And then—
"WOOOOOOOAAAAAH—!!!"
The pirates erupted into earth-shaking roars, the sound waves nearly tearing through the clouds.
An old, scar-faced pirate rubbed his eyes vigorously before slapping himself hard across the face.
"I'm not dreaming, am I?! A Marine Admiral... is dead?!"
"No way! This is insane!" A young pirate leaped onto his comrade's shoulders, dancing wildly while pointing at the spot where Akainu had vanished into ash.
"This is the first time in decades! Pops is incredible!"
The battlefield instantly boiled over like a pot of scalding oil.
The fear in the pirates' eyes was completely replaced by madness, their gazes turning predatory as they lunged at the scattered Marines like starving wolves catching the scent of blood.
"Kill them all! Avenge our fallen brothers!"
"Even Akainu is dead! What are these Marine scum worth?!"
"Let the Marines taste despair!"
In contrast, the Marines' morale visibly crumbled.
The officers who had been organizing defensive lines suddenly seemed to have their backbones ripped out, their commands growing weak and listless.
The ordinary soldiers turned ashen-faced, their hands trembling so violently they could barely grip their swords.
"When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter..."
Ron stood at a high point, watching coldly as the White Moon scabbard lightly tapped the ground.
"This is the principle of capturing the leader first to capture the followers. Without Akainu's iron will, they are just a mob."
A Rear Admiral futilely brandished his sword. "Don't retreat! Maintain formation! For Justice!"
But his voice was quickly drowned out by the battle cries of the pirates.
Even more terrifying was how his own sword swings had become weak and feeble—the shock of Admiral Akainu's death had subconsciously weakened all Navy soldiers, sapping their will to fight.
Douglas Bullet sent three Vice Admirals flying with a single punch, laughing maniacally as he watched the fleeing Navy soldiers.
"Scared already? Where's all that earlier bravado?!"
His roar only made the Navy soldiers run faster.
Doflamingo's strings wove a deadly net in the air, his grin stretching ear to ear.
"Fufufu... It seems this so-called 'Absolute Justice'... is quite fragile when the executioner dies!"
Gecko Moria stood at the edge of the battlefield, the corners of his mouth stretched so wide they nearly tore to his ears.
His obese body trembled with excitement as his enormous scissors opened and closed with chilling snip-snip sounds.
"Kishishishi! What a perfect hunting ground!"
He greedily scanned the fleeing Navy soldiers—those panicked, scrambling figures were all premium "materials" in his eyes.
"Doppelman!"
Moria's shadow suddenly detached and elongated, swapping positions with his physical body.
He instantly appeared among a group of fleeing Navy soldiers.
SNIP!
His massive hand grabbed a Navy Captain's head, forcibly tearing out his shadow amid the man's terrified screams.
"Hehehe! Your shadow is mine now!"
These shadows writhed and struggled in Moria's grasp before ultimately being stuffed into nearby dead soldiers or fresh pirate corpses.
"Rise! My Zombie Army!"
Moria spread his arms wide as hundreds of enhanced zombies simultaneously opened their glowing eyes.
"Let the Navy taste what it's like to be consumed by the dark!"
The most terrifying slaughter began.
The Navy completely broke down.
They not only had to face pursuing pirates but also guard against zombies that might emerge from the ground, all while fearing that elusive Warlord who could be a hundred meters away one second, then emerge from their own shadow the next!
"Help! Don't come near me!"
"My shadow! My shadow's gone!"
"This is hell... What kind of monsters are we fighting?!"
Moria reveled in this hunt, his zombie army growing with every shadow he collected.
"Kishishishi! With Akainu dead, you're worse than stray dogs!"
Across this blood-soaked battlefield, all pirates—even Moria and his zombie army who were madly pursuing Navy soldiers—unconsciously glanced from the corners of their eyes toward that majestic figure standing at the battlefield's center.
Whitebeard.
He stood enveloped in a white Divine Halo, faint white Divine Fire flickering around his shoulders.
Merely standing there, he seemed to become the center of heaven and earth.
Moria's shadow-cutting movements suddenly stiffened, his obese body trembling slightly.
"Kishishishi... This old monster..." His scissors snipped off-target with a sharp snap, nearly injuring himself.
"Just how many cards is he still hiding up his sleeve..."
Bullet halted his pursuit.
This usually arrogant "Demon Heir" actually felt a pang of trepidation.
He looked down at his proud Armament Haki, suddenly realizing how far his strength fell beneath Whitebeard's divine radiance.
He needed to vent his frustration by taking down two more Vice Admirals!
"Is this... the true pinnacle?"
Doflamingo unconsciously retracted some of his String-String Fruit powers.
His sunglasses reflected the dazzling divine halo behind Whitebeard's head, his usual sinister smile stiffening.
"Fufufu... What kind of joke is this... This pressure..."
Even Shiki narrowed his eyes slightly, his grip on his two swords tightening.
He understood better than anyone what that white divine halo represented—the ultimate Awakening of a Mythical Zoan.
The symbol of a deity walking among men.
Across the battlefield, the frenzied battle cries of the pirates unconsciously softened.
They were like mortals who had suddenly realized they were fighting alongside a god, feeling both supreme honor and instinctive fear.
"Just how strong is Pops?" a young pirate swallowed hard, his sword trembling slightly.
An old pirate beside him shook his head with a bitter smile. "Kid, ever heard the story about fireflies and the bright moon? All of us combined... probably don't amount to even one ten-thousandth of that brilliant moon's radiance."
Whitebeard stood atop the highest reef, the white divine halo slowly rotating above his head.
He coldly watched this feast of vengeance, the blood on Murakumogiri not yet dried.
Ron touched the second ring on his finger—an item infused with the Float-Float Fruit ability using his technology.
His body began to float, defying gravity.
He headed straight for Whitebeard, the blade of White Moon gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
He stopped beside the Emperor, carefully examining this captain who had just "returned from death."
The white Divine Halo hovered behind his head, his skin flawless without any scars, like a newborn's, with white flames still swirling around him.
"Captain..."
Ron shook his head with a wry smile, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness.
"You gave us quite a scare this time." He pointed toward Jozu and Marco fighting madly in the distance.
"Those fools nearly cried themselves dry."
Whitebeard laughed heartily at this, the vibration shaking loose stones around them.
He reached out and patted Ron's shoulder with enough strength to shatter an ordinary person's bones.
"Gurararara! Don't tell me you didn't see through it either, you brat."
"..."