The chaos in Marineford had reached its peak. Marines and pirates were locked in a fierce battle, their skirmishes spreading like a black-and-white chessboard engulfing the entire battlefield.
The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates' divisions and the leaders of their allied crews were either being held back by the Marine's elite Vice Admirals or confronted by the Seven Warlords of the Sea, like Dracule Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma.
However, not all of the Warlords were taking the fight seriously. Moonlight Moria, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Boa Hancock seemed to have adopted a chaotic approach, striking at whoever came near, whether Marine or pirate.
On the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku observed the Whitebeard Pirates' allied crews pouring into the battlefield. Quietly calculating his timing, he prepared to deploy the defensive wall, planning to trap the pirates and eliminate them in one fell swoop.
But just as Whitebeard's allies had nearly all entered the fray, a Marine battleship suddenly soared through the air and landed squarely on the plaza.
Moments later, figures dressed in black-and-white-striped prisoner uniforms disembarked from the ship. Leading this unexpected group were Straw Hat Luffy, the former Warlord Crocodile, the Fish-Man Jinbe, and the self-proclaimed god, Buggy.
With the arrival of this new force, the balance of the battle tipped. The Marines, who had been gaining the upper hand, now found themselves under pressure.
Sengoku scowled at the mounting casualties among his forces. Gripping the Den Den Mushi in his hand, he shouted, "No more waiting! Cut all communications and raise the defensive wall!"
The defensive wall was one of the Marine's trump cards—a massive structure, hundreds of meters tall and reinforced with Seastone, designed to encircle and trap the pirates. Not even Whitebeard, the world's strongest man, would be able to break through it.
Once the wall was in place, the plan was for the Admirals, led by Akainu, to unleash devastating area-of-effect attacks, wiping out all the pirates within the enclosure.
To protect the image of Marine justice, all Den Den Mushi broadcasts would be cut during this segment. After all, the public cared only for results: pirates were evil, and the Marines represented justice. This was the narrative most people believed.
With the revelation of Ace's lineage as Gol D. Roger's son broadcast worldwide, the Marines planned to cement their moral victory by executing Ace and defeating Whitebeard, thereby elevating their prestige across the seas.
But Sengoku's plans encountered an unexpected setback. When they attempted to activate the defensive wall, they found that the ground, still covered in ice from Aokiji's earlier attack, was preventing the mechanism from rising.
Even when Akainu deployed an enhanced "Great Eruption" attack to melt the ice, the massive body of the fallen Little Oars Jr. had collapsed over a critical section of the wall, blocking it from functioning.
As if that weren't enough, the self-proclaimed god Buggy, having smuggled a Den Den Mushi from Impel Down, established a broadcast connection and began a live transmission of the battle, undermining the Marines' plan to control the narrative.
"Master Moria, we should leave this place as soon as possible. It's incredibly dangerous here! I've received reliable information that both the Marines and Whitebeard's forces are going to suffer heavy losses," urged Perona. Dressed in her black gothic attire and holding a black parasol, she floated in her spirit form, her tone filled with concern.
"Moria-sama, do you think I'm too weak to deal with some measly Marine and pirate riffraff?" Moria retorted, his tone tinged with anger. "If I can claim Little Oars Jr.'s body and imbue it with a stronger shadow than Straw Hat's, I'll rise to the top once again!"
Since his defeat by the Straw Hat Pirates at Thriller Bark, Moria's status among the Warlords had plummeted. Had it not been for Jinbe and Crocodile being detained, Moria might have already been stripped of his title.
Mocked relentlessly by Doflamingo during the previous Warlord meeting, Moria had grown increasingly irritable. Now, hearing Perona's warning, he took it as yet another slight against his capabilities.
"It's not that, Moria-sama! I don't doubt your strength! But the information I received is from Wood, the Marine traitor. He said—"
"Oh? Little girl, did I hear you mention Wood, the Marine traitor? Is that bastard here too?" a deep voice interrupted.
The speaker was none other than Crocodile. Dressed in prisoner garb, holding a golden hook, and puffing on a cigar, he approached with a menacing air. Unlike Moria, Crocodile harbored a personal grudge against Wood, whom he blamed for his defeat at Alabasta.
"Wood is here, isn't he?" Crocodile muttered, his expression darkening. "Perfect. I've been waiting for a chance to settle our old scores."
But before Crocodile could say more, a sudden flash of light streaked through the air. In the next moment, his head separated cleanly from his body, hitting the ground with a thud.
"Fufufufu… This is an interesting development," came a mocking laugh. The unmistakable voice belonged to Donquixote Doflamingo. "So, Crocodile, you've got a bone to pick with Wood too? Why don't we team up? After all, I can't stand that guy either."
Crocodile's decapitated head disintegrated into sand, and his body reformed nearby. Shooting a disdainful glance at Doflamingo, he sneered, "I don't need anyone's help to deal with Wood. I'll take him down myself."
Becoming a Warlord meant standing at the pinnacle of piracy, and Crocodile wasn't about to subordinate himself to anyone. Doflamingo's offer of cooperation was thinly veiled—Crocodile knew he'd end up a pawn in Doflamingo's schemes.
"Fufufu… Seems like your time in Impel Down has dulled your senses. Do you really think you can take on Wood alone?" Doflamingo smirked. "That man walked out of Big Mom's tea party after fighting two Yonko, injuring them both. And you think you can beat him?"
Marineford had descended into utter chaos. The Marines and pirates clashed fiercely, their battle sprawling across the battlefield like a massive black-and-white chessboard.
The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates' divisions and the leaders of their allied crews were intercepted by Marine Vice Admirals or confronted by the Warlords of the Sea, particularly Dracule Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma, who were actively participating in the battle.
However, other Warlords, like Moonlight Moria, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Boa Hancock, appeared to be in a state of disarray, attacking indiscriminately, whether their targets were Marines or pirates.
Sengoku, standing on the execution platform, observed the Whitebeard Pirates' allied forces pouring in and quietly calculated his timing to raise the defensive wall and trap the pirates, preparing to eliminate them in one decisive strike.
Meanwhile, at another corner of the battlefield, tensions rose between the Warlords.
Crocodile stood with his signature golden hook, a cigar in his mouth, his expression turning serious as he processed what Doflamingo had just said.
Back in Alabasta, Crocodile had crossed paths with Wood and even exchanged blows briefly. He knew Wood was strong, but he had never felt there was an insurmountable gap between them. However, after hearing Doflamingo's statement, he couldn't help but feel immense pressure.
It was undeniable that the Warlords of the Sea held significant sway over the Grand Line. They were renowned figures, appointed by the World Government to act as a deterrent to the average pirate.
But when faced with the true emperors of the sea—the Four Emperors—the Warlords were far from invincible.
Characters like the "Sweet Commanders" of Big Mom's crew or the "Calamities" of Kaido's Beast Pirates had the strength to rival, if not surpass, many Warlords. Crocodile's powers as a Sand-Sand Fruit user placed him somewhere in the middle of the Warlords' hierarchy—not the weakest, but certainly not the strongest.
In a direct fight, he lacked confidence against a Sweet Commander or a Calamity. And now, hearing about Wood's feats—taking on two of the Four Emperors simultaneously—Crocodile realized the gulf in power between them.
"Even if I can't beat him, I'd rather die than team up with someone like you," Crocodile said, his voice cold but resolute.
Doflamingo, angered by the outright rejection, sneered. "If that's the case, then I'll take you down first!"
For Doflamingo, extending an offer of cooperation was already a rare courtesy. He had some respect for Crocodile's previous attempt to seize a kingdom, seeing it as evidence of ambition and capability. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered.
After all, someone like Moonlight Moria, who had been lounging on his ship for years, was hardly worth Doflamingo's notice.
As Crocodile and Doflamingo clashed, exchanging sharp words and deadly blows, Moria, who had been left out of the conversation, felt a sting of humiliation. Gripping his oversized scissors, he bellowed, "You bastards! I'll cut off all your shadows and turn you into my zombie puppets!"
The clash of the three Warlords created massive shockwaves, scattering nearby Marines and pirates alike.
It didn't take long for the power dynamics to become clear. Though all three were Warlords, their strength varied greatly.
Doflamingo, a master of all three types of Haki and a Devil Fruit user whose abilities had awakened, was leagues ahead of the other two. Crocodile, though lacking strong Haki, wielded the powerful Sand-Sand Fruit and managed to hold his ground.
Moria, however, was hopelessly outclassed. Years of inactivity aboard Thriller Bark had dulled his skills. His sluggish movements and lack of refined Haki left him vulnerable. Within moments, both Doflamingo's strings and Crocodile's sand blades had torn through his clumsy defenses, leaving him battered and bleeding.
Perona, holding her black parasol, attempted to intervene. She summoned her "Negative Ghosts," aiming to incapacitate Doflamingo and Crocodile by forcing them into despair. But her efforts were thwarted by Doflamingo's keen Observation Haki, which allowed him to anticipate her attack.
Before Perona could react, Doflamingo's Haki-coated strings slashed through the air, slicing towards her with deadly precision. Just as the attack was about to reach her, a figure wielding three swords stepped in.
With a single swing of a blue-bladed sword, the strings were deflected. The newcomer was not the green-haired swordsman many might have expected but a man dressed in a Marine uniform, wearing a low-brimmed cap.
"Perona, what the hell are you doing?" the man growled. "I told you to stay on the ship. This battlefield isn't a place for you to meddle. Do you think staying in your spirit form makes you safe? This is Marineford—practically everyone here knows how to use Haki!"
The sudden arrival of the Marine caught the attention of the three Warlords. Both Crocodile and Moria were taken aback—Doflamingo's attacks weren't something just anyone could block.
Though the man wore a Marine's uniform, his rank insignia indicated he was merely a lowly ensign, a rank typically reserved for fodder in a battlefield of this magnitude. It was clear to everyone that this "Marine" was no ordinary soldier.
"Well, well," the man said with a faint smirk. "I couldn't help but notice you were talking about me just now. So I thought I'd come and join the fun."
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