Marineford Inner City.
Luffy, Buggy, Crocodile, Marco, Hancock, Vista, Jozu, and Jinbe—eight individuals were wreaking havoc in Marineford.
The elite Vice Admirals, Marine prodigies, and CP agents were all engaged in combat against the pirate alliance forces on the external ice battlefield, resulting in a severe shortage of high-tier combat power within the inner city.
Regular Marine Vice Admirals were completely outmatched against these individuals, possessing no ability to fight back.
Fortunately, their numbers were sufficient to barely hold back these eight experts with Yonko Commander-level strength.
Yet they were getting closer and closer to the execution platform.
Sengoku watched as elite Marines in the inner city fell in large numbers while his three Admirals were all pinned down on the ice battlefield, letting out a helpless sigh.
He turned to look at his old comrade beside him.
"Garp, can I entrust the execution platform to you?"
Hearing these words, Garp immediately understood Sengoku's meaning.
This old fool was planning to take action himself.
But who could blame him—Garp was also a Marine. Closing his eyes for two seconds, Garp spoke to Sengoku with utmost seriousness.
"This old man can hold it, rest assured."
Receiving Garp's definite answer, Sengoku finally showed a smile.
When his old comrade made a promise, he would definitely keep it.
"Sorry, Garp, but for the sake of this world, Ace must be executed."
"Yeah, stop wasting time and get going already."
"Right."
With that, Sengoku leaped down, using several Geppo to charge toward the location of those Yonko Commander-level monsters.
At this moment, the eight individuals had split up.
Buggy, Luffy, Jinbe, and Hancock had gathered together at the center of the inner city.
Crocodile operated alone.
Marco, Vista, and Jozu were on the right side of the inner city.
And the direction Sengoku chose was exactly where Luffy's group of four was located.
In an instant, golden light erupted as a giant ancient Buddha standing 30 meters tall appeared before Luffy and the others.
All four simultaneously sensed the enemy's arrival and unleashed their full power.
"Kong Gun!" "Chop-Chop Fist!" "Buraikan!" "Perfume Femur!"
The four powerful pirates simultaneously used their ultimate attacks, not simply because their opponent was the Fleet Admiral, but because they could all clearly sense Sengoku's power—it was terrifying.
New red and black lightning flashed across Marineford's inner city.
A Buddha palm shockwave infused with Conqueror's Haki arrived, colliding mid-air with the four pirates' attacks.
Among the pirates, both Luffy and Hancock possessed Conqueror's Haki.
Luffy countered with his Conqueror's Haki infusion, while Hancock released her Conqueror's Haki to resist the enemy's Haki.
As the collision occurred, the airflow within a 500-meter radius went completely chaotic, with violent whirlwinds appearing in the inner city square.
Countless elite Marines were sent flying through the air by the shockwave.
However, many Marines who had mastered Soru simultaneously stepped into the sky, rescuing their comrades.
When they turned their gaze toward the collision point, they couldn't help but exclaim.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku is so awesome!"
"Haha, suppressing four evil pirates with a single palm—he's truly worthy of being our leader!"
"Buddha Sengoku, invincible throughout the world!"
The Marines weren't praising Sengoku without reason—they clearly saw it.
After the four powerful pirates clashed with Sengoku, they are all injured.
Clearly, even with four joining forces, they were suppressed by Sengoku.
At least that's how it appeared on the surface.
Luffy, Buggy, Hancock, and Jinbe were currently pinned in place by the Buddha's Shockwave, struggling to move and barely maintaining their standing postures.
But in reality, Sengoku wasn't faring well either.
His right arm was in excruciating pain.
These pirates, whom he viewed as mere children, had actually withstood his strongest peak attack when joining forces.
As for why Luffy and the others were coughing up blood—the reason was that Sengoku's ability, similar to Buggy and Whitebeard's, delivered shockwaves directly into the body's.
Coupled with Conqueror's Haki infusion, the explosive damage was truly terrifying.
Unfortunately, with one punch failing to take down these four, trouble was inevitable.
They would likely tie him up for quite some time.
...
Crocodile, seeing Luffy, Buggy, and the others held back, clearly understood that a breakthrough through the center by these four was now impossible.
That left only him on the left flank.
This wasn't ice, but solid land. With his large-scale destructive skills, he would become the Marines' nightmare.
"Hmph, Awakening Skill: Domain of Sand - Erosion."
Placing his right hand on the ground, he activated his ability. The earth within a one-kilometer radius instantly corroded and turned to sand.
A vast desert formed. Originally, Crocodile's awakened domain could affect a two-kilometer range.
But this was Marineford, with its high-quality, high-density rocky geological structure—it was too solid.
Moreover, with the Seastone wall 1.5 kilometers behind him, his erosion range was naturally reduced.
But one kilometer was enough.
The Sand Sovereign was born!
"Desert Rose!"
As Crocodile continued to unleash his power, the desert within a 500-meter radius ahead suddenly compressed into a downward-flowing quicksand zone.
Countless Marines were sucked into the depths of the desert, losing their lives instantly.
Only those who reacted quickly and leaped into the air managed to escape.
But would reaching high altitude save them from Crocodile's assault?
"Desert Greatswords!"
Dozens of hundred-meter sand blades emerged, infused with Haki, slashing fiercely at the surrounding Marines.
Over ten thousand Marines entered Crocodile's attack range.
Those without at least Rear Admiral-level strength were instantly slain by these desert greatswords.
Even Rear Admirals could only barely block it before evading.
Due to Crocodile's dominance, the Marine forces fell into chaos.
"A former Shichibukai... is this powerful?" Some Vice Admirals felt numb with disbelief.
"I remember Crocodile hadn't awakened his power before."
"What happened? Did a stint in Impel Down make him stronger?"
"You're behind the times. He awakened during his fight with the Straw Hat Crew."
"Huh? The Straw Hat Crew again?"
"Someone from the Straw Hat Crew could defeat this kind of monster back then?"
"Heh, who do you think?"
"Oh~~ Ray."
Some ordinary Vice Admirals still tangling with Crocodile pieced together past events.
But simultaneously, they realized something even more terrifying.
Where was Ray? Why hadn't he appeared? If he showed up, how could they continue the fight?
Two Yonko crews had already tied up all their top-tier combatants!
"Hmph, daring to space out while fighting me?" Crocodile sneered. "Iron Maiden of Sand!"
Gigantic medieval nun-style cages materialized on both sides of two Vice Admirals, filled with sand thorns hard as steel.
"Close!"
With Crocodile's command, the Iron Maiden closed shut, and soon, traces of blood seeped from its surface.
"Only one killed. What a pity." Crocodile was somewhat disappointed to see that the other Vice Admiral had managed to escape the execution of the Iron Maiden.
Just as he was preparing to execute the other Vice Admiral, an overwhelming presence suddenly appeared within his perception.
It was an elderly woman, yet her speed was remarkably fast.
A domineering kick, propelled by immense speed arrived, forcing Crocodile to defend.
"Sand Wall!" A desert shield, ten meters thick, materialized, barely blocking the enemy's attack.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru."
Frowning at the newcomer, Crocodile grew uneasy.
'Shouldn't she be busy intercepting Marco? Why come here to trouble me? This is going to be difficult...'