Cold winds swept through, and rings of ripples spread farther across the sky.
Ice shards flew everywhere, and white mist billowed up, obscuring half the sky and completely swallowing Whitebeard's figure.
At that moment, all of Marineford fell silent.
The world's strongest man streaked through the air like a meteor and crashed down, smashing a massive crater into the ice.
Everyone stared blankly up at the other figure in the sky, but in the next instant, their eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Where did he go?!"
River had vanished.
They scanned their surroundings, then suddenly fixed their eyes on a blood-red blur.
"He's too fast! We can't even make out his figure!"
"River is charging toward Pops!"
As the cries rang out, the pirates inexplicably grew tense.
In a single instant, the blood-red blur stretched into a long streak, shooting straight toward the spot where Whitebeard had fallen.
The moment he reached the air filled with flying ice shards, violent gusts surged outward, sending countless fragments shooting in every direction like bullets.
The stunning sight drew repeated cries of shock from those nearby.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening sonic booms erupted behind River, their shock waves spreading outward in a spectacular display.
"Newgate!!"
"I don't believe you'd go down this easily!"
Roaring, River plunged straight into the crater filled with flying ice like a cannonball.
Boom!
After a brief stillness, a deafening explosion erupted. Everyone's pupils constricted as they watched the crater, already several hundred meters across, expand and split again until it stretched over a thousand meters.
Then an enormous figure leaped high into the air, rising alongside the shattered ice.
"Gurararara!"
"You really don't hold back against these old bones!"
"River!"
Whitebeard's laughter rang out.
Sunlight streamed down behind him amid the swirling ice shards. Refracting through them, it cast