execution Platform.
At this desperate moment, the sea along the edge of the plaza inside the bay, near the Execution Platform, suddenly churned violently.
"Gurararara! Boys, it's time for an all-out attack!"
Whitebeard's voice shook the battlefield once more!
A somewhat larger but oddly shaped pirate ship, with enormous paddle wheels mounted beneath its hull, burst through the ice and surfaced like a diving whale.
It was Whitebeard's hidden trump card: the paddle-wheel ship led by the 13th Division Commander, Water Buffalo Atmos.
It had remained hidden beneath the ice until now. At last, it emerged and sailed straight into the plaza.
In an instant, all the pirates leaped into the water, then hurried aboard.
"Charge! Save Ace!"
"Let's take on the Marines!"
Before you continue