"Don't assume victory is guaranteed just because we outnumber each other! We might be the ones facing our own doom! That man... possesses the power to destroy the world!"
Seeing such a gigantic wave, even Sengoku was somewhat unsettled. This was an attack truly comparable to a natural disaster, while such an attack was merely a normal attack by Whitebeard. The title of the World's Strongest Man was not just a figurehead; destroying a country by himself would be far too easy for him. The territory of the Marine Headquarters was not even comparable to that of a small country, only having strong individuals guarding it provided a significant buffer.
Not only did the Marines at Marine Headquarters witness Whitebeard's power, but everything that happened was broadcast live via Den Den Mushi to the entire world. Ordinary people who watched the live stream were finally able to directly experience Whitebeard's strength. Even though Marine Headquarters was well-prepared and had a large force, they no longer believed that the Marines would win!
The oppressive aura emanating from Whitebeard is so immense; they were almost scared to death even through the screen. And right now, it's only Whitebeard making a move. What will happen when the other division commanders join the fray? The outcome of this war is truly unpredictable!
The waves, hundreds of meters high, drew ever closer, even blocking out the sunlight. A massive shadow loomed over them, and the terror in the eyes of the sailors on the plaza reached its peak. The enormous waves were upon them, and everyone was enveloped in their shadow. In no time, the endless seawater would crash down, and death was imminent. The sailors seemed to see death beckoning to them!
Ice Age!
Just as the seawater was about to engulf everything, Marine Admiral Kuzan finally made his move. In a flash, he appeared in mid-air, exhaling cold air, his cheeks already covered in frost. He stretched out his hands to the sides, each palm shooting out an irregular ice pillar that rapidly extended towards the giant wave that resembled a high wall.
The seawater that touched the ice pillars froze instantly, and the frozen seawater spread rapidly from the connection point of the ice pillars to the surrounding area. In less than a breath, a giant wave hundreds of meters high became an ice wall standing in front of the square!
The natural disasters caused by Whitebeard could only be resolved by the power of nature. Aokiji's approach was to find the right solution. If it were any other Logia user, it wouldn't have been so easy to break Whitebeard 'Whitebeard attack, which was aimed at wiping out the entire Marine Base.
" Aokiji! You brat!"
Whitebeard's ultimate move was thus countered by Aokiji. Whitebeard was somewhat displeased, but he wasn't too bothered. If he only used this move as a trump card, it would be too weak and wouldn't live up to his title Whitebeard the World's Strongest Man. He didn't expect to achieve his strategic goal with just one move.
"We're saved! It's Admiral Kuzan..."
"That almost scared me to death!"
" Partisan!"
After freezing the tsunami, Aokiji didn't stop. He was already flying in the air, and Whitebeard was right below him. It would be unreasonable not to take action, so he used his power to condense several ice spears in the air and shot them down at Whitebeard.
Whitebeard wasn't just standing there posing. Even though the ice spears were incredibly fast, Whitebeard simply punched the void. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power shattered all the ice spears. The ice spears were just a facade; Aokiji was Whitebeard's Whitebeard target. So, with this attack, even Aokiji himself was shattered into ice fragments that fell into the sea.
However, the Marine Admiral was not just a figurehead. Whitebeard's attack was merely a manifestation of his Devil Fruit power. The ice blocks that fell into the sea instantly froze the surrounding water, and then Aokiji's body grew out of the ice.
That's the advantage of Logia- type Devil Fruits; as long as it's not Haki attack, it basically won't harm them. When Aokiji fully materialized into human form, the seawater between the waves and the port was completely frozen, forming a land-like area. Even Whitebeard and all his ships were frozen, which made it easier for the lower-level troops of both sides to fight.
Both sides realized this when they saw the seawater freezing over, and without orders from their superiors, captains, or ship captains, many people jumped onto the ice and rushed towards each other.
The port's artillerymen were also busy; some aimed their cannons at the pirate ships, some at the pirates on the ice, and some at Whitebeard.
On the ice, both sides, armed with their own weapons, searched for their opponents, and the battle quickly broke out in full force. The entire battlefield was filled with the sounds of charging, shouting, and exploding shells, as well as the screams of the wounded.
The first Marine to Whitebeard was Aokiji, and the first Shichibukai to Whitebeard was Hawk-Eye. Although he now wanted to defeat Vic, he also wanted to see how big the gap was between himself and the world's number one man.
Hawk-Eye leaped to the edge of the harbor, the closest land to Whitebeard besides the ice. Without a word, Hawk-Eye drew his Supreme Great Grade Sword, Yoru, from his back and unleashed a powerful Flying Slash with a soft whistle towards Black Blade Yoru, who was standing at the Whitebeard of the Moby Dick.
Hawk-Eye's actions attracted a lot of attention. In the eyes of the Navy's high command, Hawk-Eye was indifferent to everything, but this time he actually took the initiative to attack Whitebeard, which even surprised Akainu.
The Shichibukai, led by Vic, were also watching Hawk-Eye and Whitebeard. However, Hawk-Eye's slash was blocked by Diamond Jozu before it even got close to Whitebeard. Well, it wasn't completely blocked; Jozu ultimately managed to deflect the slash into the air, thus breaking the attack.
This shows that Hawk-Eye's slash indeed had tremendous staying power. Diamond Jozu was suppressed by this slash to the point that his face was somewhat ferocious, but the power of the slash was still not reduced much. This is the strength of one of the Shichibukai that the Five Elders had some doubts about.
Although Hawk-Eye didn't call out a name for this attack, as a move to test the gap between himself and Whitebeard, it couldn't possibly be a simple basic attack. In the eyes of Vic, who had fought Hawk-Eye before, this wasn't his strongest move either. The strongest moves are always the most direct and primitive close-range moves, because only close-range moves don't cause unnecessary damage when attacking an enemy.
Diamond Jozu's strength is only at a lower-middle level among the Shichibukai. Being able to withstand Hawk-Eye's attack to test himself is already a very good performance. There aren't many pirates with this level of strength on the high seas, so he is well-deserved to be the captain of Whitebeard's ship.
Vic has no intention of making a move right now. In any case, only Aokiji and Hawk-Eye have taken action so far, and the other powerful figures haven't moved yet. With Vic's reputation, he can wait a bit longer. Besides, his purpose in coming here is not to fight Whitebeard to the death.
The next big shot to make a move after Hawk-Eye was Kizaru, who instantly vanished from his chair as a beam of light—that's how convenient Logia abilities are.
" Yasakani no Magatama!"
When Kizaru reappeared, he was already diagonally above Whitebeard. The enormous ball of light was incredibly dazzling before it condensed into a human form. The Yasakani no Magatama shot down at Whitebeard as if it were free.
However, Whitebeard remained calm and composed at the bow of the ship, just as confident as when Hawk-Eye had unleashed his slash at him earlier.
The one who blocked the Yasakani no Magatama Marco the Phoenix. He possesses the Mythical Zoan Phoenix ability, and countless beams of light struck the Phoenix without causing any damage.
The Phoenix's ability is similar to the elemental transformation of Logia Devil Fruit users, so it was naturally unafraid of Kizaru's attacks. Therefore, apart from feeling that the sky was a bit dazzling, Whitebeard remained as steady as Mount Tai.
Marco's strength is second only to Whitebeard in the Whitebeard Pirates, even stronger than Ace now, and not much weaker than Marine Admiral.
The Phoenix's inherent elemental properties and powerful regenerative abilities make it an extremely troublesome opponent. This allows Marco to hold his own even against Marine Admiral and Four Emperors, although he certainly wouldn't be able to defeat them, he could still hold his own for a considerable amount of time, which is already a very impressive achievement.
After blocking Kizaru's attack, Marco did not retreat. Instead, he transformed into his Phoenix Form and flew towards Kizaru, intending to fight Kizaru head-on. However, Kizaru would not wait for Marco to get close and once again fired his Yasakani no Magatama no Magatama at Marco without restraint.
Of course, it's not that the Yasakani no Magatama no Magatama is free. This move is a wide-range, fast attack with little accuracy, and it's more of a firepower coverage. It's a powerful weapon in naval battles, but it's not very effective against strong opponents. It didn't hurt Marco earlier, and it still can't hurt him now. Marco quickly flew close to him.
Marco transformed into a human form with blue flames and wings, and delivered a powerful Golden Hook kick to Kizaru's neck. This Marco was imbued with Armament Haki.
Kizaru wasn't stupid, so he naturally didn't use his neck to catch it. Instead, he raised his arm to block it. However, Marco's Golden Hook was still more powerful than Kizaru standing still. Kizaru was kicked away by this kick and crashed into a wall, causing a violent explosion and sending up clouds of smoke.
Although Kizaru was kicked away, he wasn't actually injured. Marco's Haki -wrapped leg was blocked by his arm, and the impact after the kick was a physical collision. How could Logia Fruit user get hurt?
As soon as the explosion ended, Kizaru transformed into a beam of light and instantly solidified his body in an open space, without even getting his clothes dirty. However, Kizaru did not make another move. Instead, he gave the Giant Vice Admiral an order to pay attention to the air. Obviously, this order was aimed at Marco, who could fly, in case he flew directly to the Execution Platform.