C261

Ice Age.

Before the tsunami hit, Aokiji condensed hundreds of meters of icebergs in the sea near Marineford, successfully blocking the incoming wave.

However, the battle in front of Marineford came to a sudden halt. Both sides were unsure of Kain's allegiance. After all, he had defeated a Four Emperors-level figure with just one move. Which side had such a terrifying powerhouse?

Whitebeard eyed Kain seriously. Even if he were thirty years younger, he would have barely been able to unleash such a devastating attack at full strength. In his current state, he might barely manage to withstand a single blow — but it would cost him his life.

If Marines truly had someone of this level aiding them, the Whitebeard Pirates might not be able to save Ace today.

Yet even the Marines were uneasy.

At first, they believed that the Shichibukai " Mage" was on their side. But Kain had suddenly attacked Doflamingo on the battlefield, severely injuring the Shichibukai and crippling three of his limbs. His attitude was now ambiguous.

The sharp-eyed Marines noticed the shift in Kain's demeanor, and no one sensed it more clearly than Hina. As the Marine Colonel stationed in Alabasta, succeeding Smoker, she had met Kain several times. 

She remembered him not just as powerful, but also carrying a true aristocratic grace — polite, composed, and well-liked by the common folk.

But today, he seemed unusually violent. No — not merely violent. Hina felt he was acting... casually, even playfully.

After the tsunami was stopped, Kain flew into the sky. Stretching out his finger toward another part of the battlefield, he unleashed his magic. Beneath Buggy's feet, the ice shifted and an enormous icicle shot upward, lifting Buggy the Clown high into the air.

Buggy immediately panicked, his limbs trembling. Kneeling on the icicle, he cried out pitifully:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mage! I shouldn't have escaped from prison! The Straw Hat kid forced me to help him! I was doing fine staying in Impel Down!"

His frantic pleas were broadcast live through the video transponder snails, spreading to Sabaody Archipelago — and even to every corner of the world. Now, everyone knew: Buggy really was a clown.

It wasn't hard to understand why he begged for mercy. On this battlefield crowded with pirates, every one of Whitebeard's captains had a bounty far higher than his. Yet this terrifying Shichibukai had singled him out! In that moment, Buggy felt like he was already dead.

And he didn't want to die. He still had treasures to find! Dying here would be too ridiculous.

"Buggy, what the hell are you doing? Why are you begging for mercy?!" Luffy shouted up to him.

"Shut up, Straw Hat!" Buggy cried back, tears and snot running down his face. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to live!"

Buggy clung to the icicle, wailing miserably.

Kain ignored his theatrics and said flatly, "Video transponder snail."

"Huh? Uh—yes, here!"

Buggy froze for a second, then hurriedly produced a video snail, holding it up in offering like a sacred treasure.

Once the snail was aimed at him, Kain ignored Buggy and calmly raised his right hand. Immense chakra gathered, condensing into an even larger Tailed Beast Bomb, with the yin-to-yang ratio at 2:8.

This time, the Tailed Beast Bomb was like a pitch-black sun, hovering over Marineford.

In just a few moments, the bomb grew larger than the Marine Headquarters building itself.

Buggy wet himself on the spot.

After all, he had seen how destructive the 20–30 meter Tailed Beast Bomb had been earlier. Now, looking up at this monstrous, sun-sized sphere, he could only despair.

Was Kain planning to destroy the world!?

Except for Buggy, who was so scared he wet himself, everyone else — whether it was Whitebeard, the Marine Admirals, or Sengoku and Garp — wore extremely grim expressions.

If this Tailed Beast Bomb exploded in Marineford, it was estimated that fewer than fifty people would survive.

"What the hell is this guy trying to do?"

Sengoku clenched his fists, his face dark. It was the first time he felt things spiraling completely out of control. The Shichibukai known as "Mage" — Kain — had exceeded his expectations, not only in strength but also in attitude. 

Especially the latter. Whether it was Smoker, Hina, or Momousagi, all had given Kain glowing evaluations regarding his character.

Sengoku himself had thought the same after interacting with him just a few days ago.

But now, Kain's sudden change was beyond Sengoku's understanding. Something had clearly happened during that time — something he didn't know about.

Half of Kizaru's body had already turned into light as he said seriously, "Hey, hey, this isn't funny, Mr. Sengoku. Is Mage still an ally of the Marines?"

Aokiji, already partially naturalized into his ice form, also looked uneasy. Even combined, the three Admirals, along with Sengoku and Garp risking their lives, might be able to stop the massive Tailed Beast Bomb — but they weren't confident.

Meanwhile, Hancock gazed at Kain in the sky with complicated emotions, murmuring,

"If you're this strong... when will I take my revenge?"

Back at the Sabaody Archipelago, people watching through the video transponder snail couldn't help but gulp nervously.

They had seen the destructive force of the previous, smaller Tailed Beast Bomb — which alone had triggered a tsunami that required Admiral Aokiji's full power to freeze and neutralize. Otherwise, Marineford would have been submerged.

And now, the Tailed Beast Bomb was far larger.

"Uh, the Sabaody Archipelago isn't far from Marineford, right? So... it shouldn't affect us... ha, ha ha..."

A man in the crowd forced a laugh in front of the broadcast screen.

After hearing this, many people immediately recalled Sabaody's location — and then quietly, hurriedly slipped away with pale faces.

Watching the exodus, Shandia warrior Laki leaned closer to Robin and asked nervously,

"President Robin, should we...?"

"Don't worry," Nico Robin said with a calm smile. "Neither the tsunami nor the earthquake will reach us."

Years of being in a leadership position had given Robin an inexplicable air of confidence, and Laki quickly believed her, standing guard loyally at her side.

On the screen, the Tailed Beast Bomb seemed to have stopped growing, as if Kain had reached the limits of what he could condense.

Seeing this, Robin couldn't help but think to herself: If only I had met someone like Kain more than ten years ago... I would have given everything to beg him to save Ohara.

Back at Marineford.

Kain sensed Kaido slowly floating up from the sea. Although the earlier Tailed Beast Bomb had injured him, it hadn't been fatal. As the world's strongest creature, Kaido's instincts had kicked in at the critical moment.

Before the explosion, he had transformed into his human-beast form and shielded himself with advanced Armament Haki.

"It's rare for you to deliver yourself to me, Mr. Kaido," Kain said coldly. "Otherwise, having to rely on a half-crippled Whitebeard would have made it hard for me to get 'famous'!"

With that, Kain threw the Tailed Beast Bomb.

The hearts of everyone on the Marineford battlefield seized in that instant — and then relaxed slightly when they saw the bomb was aimed at Kaido, not at them.

Even Whitebeard couldn't help thinking: Kaido's not such a bad guy after all — he's drawing the fire!

"Kuzan!"

Sengoku shouted urgently. The destructive power of the earlier, smaller Tailed Beast Bomb had been terrifying enough — Sengoku dared not even imagine the devastation the bigger one could cause.

Kuzan's abilities were the best hope for limiting the disaster.

High in the sky, the massive dark sun of chakra slowly descended westward, dragging everyone's hearts down with it.

Boom!

The explosion struck almost in sync with the pounding of everyone's hearts.

Rumble!

The sky darkened, and a blinding white light — ten times brighter than the sun — lit up the heavens.

Thunder boomed, the ground shook violently, a monstrous tsunami roared to life.

The impact shattered Kuzan's carefully reinforced iceberg barriers. Still, Aokiji fought desperately, using his Frozen Fruit powers to create massive icebergs one after another, barely managing to shield Marineford from the full brunt of the cataclysm.

However, he only managed to save the warships at sea and the small island of Marineford. As for the Naval Headquarters building and the family town behind it, they were almost completely razed to the ground by the destructive impact.

Even the hardened ground had been lifted more than ten meters.

The explosion felt like the end of the world itself. It took a long time before it slowly subsided.

After a while, a torrential rain began to pour down within a hundred-mile radius, and it looked like the downpour would last for quite some time.

All the Devil Fruit users on the Marineford battlefield were exhausted.

Fortunately, the Marine Admirals responded quickly — Kizaru disappeared before the rain fell, while Aokiji and Akainu used their powers to either freeze the falling seawater into ice beads or evaporate it before it could touch them.

Kaido was still alive, but now he was seriously wounded.

As long as Kain struck one more blow, this so-called "undying legend," the "strongest creature," would surely die.

Sensing Kaido's position, Kain immediately flew toward him, preparing to take down a Four Emperors member first.

A while after Kain left, Whitebeard, unable to watch his exhausted crewmates being drenched and weakened by the seawater any longer, directly punched the air — shaking apart the dark clouds above Marineford.

With the storm and rain clouds dispersed, the Marines and pirates slowly began to recover their abilities.

However, this execution had already turned into a complete farce.

Even though Sengoku received word that the live broadcast from the Sabaody Archipelago had ended — apparently because Buggy fell from the icicle and smashed the video transponder snail — the damage was already done.

Kain's overwhelming power had been broadcast to the entire world.

Could the Marines still tout this as a "victory"?

No.

Even if they eliminated both Whitebeard and Blackbeard today, the world had witnessed something undeniable:

There now existed someone stronger than the Four Emperors — someone whose strength surpassed even the Marines themselves.

A man who, like the ancient weapons, possessed the power to destroy the world.

"Execute Ace immediately! End this farce!"

Sengoku roared furiously. There was no point dragging the battle with the Whitebeard Pirates any longer — they needed to salvage the situation as best they could.

"Stop! Ace!!"

At the critical moment, Luffy's Conqueror's Haki burst out, stunning the Marine executioners standing beside Ace.

At the same time, Whitebeard shouted, "Get Ace out of here — and go home!"

And just like that, the battlefield was once again plunged into chaos.

…

patreon.com/Vks_sh