"Then you give me some face as well."
"Leave your head behind!"
…
Behind countless live broadcast screens around the world, every expression froze.
Just moments ago, as the Whitebeard Pirates stood on the brink of annihilation, the Red-Haired Pirates had arrived.
A Sea Emperor at the peak of his power had descended upon a battlefield already turned into hell.
Shanks announced his arrival with overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
He asked everyone present to give him face.
Almost everyone believed the tide of the war was about to change.
Would the Marines really continue fighting?
Would the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates be spared?
Would the balance of the sea be forcibly preserved at the final moment?
Just as these thoughts rose in countless minds,
that man stepped forward.
Vice Admiral Hawk.
The one who had controlled the rhythm of the battlefield from beginning to end.
The man who had ordered the executions of Ace and Teach, and who had crushed a fleeing soldier's head without hesitation.
He took one step forward.
The sky above Marineford split open.
A massive, savage black裂痕 tore through the heavens, as if a god had cleaved the firmament in two.
This was the clash of Conqueror's Haki.
That Red-Haired Shanks possessed Conqueror's Haki was no surprise.
But Hawk?
Was he not the Marine battlefield commander and chief executioner?
How was he matching a Sea Emperor head-on?
And not only matching him, but standing on equal footing?
And then he demanded Shanks' head.
Across the world, only one thought remained in everyone's mind.
The era of this sea was changing.
…
The calm smile on Shanks' face vanished.
This surging Conqueror's Haki…
It was not weaker than his own.
And its owner was demanding his head in return.
The situation had completely spiraled beyond expectation.
"Gurararara…"
Whitebeard let out a low, rumbling laugh. He looked at the裂痕 in the sky, then at Hawk, his gaze filled with complexity.
Sengoku, you old bastard…
Where did you find such a monster?
The future of the Marines could no longer be described as terrifying.
The one who would decide the fate of the sea was about to change.
"Hey now, Hawk-kun… you are joking, right?"
Kizaru removed his sunglasses. For the first time, true shock appeared in his half-lidded eyes.
"This was not part of the original plan, you know."
Akainu bared his teeth in a grin.
"Hawk…"
You brat, hiding this deep?
Not even telling me?
You and Hina, one secretly mastering Conqueror's Haki, the other hiding a Devil Fruit. Very good.
Once this war is over, I am definitely having a long talk with both of you.
Aokiji looked at Hawk intently, understanding dawning in his eyes.
So that's how it is.
Then the outcome of this war was already decided.
"Hahahaha!"
Below the execution platform, Sengoku's joy nearly overflowed.
According to the original plan, if a second Emperor crew arrived, Kizaru and Aokiji would handle the main interception, Akainu would continue suppressing Whitebeard, and Sengoku himself would stand ready to support at any moment.
But now, Hawk had stepped forward.
Hawk, who possessed top-tier Conqueror's Haki.
Sengoku looked at Hawk's upright back, a surge of pride rising in his chest.
The new generation of the Marines…
Had risen in a way that surpassed everyone's imagination.
Perhaps, once this war ended, it would truly be time for him to step down.
It was time to entrust the future of the Marines, and this heavy burden of justice, to these reliable young people.
"Vice Admiral Hawk!"
Across the battlefield, every Marine officer and soldier now looked toward the figure walking calmly to the front of the plaza, their eyes filled with fervent admiration.
This was the future of the Marines.
Hawk stopped at the very front of the plaza, his gaze sweeping over the Marines who had collapsed unconscious under the pressure of Conqueror's Haki.
He spoke calmly.
"All Marines below the rank of vice admiral, withdraw immediately."
"The next main battlefield is mine."
The Marines obeyed without hesitation.
They quickly lifted their unconscious comrades and retreated in orderly fashion.
At that moment, a deep boom erupted from beneath the frozen bay.
Crackling thunder echoed.
The massive ice layer created by Aokiji exploded open from its center.
A towering column of water shot into the sky.
Splash.
A massive blue figure, unmistakably Fish-Man in origin, burst from the water and slammed down onto the ice.
"It's Jinbe!"
"Jinbe came to save us!"
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, who had already sunk into despair, saw hope flare once more in their eyes.
Like drowning men grasping at their final lifeline.
"I'll open a path for your retreat!"
Jinbe landed firmly, surveying the fallen comrades in pools of blood, then looking toward the distant, battered Whitebeard. Rage burned fiercely in his eyes.
"Everyone, gather here!"
"Hurry and leave Marineford!"
He roared, water coiling around his arms as he assumed the stance of Fish-Man Karate.
A soul-freezing chill suddenly enveloped the entire bay.
"…Enough."
For the first time, unmistakable anger entered Aokiji's voice.
Terrifying cold surged from his body. Moisture in the air crystallized instantly, falling like icy dust.
"Once. Twice."
"You keep breaking the ice."
"I already told you. You are not getting away."
"Since you like shattering ice so much…"
Aokiji slowly raised his right hand, palm upward.
Endless cold gathered in his palm, condensing into a slowly rotating, crystal-clear lotus of ice.
"Great Ice Burial."
As his voice fell, the ice lotus bloomed silently.
In the next instant, centered on Jinbe, the ice within a hundred-meter radius was engulfed by a strange frost of eerie beauty.
The frost spread rapidly, ice flowers blooming one after another.
"Fish-Man Karate: Shark Brick Fist!"
Jinbe did not dare hesitate. He threw a punch, the invisible shockwave shattering the ice flowers crawling toward him.
But the shattered ice did not disappear.
Instead, it reformed midair, splitting into even more numerous and finer ice blossoms, clinging to him like parasites and surging forward again.
"What?!"
Jinbe's pupils shrank sharply.
"It's useless."
Aokiji's voice was cold and merciless.
Before the words even faded, countless ice flowers swarmed over him.
Jinbe's right leg froze solid.
Bone-piercing cold invaded instantly, draining his renowned strength at terrifying speed.
Then his left leg. His waist. His chest.
Wherever the ice flowers passed, his massive body was frozen inch by inch into a flawless ice sculpture.
Finally, the cold reached his head.
The expression on his face was frozen forever.
He stood in the center of the bay, locked in the pose of a thrown punch, a lifelike statue of ice.
…
The last traces of hope on the faces of the Whitebeard Pirates' remnants shattered.
The light in their eyes dimmed once more, sinking into despair deeper than the ice itself.
Aokiji appeared instantly before the ice statue.
"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sea Knight Jinbe, for attempting to rescue the Whitebeard Pirates."
He slowly raised his leg.
"I hereby…"
Then he kicked straight into the center of the frozen figure.
"Formally remove you!"
Crack!
A sharp, brittle sound echoed through Marineford.
A裂痕 appeared across the ice statue.
In the next instant, the裂痕 spread like a spider's web, covering the entire sculpture.
Boom!
The ice statue exploded.
It shattered into countless glittering fragments, reflecting dazzling light under the sun.
Sea Knight Jinbe was completely erased.
Aokiji calmly withdrew his leg and slid his hands back into his pockets.
"Did you really think ice cannot get angry?"