Upon noticing the enemy's assault, Kizaru had already returned to the side of the Pacifistas.
At this moment, he saw the rapidly approaching Straw Hat Luffy and the overwhelming barrage of cannon fire behind him.
"This is genuinely a bit terrifying."
Without another word, Kizaru issued a defensive command to the Pacifistas.
"Adjust attack direction, destroy the distant shells!"
Upon receiving the order, the Pacifistas aimed various lasers at the shells fired from the direction of the Beasts Pirates' warships.
However, there was one thing Kizaru hadn't anticipated.
Those massive cannons were capable of rapid-fire—two shots per second, twice as fast as the lasers from these version 1.0 Pacifistas.
Moreover, each volley from the enemy consisted of 300 shells, while his side could only fire 100 lasers at once.
As a result, hundreds of massive shells successfully landed on the platform above the harbor.
Their destructive power was immense, completely obliterating one naval artillery emplacement after another.
Some shells even struck the Pacifistas directly, the terrifying force blasting them into shutdown.
Even those Pacifistas not directly hit but merely caught in the blast suffered minor damage, their targeting systems malfunctioned, causing their lasers to fire haphazardly at their own allies.
After several waves of fire coverage, the only attacks still breaking the ice were Akainu's "Meteor Volcano."
As for Kizaru, he was already engaged in battle with Luffy.
The moment they clashed, Kizaru widened his eyes in surprise.
"As expected of Garp's grandson, your progress is astonishingly fast. Advanced Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki infusion, Future Sight Observation Haki. Truly a monster."
Kizaru wasn't exaggerating.
Just a week ago, Luffy had barely managed to engage Aokiji with the help of his crewmates.
But now, Luffy could face him head-on.
Even though he wasn't taking it seriously yet, he had to admit that Luffy was no longer an opponent Vice Admirals could handle.
Unfortunately, Luffy had chosen the wrong opponent.
Perhaps the current Luffy could hold his own against Akainu or Aokiji in a direct fight.
But against Kizaru, who excelled in speed, his Gear Fourth form still wasn't quite enough.
After briefly exchanging blows with Luffy a few times, Kizaru decided he needed to end this quickly.
Thus, he transformed into a flash of golden light and instantly appeared behind Luffy.
Luffy's Future Sight Observation Haki did detect this, but he was helpless at the moment, simply because his speed couldn't keep up.
All he could do was turn around while crossing his arms in front of his chest, coating himself in Ryuo to forcibly block.
With a resounding booming sound, Luffy was kicked into the sea by Kizaru, sending up hundred-meter-high waves.
Having dealt with Luffy, Kizaru immediately prepared to charge toward the Whitebeard Pirates.
He intended to destroy the ice beneath Whitebeard and his crew as quickly as possible.
But just as he was about to turn and leave, a hundred-meter-long sword slash infused with Conqueror's Haki was already closing in behind him.
Clearly, this slash had been unleashed the instant Kizaru kicked Luffy away.
Facing an attack imbued with Conqueror's Haki infusion, using Logia intangibility to evade was definitely not a good option.
Therefore, Kizaru used his Ama no Murakumo to clash directly with the slash.
The moment he dispersed the slash, a figure had already closed in on him, the tip of a sword aimed directly at Kizaru's head.
Kizaru barely managed to parry, but the powerful strike sent him crashing down onto the fortified platform of the harbor, landing him back among the Pacifistas.
He raised his head, his brow furrowed tightly with clear displeasure.
"Rayleigh, still joining a war at such an old age. Are you trying to reincarnate sooner?"
Hearing Kizaru's provocation, Rayleigh, who had landed on the platform, remained completely unruffled.
"Flashy brat, I'm not willing to die here just yet."
"So then?"
"Naturally, I'll defeat you!"
Rayleigh revealed a confident smile and instantly charged toward Kizaru.
Although Rayleigh was indeed older compared to Kizaru, with age came a more seasoned mastery of Haki and richer combat experience.
Within mere seconds, they exchanged dozens of blows with neither gaining the upper hand.
Kizaru knew he was effectively pinned down.
Meanwhile, the distant naval cannons continued their bombardment!
They were getting closer and closer to the harbor.
Rayleigh's appearance was truly unexpected, yet it made perfect sense.
...
Whitebeard and the others naturally noticed the arrival of reinforcements.
"Gurarara, Rayleigh, what a familiar old face."
Marco wasn't surprised when he saw Rayleigh. "When he saw his captain's son about to be executed, it's normal he couldn't sit still. Old man, Rayleigh is incredibly strong. With his help, our chances of success increase significantly."
Marco recalled the great battles between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates back in the day.
At that time, his full-powered kick was casually blocked by Rayleigh.
In his anger, Marco had asked if Rayleigh was looking down on him.
To which Rayleigh replied: "I've always been serious, young man." That scene was practically engraved in Marco's memory.
Rayleigh became the embodiment of a powerful figure in his mind. Seeing Rayleigh's arrival, Marco's confidence grew substantially.
Moreover, on the large ships behind Rayleigh, more familiar figures began to appear.
...
With Kizaru restrained by Rayleigh, and the Pacifistas along with marine defense turrets either destroyed or suppressed, more and more powerful fighters leaped onto the platform.
Leading the charge was Luffy.
A Homie in the form of a cape-wearing robot fished him out from the sea.
This was something Franky had forced upon him. Luffy initially wanted to refuse, but upon seeing the Homie's appearance, he immediately agreed.
Who cared about external help or not—it was a goddamn robot!
Coolness was all that mattered!
Thus, Luffy gained a Homie that could rescue him from the ocean at any time.
Now, with the Homie's help, he flew directly over the harbor platform, activated Gear Fourth again, and charged toward the inner wall.
Following behind him were all the members of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Chouchou transformed into his dog demon mode, carrying everyone directly to the icy battlefield.
But the ice surface was now difficult to stand on, so Chouchou deposited everyone on the harbor's circular platform, leaving them to find their own way forward.
Everyone simultaneously surveyed their surroundings and realized they could reach the inner city by charging along these circular platforms.
They could also destroy all the Marine weaponry on the circular platforms along the way.
Zoro, Sanji, Robin, "Let's move."
Franky, Brook, Chopper, "Charge!"
Nami: "Zoro, protect me."
Usopp: "Sanji, you need to protect me too."
And so, the Straw Hat crew began their destruction of Marine weaponry from the elevated platforms.
Meanwhile, Chouchou flew toward the harbor to pick someone up, planning to notify the Sea Kings to handle some matters later.
...
Behind them, the forces led by the four captains—Cavendish, Mikita, Bartolomeo, and Yamato—began landing as well.
Yamato observed the shattered ice surface below and realized the difficulty of launching an attack under these conditions.
Moreover, the ice beneath Whitebeard and his crew seemed on the verge of melting.
After a moment of thought, a battle plan took shape.
Yamato addressed the three behind her. "Uncles, I'll need your protection later. Chouchou, release control over these three and return their bodily autonomy."
Yamato was referring, of course, to the three All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates: the "Wildfire"—King, the "Plague"—Queen, and the "Drought"—Jack.
Yamato had communicated with them multiple times on the way.
Two days prior, all three had expressed their willingness to cooperate with Yamato in attacking Marineford.
Queen and Jack, already terrified by Ray and the others and still wearing pet collars, immediately swore allegiance to Yamato.
As Kaido's daughter and his heir, it was no disgrace for them to pledge loyalty to her.
As for King, he held a deep grudge against the World Government and had no reservations about assaulting Marineford.
He desired revenge for Kaido but understood the realities of the situation.
To achieve vengeance, survival was essential.
And survival hinged on cooperating with Yamato. Incidentally, it also allowed him to strike back at the World Government—a win-win scenario.
Thus, the three Calamities resumed their positions as the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates, now under Yamato's command.
...
Hearing Yamato's request, Chouchou didn't overthink it.
After all, he was constantly monitoring the battlefield, if the Calamities betrayed them, he could strip their consciousness on the spot.
Given the current situation, restoring their consciousness was most advantageous, enabling the three to unleash their full combat potential.
After returning their body control, Chouchou flew toward a location about ten kilometers away from Marineford.
There, over a hundred Sea Kings awaited his command!
...
The moment Yamato saw the Calamities regain consciousness, she activated her ability.
Zoan Mythical Beast Type: Okuchi no Makami.
The wolf god emerged and swiftly charged into the battlefield.
"Fanged Ice Bite!"
In her wolf form, Yamato opened her jaws, releasing an endless stream of frigid air from her mouth directly into the sea below.
Her primary target was the ice beneath Whitebeard, Marco, and the others.
After securing a foothold for Whitebeard's crew, Yamato aimed to completely freeze the five-kilometer-wide inland sea.
The shattered ice began to mend under the intense cold.
Meanwhile, the 31,000-strong Straw Hat Grand Fleet advanced across the ice, launching their assault.
While freezing the sea, Yamato deliberately avoided the Whitebeard Pirates members who had fallen into the water.
The cold created ice platforms around them, helping them climb ashore.
The charging forces grew steadily larger.
...
Inside Marineford's inner city, Aokiji fixed his gaze on Yamato.
"Arara, a Mythical Zoan with ice abilities no less. I'll stop her."
Without waiting for Sengoku or Akainu to respond, he transformed into a gust of cold air and flew toward Yamato.
Nearby, Akainu watched as Luffy drew closer to the inner wall, his head steaming with magma in fury.
'These bastards—if they had arrived just ten minutes later, the Whitebeard Pirates would have been completely annihilated.'
The battle had descended into utter chaos!