"All forces attack!"
"Kill !"
One hundred thousand elite Navy soldiers roared in perfect unison.
"For Ace!"
"Tear through these pirates!"
Led by the Sixth Division captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, Blamenco, several other captains surged forward.
Behind them, tens of thousands of elite pirates with blood-red eyes followed like a crushing black tidal wave, slamming into the Navy's white barricade.
By everyone's expectation, this was supposed to be a brutal clash of flesh and blood.
"First formation, raise shields!"
From the execution platform, Hawk's cold, clear voice transmitted through the Den Den Mushi network, reaching the ears of every soldier.
"Clang!"
The ten thousand soldiers at the front row moved as one, slamming their specially reinforced metallic shields onto the ground.
The shields locked together perfectly, instantly forming a steel wall stretching thousands of meters.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The charging pirates could not stop in time and slammed into the wall.
The impact jolted the shields backward with a muffled crash.
But that was all.
"What?!"
The pirates froze, unable to process what had just happened.
"Pacifista units, aim straight ahead. Fire indiscriminately!"
Hawk's voice cut like a death sentence.
"Vzzz vzzz vzzz "
Behind the wall, hundreds of massive, expressionless Pacifistas ignited yellow lights in their eyes.
Yellow laser beams rained through the gaps in the shield wall like a torrential downpour.
"Ziiip! Ziiip! Ziiip! Ziiip!"
"Ahhhh !"
Screams instantly echoed across Marineford.
The pirates, trapped and crowded in front of the shields, became perfect living targets.
The lasers, powered by Admiral Kizaru, pierced through their bodies. The searing energy erupted instantly, sending clouds of blood and vapor into the air.
This was just a single volley.
Over a thousand pirates fell before the formation.
The ground was completely stained with blood and charred corpses.
"Captain squads, deploy!"
"Targets: enemy officers!"
Hawk's voice, devoid of emotion, rang out again.
The steel wall opened dozens of gaps in an instant.
Navy commanders, long prepared for this moment, leaped from the openings in five-man squads.
Their targets were clear, their actions swift, striking directly at the pirate lieutenants attempting to organize a counterattack.
"Justice: Ittō Style!"
Vice Admiral Fire Fist held a cigar in his mouth, his gaze sharp. Flames ignited along his long blade.
With a single swing, he cleaved a pirate captain, bounty nearly a hundred million, in half along with his sword.
Blood sprayed, staining the ground beneath his feet.
"Six Powers Secret Technique: Razor!"
Vice Admiral Squirrel moved like an afterimage, appearing instantly behind a pirate officer.
A flash of his blade sent the startled head of the pirate soaring.
These captain squads acted like surgical knives, precisely excising the "cancerous" cells in the tidal wave of pirates.
Strike, then withdraw.
The shield wall closed again.
The operation flowed seamlessly, executed with perfect coordination, as if practiced a thousand times.
Across the globe, those watching the live broadcast were stunned.
In the Sabaody Archipelago:
"What… what are they doing?"
Kid gaped.
Beside him, Killer's eyes behind his mask mirrored the same shock.
"War…?"
"No. This isn't war…"
Law's brow furrowed tightly. "This is… a massacre!"
In their experience, battles between the Navy and pirates were chaotic, full of individual heroics.
Strong versus strong, grunts against grunts, all fighting with flesh and blood.
But the scene before them completely shattered that perception.
The Navy… was using tactics.
And cold, efficient, merciless tactics at that.
"Who are these Navy people?!"
The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates finally realized something was wrong.
Casualties were rising at a horrifying rate.
"I'll open a gap!"
Lacroix, captain of the Seventh Division, roared.
He swung his meteor hammer, the head wrapped in thick Armament Haki, smashing it against the shield wall.
"Boom!"
A massive dent appeared in the wall, the surrounding Navy soldiers staggered from the impact.
Lacroix prepared to swing again, intending to tear the breach open completely.
At that moment, "Whoosh "
A faint whistling sound cut through the air from high above.
Lacroix instinctively raised his meteor hammer to block.
A bullet crackled with lightning as it struck the hammer and was deflected.
Lacroix froze. A sniper?
Then, "Whoosh !"
"Whoosh !"
"Whoosh !"
The sound of bullets tearing through the air accelerated, multiplying many times.
This was no longer a sniper firing single shots. It was a full-scale assault, like an automatic rifle.
Every bullet crackled with blinding lightning, striking the same point on the meteor hammer at supersonic speed.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The repeated metallic collisions sent shocks up the hammer, numbing Lacroix's grip.
His immense strength, once a source of pride, now seemed utterly insignificant under the relentless lightning strikes.
"Puuh !"
A crisp shattering sound rang out. A bullet pierced the meteor hammer, shredding Lacroix's arm.
Blood mixed with charred flesh spattered everywhere.
"What?!"
Lacroix screamed in agony, staring at his arm in disbelief.
The wound crackled with silver lightning, like snakes dancing beneath the skin.
Sharp, searing pain robbed him of control of his arm.
"Who ?!"
On the battlefield, every pirate and Navy soldier who witnessed the scene instinctively looked up.
At the very top of the execution platform.
Hibari's small figure lay prone. Her sniper rifle glimmered faintly with electric light.
"Lightning: Gatling!"
Combined with her meticulously honed sniping skills, the power of the Thunder-Thunder Fruit exceeded all imagination.
"Good work, Hibari,"
Hawk praised calmly, and a blush crept across her small face.
His gaze swept across the battlefield.
The situation was under control.
On the plaza, Admiral Kizaru rested his foot on the unconscious Marco's face, lazily complaining, "Ahh, almost let you escape~"
By the bay, Admiral Aokiji stood tall.
Beside him, Diamond Jozu had been completely frozen, now a crystalline statue.
"Boom !"
Above, the clash of tremors and magma erupted into another massive energy storm.
"Whitebeard!"
Sakazuki roared in excitement, the sound echoing through the clouds. "Your era is over!"
"You bastard… magma brat!"
Whitebeard's eyes were bloodshot.
He could feel his pirates falling in waves.
He could hear the screams of his sons, each one tearing at his heart.
The fleet that had sailed the seas with him for decades, the family he cherished like treasures, was being crushed by a disciplined, ruthless iron army.
The rage he had ignited over Ace's death was extinguished by the staggering, suffocating casualties.
It couldn't continue like this!
This was no evenly matched battle.
It was a massacre, meticulously prepared by the Navy, targeting the Whitebeard Pirates.
He had dragged all his sons straight into hell.
"Bang!"
Whitebeard unleashed all his strength, forcing Sakazuki back with a swing of his sword.
He looked at the ground below, stained with blood, at his sons lying motionless in the pools of crimson.
Enough had been lost!
"Navy !"
Whitebeard lifted his head, his clouded eyes burning with a final, brilliant light.
He drove his legendary sword, Murakumogiri, into the ground before him.
Spreading his arms wide, he seemed to embrace the entire world.
"Vwoooosh!"
A force capable of splitting the world gathered at his fists.
A pure white aura, thick enough to feel almost tangible.
The air around him shattered, visible cracks spreading in all directions.
All of Marineford groaned under the unbearable weight of this power.
"Gururururur !"
"Listen well… Whitebeard Pirates!"
Whitebeard summoned every ounce of strength, letting out his final roar.
"I now issue the final captain's order !"
"Everyone… survive!"
"All hands, retreat!"