The three young men, still in the prime of their youth and burning with ambition, had taken every restless emotion in their hearts—their worries about the outside world, their longing for lost companions, and everything else they had been unable to resolve—and turned it all into fuel for their training.
They understood one thing clearly.
In a world filled with both danger and opportunity, they first had to overcome the seemingly insurmountable mountain standing before them.
Only then would they possess the strength—and the right—to face the vast sea outside, a sea that had already changed beyond recognition.
That was where their dreams truly waited.
That was where they would prove themselves.
...
Marineford.
The once-unshakable military fortress had only just suffered a devastating defeat.
The horrors of that battle still seemed fresh enough to touch, as though smoke and blood still lingered in the air.
Yet instead of collapsing beneath grief and humiliation, Marine Headquarters had begun to change.
A grim, almost tragic tension now filled the island.
It was the atmosphere of a fortress preparing for another storm before it had even recovered from the last one.
The shame of defeat burned like a whip across the hearts of every Marine.
It hurt.
It enraged them.
And it awakened something stubborn that refused to remain buried.
At the harbor, engineering crews worked around the clock to repair damaged warships and shattered defensive positions.
Welding torches showered sparks into the darkness.
Hammers rang against steel.
Orders and shouted responses echoed across the docks.
The noise merged into a relentless rhythm, almost like war drums announcing that another battle was coming.
Elsewhere, the training grounds had become even more intense.
Shouts thundered across the open fields.
Whatever laziness might once have existed in ordinary drills had vanished completely.
The Marines were no longer training for routine exercises.
They were preparing for survival.
Soldiers charged through obstacle courses while carrying heavy modified rifles.
Simulated explosions erupted around them.
Mud splattered across their uniforms.
Sweat poured down their faces.
Still, no one stopped.
Every man and woman pushed forward with the same thought burning in their minds.
They had already lost once.
They could not afford to lose again.
Officers roared instructions from the sidelines.
"Faster!"
"Move faster!"
"Do you think the enemy is going to wait patiently while you get into formation?!"
"Every second you waste on the battlefield can get someone killed!"
Another officer's voice followed immediately.
"Observation Haki!"
"Expand your awareness!"
"Feel every attack around you!"
"This isn't some classroom exercise—it's something that decides whether you live or die!"
"If you don't want to get killed out there, then train until using it becomes as natural as breathing!"
Then came another shout.
"Armament Haki!"
"Use it!"
"Again!"
"Keep practicing until you awaken it!"
The officers' expressions were grim.
"Imagine a blade coming for your neck every single second!"
"No carelessness!"
"No hoping you'll somehow get lucky!"
"If you want to survive on the edge between life and death, then make this power part of your body!"
Even wounded Marines appeared around the edges of the training grounds.
Some were still covered in bandages.
Their injuries had not fully healed.
Yet they gritted their teeth and performed rehabilitation drills despite the pain.
Others gathered around fellow soldiers and passed on everything they had learned from fighting the Eternal Divine Kingdom and the Revolutionary Army.
They spoke openly about mistakes.
About ambushes.
About enemy tactics.
About the moments when hesitation had nearly killed them.
Their hard-earned experience was being absorbed by anyone willing to listen.
The air smelled of sweat.
Blood.
Oil.
And something harder than all of them—
determination.
The surviving Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, and Commodores were no exception.
Many had discarded their formal coats and stepped onto the training grounds personally.
Some corrected soldiers' movements.
Others sparred directly with them.
Again and again, officers used their own bodies to demonstrate what real combat demanded.
Because they all understood the same thing.
The public execution seven days from now would not pass quietly.
There would be no peaceful ceremony.
It would become a vortex of blood and violence.
A battlefield waiting to explode.
And at the same time—
it might be the Marines' only chance to reclaim even a fraction of their shattered dignity.
No formal order was needed.
An unspoken understanding had already spread throughout Marineford.
War was coming.
Every Marine tightened their grip on their weapon.
Every officer looked toward the future with grim resolve.
This time—
they absolutely could not lose.
...
Every Marine at Marineford carried the same fierce conviction in their heart.
Even if they had to bleed until there was nothing left—
even if their lives were extinguished on this battlefield—
they would hold Marine Headquarters.
They would defend this sacred stronghold like an iron wall and protect whatever dignity remained behind the word Justice.
The emotions that had been suppressed since their crushing defeat finally erupted into an unprecedented frenzy of training.
Across the training grounds, sweat poured like rain.
Every punch and every kick was thrown with the desperation of someone preparing for a final battle.
In the strength-training areas, massive barbells crashed against the ground with deafening booms.
On simulated battlefields, soldiers charged through smoke and explosions with unwavering eyes.
This was the Marines' answer to the storm they knew was coming.
If another war was inevitable, then they would make themselves as ready as humanly possible.
Throughout Marineford, the entire fortress was consumed by preparations.
And then—
without warning, the clear sky darkened.
It was not the shadow of ordinary clouds.
Something enormous had blocked out the sun.
A vast darkness swept across Marineford, covering the fortress like a black curtain.
Within that shadow, flashes of cold blue-green scales reflected the sunlight.
The thunderous cries from the training grounds stopped.
Construction noise from the harbor vanished.
For one strange moment, all of Marineford seemed to fall silent.
New recruits froze where they stood.
Veteran Marines stopped mid-motion.
Slowly, almost everyone raised their heads.
And what they saw made their blood run cold.
A colossal azure dragon stretched across the sky.
Its body exceeded three hundred meters in length, winding through the air like an enormous mountain range brought to life.
The creature circled lazily above Marineford, yet even that casual movement carried an overwhelming sense of dominance.
Its monstrous head rose high above the fortress.
Two enormous eyes burned like molten fire as they looked down upon the Marines below.
The sheer violence and destructive intent radiating from that gaze seemed almost physical.
Just the dragon's presence made the air feel heavier.
Breathing became difficult.
The pressure alone seemed capable of crushing weaker wills.
"A… dragon!"
Someone finally screamed.
The stunned silence shattered.
"That's—!"
"Kaido of the Beasts!!!"
The name spread across the harbor like wildfire.
"What the hell?!"
"He came straight here?!"
"How dare he show up over Marineford like this?!"
Fear, anger, and disbelief erupted all at once.
For the Marines, that enormous dragon form was already the stuff of nightmares.
Many of them had witnessed firsthand what monsters from the Eternal Divine Kingdom were capable of.
Some began trembling before the battle had even started.
But several experienced officers quickly noticed something even worse.
There was someone standing on Kaido's back.
A broad, muscular figure remained perfectly steady atop the enormous dragon as it hovered over Marineford.
Even from a distance, the oppressive aura surrounding him was unmistakable.
Douglas Bullet.
His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were cold and predatory as he looked down at Marine Headquarters.
Two monsters who stood at the very highest level of the sea had arrived together.
Kaido of the Beasts.
Douglas Bullet.
And they had not bothered hiding their approach.
They had simply flown straight over Marineford and positioned themselves above the Marines' heads as though the entire fortress beneath them were little more than prey waiting to be crushed.
The pressure across Marineford rose to an entirely new level.
Then—
"WORORORORORORO!!!"
Kaido's thunderous laughter exploded across the sky.
It rolled down over Marineford like an avalanche.
The sound alone hammered against the ears of countless Marines, leaving weaker soldiers pale and sweating.
Some staggered beneath the sheer pressure carried in that laugh.
Kaido lowered his massive head.
"Hmph!"
His booming voice echoed across the entire fortress.
"You Marine brats!"
His tone was overflowing with contempt.
"I heard you're planning some big public execution?"
Kaido's enormous jaws twisted into a vicious grin.
"What a joke!"
His eyes gleamed with savage excitement.
"So I figured I'd come over first…"
"…and warm the place up for you!"