61

The sun had begun to peek over the horizon, casting rays of light across the bay of Marineford.

"Justice will prevail!"

A Marine Rear Admiral stood atop a platform, roaring at the ten thousand Marines assembled before him.

"Justice will prevail!"

The thunderous roar of tens of thousands echoed like crashing waves. The sheer force of their voices was overwhelming—as if the entirety of Marineford was about to explode under the weight of their resolve.

"What? Something happened at Impel Down?!"

Unlike the fervor out in the plaza, the mood inside the Fleet Admiral's office was suffocating. Sengoku, now alone in the room, was visibly horrified as he received the report.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Sadi's usually sultry voice was replaced with a heavy, grim tone.

"Sengoku… earlier today, the Revolutionary Army, led by Dragon himself, broke into Impel Down. They freed the Supernova Monkey D. Luffy and a long-hidden Revolutionary commander, Emporio Ivankov.

In addition... the Blackbeard Pirates and the Elior Pirates both stormed the prison shortly after. The two crews are currently engaged in an all-out battle on Level 6. According to surveillance, Blackbeard is attempting to recruit crew members by forcing prisoners to slaughter one another. The fighting has ceased for now, but countless prisoners are already dead.

Chief Warden Magellan… has been critically injured again—this time by Dragon. I regret to report, Fleet Admiral Sengoku... Impel Down has effectively fallen. If you don't deploy an Admiral immediately to suppress the situation... I fear Elior and his crew intend to release the monsters sealed in Level 6... once more."

"The worst-case scenario... it actually happened. And the Revolutionary Army is involved too…"

Sitting heavily in his chair, Sengoku felt a wave of helplessness. Rage surged within him, but it was drowned by the overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

The war was about to begin. Less than nine hours remained until Ace's public execution.

There was no way the Marine could afford to divert forces to Impel Down now. Suppressing Elior would probably require deploying every top-tier asset available.

Sengoku clenched his fists. He remembered clearly the aftermath of Elior's clash with Kaido — not through reports, but through the horrifying images printed in the papers. Elior had conjured over a thousand immortal ice knights using his powers, wiping out more than ten thousand of Kaido's subordinates — who, mind you, were far from ordinary thugs.

This situation had completely spiraled out of control — beyond even what the World Government had anticipated.

And Blackbeard… What the hell is he plotting?

A chill ran down Sengoku's spine. He'd always known Blackbeard was trouble, but the World Government had foolishly offered him a seat among the Shichibukai. And now, Blackbeard was using this as an opportunity to invade Impel Down and recruit criminals into his ranks!

To prepare for the war against Whitebeard and ensure the execution went smoothly, the Marine had scoured the world for its finest. One hundred thousand elite Marines had been summoned. Almost every officer from Rear Admiral upwards was deployed. Only a few Vice Admirals remained behind to hold the New World.

Without wasting time, Sengoku connected to the World Government's private line.

The Den Den Mushi on the other end blinked awake — its voice belonged to none other than the former Fleet Admiral, Kong.

Meanwhile, within the deepest depths of Level 6—Eternal Hell—a bone-chilling roar shook the prison.

"Zehahahaha!!!"

Blackbeard unleashed a wave of darkness that swallowed half of Level 6. The abyss expanded endlessly, a black void that seemed capable of consuming the entire world.

This was the pinnacle of the Dark-Dark Fruit's power — the same devastating technique that had defeated Ace.

Screams echoed from the prisoners trapped within the void. The oppressive darkness felt like it was crushing their very souls. It wasn't just suffocating; it was torture. A slow, merciless grind of existence into nothingness.

"Zehahaha!! I'm Blackbeard, dammit! I ain't going down here!!"

Blackbeard's insane laughter returned as a twisted form of self-assurance while the prisoners writhed in agony.

But... standing before him, Elior remained as calm and indifferent as ever—an image that made Blackbeard's grin twitch.

"Tch... you won't be looking so calm soon. Doesn't matter though. I can't die here."

"If I can't beat him… fine. I'll surrender. I'll crawl if I have to. And when the time comes, I'll get my revenge. Hell, I've barely had two months with this fruit. I've only scratched the surface of the Dark-Dark Fruit. But if I survive today… If I lay low... sooner or later, I'll rise up and crush everyone!"

With a mad howl, Blackbeard surged forward, dragging that swallowing abyss behind him like the maw of hell itself—aimed straight at Elior.

This was his final gamble. If it failed, his only choice was to beg for mercy, survive, and bide his time— as he always had.

No one... no one understood patience and survival better than Blackbeard.

After all... he'd spent decades doing exactly that.

"Damn... this darkness... it's no joke. Dark-Dark Fruit really is something else..." Elior chuckled.

"Final move, huh?"

Van Augur and the rest of Blackbeard's crew looked on, panic creeping into their expressions. If Blackbeard lost… they were dead too. No doubt about it. Elior wasn't the type to leave loose ends.

With a confident step forward, Elior charged head-on.

Massive glaciers erupted from the ground in his wake, towering like mountains. They surged forward with him, bearing down on Blackbeard with unstoppable momentum.

Darkness collided with ice—void against matter.

But therein lay the difference. One was intangible. The other... solid.

And in terms of raw power, Elior was overwhelmingly superior.

Worse yet for Blackbeard — his ability to negate Devil Fruit powers didn't apply here. Elior wasn't a Devil Fruit user. His abilities came from something else entirely—something far beyond the reach of a Devil Fruit.

The result was brutal.

The colossal glaciers smashed into Blackbeard's abyss, shattering the darkness as if it were glass. A follow-up blow hurled Blackbeard dozens of meters through the air. His bones cracked and splintered audibly. Blood poured from every orifice, staining him like he'd been dragged through a slaughterhouse.

His body crashed into the prison floor, unmoving, barely breathing. Every ounce of strength had been crushed out of him. He didn't even have the energy left to scream.

Blackbeard... had been utterly, completely defeated.

Elior turned, raised his fist, and smashed it into the glacier—blasting a clear path through the ice.

"Finish the rest" he ordered coldly. "The Blackbeard Pirates... are no more."

A sadistic grin stretched across Shiryu's face as chaos erupted behind him. The remaining members of the Blackbeard Pirates — Burgess, Augur, and the rest — felt their hearts seize in terror.

He's serious.

BOOM!

Fighting exploded around them as the slaughter began.

Elior didn't care. He knew that Bullet and the others could handle Blackbeard's pathetic remnants without issue.

His attention was elsewhere now.

With slow, deliberate steps, Elior approached the broken body of Blackbeard — ready to deliver the final, merciless blow.