"Marines, Marines… even if I plan to enter Impel Down, I can't just let myself be defeated by you here, can I?"
Ashveil remained seated on his small raft, his voice calm yet mocking. "I'm the man who killed Admiral Akainu. If I were to fall to mere cannon fire, even I wouldn't believe it."
As the sky rained cannonballs, Ashveil did not flinch. He enveloped both himself and his raft in a shimmering barrier of Conqueror's Haki, pressing forward undeterred.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted around him, waves surging high as smoke and fire consumed the sea. For a moment, Marineford's horizon vanished beneath black haze.
Yet when the smoke cleared, Ashveil was still seated in the same calm posture. Not even a single hair on his head was disturbed.
"Foolish Marines," Ashveil muttered in irritation. "Why don't you send an Admiral already? You're wasting my time."
On the execution platform, Sengoku's jaw tightened as he watched through his telescope. When he saw Ashveil unharmed, veins bulged on his forehead.
"Is this… really the strength of the man who killed Sakazuki?"
He clenched his fist. "Damn it! Pirates today… especially the younger ones… they're becoming more dangerous than ever."
His voice turned cold, heavy with resolve. "That boy must be executed. Just as Ace's execution carries meaning, this brat's public death will serve as a warning as well. The next generation must learn fear. The dream of becoming a pirate ends here."
Ever since Roger declared the existence of his treasure at his own execution, the seas had been boiling with ambition. More and more youths had chosen the life of piracy. For Sengoku, it was the Marines' greatest threat—his greatest headache.
"First echelon, charge!" Sengoku barked into his Den Den Mushi.
The front ranks moved at once. These were not ordinary Marines, but handpicked elites, soldiers trained to fight ten men each in their branches. With weapons raised and eyes burning with resolve, they surged toward Ashveil in unison.
"Kill the Zero Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Avenge Admiral Sakazuki!"
"Justice will prevail!"
Their roars shook the battlefield.
Ashveil's lips curled faintly. So, these are the elites gathered from every corner of the world? Their fighting spirit is impressive, far greater than the Marines I've faced in the first half of the Grand Line.
But his eyes hardened. Unfortunately… their opponent is me.
The air around him vibrated with a low hum.
From beneath his feet, Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tidal wave. The aura spread outward, sweeping across the battlefield in an instant.
The charge halted.
Twenty thousand elite Marines froze where they stood. Their shouts died in their throats, replaced by silence.
Eyes widened. Sweat poured down backs. Terror rose from the depths of their souls as if invisible chains had seized their bodies.
One-fifth of Marineford's entire force stood paralyzed.
They wanted to move. They wanted to strike. But their legs were heavy as lead, their wills smothered by Ashveil's overwhelming presence.
On the platform, Sengoku's hands trembled around his telescope.
Beside him, Tsuru's expression darkened, her voice quiet but sharp. "That's Conqueror's Haki. I've never seen it this strong. Not even Roger's presence could suppress twenty thousand men at once."
Sengoku's teeth ground together. "Damn it! His Haki is beyond anything we anticipated."
At the last Marine conference, Ashveil's ability with Conqueror's Haki had been analyzed and acknowledged. But none of them had imagined this—a level so extreme it bent the rules of possibility.
What should have been weakened by spreading its influence across twenty thousand men was still utterly devastating.
Not only were they immobilized, but one by one, soldiers groaned in pain. Their organs strained under the crushing force. Blood spilled from mouths as they dropped heavily to the ground.
Finally, the sea of elites collapsed all at once. Twenty thousand men unconscious in less than a minute.
Their rigid faces revealed the torment they had endured before losing consciousness.
The entire battlefield trembled in disbelief.
"That… that was one strike?"
"Our twenty thousand elites, one-fifth of our entire force… gone?"
"Is he even human?"
"This Ashveil… he's the one who killed Admiral Sakazuki? We're facing a monster."
Even the Shichibukai, watching from their positions, could not conceal their astonishment.
Hawkeye Mihawk's gaze sharpened, his hand brushing his blade. Doflamingo's grin widened, eyes glinting with amusement.
Boa Hancock's breath caught, her lips parting slightly. "This kind of Conqueror's Haki… can such power even exist?"
Beside her, Moria stammered.
"This is real? Twenty thousand Marines gone in an instant? Are the Marines pulling some kind of trick?"
But no one replied.
Those who understood power knew the truth, and they trembled at it.
On the platform, Garp's expression had grown serious, his usual carefree demeanor replaced by something darker.
"This boy…" he muttered slowly, "he reminds me of Rocks. A man who once rampaged across the seas."
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Sorry for the short hiatus.