Whir... Clang... A series of mechanical grinding noises echoed through the bay, sending a ripple of unease through the ranks.
Seconds ticked by, but the sound remained the same—becoming more erratic, violent, and uncoordinated.
"What is going on!?" Sengoku bellowed. A cold premonition gripped his heart.
"Re... Report, Fleet Admiral! For some reason, the gears are jammed! Energy is leaking from the core, and we haven't identified the cause yet!" The soldier's voice lacked confidence. He knew this mechanism was the linchpin of the entire tactical plan. If the Siege Walls didn't rise... the entire strategy would fall apart.
Sengoku: "???"
VROOOM—!
At that moment, Whitebeard hoisted his blade once more, channeling his immense power. At such close range, the consequences of a direct strike would be catastrophic.
"Kizaru, go check the power room! Do it now!"
Left with no choice, Sengoku deployed an Admiral. Only Kizaru had the speed to rectify the situation if it were still controllable.
"On it," Kizaru replied, vanishing in a flash of golden light.
"Aokiji!"
"Understood!" Aokiji leaped into the air, manifesting an ice blade in each hand as he lunged toward Whitebeard.
"Marines, suppressive fire! Do not let a single pirate enter the plaza!" Sengoku commanded.
"YES, SIR!"
CLANG! Whitebeard's eyes flashed with a sharp intensity as he traded blows with the Admiral. He sensed something was off. If you don't want us in, then in we go!
CRACK! With a single swing, the shockwave shattered Aokiji's ice blades into a thousand shards.
"Aokiji, you brat..."
Aokiji lunged forward, grabbing Murakumogiri with both hands, causing frost to race up the polearm. Whitebeard narrowed his eyes, gathered the vibration energy, and let out a sudden, explosive burst.
SHATTER! The ice on the blade—and Aokiji himself—cracked and crumbled.
Whitebeard pulled his blade back with his right hand and delivered a devastating punch with his left. BOOM! The fist slammed into Aokiji's face, shattering the Admiral's elemental form into fragments. He followed up with a heavy downward slash.
The massive stone steps leading to the platform were leveled in a single strike. Aokiji slowly reformed, a trickle of blood leaking from his mouth as he looked at Whitebeard with a grim expression.
Suddenly, a beam of light pierced the sky, boring directly into Whitebeard's right shoulder.
"You've grown careless... Whitebeard..."
"POPS!"
The Whitebeard Pirates were horrified. To them, nothing was more painful than seeing their father wounded.
"Kizaru!" Marco shrieked, wings unfurling as he delivered a diving kick toward the Admiral.
Kizaru dissolved into light once more, reappearing on the execution platform beside Sengoku.
"It's no good. The power room was sabotaged by someone. Not only that, the machinery itself has been severely damaged. It can't be fixed anytime soon."
Even Kizaru's usual laid-back expression had soured. However, the fact that his sneak attack had landed on Whitebeard cheered him up slightly.
"I see..." Sengoku took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. On this battlefield, anyone could lose their head, but not him. "Akainu, take action!"
The order was issued immediately. Although the effect would be diminished without the Siege Walls, it was still necessary. The original plan was to trap the pirates in a cage and let Akainu incinerate them all. Relying on mechanical traps to minimize casualties had been naive.
Sengoku wondered how such a secret plan could have been compromised. His eyes drifted toward Sabo. Ever since Mihawk had retreated, Sabo had been clearing out "mobs" while staying close to Luffy. A traitor? But how could a low-ranking officer know about the internal mechanisms of the Siege Walls?
Akainu stepped forward, his arms bubbling with thick, viscous magma. The temperature in the harbor skyrocketed instantly.
"Great Eruption!"
He thrust his hands toward the sky, launching countless molten projectiles into the clouds.
BOOM! A shockwave punch intercepted him. Whitebeard knew exactly what Akainu was planning and had no intention of letting him complete the move.
Sengoku was prepared. Aokiji suddenly appeared in front of Akainu, manifesting an ice wall and exhaling a constant stream of freezing air to buffer the Admiral.
But there was a second variable.
A streak of brilliant blue flame soared up from the right—Marco the Phoenix delivered a sweeping kick aimed directly at Akainu's head.
Kizaru appeared beside Marco instantly, countering with a kick of his own. BOOM! Marco was sent skidding back, barely keeping his feet on the ice.
"Commander Marco!"
"This is bad!" The massive magma fists in the sky were already beginning their descent.
Just as everyone thought Akainu was unstoppable, a flash of crimson light cut through the air.
It tore through the space behind Akainu, severing his neck. The residual energy carved a deep trench into the frozen ground behind him. Akainu's head, still wearing his "Justice" cap, tumbled to the ice.
A stunned silence fell over the entire plaza.
"Tch!"
From the sky, a figure wearing a mask, shorts, and flip-flops slowly materialized. He landed gracefully on the prow of the Moby Dick.
The newcomer was Vale D. Drake.
Drake held Rainbow's Remnant, his expression sour behind his mask. He knew the "Old Red Dog" wouldn't be finished by that. His timing, power, and angle had been perfect, yet the Admiral had still evaded the lethal blow. It was a stark reminder of the gap between them.
So this is the difference between Mid-tier and High-tier strength...
Behind his mask, the Detector over Drake's left eye flickered with a string of data.
[Estimated Combat Power: 8,200]
This was a new function Drake had just unlocked: a genuine power-level reading. Experience and rank weren't everything; Devil Fruits, Haki, and physical prowess were all factors. Rank was just the baseline.
Akainu's data was terrifying. The "Combat Ceiling" of the One Piece world was generally considered to be around 10,000. Akainu sat at 8,200.
He really is a dog!
Kizaru and Aokiji both hovered around 8,000, confirming Drake's suspicion that Akainu held a slight edge over his peers.
[Name]: Akainu (Sakazuki) [Cultivation]: Great Swordsman (Brawler/Fruit Specialty) [Ability]: Magu Magu no Mi [Haki]: High-Level Armament, Mid-Level Observation
Akainu slowly regrew a head from bubbling magma. He stooped down, picked up his cap, and placed it back on his head. Because Drake had interrupted the technique, only a few magma projectiles had actually launched, doing negligible damage.
Akainu looked up, his face a sickly shade of ashen-red. That had been dangerously close. If he hadn't decisively discarded his physical head and replaced it with magma in that split second, he would have been severely wounded. His Haki hadn't even been fast enough to react to the surprise strike.
He had sensed the killing intent with Observation Haki and immediately turned his body into its elemental state, sacrificing his original head to the blade.
The strike had technically missed its true target.