"Watch out! Whitebeard is making his move!!"
"Fall back and defend the execution platform!!"
"What terrifying power...!!"
The massive commotion drew the attention of everyone on the battlefield. The moment Whitebeard's figure appeared, all of Marineford began to boil over.
On the execution platform, Sengoku narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold glint flashing within them.
If it were merely about executing Ace, they could have easily done it half a month ago. There was absolutely no need to publicly announce his identity, much less give the Whitebeard Pirates time to react.
The only reason they announced the news a week in advance was to give Whitebeard ample time to walk right into their trap.
The New World had been divided and ruled by the Four Emperors for years, a situation the Marines' forces had never been able to intervene in.
Among them, Red-Haired, Kaido, and Linlin were all in their prime. Although Whitebeard was growing older, he was intentionally or unintentionally grooming Ace to be his successor.
Once Ace fully matured, coupled with the support of experts like Marco, the Marines' hopes of establishing a foothold in the New World would be delayed indefinitely.
To break this stalemate, neither Ace nor Whitebeard could be allowed to leave here alive today!
Sengoku turned his head toward the base of the execution platform, locking eyes with Staff Officer Tsuru, and said in a deep voice,
"Tsuru, prepare to initiate the plan."
"Is it time? Understood."
Staff Officer Tsuru gave a faint nod in response, turning her gaze back to the battlefield.
Meanwhile, within the wall bordering the plaza and the bay.
"Cough! Cough, cough—!!"
Allen deactivated his dragon form. He lay in a pile of rubble with a deathly pale face, clutching his chest as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He felt as though his internal organs were churning violently in his stomach.
With the massive body of his dragon form, he had taken almost the entirety of the wide-range attack triggered by Whitebeard's air quake. That single strike had nearly cost him half his life.
"Cough! I was supposed to just slack off, but it seems I ended up drawing a bit too much attention."
Allen sighed up at the sky, shifting his gaze toward the nearby battlefield.
After Whitebeard personally descended onto the battlefield, a massive number of Marine officers continuously converged on his position, charging forward in waves to besiege him.
However, Whitebeard swung his massive naginata with blinding speed. Every chop and sweeping strike carried the terrifying tremor power.
Countless Marine officers were blasted back in droves by that berserk power the moment they charged in. Even Vice Admiral-level experts fared no better.
"How absurd. No wonder Teach is so obsessed with getting his hands on Whitebeard's power."
Allen stretched his body, struggling to his feet from the pile of rubble, and patted the dust off his clothes.
'I've recovered enough. Next up...'
Sweeping his gaze across the battlefield, Allen turned and walked deeper into the plaza.
'I'm done playing around. I'll find a place to rest up and wait for Teach to show his face so I can ambush him.'
*Rumble—!*
The moment he stepped away, a sudden commotion erupted behind him, causing the entire plaza to tremble violently.
Allen glanced back, only to see rectangular iron walls slowly rising, breaking through the ice where the crescent-shaped bay met the plaza walls.
"What's happening?!"
"Steel walls? Oh no! We're being boxed in!"
*Boom!!*
"It's no use! They're too tough, we can't break through at all!"
The pirates on the battlefield shouted in panic. Some tried to bombard the encircling walls with shoulder-mounted cannons, but it was completely futile. They couldn't even leave a scratch.
Right at that moment.
On both sides of the battlefield, countless Pacifistas leaped out from behind the plaza.
"Hey, look! What are those?!"
"Tyrant Kuma! Why are there so many of him?!"
Seeing this, the pirates in the bay completely panicked.
In contrast, the Marines abandoned their previous courageous offensive, shifting to a fighting retreat back onto the plaza.
"How ruthless, Sengoku..."
Whitebeard's eyes darkened. He looked up at the execution platform, locking eyes with Sengoku.
'It seems an unimaginable price will have to be paid in today's war.'
"Everyone!!"
*Bang!*
Whitebeard gripped his naginata and slammed the butt of it heavily into the ground, roaring at the top of his lungs,
"Break through with everything you have! Charge into the plaza with me!!"
"Uoohh!!!"
"Kill them!!!"
The deafening roars shook the heavens as the battle intent of all the pirates reached a fever pitch.
Because the sea was frozen, the rising speed of the encircling walls was hindered, giving the pirates a brief window to break through.
The dire situation didn't cause the pirates to lose their footing; instead, it ignited their will to survive. The intensity of the slaughter within the bay reached its absolute peak.
In an instant, Pacifista lasers filled the sky, while Whitebeard's tremor powers wreaked absolute havoc across the ice.
Powerful commanders like Marco and Jozu went all out, engaging Kizaru and Aokiji to buy time for the others.
Meanwhile, on the plaza, the Straw Hat kid and Jinbe's group, acting as the vanguard and covered by several division commanders, were steadily closing in on the execution platform.
"I'll send you up, Luffy! Don't worry about anything else, leave the ground to us!"
Seeing that they were close enough to the execution platform, Jinbe hurriedly shouted.
Running forward, Luffy glanced back and immediately nodded in understanding.
"Got it! I'm counting on you, Jinbe!"
Luffy replied quickly, leaping lightly into the air and tucking his legs in.
Jinbe's eyes darkened. He brought his fingers together, raised his palm, and drew his arm back. The moisture in the air seemed to gather toward his palm.
"Fish-Man Karate: Water Heart Cannon!!"
Jinbe roared deeply, pressing his palms against the soles of Luffy's feet and shoving violently!
*Bang!!*
The power in his palms erupted instantly. Amidst splashing water droplets, Luffy was launched toward the execution platform like a cannonball!
"Don't even think about passing, Straw Hat kid!"
Seeing this, the nearest Onigumo shouted furiously. He leaped into the air with several officers, using Moonwalk to rush in from all directions to intercept him.
"I won't let you stop Straw Hat-boy, Iva!"
A terrifying, heavily made-up giant face suddenly appeared. Ivankov grinned, baring his teeth, and blinked his exaggeratedly long-lashed eyes in rapid succession!
*Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!*
"Okama King Ivankov!"
Under the Marines' astonished gazes, waves of shockwaves erupted out of thin air, striking their bodies and blasting them out of the sky.
Onigumo, wielding several long swords with his hands and animated hair, hastily crossed his blades to block the attack, but he was still knocked back.
"A Haki shockwave? Damn Okama."
Landing back on the ground, Onigumo gritted his teeth and glared furiously at Ivankov.
With the wave of obstacles cleared, Luffy flew unimpeded over the heads of countless Marines.
Whitebeard paused his movements. At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn over. Holding their breath, they fixed their gazes tightly on Luffy.
"Ace!!"
"Luffy...!"
Ace's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape. He watched Luffy's rapidly approaching figure, his eyes filled with disbelief.
*Thud!!*
With a determined look in his eyes, Luffy planted his feet heavily, successfully landing on the execution platform!