While the Navy's top forces chased the Second Generation of Hell, a massive portion of the Navy's core strength, personally directed by Fleet Admiral Kong, crossed the Red Line into the New World and launched a full scale war against the Hell Pirates.
The World Government moved just as fast.
Elite soldiers were pulled from countless member kingdoms to fill the branch navies, while the best of those branch elites were immediately selected and transferred to Navy Headquarters. Powerful royal guards from various nations were also requisitioned on short notice and thrown into the New World battlefield.
This was the World Government's greatest advantage, a population so vast it could refill the middle and lower ranks almost endlessly.
Soon, the government army and the Navy linked up with CP forces to strangle the New World pirates. One side had an overwhelming, never ending advantage in numbers. The other side had elite pirates from across the seas, a terrifying advantage in quality.
"How did it become like this?" a Navy captain from the North Blue branch nearly screamed.
"This was supposed to be a blocking battle! Why is it getting bigger and bigger? Are we about to trigger another world war?!"
Not every soldier could fight for days like the monsters at the top. From morning to afternoon was already enough to turn most men into walking corpses. He was exhausted, dehydrated, and shaking.
The bullets and shells ran dry within hours.
Now it was pure hand to hand slaughter.
His standard long sword had been swung so many times the edge was gone, the blade turning blunt and ugly. If the fighting continued, even if he was not killed, he would die from exhaustion.
And the worst part was that reinforcements kept arriving.
From both sides.
Support from pirate crews across the New World, and Navy forces pouring in from every level of command, kept feeding the fire until the war escalated again and again.
What began as a clash between the Five Elders and the Hell Pirates, a battle involving only a few hundred, gradually swelled into a war of thousands.
Then, as reinforcements continued to pour in, it erupted into a massive conflict of tens of thousands.
If the killing did not stop, it would truly become a world level war.
Under forced orders from the Hell Pirates, more and more New World pirate groups joined the fight. Meanwhile, Navy reinforcements coming down the Red Line elevator never paused for even a breath, flooding into the Hawaii Island battlefield without end.
At first, these newcomers thought it was just another local blockade.
Seven hours later, panic had spread through every deck.
The sea was packed with pirate ships and warships, flags of every color whipping violently in the wind. Smoke swallowed the horizon. Fire rose in every direction. The roar of battle filled the world.
Boom.
Three warships, huge as castles, were pierced like toys by a single massive cannonball and exploded into splinters. Dozens of sailors vanished into the sea.
"Ahahaha! This is what I call exciting!"
Byrnndi World, the World Destroyer, laughed wildly, his uneven grin showing missing teeth. Beside him stood an eight sword warrior with eight arms.
Byojack.
The short man who had eaten the Mythical Zoan, the Octopus Siren Fruit.
Now he had recovered to nearly World's height, proof that over the years he had traded for plenty of Vegapunk's genetic potions.
"Brother!" Byojack barked. "Target the Devil Fruit users first!"
He had exchanged too many good things from the Hell Pirates already, and he wanted more merits, more rewards, and more Devil Fruits for his crew.
"This time, I'm getting the newest high tech pistol," World cackled, launching himself onto a Navy ship with Moon Step and carving through bodies. "It'll finally match the power of my Momo Fruit!"
But his rampage did not go unnoticed.
Two CP0 agents locked onto him immediately.
The Momo Fruit was far too tempting for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
Elsewhere, a cone shaped monster barreled through the battlefield like a living drill.
"Haha! My cone head is unbeatable!"
"Drill Dragon Icebreaker!"
Chinjao had gathered the full strength of the Happo Navy over the years, stacking merit after merit until he finally surpassed the Golden Pirate Woonan and successfully exchanged for the Paramecia Diamond Fruit.
A diamond tipped cone, packed with the pressure of all three Haki, forced a Vice Admiral and CP0 agents to scatter in every direction.
Since Woonan missed the Diamond Fruit, he had shifted his obsession to Captain John's Silver Silver Fruit. Over the years he had contacted Wang Zhi and Jennifer again and again, attempting to form a joint operation to encircle and suppress Captain John.
If Woonan had never heard of the Gold Gold Fruit, he would not be staring so viciously at the Silver Silver Fruit now.
"This battle feels wrong," Ibadombo muttered, eyes narrowed as he fought.
"Lady Linlin and Lord Redfield's order is too harsh. Is it really just for the prince and princess?"
He had seen battles against the World Government before, but never with commands this absolute.
If the goal was simply to rescue the children, why not bypass the Five Elders and send forces back to the Grand Line instead of grinding themselves against the World Government here?
Ibadombo's mind raced.
Maybe they had already sent hidden reinforcements. Maybe someone powerful had been dispatched in secret to rescue the Second Generation of Hell.
But besides the Four Hell Mings, who else could break through an encirclement led by admirals and Navy heroes?
In the end, he could only follow orders and kill as many World Government troops as possible.
If the Navy's true main force arrived to support the elders, the pirates might be forced to retreat in panic to the deeper New World.
At least the Five Elders had come out and still had not chased them into the latter half of the New World. If they did, even the strongest pirate group in the world would bleed until its bones showed.
Navy Headquarters, with the Five Elders absent from their positions, did not dare advance into the back half of the New World. Not when the Four Hell Kings could tear their entire force apart.
As the slaughter dragged on, the sun sank and darkness crept closer.
Both pirates and Marines began to pray, silently, desperately, that their bosses would finally order a ceasefire.
The battle had already raged for eight hours.
Outside of the monsters above rear admiral level who could still endure, even many fighters at captain level had collapsed from exhaustion.
But in a battlefield of tens of thousands, how many had the strength of a rear admiral?
A handful of top tier monsters.
Dozens, maybe hundreds, at vice admiral level.
Perhaps hundreds at rear admiral level.
And everyone else was already burning out.
As the light faded, the sounds of battle grew thinner.
But hundreds still fought like demons, refusing to fall.
Marines and pirates who had not awakened Observation Haki began to withdraw instinctively. Darkness was a different battlefield, one that belonged to the truly strong.
At that level, Armament and Observation were the minimum entry fee.
Even so, thunder and fire in the sky kept the sea lit like a nightmare stage.
Prometheus blazed.
Linlin's presence shook the air.
Lightning continued to crack across the battlefield, illuminating ships, corpses, and steel.
Then, at the outer edge of the war zone, a spaceship landed without a sound.
Brook ordered Ujj to move the children away from the battlefield.
After that, he stepped onto the Seven Star Demon Sword and slipped into the war, silent as death.
And as darkness fully fell, Shiki's flying fleet finally arrived.
The Golden Lion joined the battle.
---------------
Kaido and Kozuki Oden were drenched in blood, their bodies marked with fresh wounds, yet their presence remained fierce and unbroken. Even after losing their Devil Fruit powers and taking a beating, their monstrous physiques and refined combat skill let them endure against the long haired Elder, Mars.
They even counterattacked without fear, driving forward again and again as if pain meant nothing. Their strength had reached the level of an admiral, perhaps even beyond. Mars could not simply erase them with a casual blow.
"Hahaha! Kaido, Oden, you've gotten a lot stronger!"
Shiki crashed into the battlefield like a storm, laughing as he praised the two younger monsters. But his timing earned him nothing but irritation.
"Shiki, go wipe out those God's Knights!" Kaido growled through heavy breaths. "Leave the Elders to us!"
He still wanted to sharpen his body, to smash through his so called immortality under an Elder's pressure. Oden's eyes were no different. He wanted to temper his swordsmanship in this war, to push Enma and Ame no Habakiri even closer to becoming Supreme Grade blades.
Shiki clicked his tongue, amused.
"Hah. Growing wings now, are you? Fine, I'll give you some face."
He had no desire to keep trading blows with Mars anyway. That bastard could suppress his Float Float power, and Shiki already had a different target.
Brook's target.
Shiki did not fully understand why Brook had set his sights on that particular Elder when the others possessed even more troublesome Devil Fruit abilities. But he did not question it. Brook had a plan, and Shiki's job was to create the opening.
He pulled away from Mars, leaving Kaido and Oden to grind their teeth and hold the line, then shot across the battlefield.
He did not go help Shakky and Stussy hunt the God's Knights.
Instead, he went straight for Ethanbaron.
Oto and Kogarashi, Shiki's twin blades, tore the air apart as they slashed toward the bald Elder.
"Humph. You think you can kill me that easily?"
Ethanbaron's veins bulged as his speed and strength surged. The Supreme Grade blade in his hand, the Shodai Kitetsu, screamed as it met Shiki's attack head on, driving the Golden Lion back with ruthless precision.
"Hahaha! Old man, I can see your death star shining!"
Shiki grinned, then flicked Redfield a glance.
He went all out instantly.
No probing. No warm up. No dragging the fight into a war of attrition.
Redfield understood at once.
That look was an invitation, and also a signal. Shiki was showing his intent openly, daring Redfield to read him, and at the same time revealing Brook's goal.
Redfield's response was immediate.
His aura erupted, savage and unrestrained. Thunder crawled along his blade, Haki roaring like a storm as he matched Shiki's pace. They were burning Armament and Conqueror's Haki like fuel, forcing the battle to end fast.
Under the pressure of those two monsters, Ethanbaron's expression darkened.
So that was it.
They wanted him dead quickly, then they would turn and crush the other Elders one by one.
He understood the plan.
And he hated it.
"Mars! Finish Kaido and Kozuki Oden and get here now!" Ethanbaron shouted, eyes blazing. "Sagon, Sabos, Mintaro, stop playing around and end your fights!"
The long haired Elder and the three God's Knights had been dragging things out. They could win by accepting injuries if they had to, yet they were still lingering, still measuring, still wasting time.
Did they really want to fight until dawn?
The moment Ethanbaron's roar reached them, the battlefield shifted.
The three God's Knights turned savage, trading wounds for wounds, attacking like beasts cornered in a pit. Even Mars's expression tightened. The pressure from Ethanbaron was unmistakable.
Fine.
If injuries were the price, then injuries it would be.
But they still underestimated the Hell Pirates.
Those commanders fought like immortal cockroaches, refusing to die, refusing to fall. Because they knew one thing.
Brook was coming.
And the final victory would belong to them.
Night deepened.
The war did not slow.
Half an hour later, Ethanbaron saw it clearly. The other Elders and God's Knights still had not finished their opponents. His irritation grew into rage. Meanwhile, Shiki and Redfield kept hammering him with desperate, domineering attacks.
Linlin and Newgate were doing the same on their fronts, locking their enemies in place and denying them any chance to reinforce Ethanbaron.
"Humph." Ethanbaron's grin turned cruel. "You want to trade your filthy lives for mine? For a god?"
He did not fear it.
At worst, he would suffer heavy injuries, but he could still kill at least one of them. Then he would retreat, recover, and kill another next time.
The World Government's medical technology, and Imu's will, would not allow him to die so easily.
It was only humiliating, being wounded by pirates.
Nothing more.
Ethanbaron unleashed his power without restraint. His speed climbed again, his strength sharpened, and his stamina began burning away at an alarming rate.
If they wanted a quick ending, he would give them one.
The three figures blurred into afterimages, sparks bursting like fireworks across the sky. Steel screamed. Haki cracked. For brief moments, Ethanbaron's body vanished completely, leaving only the sound of blades colliding and killing intent tearing the air apart.
Cuts began to appear on Shiki and Redfield, shallow at first, then deeper. But neither slowed. They continued to pour everything into the fight, grinding Ethanbaron's stamina down with their own.
It came down to one question.
Who collapsed first?
In this all out, high frequency slaughter, their bodies began to overheat. Steam rose from their skin. Muscles swelled and hardened. Shiki's hands started to tremble slightly around his hilts.
Ethanbaron's eyes narrowed.
Shiki was weaker.
Shiki would fall first.
He would kill the Golden Lion, then withdraw strategically. After recovering, he would hunt down Redfield and finish the job.
"Hmph. Golden Lion." Ethanbaron's smile widened as he pressed the Shodai Kitetsu forward, every strike hunting vital points. "Looks like your stamina runs out first."
Shiki laughed wildly, blood on his teeth.
"So what? You're dead anyway!"
Ethanbaron laughed too, confident and cold.
"Don't worry. After I kill you, I'll still walk away."
He truly believed it. Even if he had to pay with grievous injuries, he could cut Shiki down and escape Redfield's pursuit. He would not die today.
And then, at that exact moment, a bright light ignited on the battlefield.
A familiar presence rode inside it.
Ethanbaron's grin stretched wider, almost ecstatic.
"Hahaha! So you really are doomed!"
He could feel it.
Transmission.
A new arrival.
And with it, hope for the World Government.
"You will die," Ethanbaron snarled, eyes shining. "And I'll take your heads one by one!"
He had been preparing to trade heavy injuries for Shiki's life, but now the Buddha had been sent directly into the battlefield.
Sengoku.
If Sengoku had arrived, then Garp and Zephyr could not be far behind.
And the Second Generation of Hell should have been captured by now, right?
How could the Navy possibly fail?
With the Navy's top monsters arriving one after another, the World Government would gain an absolute advantage in tonight's war.
A crushing victory was finally in sight.
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