Boom.
A heavy, muffled explosion echoed across the battlefield.
Like a drumbeat deliberately held back, it sounded especially harsh in the dead silence.
Everyone saw it.
That pink-haired Marine recruit.
The boy who only moments ago had spread his arms wide, trying to halt the war.
His head was crushed beneath Renn Hawk's military boot, reduced to an unrecognizable smear of red and white.
There was no scream.
No final words.
Only a headless corpse, adding yet another stain of blood to the plaza.
…
Akainu, who had been exchanging blows with Whitebeard, paused for a fraction of a second.
He turned his head, and on that hardened face appeared pure, undisguised admiration and delight.
"Good!"
Well done, Hawk!
This is how the Marines should be.
This is the iron-handed justice that true order demands.
Anyone who shakes morale or sympathizes with evil deserves execution on the spot.
"Oh my my."
Kizaru lazily raised a hand to shield his eyes, as if he could not bear to watch the bloody scene.
"I told you so. He was definitely going to die."
"Hawk-kun… really is terrifyingly decisive."
…
At the bay's exit, Aokiji watched the scene in silence.
He let out a quiet sigh, hoping this Marine's death would serve as a warning to others.
On the battlefield, mercy was more lethal than any blade.
Below the execution platform, Sengoku slammed his fist down.
"All right!"
The fury that had twisted his face moments ago now transformed into exhilaration and praise.
As Fleet Admiral, he understood better than anyone.
At such a critical moment, under the gaze of the entire world, a soldier openly questioning the supreme commander of the battlefield would have catastrophic consequences.
It would shake the faith of the entire army.
It would turn Marine justice into a global joke.
And Hawk had extinguished that spark with the most direct and ruthless method possible.
He had not only executed a deserter.
He had crushed the soldiers' hesitation with his own declaration of justice.
…
Sengoku swept his gaze across the battlefield.
The Marines who had wavered after Koby's shout now showed no trace of doubt.
In its place burned a fiercer, more fanatical killing intent.
"All forces, heed my command!"
Renn Hawk's voice thundered across Marineford once more.
"The war continues!"
"Erase the Whitebeard Pirates from this sea!"
"Kill!"
After a brief moment of silence came a roar like a collapsing mountain.
One hundred thousand Marines surged forward again.
This time, their attacks were more vicious, more merciless.
There was no hesitation left in their eyes.
They would annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates here and now.
"Ah!"
"No! Don't come any closer!"
The remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates cried out in despair.
Whitebeard watched as his sons fell one after another.
"Gurarararara!"
"Magma brat!"
With a furious roar, the power of the Tremor Tremor Fruit erupted without restraint, his punch blasting Akainu backward.
He did not pursue.
Instead, his gaze shifted toward the bay frozen solid by Aokiji.
Beneath that deep, icy blue still lay his final hope.
The contingency he had left behind.
Could it still carry the remaining boys out of this hell?
Just then, a deep hum swept across the battlefield.
An overwhelming wave of Haki engulfed all of Marineford.
Everyone turned toward its source.
A pirate ship flying a skull flag, its prow carved into a ferocious dragon's head, tore through the raging waves at full speed.
At the bow stood a single figure.
A black cloak billowed behind him.
A Western-style longsword hung at his waist.
His striking red hair danced wildly in the sea wind.
"Everyone…"
His voice was calm, yet it reached every ear with perfect clarity.
"Could you spare me some face?"
The man known as the wielder of the Face Fruit.
Red-Haired Shanks.
…
Aboard the Mammoth.
Luffy shook his head and crawled out of a deep crater smashed into the deck.
When he looked up, he saw one of the Beast Pirates' All-Stars.
Jack the Drought.
A name every veteran of the seas knew well. The infamous ship-crusher.
"Marines?!"
Luffy bent his knees and assumed a fighting stance.
Around him, Beast Pirate crew members with weapons in hand had already surrounded him.
"A Marine?"
"Get him! Kill him!"
The nearest pirates charged forward, weapons raised.
"Gum Gum Gatling!"
Luffy leaned back slightly as his fists exploded into countless afterimages, raining blows in all directions.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
A rapid series of impacts rang out.
The pirates were sent flying like harvested wheat, crashing across the deck and instantly losing their ability to fight.
After clearing the fodder, Luffy locked his gaze onto Jack.
He took a deep breath as pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly coated his arms.
Grandpa threw me here to make me stronger.
And this guy looks strong.
"Gum Gum Pistol!"
Luffy's Haki-coated fist shot forward like a black cannonball, tearing through the air toward Jack's face.
…
Jack did not move his massive body.
He merely tilted his head slightly.
Luffy's punch brushed past his cheek.
"He dodged?!"
Luffy's pupils shrank.
Before he could retract his arm, a massive hand like a fan blocked his entire view.
Jack slapped Luffy across the face.
Bang!
Luffy was sent flying, crashing into one of the Mammoth's thick masts.
His body slid down and collapsed on the deck, motionless.
"Heh. Is that all?"
A hint of disdain flickered in Jack's eyes.
Did this kid really think an All-Star of the Beast Pirates was like ordinary fodder?
But the instant he turned around.
"I'm not done yet!"
A powerful shout came from behind him.
Jack spun around, his facial muscles twitching.
The Luffy who had been sprawled on the deck sprang up in a single motion.
He brushed the dust off himself and assumed his stance again.
"Gum Gum Rocket Cannon!"
Both arms shot forward, fists coated in Armament Haki, slamming toward Jack from left and right.
A massive question mark practically appeared over Jack's head.
That slap would have dropped even a Sea King.
And this kid was fine?
This recovery was ridiculous.
Another thunderous impact echoed.
Luffy was sent flying again.
"Tch. Annoying fly!"
Jack snorted, shaking his tingling hand.
This time, he used more force.
He was certain the boy would not get back up again.
Boom!
Luffy crashed back onto the deck once more.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and several holes tore through his Marine uniform.
But his eyes shone brighter than before, burning with excitement.
On the Mammoth's deck, an utterly bizarre scene repeated itself.
Luffy charged.
Luffy was sent flying.
Again and again.
He shattered railings, bent cannons, even smashed several deep craters into the deck.
Yet every time he fell, he stood back up, launching the next charge with even greater ferocity.
The Beast Pirates who had been screaming moments ago now stared in stunned silence.
"What… what is this guy?"
"Do Jack-sama's attacks not work on him?"
"No, they work. Look at his injuries. They're getting worse."
"Then why… why does he keep standing up?"
…
The disdain on Jack's face vanished, replaced by growing irritation.
"You bastard!"
"What, are you doing sit-ups out here?!"