Hades's plan was simple.
Crush the Navy Headquarters at Marineford, then bring everyone to reinforce Mary Geoise.
He ignored Hel's complaints. This was war, not a stage play. Brook had given the order, and Hades would carry it out to the letter.
Capture Marineford.
"Everyone, attack," Hades commanded, voice cold and absolute. "End this fast. Once these Marines are finished, we go straight to Mary Geoise and support Father!"
Black horns pushed out from his head. A pair of massive, devil bat wings unfurled from his back, and black flames coiled around him like living smoke. In the blink of an eye, the eldest prince became a goat horned demon wreathed in darkness.
At his signal, the second generation of Hell unleashed their beasts.
Osiris's red sky dragon.
Kanna's bluish white frost dragon.
Anubis's crimson three headed hellhound.
Hela's cyan immortal phoenix.
Ryugi's black dragon.
One mythical creature after another appeared, their presence crushing the battlefield like an avalanche.
Sengoku, already transformed into a golden Buddha, broke into a cold sweat at the sight of that lineup.
"Zehahahaha!!!" Teach threw his head back and laughed. "I should've saved a seat for that Giant Buddha Fruit!"
Behind Teach, a pair of eagle wings burst out, the flying ability he had gained by fusing the Swallow Swallow Fruit with his pet pug, Bazu. Then he reached into his own body and pulled out a weapon that made the Marines' scalps go numb.
A blue fire Gatling gun.
Its body came from a Devil Fruit weapon, an octopus that had eaten an ordinary Zoan, and its frame had been reinforced with alloy strengthened by the Swallow Swallow Fruit. Eight tentacle like rotating barrels spun up at once, and blue fire poured across the square in a violent rain of suppression.
Teach reveled in it.
As a triple fruit user, Marshall D. Teach possessed the Parahuman Swallow Fruit, the Copy Fruit, and the Logia Swamp Fruit, which granted him storage space. His obsession with Devil Fruits ran through everything he touched. His pet, Bazu, was an Eagle Fruit user. Even his weapons carried Devil Fruits. The Copy Fruit had even replicated part of the Tremor Fruit's power.
One man wielding that many abilities was a nightmare given flesh.
The moment the princes and princesses moved, the Navy Admirals responded without hesitation.
Kizaru's golden light flashed across the plaza.
Akainu's red heat erupted in explosions.
Aokiji's cold spread, leaving ice statues in its wake.
Hades was right. Only by ending the war at Marineford quickly could they reach the legendary Holy Land.
Only then could they witness the fall of the World Government.
Bullet, charged like a mad beast toward Sengoku. That was his only target. Even if it meant competing with other second generation Hell monsters, even if it meant turning Sengoku into a group kill, he would still fight that Navy Admiral.
Nearby, Fujitora suddenly raised his hand.
The ground floated.
Dozens of Marines lost control of their bodies as chunks of earth lifted into the air, clearing them out of the kill zone and saving their lives in disguise.
··
Marineford's sky darkened again.
Clouds rolled in thick, thunder and lightning snarled, and the wind howled across the sea like a warning siren.
High above, three figures stood proudly in the air.
Satan, wielder of the Weather Fruit.
Marco, who possessed the Cloud Cloud Fruit.
Vista, who possessed the Rain Rain Fruit.
They unleashed air to ground elemental destruction, thunder spears, lightning pillars, and black raindrops that fell like bullets. Each impact ripped through formations and shattered morale.
The Marines' resolve began to crack.
Then the earth itself shook.
A stone giant rose from the ground.
It was Mephisto, the Fifth Prince, using the Earth Fruit's natural power, and he wasn't simply building a body. He was fusing with the massive Navy Headquarters castle tower itself, grinding that iconic structure into ruin as if it were clay.
On another front, Katakuri turned a swath of ground into mochi and compressed it into a colossal ball. It burst outward into countless huge fists wrapped in Armament Haki. With the trident Earth Dragon in hand, he charged into the crowd and crushed everything in his path.
"Hahaha! Rot away!"
Moria laughed like a villain in a nightmare. Wherever he walked, Marine corpses, swords, and guns decayed into broken, rotten fragments. His Corruption Fruit was so dangerous that even the other second generation Hell fighters kept a wary distance from him.
Behind the main assault, Beckman stood with a cigarette between his lips, a sniper rifle resting on his shoulder. His eyes were calm, but his Observation Haki was sharp enough to read the battlefield like a page.
Beside him was Van Augur, acting as a second sniper, preventing accidents and covering the princes and princesses.
One of them had the Parahuman Slow Down Fruit.
The other had the Parahuman Teleport Fruit.
As snipers, the two were disgusting. If they wanted to hunt someone, it was both simple and almost impossible to defend against. With their coordination, that twisted style of sniping became even more unstoppable.
There was already a trend of surpassing their other instructor, the sniper god Hiruba.
In their eyes, with Kong and Sagon absent from Marineford, this war no longer carried real danger.
And it seemed Brook had left spies and backup plans behind, making the fight even easier than expected.
They had guessed right.
Not long after the battle began, strange things started happening.
Shimotsuki Koshiro and Ashura Doji cut through the Marines with famous blades, each strong enough to face several rear admirals at once. But as they fought, they noticed something unnatural.
Several rear admirals were dying for no clear reason.
Killed by their own people.
A Marine rear admiral with a crew cut, a piece of bread stuck to his face, and a red black devil bamboo weapon in hand was stalking through the ranks, openly slaughtering rear admirals.
Elsewhere, the Third Princess Shana, who possessed the mythical raccoon fruit, toyed with Vice Admiral Gumir as if this were a game. Around her stood a group of leaf like people with the aura of big shots, shielding her with eerie calm.
And behind her, Jinbei silently guarded her back.
Shana was likely the weakest among the second generation of Hell, so she received special care. Her pet dragon was not with her right now.
"Hehe," Shana giggled, eyes bright with mischief. "Old man, how does it feel to get stabbed in the back?"
Gumir's eyes widened.
Behind him stood a rear admiral wearing a flight cap and holding a blood stained long knife.
Shana was laughing at him for a reason.
Before this war, Brook had already told the second generation Hell about the spies and agents hidden inside the Navy.
Shiryu, who should have been lurking in the World Government's prison system, had been transferred to Marine Headquarters because of his frightening strength. He had become a hawkish rear admiral.
His great sword, Raiu, was soaked in blood. It had killed countless pirates, and it showed no mercy even to Marines who made mistakes.
He was called the new generation killing god of the Navy.
"What are you talking about?" Gumir demanded, bald head gleaming under the stormy sky. He bit down on his cigar and tightened his grip on his sword, his voice heavy as he forced himself to stay composed.
To be honest, he couldn't see a path to victory.
But he didn't want to die here.
So he guarded himself as best he could, waiting for Sengoku to shout the words of surrender. If that happened, Gumir could follow the crowd, join the new navy of the Universal Government, and avoid being branded a traitor.
He could start over.
With his strength and experience, he could earn the rank of vice admiral again in the new navy, given time and careful observation.
Justice would still be justice.
It would only be a change of rulers.
-----------
Vice Admiral Gumir's sudden alertness made Shana realize she had probably exposed something.
But it didn't matter.
Even without her hidden agent, stabbing from the shadows, she could still beat this vice admiral with her own strength. It would just take a little longer.
Her "weakness" was only relative to the terrifying monsters of the second generation of Hell.
Shana was twenty seven this year. She carried Brook's blood, and the dragon blood of her mother, Daenerys Targaryen. Most days, she was lazy, playful, and shamelessly carefree. Compared to her royal brothers and sisters, she didn't have the strength of a future fleet admiral or admiral candidate, and she hadn't awakened Conqueror's Haki.
But a Navy vice admiral was still a vice admiral.
His two types of Haki and martial skill were above the baseline, and under Brook's guidance, Shana had developed her mythical raccoon fruit to a solid level. Otherwise, she would have been kicked out of the second generation of Gold Hell long ago, and no one would bother playing with her. Brook might have tossed her into the Silver Hell circle instead, letting her hang around Katifa, Kikyo, Nika, and the others.
Still, Shana didn't even get the chance to show her real skill.
"Aaagh!"
A scream ripped through the battlefield.
Even though Gumir was already on guard, he was still too slow.
Rear Admiral Shiryu moved like a phantom, his blade flashing through the air and burying itself deep into Gumir's abdomen. Gumir stared down in shock at the strange sword lodged in his body.
And the blood on it was being sucked away.
Gumir recognized it instantly.
The demon sword, Raiu.
Shiryu's weapon.
"You're… Brook's spy?" Gumir choked, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth as he slowly turned, horror twisting his face. He had worked with this newly promoted hawkish rear admiral for almost a full year.
"Don't kill me," Gumir gasped. "I'll surrender…"
A cold blade sound answered him.
Shiryu, cigar clenched between his teeth, sliced clean through Gumir's waist. Red light flashed in his eyes as he looked down with a savage calm.
Gumir's upper body hung in the air for a breath, his mouth trembling.
"D… dr…"
That last word died on his tongue.
Regret hit him like a wave. If he had known this traitor was this cruel, he should have surrendered from the start.
Vice Admiral Tsuru was living fine in the new navy. Vice Admirals Gion and Tokikake were doing fine too. What was the point of fearing the stigma of betrayal when life itself was on the line?
But there was no chance to regret anything now.
Gumir screamed as the pain exploded through him, and then another red sword light flashed.
His head flew.
The scream ended abruptly.
"Hahahaha!!" Shiryu laughed, voice drunk on bloodlust. "Finally, I can slaughter as much as I want!"
He tore off his navy cloak. The demon sword Raiu in his hand drank the last of the blood and released an even darker, more evil red glow.
Shiryu glanced at Shana once.
Just once.
Then he turned and butchered the stunned Marines in front of him without mercy.
He hadn't accepted Brook and Antonio's "training conditions" for loyalty. He accepted them so he could kill without restraint.
He would follow Brook and Antonio's orders, but he didn't respect Brook's children.
This was business.
Not servitude.
If Brook ever tried to stop him from killing, Shiryu would simply stop obeying and find another way to satisfy his murderous urge.
Watching him rush off, Shana pursed her lips and snorted. She was too lazy to argue.
She just turned away and went hunting for a new opponent.
··
Elsewhere, Sengoku was facing an unprecedented siege.
As the only Navy admiral still present at Marineford, Sengoku was being crushed by the second generation of Hell.
The three admirals of the new navy, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu, were handling the vice admirals instead. One against three, one against five, it didn't matter. They pushed through the battlefield like storms.
Marineford simply couldn't withstand this many monsters.
The Revolutionary Army's main force had already landed, determined to occupy this naval fortress completely. Even their four commanders had joined the fight.
Sengoku's Haki roared outward, released again and again like an invisible tsunami. But Hades, Osiris, Kanna, Hela, and the rest also had their own Haki. Their collisions alone were enough to drop large numbers of Marines to the ground, unconscious and foaming.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Hades called out, voice hard and steady. "Surrender. Ms Tsuru is waiting for you."
Among the second generation of Hell, only Hades tried to persuade Sengoku.
The others wanted his head.
And among them, Hel, Bullet, and Teach were the most vicious, every attack aimed straight at vital points.
Sengoku didn't answer.
But the golden light pouring off him burned brighter and brighter, and it was all the answer they needed.
He was prepared to live and die with the Navy.
Before exhaustion finally crushed him, his Buddha defense remained indestructible.
The explosions from that battle shook the sea outside Marineford, and out on the outer waters, Garp's face twisted with fury.
"Dragon!" Garp roared. "Get out of my way! I'm going back to beat those brats into the ground!"
His pitch black fist was wrapped in red lightning, pure rage boiling off him. If he didn't return, Sengoku would be beaten to death by that pack of second generation Hell monsters.
"Old man," Dragon said, voice low, dangerous, but with a smile that carried no warmth. "Didn't you say it yourself? On the battlefield, we are enemies. Don't think I won't fight you just because you're my father."
Let Garp rush back to die?
No chance.
Dragon had chosen to besiege Marineford not just to overthrow the World Government and complete Brook's mission, but also to save Garp's life. That was part of it, whether Garp deserved it or not.
"Bastard," Garp snarled. "Then today I'll teach you what the true Iron Fist of Love is!"
Red lightning thickened around his fists until it looked like a storm coiling around his arms. He blasted straight toward Dragon's face.
Even Dragon didn't dare block that oppressive force. He dodged quickly, heart thumping.
Did the old man really want to kill his own son?
Was his best friend's life really worth more than his child's?
"Haha!" Garp barked. "You fell for it! Fists strike the sea, feet swing the tail!"
At a bizarre angle, Garp suddenly used a rare leg technique, his foot snapping up like a cannon. It smashed into Dragon's face and kicked him away in an instant.
"Dragon," Garp shouted over his shoulder, already turning. "I'm sorry! I'll apologize later!"
He didn't look back.
Moonwalk carried him toward Marineford at full speed.
But the next moment, a storm rose in front of him again and took human shape.
Dragon had returned.
His face was twisted ugly with rage. A brutal shoe print scar was stamped across his features. Bruised muscle bled openly, and the hideous wound along his cheekbone was split so deep it exposed white bone.
That was how terrifying Garp's strike had been.
Dragon's Haki defense and even his elementalization had been useless against Garp's top tier Armament and Conqueror's dual entanglement.
"You really want to fight me to the death for the Navy!" Dragon shouted, fists clenched as he gasped for breath, his expression warped with fury.
He had paid so much, just to save his father's life.
And in return, his father had personally destroyed his face.
Disfigured him.
For the sake of the Navy.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]