At the far end of the bay, another front blazed with equal ferocity. Blackbeard's crew, led by Teach, faced a relentless coalition: Kuzan (Aokiji), Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, and a handful of vice admirals—Onigumo, Doberman, and Momonga.
Teach stood at the center of his crew, arms spread wide, his guttural laugh booming over the chaos. "Zehahaha! Listen, boys, I didn't really wanna fight today, y'know?" he said, his syrupy tone clashing with the menace of his lieutenants behind him.
But Kuzan gave him no time to stall. The admiral stepped forward, his breath forming clouds of frost in the heat-saturated air. He raised a hand, and a spear of ice—"Ice Spear"—shot from his palm, hurtling toward the pirate with deadly precision.
Teach reacted in a flash, his arm cloaked in darkness. "Kurozu!" he roared, and a spiral of shadow swallowed the spear, shattering it into frost before it could reach him. "Zehahaha! Not bad, Kuzan, but you'll have to do better than that!"
Doflamingo snickered, his fingers twitching as invisible strings darted through the air. "Heh, heh, heh… Looks like a big fish caught in a net!" His threads coiled around Jesus Burgess, pinning the giant before he could strike. Burgess roared, his bulging muscles straining against the bonds, but Doflamingo tightened his grip, a cruel smile curling his lips.
Gecko Moria summoned his shadows, a swarm of black specters swirling around Catarina Devon. "Kishishi! Your pretty little claws won't save you!" The shadows lunged at her, but Catarina dodged with a graceful leap, her curved blade slicing one in half. She sneered, launching a counterattack that forced Moria to retreat.
Kuzan charged Teach again, his hands unleashing a wave of ice—"Ice Block: Partisan"—that sprouted massive spears from the ground. Teach leaped back, his darkness absorbing part of the assault, but one spear grazed him, leaving a frozen gash on his arm. He winced, then burst into laughter. "Zehahaha! That stings, huh?"
Van Augur shouldered his rifle, aiming at Kuzan with surgical precision. A Haki-coated bullet streaked through the air, but the admiral turned to ice, the shot passing harmlessly through him. Kuzan retaliated with a frost wave—"Ice Age"—that froze a section of the bay, trapping Sanjuan Wolf's legs in a massive block. The giant roared, his fists smashing the ice, but Kuzan was already closing in on Teach.
The vice admirals joined the fray. Onigumo, his arms transformed into spider legs, pounced on Jesus Burgess, his multiple blades targeting the colossus's vitals. Burgess blocked with his massive arms, but a bloody slash marked his shoulder. Doberman, wielding his saber, clashed with Catarina Devon, their blades sparking in a flurry. Momonga, more methodical, delivered precise strikes at Van Augur, forcing the sniper to retreat while adjusting his aim.
Doflamingo, toying with his strings, ensnared Sanjuan Wolf's arms, laughing as the giant struggled to break free. "Heh, heh, heh… You're too big to wriggle out of this, big guy!" But Wolf roared, snapping the threads with raw strength that shook the ice.
Teach, at the heart of the melee, faced Kuzan in a clash of sheer power. The admiral threw a series of frozen punches, each impact forming ice blocks around Teach. But the pirate countered with his darkness, a shadowy wave—"Black Hole"—spreading across the ice, sucking in debris and careless vice admirals. Kuzan dodged with a leap, reforming ice beneath his feet, and struck back with a massive spear that pierced Teach's shoulder.
"Zehahaha! Not bad, not bad!" Teach growled, wiping blood from his wound. He slammed the ground, and a dark shockwave erupted, shoving Kuzan back several meters. The admiral landed sliding, his breath frosting the air, ready for another round.
Moria, meanwhile, hurled his shadows at Catarina Devon, who danced between them with feline agility, her blade cutting through the specters one by one. "Kishishi! Hold still, you little brat!" he snarled, but Catarina smirked, lunging at him with a strike that forced him to summon a shadow barrier for protection.
Atop the central platform, another drama unfolded, poised to shift the war's tide.
Sengoku, fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened beneath his uniform, stared at the battlefield with restrained fury. Events had spiraled beyond control: Mihawk openly defying the Marines, Teach sowing chaos, and now Luffy and Ace escaping with Boa Hancock's aid. He turned a sharp glare toward Garp, seated beside him, face stony and arms crossed. "Garp," Sengoku growled, his voice low but cutting like a blade. "Are you still planning to help in this war, or are you just going to sit there playing spectator?"
Garp turned his face away, his tired eyes fixed on an invisible point on the horizon. A scruffy beard covered his chin, and deep wrinkles creased his forehead. He sighed, a rough, weary sound. "I'm done, Sengoku," he murmured, his voice trembling faintly under the weight of emotion. "I'm not stepping in—for good or ill. I've had enough of this old man's life. Let this war run its course…"
Sengoku stared at him for a long moment, his narrowed eyes betraying a mix of frustration and understanding. Garp, the legendary Marine hero, was broken—not by blows, but by his heart, torn between duty and family. Sengoku gritted his teeth, then gave a curt nod. "Fine," he said, his voice ringing like a verdict. Without another word, he bent his knees and leaped from the platform, his admiral's coat billowing behind him like a banner.
Mid-air, his body transformed. A blinding golden light engulfed his form, and he grew into a colossal figure—a giant Buddha, his skin gleaming like pure gold, his impassive features radiating divine power. He landed with a deafening BOOM hundreds of meters from the platform, his weight cracking the already weakened ice. Shards flew in all directions, and a shockwave swept nearby fighters aside like straw.
Sengoku towered in the bay's center, blocking the path of Luffy's fleeing group. Luffy, Ace, and Boa Hancock stopped dead, their tiny silhouettes dwarfed by the chief admiral's imposing stature. Luffy, limp from exhaustion, hung over Ace's back, faint flames flickering around his feet. Hancock, her gaze fierce, stepped beside them.
Sengoku fixed them with golden eyes, cold and intense. "Monkey D. Luffy. Portgas D. Ace," he declared, his voice thundering like a divine decree over the chaos. "It's time to end this war. Your existence threatens the world's order. Here and now, I will crush this rebellion!" He raised a massive fist, the gold of his skin glinting under the lightning-streaked sky. An oppressive aura blanketed the bay, and nearby pirates and Marines felt their legs quake under the pressure of his Haki.
Ace flared brighter flames, ready to fight to the end. Hancock, hands forming a heart, shot Sengoku a venomous glare. "Touch them, and you'll regret it," she hissed.
But Sengoku's fist descended, a golden mass crashing down like a mountain toward the helpless trio. The ice beneath their feet splintered, and a vast shadow swallowed Luffy, Ace, and Hancock. They had no chance to dodge or block such an attack—it was the end.
TO BRE CONTINUED...
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