Alliance

"Flash Collision!!"

Jozu's entire body turned into gleaming diamond, his speed soaring as he charged forward savagely like a human cannonball.

"Jozu?"

Suspended in midair, Bullet's Observation Haki had long since mapped everything within several hundred meters in his mind.

He stretched out his right hand and slapped toward the direction he was flying backward. The air immediately compressed and exploded with a boom, halting his backward momentum.

Boom!

Bullet landed lightly on the ice. Watching Jozu charge straight at him, a wicked grin curled across his lips.

Buzz!

Flowing Armament Haki wrapped around his entire body, as though cloaking him in invisible armor.

Rumble!

The ice sheet shuddered violently as Bullet stomped down with his right foot and accelerated into a wild sprint as well.

The two massive figures, hundreds of meters apart, thundered across the ice and collided head-on!

BOOM!!

Amid the earth-shattering blast, a huge spray of blood burst from between the tightly clenched teeth of Jozu, whose entire body gleamed with diamond light.

His burly body flew backward like a cannonball, tracing a long arc as he shot diagonally onto Marineford's plaza.

"Captain Jozu!"

"How is that possible? Diamond Jozu was sent flying!"

"Now that's satisfying!"

Bullet clenched his fists, the smile on his face widening as he threw back his head and laughed.

"Zehahahahaha!"

"War! It really gets the blood boiling!"

"Icefall!!"

At that moment, an icy current surged forth, transforming into a towering waterfall of ice that poured down from the sky and engulfed Bullet's powerful body.

Aokiji hovered in midair with his hands pressed together, streams of snow-white frost shooting from between his palms.

"Captain Bullet!"

Several nearby prisoners from Infinite Hell saw this and immediately rushed over, intending to help Bullet.

Endless frost washed down, swiftly forming a thick layer of ice around Bullet's body.

As the icy air continued to pour from Aokiji's hands,

the ice imprisoning Bullet grew thicker and thicker.

Moreover, the ice had been compressed to an extreme degree, making it incredibly hard—harder even than ordinary steel.

Bullet's body was completely encased at the center of several meters of solid ice, forming a gigantic ice sphere.

"Prisoners who escaped from Infinite Hell?"

Aokiji turned around. Frost swirled around his hand and condensed into an ice spear that glimmered with a cold light.

"Gahaha, that's right, our bounties are four hundred and thirty million—"

"A bunch of trash. I have no time to listen to your last words!"

"Ice Thorn Hell!!"

Aokiji's expression turned cold as he bent down and pressed a hand to the ground.

Crack, crack, crack!

Sharp ice spikes burst densely from the ice sheet, covering every inch of the area within sight.

Splat! Splat!

The sounds of bodies being pierced and torn apart rose one after another.

"Arghhhhh!"

Painful screams from pirates and prisoners immediately rang out across the ice.

Just then, a crisp cracking sound suddenly came from behind him.

Aokiji's expression shifted slightly as he spun around.

He saw a wildly grinning face emerge from the exploding ice crystals filling the sky, closing in before ramming a headbutt toward him.

When did Bullet break through the ice?

The thought had barely surfaced in Aokiji's mind before an incomparably violent force smashed viciously into his face.

Bang!

Like Jozu, Aokiji's body shot backward like a cannonball, blood spraying from his mouth.

Rumble!

His body crashed into a coastal defense cannon several hundred meters away, triggering a violent explosion.

When the billowing smoke dispersed, blood trickled from the corner of Aokiji's mouth. Clutching his dazed head, he stared grimly at Bullet in the bay.

"What powerful Armament Haki!"

Across the vast bay, every larger patch of ice had been shattered by the shockwaves of battle. Pirates and Marines alike had lost their footing.

Some captain-level pirates and prisoners, relying on their powerful strength and jumping ability, leaped from the ice in the bay onto Marine Headquarters' plaza and began fighting Marine Headquarters vice admirals.

Marines killed pirates, pirates killed Marines, and prisoners killed both Marines and pirates.

The three sides fought in a chaotic melee.

On the ice in the inner bay, Whitebeard watched the battlefield descend into a complete mess, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Pops! We can't keep butting heads with Captain Bullet. Put Teach's matter aside for now!"

The seawater beside him parted as Jinbe leaped out.

"Jinbe, your injuries are serious." Seeing Jinbe, Whitebeard revealed a gentle smile.

Jinbe's heart warmed. He shook his head. "I'm fine, Pops."

Whitebeard nodded and looked toward Bullet in the distance.

"That brat Bullet didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

Jinbe froze.

Then he quickly smiled. "No."

Whitebeard nodded again. After falling silent for a while, he asked, "It's good that you can follow that brat. After I die, with that arrogant brat protecting Fish-Man Island, no one should dare invade it."

"Pops! You won't die!" Jinbe said urgently.

Whitebeard pressed one hand to his chest and gave a bitter smile.

"I'm human, not a monster."

"As long as one is human, one will die."

"I'm already old. The times are moving forward, and I can no longer keep up."

"Pops!"

Jinbe gritted his teeth, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"That brat Bullet was right. I truly am old. My stamina can no longer sustain even Conqueror's Coating."

Whitebeard lifted his gaze toward the execution platform in the distance.

"The future belongs to the young. Ace cannot die in a place like this. Let this old man with one foot already in the underworld send you aboard the ship of the new era!"

"Pops!" Jinbe could no longer hold back, and tears spilled from his eyes.

Whitebeard took a deep breath and suddenly roared.

"Bullet, you brat!!"

His booming voice rolled like wind and thunder, resounding across the inner bay.

A grin tugged at Bullet's lips. "Something you want to say, Whitebeard?"

Neither of them concealed their voices, and everyone from the three fighting sides heard every word clearly.

The fierce slaughter continued.

But the battles between the commanders gradually came to a halt.

Shiryu and Vista each sheathed their long swords and silently looked toward their captains in the bay.

On the execution platform, Sengoku's expression changed drastically as a bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart.

"Let's join forces!"

Whitebeard did not waste words and went straight to the point.

"J-Join forces?"

The faces of the Marine officers on the plaza changed dramatically.

Kizaru scratched his head in frustration. "How troubling. If those two troublesome fellows join forces, the pressure on us will increase drastically."

"What does it matter? They're all going to die anyway!" Akainu's face darkened.

"Joining forces is fine. We're going to crush the Marines anyway, but you have to agree to three conditions."

Bullet's voice grew even louder, like rolling thunder.

"As long as they don't involve my family, even ten conditions would be fine!"

"Zehahahaha! I won't make things difficult for you!"

Bullet threw back his head and laughed.

Whitebeard laughed as well.

"Gurararara!"

"Zehahahaha!"

"Then the Whitebeard Pirates and the Demon God Pirates shall form a temporary alliance!"

"Boys! Crush the Marines! Rescue Ace!"