Chapter 43

"This is... Knight-Ranger Doma," a voice echoed, "Thunder Lord Makugai, the Decalban Brothers, Great Whirlpool Spider Squad, followed by all the pirate ships that serve under Whitebeard."

The enemy charged directly at the Marine Guard's position, causing a nervous tremor among them. The foes were famous pirates of the New World.

The enemy ships slowly approached, prompting the dozens of coastal guns in the port to aim their barrels. As soon as they entered the strike zone, 800-millimeter cannons would unleash a destructive barrage of fire upon them.

Upon seeing only 43 pirate ships on the other side, Sengoku's face changed dramatically, and he shouted:

"No, Whitebeard isn't there! Quickly, find out what he's planning!"

Not giving the Marine Headquarters any time to react, bubbles appeared in the center of the concave port. Sengoku barely began to guess the enemy's plan before it was too late.

Four giant pirate ships, resembling whales, broke through the water from the seabed. Their nearly hundred-meter-long hulls were covered with golden plating. Four ships, as if on command, arranged themselves in a simple formation.

A loud alarm sounded.

"This is Whitebeard's flagship, Moby Dick, and his 16 pirate divisions!"

The sudden attack on the center position caught many Marine Headquarters officers off guard. The initial plan was to weaken the enemy with artillery fire, but now it came down to direct confrontation.

The six-meter-tall Whitebeard stood without a shirt, wearing only a white cloak. His powerful chest bore several unhealed scars—reminders of battles with those who were once his enemies.

Surrounded by his "sons," Whitebeard greeted Sengoku.

"Sengoku, it's been a long time. Thank you for looking after my son all this time."

"Whitebeard..."

The two old adversaries, who had been fighting each other for decades, stared at each other from a distance. Sengoku face tensed. His carefully planned line of defense was easily breached.

Even though he had backup plans, with each loss, their chances of victory diminished.

A Marine guard raised a telescope and saw that Whitebeard was surrounded by the main forces of the pirates:

"First Division Captain, Marco. Third Division Captain, Diamond Jozu. Fifth Division Captain, Vista 'Flower Sword'... And the other 11 division captains."

In the tense atmosphere, it was Whitebeard who attacked first. Bringing his fists together, he created a circle of white light and then struck the air on both sides.

"Seaquake!"

The air shattered, and a wave of vibration instantly spread for hundreds of kilometers. The sea level began to drop slowly, and then two gigantic waves rose on either side of Marineford.

Hundreds of meters high, the tsunamis rushed forward like mountains, intending to destroy the Marine Watch in one blow.

Many lower-ranking officers were terrified at the sight. Those caught by this wave wouldn't be saved even by strong warriors—panic broke out among the crowd.

"We're doomed! We'll all die!"

"Where are the Admirals? Won't the three Admirals join the fight?"

Hina, standing among the Marine Guards, looked at her partner Smoker, and they saw the same fear in each other's eyes. Both were Devil Fruit users, and the tsunami seemed like a death sentence to them.

Before the colossal tsunami could crash onto the shore, Aokiji, one of the three Admirals, leaped up, and icy spires burst from his hands, touching the two waves and rapidly freezing the natural disaster into two icy icebergs.

Then Aokiji launched several ice spears at Whitebeard, but they were shattered by a vibration-powered fist. Aokiji himself broke into icy fragments in the air and fell into the sea.

Before the pirates could celebrate, Aokiji hit the water unaffected by the sea. He froze the sea surface for several kilometers, turning it into an icy platform, depriving the pirates of a direct assault on the execution platform.

This maneuver by Admiral Aokiji swiftly brought the Marines, who were terrified of Whitebeard, back to their senses, and they launched an attack on the pirates, already charging over the icy surface.

"Don't fear Whitebeard! We have three Admirals and the Fleet Marshal!"

"Kill the Marine Guard! Free Ace! Let them know what we, the Whitebeard Pirates, are made of!"

The battle between the two sides began.

All the artillery batteries in the port opened fire on the "Moby Dick," punching holes in the massive flagship. Four pirate ships did not give up and returned artillery fire.

Shells soared into the sky as the Marine Guard, under the leadership of vice-admirals, clashed with the pirates led by the squad captains. On the explosive battlefield, they were evenly matched in strength.

A rotund purple pirate pulled a large hammer from his mouth, sweeping aside the entire marine infantry in his path. No one could stand against him.

This was Bramank, the captain of the sixth squad, and the user of the "Bag in a Bag" fruit.

Blocking Bramank's path was a person controlling several long black swords with his hair. Vice-Admiral "Ghost Spider" from the Marine Guard's main headquarters looked sternly at his opponent.

They rushed towards each other, king against king, general against general, soldier against soldier.

Whitebeard shattered incoming shells with a single punch and watched his children fight with a smile.

Suddenly, nearby, Hawk Eye Mihawk stepped forward, readying for an attack. The Marines and the other Seven Warlords were stunned. No one expected Hawk Eye to join the battle.

Even Akainu was surprised. He had been certain that Hawk Eye would not participate. It seemed the Seven Warlords were not as useless as they appeared.

Hawk Eye paid no attention to those around him.

As someone striving to reach the pinnacle of mastery, he simply wanted to see how far he was from Whitebeard.

He sharply drew the great sword "Yoru (Knight) ."

Night and swung the sword in Whitebeard's direction.

A powerful green energy from the sword surged straight at its target.

At the moment when many held their breath with nerves, a sturdy man appeared in front of the energy from the sword.

This was the captain of the third squad, Diamond Jozu.

Most of his skin had turned to diamonds.

He took the energy from the sword directly with his body and, gritting his teeth, deflected it into the sky.

The energy dispersed, and for a moment, the sky darkened.

The initial clash between the Seven Warlords and the squad captain opened the eyes of many.

In response, Diamond Jozu pulled an ice block almost 80 meters in size from the water and hurled it towards the Marine Guard's structure. This block, the size of a small meteorite, descended slowly, causing panic among the Marine Guard ranks.

"Great Eruption!" boomed a deep voice. Akainu raised his magma-filled fist and swung it towards the ice, effortlessly shattering and igniting it. The ice shards flew back towards the pirate camp like meteorites. The ice turned into a fiery ball. What a terrible force of nature!

"Boom… boom… Boom...!!!"

Both the ship and the ice suffered severe damage, comparable to the recoil of several cannons. The Marines instantly gained the upper hand.

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