Hancock had a rotten temper, but there was no questioning her strength.
Cavendish's swordsmanship was exceptional, and Urouge possessed astonishing strength that only grew the longer he fought.
Surely these few could not have problems as well, right?
If even they had issues, then it would be far too pathetic and laughable. The Warlord system, in which the World Government had placed such high hopes, would exist in name only—
Sengoku's thoughts came to an abrupt halt there.
"What is that?"
Sengoku saw Cavendish and Urouge, who had received his orders but had yet to act, tear open two identical scroll-like objects at some unknown point.
Brilliant halos enveloped their bodies, as though something was being prepared.
But—
There was nothing like this in either of their intelligence records!
"Don't tell me…"
Sengoku's eyes widened as another ominous guess surged up in his heart.
In the next second, his guess turned into a spike in blood pressure!
Urouge was the first to vanish within the dazzling radiance. Immediately after, Cavendish waved his hand with great courtesy.
"Bye-bye!"
The moment his voice fell, he vanished as well.
Whether they were Marines, pirates, or reporters, everyone who witnessed this scene felt a suffocating wave of confusion at that instant.
Where am I?
What just happened?
Why are there only two Warlords left?!
"Hey, hey… th-this is a major incident!"
"The Warlords ran away?"
"Idiot! That was a planned escape! They're working together!"
On the Sabaody Archipelago, the reporters instantly realized that this was huge news.
As if guided by the telepathy of fellow professionals, the broadcast screen's perspective rapidly zoomed in on the execution platform.
There, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood with his mouth wide open, his expression a mix of fury and disbelief. His eyes, blazing with rage, looked as though they might bulge out of their sockets.
Yes.
Even Sengoku the Buddha, the resourceful general who was always calm and composed, could not hold it together anymore.
No one could have predicted such a sudden betrayal. It was even collective in nature, and worst of all, it had happened under the eyes of the entire world!
"Calm down! There's still room to recover…"
Sengoku's gaze swiftly shifted toward the final two.
"An unexpected scene…"
Mihawk furrowed his brow and tightened his grip on the black blade Yoru, but he did not move.
Hancock's elegant brows creased slightly, but she also made no move.
That made Sengoku let out a breath of relief.
However, after such a vile incident erupted so abruptly, its impact caused the fighting spirit of the Marines present to instantly sink.
By contrast, the morale of the Whitebeard Pirates surged.
They did not understand what had just happened, but there was no way they would let an advantage go to waste!
"Comrades! Straight ahead!"
The battlefield instantly entered a white-hot state. The Whitebeard Pirates who had landed on the ice pushed forward with all their strength, forcing more Marines to enter the field.
Even so, the Navy's first defensive line collapsed at an astonishing speed.
Mihawk was only interested in the strong. Hancock simply did not move. Strangely, it was difficult for anyone to even notice her presence.
Jozu, who had already entered the field, seized the opportunity.
Amid a tremendous roar, he smashed his fist into the vast sheet of ice and, just as in the original events, forcibly tore the frozen ground apart.
He pulled out a massive block of ice as large as a small mountain, then hurled it viciously toward the Navy's formation.
The enormous shadow threw the Marines into panic. Even the giant Vice Admirals were not confident they could receive this blow.
At the same time, the far end of the ice trembled once more. A massive black shadow strode across the sea at shocking speed.
The descendant of Continent-Puller Oars—Oz Jr.—had arrived!
He was a monster-class giant.
Giants were usually only around a dozen meters tall, and even the Navy's giant Vice Admirals were no different.
Yet Oz Jr. was twice their size!
The situation deteriorated almost instantly into a terrible state. With the combat power of the Warlords missing, the first defensive line no longer had any ability to mount a strong blockade.
At this moment, only one phrase surfaced in the minds of the Navy's upper ranks—
Strategic failure!
A disastrous situation single-handedly caused by Demon Ren!
"Ren!"
Who knew how many Marines were cursing the defecting Ren and the others at that moment?
But no amount of cursing could change the situation.
The colossal block of ice thrown through the air let out a mournful howl. Its terrifying momentum was like a collapsing mountain.
The massive giant coming from afar did not stop. He reached out and grabbed a large warship outside the bay!
It seemed he intended to hurl it into the battlefield inside the bay like a toy.
Observation Haki swept across the field, and the Navy's combat forces were forced to move first.
"Oh my, this is troublesome."
Kizaru looked toward Akainu, ignoring the massive ice block that blotted out the sunlight.
"I'll leave this to you."
Without waiting for Akainu's reply, he turned into light and vanished, arriving on the frontal battlefield in an instant.
As he passed over the mountain-like block of ice, his entire body transformed into a huge sphere of light in the blink of an eye. Then countless dazzling light bullets appeared within it and shot outward.
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"
The Whitebeard Pirates' charge was cut off, but in the next instant, a streak of blue flame shot over.
Marco, transformed into a phoenix, blocked the clustered barrage of light bullets and forcibly endured the attack that should have dealt severe damage to the team.
The two sides fell into a deadlock, and barely more than ten seconds had passed.
"One after another, abandoning their posts."
Akainu rose with an icy expression. His arm and half his body turned into bubbling magma.
He looked at the mountain of ice plummeting rapidly toward the ground. Even the giant Vice Admirals seemed far less imposing before that thing.
But—
To him, that was all it was!
The surrounding temperature rose sharply, scorching hot as if everyone had been placed beside a volcano.
Akainu swung his fist fiercely. The magma that his arm had become instantly swelled and extended, transforming into a gigantic molten fist.
It was not merely a simple Devil Fruit attack, but the refined technique of someone who had delved deeply into this path.
The moment the giant magma fist struck the mountain-sized block of ice, it released a tremendous amount of heat and energy like a volcanic eruption.
In just a few seconds, it pierced through, shattered, and completely vaporized the ice mountain!
Its remaining force did not diminish, either. It continued to erupt and formed countless volcanic magma bombs that rained down onto the battlefield.
Each volcanic bomb possessed enough power to easily destroy a large whale-headed warship!
High in the sky, the deadlock between Kizaru and the phoenix continued. Perhaps realizing that Akainu had moved, Borsalino chose to use his offensive to keep Marco pinned down.
"The Admirals are all making their moves!"
The previously panicked Marines now stared with burning eyes at the volcanic bombs flying across the sky toward the pirates' side.
They hoped this terrifyingly powerful move would deliver a devastating blow to the Whitebeard Pirates.
However… good fortune would not favor them.
Ordinary commanders could not stop an Admiral-class attack, but there was still one man waiting on the battlefield at this moment.
Whitebeard—Edward Newgate!
"Gurararara! Starting fires this exaggerated, huh? But the heat still isn't enough.
"Go light candles on a birthday cake, brat!"
Whitebeard gave a ferocious laugh, suddenly stretched out one hand, and violently tugged at the atmosphere.
White waves erupted. Tyrannical quake force continuously transmitted and surged outward. The sky shook, then tore apart with a shrill screech!
The exaggerated visual effect left countless people dumbstruck.
Countless volcanic bombs were torn apart by the quake force, turning into even smaller masses of magma. Yet the wildly violent firepower within them still remained. The moment they made contact, they would release another round of fiery explosions.
However, Whitebeard immediately followed up with a punch to the atmosphere, raising a terrifying shock wave that blasted those magma bombs back toward the Navy's side!
"This old bastard… I can't see even the slightest bit of weakness in him."
Akainu's expression darkened, but he did not act to stop them. A more suitable person had already returned.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
A wave of cold air released from long range swept across the sky, freezing those magma bombs.
Then the Marine Vice Admirals moved to handle them. The giant Vice Admirals also took action, barely managing to deal with this crisis.
Even so, quite a few Marines were still injured by the cooled, hardened projectiles.
And during this opening, Oz Jr. had already broken through the defenses outside the bay and entered the inner bay to launch his offensive.
He drew the enormous sword he carried with him. With only a casual swing and slash, he swept away large numbers of Marines.
The overwhelming difference in weight and size was simply not something these elites from the Four Blues could make up for with Haki.
Thus, the giant Vice Admirals had no choice but to enter the field as well, attempting to block Oz Jr.'s advance.
"This is really exaggerated. Headquarters' calculations were completely wrong."
That voice sounded from the execution platform.
Kuzan, who had originally gone off in pursuit of Ren, looked at Whitebeard in the distance, who was laughing coldly, and his heart grew heavier and heavier.
"Yeah. Completely wrong. I don't know why, but Whitebeard's strength hasn't declined at all… No, I should say he's even stronger than before.
"Three of the newly added Warlords have defected. It looks like they're together, but we have no idea when they ever made contact.
"Maybe starting from Crocodile, there was already a conspiracy being laid out…"
Sengoku stopped digging into the mistakes there. He pursed his lips, then asked, "Where is that bastard?"
"Couldn't keep him."
Kuzan recalled the experience of chasing after him.
Rather than calling it a chase, it was more accurate to say that man had toyed with him, deliberately leaving him an opportunity to tempt him into pursuing.
Yet that guy had not been his main body at all!
"The same as back then?
"Sure enough, we should never have given him any chance from the very beginning. If we had directly sent an Admiral back then… forget it.
"A person like that will become an even more terrifying calamity in the future."
Sengoku's heart grew heavier and heavier. It was not only because the present situation had deteriorated so badly, but also because of an unconscious worry about the future.
Before the outcome of this war had even been decided, a major enemy was already visibly taking shape in the future.
No matter what, the other party would inevitably stand on the opposing side.
A terrifying opponent who was nineteen years old, could rival a Yonko, had not yet truly reached his peak, and yet could already stir the situation of the seas!
The pressure he brought Sengoku was even greater than the war before his eyes!
Kuzan remained silent. In truth, he did not think they would have been able to strangle Ren in the cradle even if they had targeted him earlier.
A prophet who could predict the future—how could someone like that be killed just by being targeted?
The slightest movement would probably appear in his foresight, wouldn't it?
Besides, at Mock Town, Kuzan had personally gone after him. Had he not still been unable to do anything to Ren, only able to watch helplessly as the other party left?
Before Mock Town… it would also have been impossible for the Navy to truly pay attention to a person like Ren and have an Admiral on standby around the clock just to target him.
In the end, Kuzan could not imagine under what circumstances Ren could be killed.
(End of Chapter)