At Marine Headquarters, due to Whitebeard's outburst, seawater rushed in from the tilted harbor and onto the ice.
The nearest rows of naval soldiers were scattered and defeated.
Akainu's feet also cracked.
He had to jump to avoid the crack, his magma-like feet spewing out two streams of fire in mid-air to maintain his balance.
Whitebeard stood in the center of the crack.
The ice beneath his feet was shattered beyond recognition, but he stood there steadily, his legs as immovable as if cast in iron.
His chest wound was still bleeding, and his charred skin was still smoking, but his aura was more terrifying than ever.
"Lava imp."
The Whitebeard raised his head, a smile spreading across his face.
"This is my true power--!!!"
Akainu's expression finally changed.
At that moment, Luffy and Ace, who were falling from the Execution Platform, were caught by Ivankov and Scissorhands respectively.
Ivankov used his gigantic hands to catch Luffy, while Scissorhands used his elongated Scissorhands to catch Ace.
The two slowly descended from mid-air and landed on the ice.
Luffy jumped off Ivankov's grasp, and the first thing he did after regaining his footing was to run towards Ace.
" Ace! The key—where's the key—!!!"
He frantically searched his body, trying to find the key to unlock the Seastone Handcuffs.
Just then, a golden beam of light shot out from the ruins.
Kizaru emerged from behind the collapsed wall, brushing the dust off his suit as he walked.
He looked at the Marine Headquarters in complete chaos, then at Luffy and Ace who had been caught, and sighed with narrowed eyes.
"Oh dear, this is so troublesome!"
He raised his hand, and golden laser light shone from his fingers.
"Looks like I need to get a little more serious."
Without Marco's presence to restrain him, Kizaru is now completely free.
He brought the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit to its fullest potential, his body transforming into a golden beam of light that instantly appeared above Luffy and Ace.
" Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless light projectiles shot out from Kizaru's fingertips, Luffy down on Luffy and Ace below.
The light projectiles densely covered a large area, each containing enough energy to shatter rocks.
Ivankov and Scissorhands desperately tried to dodge, but there were just too many light projectiles.
Explosions continued to erupt around them, cratering the ground and sending debris and ice shards flying everywhere.
Luffy immediately shielded Ace, using his own body to block Ace.
The light bombs exploded around him, the shockwaves making his ears ring.
" Luffy! Let me go--!!!" Ace struggled desperately beneath Luffy.
"I won't let go!!!" Luffy gritted his teeth, protecting Ace with all his might.
Just then, three figures appeared simultaneously in front of Luffy.
Moria.
Jinbe.
Hancock.
At the same time, Roy's command echoed in the minds of all three, "Protect Luffy and his crew."
The three exchanged a glance.
"Are we about to begin?"
Kizaru's energy blasts rained down like a storm, exploding into shards of ice on the surface.
As Luffy shielded Ace, he could feel the shockwaves of the explosion hitting his back one after another, and his ears were filled with a buzzing sound.
But the expected excruciating pain did not come.
Luffy looked up.
A wall of shadow blocked his way.
The shadow was as black as ink, spreading across the ice surface before suddenly rising upwards and transforming into countless black bats.
Bats swarmed into the sky, only to collide with Kizaru's energy blast.
Each bat that collided with a light blast exploded into a cloud of black smoke, perishing together with the blaster.
The light projectiles were all blocked.
" Moria --!!!"
Ivankov, holding his injured Scissorhands, stared wide-eyed.
"Didn't you betray Hachinosu?"
Moria stood behind the wall of shadows, his hands in his pockets, his back to everyone.
Hearing Ivankov's exclamation, he turned his head, revealing half of his face.
"Hehehe, Straw Hat Boy, we meet again."
Luffy's eyes widened. "It's you! Onion Head!"
Moria's lips twitched.
My name is Moria. Not Onion Head.
" Onion Head!" Luffy insisted.
Moria decided not to dwell on the matter.
He turned around, looked at Kizaru's figure hovering in mid-air, and gently twitched his fingers in his pocket.
The shadows beneath my feet began to ripple again.
" Shadow Horn Spear!"
Dozens of shadowy spears rose from the ice surface and stabbed towards the Kizaru in mid-air.
The spear moved with incredible speed, leaving trails of black afterimages in the air.
Kizaru's body transformed into a golden beam of light, flickering erratically among the shadow spears.
One spear after another pierced the spot where he had just stood, but he dodged each one in advance.
"Oh dear~ Moria ~"
Kizaru's voice came from mid-air, still as lazy as ever.
"You, a member of the Shichibukai, are now protecting pirates?!"
"That's really strange~"
"Hehehe~"
Who knows!
Moria grinned, and the shadows continued to churn at his feet.
"Maybe they just don't like your navy."
Before Kizaru could respond, a figure appeared behind him.
Hancock!
She was upside down in mid-air, her hands supporting her on the ground, her long legs drawing a perfect arc in the air.
Armament Haki covered her toes, giving them a dark, ominous glow.
" Perfume Femur!"
His long leg lashed out like a whip towards the back of Kizaru's head.
Kizaru instantly transformed into his elemental form, and the golden beam of light re-condensed in the air.
But Hancock's kick was too fast, so fast that even in her elemental form she couldn't completely dodge it—her toe grazed Kizaru's shoulder, tearing a gash in the shoulder of his suit.
Kizaru steadied himself in mid-air and looked down at his torn suit.
"Hey hey~ another one~"
" Pirate Empress, this will put me in a difficult position!"
His tone was still as lazy as ever, but the look in his eyes had become more serious.
"I can do whatever I want; do I need to explain myself to you?"
Hancock raised her chin, responding with her usual haughty demeanor.
Then she lightly touched her lips with her fingers, drawing out a huge pink heart.
With a flick of his finger, dozens of pink arrows shot out from the peach heart and flew towards Kizaru.
" The Slave Arrow!"
Kizaru's body transformed into a beam of light once again to dodge.
But there were too many pink arrows, and a few grazed the hem of his clothes, instantly turning the fabric to stone.
"What a hassle~ They're all so willful~"
No sooner had Kizaru finished speaking than a huge torrent of water crashed down from the side.
Jinbe!
The Fish-Man Karate stance was complete, Five Thousand Brick Fist, carrying seawater, slammed towards Kizaru.
The water spun rapidly in the air, forming a thick column of water.
" Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"
The water jet slammed solidly into Kizaru.
Kizaru's body was swept backward by the water flow, tumbling twice in the air.
Although he was elementalized the moment he was hit, rendering the physical damage from the water ineffective, the force of the water still caused him to lose his balance.
Kizaru re-formed in mid-air, dozens of meters away, and shook the water droplets off his suit.
"Hey, hey, hey~ Three Shichibukai ~"
He tilted his head and looked at the three figures blocking Luffy.
"Are you betraying the Navy?"