The enormous Marine fleet sat motionless upon the sea like a vast city of steel, swallowed by a suffocating silence.
Wave after wave rolled in and struck the hulls with a dull, monotonous rhythm, as though even nature were holding its breath while watching the storm about to erupt.
Flags snapped violently in the powerful sea wind, each movement seeming to foretell the brutality of the coming battle.
Every soldier, every officer, and even the battle-hardened Admirals stood frozen in total concentration.
Their hands tightened around their weapons until their knuckles turned white and veins rose across their skin.
Countless eyes burned with determination as they stared at the mysterious kingdom suspended in the distance.
Tension, anticipation, and grim resolve mingled within those gazes, as though they meant to pierce straight through the floating land.
Everyone waited silently for an answer.
Time seemed to stop, and the air grew so heavy with the threat of imminent war that breathing itself became difficult.
They all understood that this operation was anything but ordinary.
After careful planning and deliberation, the Marines had chosen to initiate an ultimate battle that would decide the fate of the world.
There could be no room for error.
After several unbearable moments of silence, thunderous laughter suddenly erupted from the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
It rolled across the open sea like a storm, carrying boundless ridicule and contempt.
"Gurararara! You Marine brats are in quite a hurry to throw your lives away!"
The unmistakable laugh sounded both like a challenge and a declaration of absolute confidence.
A towering figure wrapped in brilliant lightning shot across the sky like a meteor and crashed down at the edge of the foremost floating island with world-shaking force.
Dust exploded into the air, and blinding light swept across the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, the legendary Edward Newgate stood proudly before them.
Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri into the ground, sending sparks scattering as though formally declaring war on the Marines.
White rings of power from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit rippled constantly around his body like surging waves of energy.
Merely standing there, he resembled an insurmountable mountain, exerting crushing pressure upon everyone before him.
Suppressed gasps immediately spread through the Marine ranks.
Fear appeared across the faces of the soldiers, many of whom had never stood before an enemy so overwhelmingly powerful.
The officers frowned deeply, concern filling their eyes.
Before the Marines could recover from Whitebeard's arrival, the sky suddenly darkened.
A colossal azure dragon tore through the clouds and spiraled downward beneath a suffocating pressure.
As it approached the ground, its enormous body rapidly contracted into Kaido's dragon-man form.
He landed heavily with Hassaikai resting across one shoulder, cracking the earth beneath his feet.
His dragon eyes swept over the Marine fleet, and a savage grin spread across his face.
"Wororororo! My fists were starting to itch! You bastards will make perfect targets for my new moves!"
Immediately afterward, a thundercloud raced toward the battlefield carrying an enormous figure whose sheer presence was no less oppressive.
Charlotte Linlin descended atop Zeus like an empress, Napoleon gripped in one hand.
"Mamamama! So many high-quality souls! They'll be perfect for expanding my Homie army!"
The three Emperors stood side by side at the very front of the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
Whitebeard towered like an ancient monument, his presence vast and unshakable.
Kaido's monstrous frame resembled a moving mountain, radiating a savage aura that chilled the blood.
Big Mom stood in her extravagant, unsettling attire, greed and cruelty gleaming in her eyes.
Three entirely different yet equally horrifying waves of Haki erupted from them.
They collided and merged like raging floods, then descended upon the Marine forces like three invisible mountains.
Gulp.
In the silence, the sound of numerous Marines swallowing nervously could be heard with painful clarity.
Their hands remained wrapped around their weapons, but sweat now covered their palms and ran down their fingers, soaking the grips.
Even several veteran Vice Admirals wore grave expressions, their brows tightly drawn as vigilance and worry filled their eyes.
"Whitebeard… the man once known as the Strongest Man in the World…"
A young Marine whispered with a trembling voice, terror and awe filling his eyes.
"And Kaido… His defenses are supposed to be almost impossible to break, and his attacks can destroy everything in their path. Then there's Big Mom, with all her strange and brutal abilities.
"Three Emperors gathered in one place… This is a nightmare."
"Do you know how high Whitebeard's bounty is?" another soldier added, despair creeping into his voice. "It's even higher than the legendary Pirate King Roger's old record!
"That means the entire world has acknowledged how terrifying he is. We've never faced an enemy like this!"
"Can we… actually win this battle?"
The question escaped someone's lips and echoed through the ranks, resonating with the fear already growing inside countless hearts.
Panic spread silently through the fleet like a disease.
Others hurriedly tried to restore morale.
"Enough! Our side isn't weak either! We have conviction, courage, and the banner of justice behind us! The people of the world are counting on us!
"As long as we stand together, we can defeat them!"
The words sounded forced and uncertain, but they were still an attempt to drive away the darkness settling over everyone.
Yet standing directly before the three monsters who represented the summit of the Great Pirate Era, the Marines could not escape the immense pressure hanging over them like storm clouds.
Their overall morale suffered a devastating blow.
Unease began creeping into eyes that had once been resolute, while hands clutching weapons started trembling without their owners realizing it.
The Marines had yet to recover from the shock of the three Emperors' overwhelming entrance when another unexpected change suddenly erupted.
...
A gray-brown tornado suddenly formed across the distant sky.
It roared like a monstrous beast and plunged from the heavens with enough force to sweep away everything in its path.
The shrieking wind sounded like thousands of ghosts screaming at once, while yellow sand danced wildly through the air as though an army of dust spirits had awakened.
In an instant, the clear blue waters before the Marine fleet were swallowed by a murky yellow haze.
Visibility dropped sharply, and the entire world seemed to descend into apocalyptic chaos.
The raging tornado eventually reached the foremost island of the Eternal Divine Kingdom and slowly dispersed.
As the dust settled, a tall, lean figure wearing a heavy fur coat appeared before everyone.
Sir Crocodile.
He stood motionless like a solitary statue, radiating an aura that sent chills through anyone who looked at him.
A cigar rested casually between his lips, thin trails of smoke curling around his cold features.
Strangely, not a single strand of his short gray-white hair had shifted despite the violent wind, as though time itself had stopped around him.
His dark, sinister eyes slowly swept across the enormous Marine fleet.
There was no emotion in them—only frozen contempt and unmistakable disgust.
"Hmph. The World Government's dogs still love making such an excessive spectacle of themselves. Disgusting."
Crocodile's voice was low and hoarse.
He did not speak loudly, yet every Marine standing at attention heard him clearly amid the tense silence.
Each word struck like a knife, filled with undisguised mockery and disdain.
The Marines' expressions darkened as anger quietly began burning within them.
Almost the instant Crocodile finished speaking, another far more violent figure crashed down beside him like a heavy artillery shell.
Boom!
The impact shattered the silence like a thunderclap.
A wave of force rippled through the surrounding air, and even the ground trembled faintly beneath it.
When the dust cleared, an enormous man built like a mountain stood beside Crocodile.
Douglas Bullet.
He resembled a moving hill, every step carrying tremendous weight as the ground groaned beneath his massive frame.
Bullet casually folded his arms across his chest.
His limbs were as thick as tree trunks, and his bronze skin gleamed beneath the sunlight. Dense muscles bulged underneath, each one seeming to contain enough strength to erupt at any moment.
His sharp gaze swept savagely across the Marine formation.
Open contempt and provocation filled his eyes.
An aggressive grin slowly spread across his face, as though he already considered everything before him firmly under his control.
"Heh. You brought quite a crowd."
His deep voice rolled across the battlefield like thunder, every syllable dismissing the Marines' numerical advantage.
"Let's hope there are enough of you to give me a proper warm-up!"
The confidence in his words bordered on arrogance.
To Bullet, the vast Marine forces before him seemed little more than insects waiting to be crushed.
However, when his hawk-like gaze swept across the six motionless Seraphim radiating their unnatural presence, one eyebrow rose slightly.
The reaction vanished almost immediately, but those watching closely still noticed it.
A trace of caution had appeared deep within his eyes.
The presence and strength displayed by those Seraphim clearly placed them far beyond ordinary opponents.
"Oh? Those white metal toys look a little interesting."
Bullet narrowed his eyes and studied them carefully, curiosity and vigilance mingling in his voice.
He unconsciously licked his lips, looking like a starving beast that had finally discovered worthwhile prey.
Excitement and fighting spirit burned in his gaze.