Marine Headquarters, Marineford!
Amidst this unprecedented situation, the entire venue fell into dead silence!
Dang! Dang! Dang!
Only the sound of Murakumogiri, one of the Supreme Grade swords, striking the deck of the pirate ship Moby Dick, echoed through the air.
All the Marines focused their eyes forward, waiting for a man to appear.
One of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard—Edward Newgate!
When the man known as the strongest in the world finally stood before them, even though the Marines had assembled unprecedented strength, a suffocating sense of oppression weighed heavily on them.
"We haven't seen each other for decades, Sengoku!"
"...Whitebeard..."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face was covered in sweat. Though they were contemporaries, he knew full well—the Navy would never dare to start a war with Whitebeard unless forced.
The title Strongest Man in the World wasn't just words.
That was a name Edward Newgate had carved into history through countless battles at sea.
"My dear son, are you alright? Sengoku, I'm really unhappy with you Marines! Gurararara..."
Whitebeard's aura didn't falter, even as 100,000 elite Marines stood before him. He lifted his head toward Fire Fist Ace, chained on the execution platform.
"Be patient, Ace!"
"Dad!!!"
Ace broke down emotionally, screaming at the top of his lungs.
And then—Whitebeard moved, marking the true beginning of the war!
Duang!!!
Zizizi!!!
Whitebeard set down his massive Naginata, then swung both fists horizontally. The space before him cracked apart inch by inch—the shattered air visible to the naked eye!
"What… what's happening?! The very atmosphere is splitting!"
"Oh no! Look at the sea level!"
The moment Whitebeard struck, the seas on both sides of Marineford quaked violently!
"It's coming! That earthquake he caused is turning into a tsunami! The user of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Whitebeard Edward Newgate!"
Vice Admiral Garp's face hardened. Whitebeard was beyond formidable.
"All Marines, be careful! We could be the ones who fall here! That man wields the power to destroy the world!"
Sengoku roared, and right as he spoke, the sea on both flanks of Marineford surged wildly upward.
A colossal tsunami, blotting out the sun, towered over the island!
One hundred thousand elite Marines froze in shock. At the very start of the war, Whitebeard had already unleashed such destruction?!
The tsunami was so vast it threatened to swallow the entire island whole. Any ordinary man would have fainted in terror at the sight.
Fighting? What fighting? How do you fight a thousand-foot-high tsunami?!
At this critical moment, one of the Navy's greatest moved—Admiral Aokiji.
His figure flashed, and in the next instant, he was high above the surging waves, staring down the monstrous walls of water.
"Ice Age!"
With icy authority, Aokiji unleashed his Devil Fruit power.
The tsunamis, mighty enough to obliterate Marineford, froze solid into towering ice walls!
"Aokiji, you little brat!"
Whitebeard grinned, his deep voice mocking, as though even a Navy Admiral was nothing but a child in his eyes.
"Two-Thorn Spear!"
The cold air before Aokiji condensed into three jagged spears of ice, which shot down toward Whitebeard!
Unfazed, Whitebeard swung his fist once again, shattering the very air.
Crack!
The ice spears exploded into shards, though the shockwaves continued upward, forcing Aokiji's icy body to shatter in midair.
"Ah la la..."
Aokiji's fragmented ice fell to the ground before reforming into his human form. The sea in the harbor rapidly froze under his power, sealing the battlefield into solid ice.
The war could now begin.
Artillery fire roared along the shore.
One hundred thousand elite Marines clashed with Whitebeard's pirate fleet in a storm of violence!
The world's strongest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, made the first shocking move, launching a slash of such power it split the sea.
Though Diamond Jozu, captain of the Third Division, blocked it, the crowd trembled at Mihawk's might.
Next, Admiral Kizaru unleashed his Yasakani no Magatama, a rain of destructive light. But Phoenix Marco, First Division captain, intercepted him, sending Kizaru crashing into a wall with a blazing kick!
One by one, the division captains displayed their terrifying strength. Even Flower Sword Vista stepped forward to cross blades with Mihawk himself.
The Whitebeard Pirates' might shook the Navy to its core.
Even Admiral Kizaru muttered with a sigh, "The Whitebeard Pirates are truly terrifying~"
Meanwhile, under Mihawk's lead, the Seven Warlords of the Sea joined the battle.
The most devastating was Bartholomew Kuma, who faced down the giant, Little Oars Jr., the so-called "descendant of the demon."
And among them, the Pirate Empresses, Boa Hancock, inevitably joined the fray.
Yet her heart wasn't in the fight. She was waiting.
For one man.
The only man she had ever fallen in love with.
"Aromatic Feet!"
Annoyed by the chaos around her, Hancock unleashed her attack indiscriminately!
It didn't matter if they were Marines or pirates—every man near her found parts of his body turning to stone!
One unfortunate Marine lieutenant colonel took a grazing hit and fully petrified—only to be shattered seconds later by his own panicked allies.
"Ahhh!!! Boa Hancock, why are you attacking the Navy?!"
"I don't care whether they are Marines or pirates. All men are disgusting in my eyes. All men… except for one!"
Her icy beauty made even her words cut like a blade. Already anxious about Victor, Hancock's fury only grew. She wanted nothing more than to petrify every bothersome man in her way.
"Eh! The Pirate Empress?! Seeing you in person is truly better than the rumors. You really are the most beautiful woman in the world!"
Two ferocious-looking pirates suddenly appeared, surrounding Hancock.
"Tch… that's Hankan and Ness from Whitebeard's fleet. Both are notorious pirates in the New World. The Pirate Empress could be in trouble!"
The Marines whispered nervously, recalling their research on these dangerous men.
But reality was clear—Hancock wasn't called the Pirate Empress for nothing. She still held the upper hand.
Boom!
Just as Hancock clashed with the two, a shadow dropped from the sky!
Ice and dust scattered, revealing a tall, imposing figure.
Hancock immediately forced the pirates back, her deep blue eyes misting over in full view of friend and foe alike.
The world's most beautiful woman, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock—
—threw herself into the arms of the man who had just descended from the heavens.