On the battlefield of Marineford, the balance of war is gradually tilting in favor of the navy.
The battle between Whitebeard and Akainu has entered its most intense phase.
Each tremor and collision with the lava sent shivers down the spine of the entire island, leaving behind massive cracks and black rocks formed from the cooled lava on the ice.
Whitebeard's chest wound had completely reopened; the injury inflicted by Squard's sword was being torn apart again by the fierce battle.
Blood flowed down his abdomen, pooling into a small, dark red puddle on the ice.
"Gurarara--Lava brat, your punches are getting lighter and lighter, how come you can't even handle an old man like me!"
Whitebeard cleaved Akainu's Magma Fist in two with a single slash, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power sending magma flying everywhere.
Akainu was knocked back several steps, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but the fighting spirit in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
"Old man, how much longer can you hold on?"
Akainu's right arm turned into magma again, the temperature was even higher than before, and the color of the magma changed from dark red to a dazzling bright white.
He could see that Whitebeard's breathing was getting heavier and heavier, and there would be a very brief pause after each swing of his sword—a sign of exhaustion.
But just as the two were about to collide again, a roar came from the other side of the battlefield.
" Ace —run!"
It was Marco's voice.
Akainu's gaze passed over Whitebeard and looked into the depths of the harbor.
There, Luffy and Ace were desperately trying to break through the encirclement, with Moria's shadow bats, Hancock's petrifying arrows, and Jinbe's Fish-Man Karate forming an impenetrable defensive line around them.
But this defensive line is being compressed layer by layer by the navy.
Standing atop the ruins, the Sengoku commander personally directed the encirclement and annihilation.
"First formation, advance! Second formation, block the left flank! Third formation, seal off the port direction!"
The naval soldiers surged forward like a white tide. One squadron was broken up, and two more squadrons immediately took its place.
Those who fell were dragged to the back, and new soldiers continued to charge forward, stepping over the blood of their comrades.
Luffy's breathing became more and more rapid.
He's been in Gear Second for too long, and his body is nearing its limit.
Each time the Gum-Gum Gatling fired, the fist moved a fraction slower than the last.
" Luffy! You're injured!" Ace looked at the bruise on Luffy's back from the blow from the Great Buddha Form of Sengoku, his eyes filled with heartache.
"Fine!"
Luffy grinned, but the blood at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
"I can still fight!"
Moria's shadow bats blocked another round of artillery fire, but the shadow beneath his feet was noticeably fainter than before.
"Hey, Straw Hat Boy, now's not the time for catching up!"
Jinbe delivered Five Thousand Brick Fist, sending a Rear Admiral flying. However, two Vice Admiral immediately rushed in to fill the gap.
Although his Fish-Man Karate is powerful and fierce, it consumes his stamina exponentially when facing such a large-scale human wave tactic.
Hancock's situation isn't much better.
Her petrification ability is an instant kill for regular soldiers, but against Vice Admiral with solid Armament Haki, the petrification arrows can only serve as a distraction.
Her physical strength was also rapidly depleting.
"There are too many navy men!" Hancock gritted her teeth and kicked three more soldiers away with a Perfume Femur.
Meanwhile, outside the encirclement, the Whitebeard Pirates ' captains were also frantically attacking the Navy's defenses.
Vista wielded his twin blades wildly, the trajectory of his Flower Sword slicing through the naval formation.
Jozu's body turned half-diamond, and he used his shoulder to withstand the artillery fire as he rammed forward.
The other team leaders also gave it their all, and each of them ended up with bruises.
Zephyr stood in the center of the defensive line, arms crossed, his short purple hair motionless in the sea breeze.
Several captains of the Whitebeard Pirates lay sprawled at his feet.
"Want to get over there? You'll have to step over my dead body first!"
Zephyr unleashed a Black Arm punch, his fist enveloped in Armament Haki, sending Blondie, who was charging at the forefront, flying.
The situation on the battlefield is becoming increasingly unfavorable for the pirates.
Whitebeard was held back by Akainu, Marco was trying to restrain Kizaru in the air but was clearly at a disadvantage, the division commanders were being held back by Zephyr, Luffy and Ace were surrounded.
Standing on high ground, watching all this, Sengoku felt a strange unease welling up inside him.
The battle situation was clearly developing in a direction favorable to the navy.
Whitebeard's stamina was waning, and defeat was only a matter of time. Luffy and Ace's escape route was shrinking, and the division commanders' offensive was also weakening.
But the unease grew stronger and stronger, like a needle stuck in the back of his head that he couldn't pull out.
He subconsciously looked up at the sky.
There were only clouds in the sky.
Thick clouds have been gathering since just now, like a sign of an approaching storm.
But today's weather forecast clearly stated that the waters near Marineford would be sunny.
Something's not right.
Sengoku's pupils contracted slightly.
His Observation Haki instinctively extended upwards, piercing through the clouds, attempting to perceive what lay above them.
Then his Observation Haki collided with an invisible barrier.
"Could it be...?"
At the very moment Sengoku realized something was wrong, the sky over Marineford suddenly darkened.
Everyone looked up at the same time.
The clouds overhead began to thicken and darken at a visible rate.
The once pristine white cumulus clouds darkened rapidly, as if stained with ink, and the cloud cover continued to expand.
Extending from one side of the harbor to the other, it casts a somber shadow over the entire Marineford square.
What is that?
"Are the clouds turning dark?"
"What's going on?!"
The naval soldiers whispered among themselves, some gripping their weapons nervously.
The veterans and officers who had seen more battles looked grave—this strange weather change was definitely not a natural phenomenon.
Lightning flashes could be faintly seen within the clouds.
At first, only a few thin arcs of electricity flashed across the edge of the clouds, but in an instant, those arcs turned into thick Inazuma, surging and weaving through the clouds.
The rumbling thunder came from deep within the clouds, growing louder and more intense, as if a giant beast was awakening in the clouds.
Then, a crack appeared in the clouds, and the crack grew wider and wider, revealing the view above the clouds.
A ship.
A colossal ship, its entire body crackling with golden lightning, hovered above the clouds.
Countless golden arcs of electricity danced around the ship's hull, merging with the Inazuma in the clouds, making it seem as if the ship itself was the core of the Thundercloud.
That's --!!!
Everyone on the battlefield instinctively gasped.
There was a person standing at the bow of the ship.
He wore a black trench coat, with the Black Blade Shusui hanging at his waist, and the sea breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead.
He stood at the bow of the ship, hands in his pockets, looking down at the battlefield strewn with corpses with a cold, indifferent gaze, as if looking down at ants.
Heavenly Dao Emperor, Roy.