"Where did they come from?"
According to the reports, the Gate of Justice had never opened. In theory, it should have been impossible for any outside vessel to cross the Tarai Current and enter the waters before Marine Headquarters.
Did they come underwater? Or through some Devil Fruit ability... Forget it. It doesn't make much difference. In fact, this might be even better.
On the execution platform, Sengoku frowned as he made his guess, then immediately barked a warning.
"All units, prepare for battle!"
His declaration of war was transmitted through Den Den Mushi to every corner of Marineford.
Clatter!
The Marines all began making preparations. The gunners were the first to adjust the direction of the coastal cannons.
At the same time, the Marine observers began confirming the identities of the invading enemies one by one.
"Bohemian Knight Doma, Thunder Lord McGuy, Ice Witch Whitey Bay, Great Whirlpool Spider Squard, the Decalvan Brothers..."
"These are all outstanding figures! Every one of them is a captain whose name resounds throughout the New World!"
"...A total of forty-three pirate ships! But there's still no sign of Whitebeard or his commanders!"
Through the pirate flags on the sails and the distinctive decorations of each ship, the Marine side identified the origins of every vessel.
Without exception, they were all pirate crews under Whitebeard's command.
And yet, they still could not see any trace of the Whitebeard Pirates' main crew.
"We've come to save you, Ace!"
"Can anyone see little brother Ace?"
"He's on the execution platform! Those damn Marines!"
On every ship in the pirate grand fleet, the captains whose names resounded throughout the New World raised their eyes toward the distant execution platform.
Naturally, they saw the Marines' formation.
Over one hundred thousand elite Marines, an uncountable amount of firepower, eight giant vice admirals, multiple Marine vice admirals, the Three Admirals, the Marine Hero Garp, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
It was a suffocating lineup, and it was also the true foundation of the Marines as a hegemonic force.
However, none of those captains, nor any of the crewmen aboard their ships, showed the slightest fear. Instead, seeing Ace in such a miserable state only filled their faces with anger.
The spirit of New World pirates was evident at a glance!
With the enemy grand fleet not yet within bombardment range, and with the Whitebeard Pirates themselves still absent, the Marines' firepower did not open fire.
Instead, the Marine fleet surrounding them began to move, clearly intending to encircle them from both sides and solve the problem through concentrated firepower.
However, Sengoku's attention remained fixed on the most critical issue.
"Hurry up and confirm Whitebeard's location!"
The observers were also searching, but for a time, they found nothing.
Underwater...
Ren's eyes lowered slightly as he thoughtfully realized something.
A mistake from the Resourceful General? No, it would be more accurate to call it an opening he deliberately left behind, wouldn't it? After all, the original grand strategy was to shut the door and beat the dog... Interesting.
At that moment, a faint bubbling sound came from beneath the sea.
"Gurgle..."
"Hm?"
The sound of bubbles was still deep below the sea, but the Three Admirals on the high platform almost simultaneously caught the movement.
Sengoku on the execution platform, as well as the vice admirals below who were skilled in Observation Haki, also sensed the disturbance coming from beneath the water.
"The seabed..."
Mihawk, Ren, and the others with keen Observation Haki also noticed the anomaly.
"Don't tell me... No way..."
Sengoku looked down at the still-calm surface of the harbor and broke out in a cold sweat.
Below the execution platform, Garp and Tsuru looked toward the sea at the same time.
"They really came from an unexpected place."
"Little Tsuru, we made a mistake in our formation."
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Several seconds later, the bubbles rising from the depths of the sea surged up to the surface, producing a clear sound.
"Huh? That sound..."
"It's inside the harbor!"
Most of the Marines belatedly turned toward the water inside the harbor, only to see a vast shadow emerging from beneath the surface.
"Don't tell me... they're coming from underwater..."
Looking at the increasingly clear shadow beneath the surface, and at the sea growing more turbulent by the moment, the Marines were stunned.
They could only watch helplessly as the waves grew fiercer, and as more and more bubbles swelled and burst, scattering fine sprays of water.
Then, when it reached a certain limit, the sea suddenly bulged upward into a towering wave.
Boom!
A massive whale-headed ship leapt out from the waves and landed in the waters facing the plaza and execution platform.
Immediately afterward came the second, the third, and the fourth!
Four enormous whale-headed ships in total, their bows facing different directions, but all uniformly aimed toward the Marines, landed steadily on the surface of the harbor.
The Whitebeard Pirates, appearing within the harbor in a completely unexpected manner, forced their way into everyone's sight.
Pop!
As the ships burst out of the sea, the bubble coating covering their hulls shattered.
It made every witness clearly realize how they had entered.
Bubble coating technology!
"They actually used that method?"
The Marine side was utterly shocked. At the same time, they realized they could no longer keep the enemy outside and slowly wear them down.
"First Division Commander Marco... Third Division Commander... Fourteenth Division Commander... They're all here."
"Where's Whitebeard?"
As the Marines examined the great ships, the sound of metal striking rang out from the whale-headed ship facing the execution platform.
Whitebeard appeared with Murakumogiri in hand, a war cloak draped over his shoulders. He stood within everyone's field of vision and looked toward the familiar face on the execution platform.
"Gurarara... Sengoku, it's been decades since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Whitebeard!"
Sengoku's expression grew grave.
"My dear son is all right, I hope?"
"I didn't expect you to invade this close."
Sengoku spoke with alarm.
"Gurararara, don't make that kind of joke, Sengoku."
Whitebeard mocked him. "I don't believe that you, the Resourceful General, knew nothing at all. This distance is actually more advantageous for you, isn't it?"
"..."
Sengoku did not answer. His expression quickly turned cold.
How much of your former strength do you still possess now? With that scarred and battered body, how many times can you still strike?
If you use too much force, you may indeed damage the Marines, but Ace, whose abilities are sealed by Seastone, will also die on the spot.
If you use too little force, then this becomes a battle of attrition!
"Gurararara, as boring as ever."
Whitebeard laughed loudly, planted Murakumogiri into the deck, and stretched out both hands, crossing them before his chest.
"Wait for me a little longer, Ace!"
"It's coming!"
"An attack from the World's Strongest Man!"
"Stay alert!"
"Are the cannons turned yet?!"
The Marines watched with extreme vigilance, while preparing to let the cannons speak first.
But then—
An unexpected scene occurred.
Whitebeard, his arms crossed, did not attack immediately. Instead, Conqueror's Haki surged from his body like rising smoke.
Together with Armament Haki, it coiled around his fists. Then he suddenly moved, punching the air on both sides!
Wrong!
Sengoku's pupils shrank, and in an instant, he smelled something terribly wrong.
However, it was already too late.
Crack, creak, creak—!
Where his fists landed, irregular streaks of light instantly appeared.
In everyone's eyes, the atmosphere itself seemed to fill with cracks like a mirror, before violently shattering!
A terrifying Conqueror's Haki Infusion strike swept across both sides of the bay in the form of a quake shockwave in an instant!
The sky and sea shook. The land foundations cracked open in an instant, covered in dense spiderweb fractures. At the same time, the Marines within the attack's range, along with the cannon platforms and even the large warships around the island's perimeter, were torn apart by this single blow!
Boom!
The roaring explosion was the chain detonation of ammunition depots. Yet even the flames soaring into the sky could not hide the pale faces of the Marines.
It was equivalent to one-third of Marineford's firepower.
The cannon group best positioned to strike inside the bay had been completely erased by that one attack!
"It's not over yet!"
Whitebeard laughed wildly and once again swung both fists, hammering the air on his left and right. The atmosphere once more filled with cracks, then erupted with the power of tremors.
The seawater near the great ships rose under the vibration, spreading toward the distant sea like a chain reaction!
Immediately afterward, from both sides outside the crescent-shaped harbor came another deafening, muffled roar like an explosion.
Rumble!
That was not an explosion.
It was the roar produced by a violent change in the sea!
Before the impact of the previous strike had even faded, the Marines who had barely managed to steady themselves involuntarily looked toward the source of the sound.
Then they revealed expressions of disbelief.
Under the influence of the tremor force, the sea outside the harbor suddenly swelled upward into a towering, mountain-like tsunami!
"Hm?"
"Waaah!"
The Marines closest to the giant wave instantly panicked in terror.
However, the enormous wave, hundreds of meters tall, did not crash down on them. Instead, it surged outward toward the open sea, soon disappearing from everyone's sight.
"What's going on...?"
The Marines, still shaken, could only stare blankly at Whitebeard, who remained in a punching stance at the bow of the Moby Dick.
Slowly, Whitebeard withdrew his fists and looked coldly at Sengoku.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Seaquake..."
Sengoku clenched his fists, his gaze icy as he responded to Whitebeard's provocation.
He could see the water level inside the harbor dropping wildly. He understood perfectly that this was only the beginning!
The Marines below looked at one another, never having expected that the second strike, which seemed just as terrifying, would settle down so calmly.
Could it be... that Whitebeard had already declined to his absolute limit?
However, unlike these inexperienced Marines, Sengoku, Garp, and the Three Admirals all changed expression.
"That power... twice in a row..."
Sengoku could not help rubbing his eyes, almost wondering if he had seen it wrong.
We are all old. So why has my strength declined while yours has gotten stronger instead!?
On what grounds!?
He subconsciously looked toward the people below the execution platform.
"This scale... No. This is different. Wrong. Everything is wrong."
Cold sweat appeared on Tsuru's forehead, and her face turned deathly pale as she said, "He's stronger than before!?
"That's impossible! No one can defy the laws of humanity. He should already be approaching his limit! And we haven't received any reports of a special Devil Fruit user either..."
"Hahahaha, Little Tsuru, enough. Don't doubt yourself."
After his initial shock, Garp was instead the first to adjust his mindset. He laughed loudly and said, "There's nothing in this world that can be perfectly grasped.
"But now things have really become troublesome."
In front of the two of them, Kuzan, seated on his chair, moved his ears slightly. Silently, he interlaced his fingers before his chest.
Ren, huh?
For some reason, the first person he thought of was that man who represented the word "impossible."
There was no doubt about it.
That man had definitely made his move in this war.
(End of Chapter)