The voice that rang across the battlefield was filled with arrogance and undisguised contempt.
It sounded as if every living being in the world was beneath its owner.
Everyone present looked up toward the execution platform.
Seven figures had appeared there without warning.
Unlike the masked agents of the World Government that most people were familiar with, these individuals showed their faces openly. Each of them wore an expression of cold superiority.
Six of them, five men and one woman, were dressed in white robes, white trousers, and white hats. The letters ZF were embroidered across their chests.
Standing in front of them was an elderly man with a sharp, pointed beard. He wore a black robe, white gloves, and carried a long Western sword at his waist.
The moment they appeared, an overwhelming aura descended, pressing down on the battlefield like the weight of the heavens themselves.
Sengoku looked at the seven figures without surprise.
What he felt instead was deep irritation at the arrogance written on their faces.
When he had learned that Ace was Rolan's disciple, he had opposed the idea of publicly executing Ace. But he was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, and the Marines were ultimately a blade wielded by the World Government. He had no choice but to comply.
The World Government had informed him that reinforcements would be sent to Marineford to guard against a possible attack by the Ion Tempest.
Yet he had not been told how many would come, nor who they were.
The secrecy angered him.
Did the World Government see the Marines as nothing more than expendable tools?
As Fleet Admiral, that was something he could not accept.
Whitebeard also raised his head and observed the seven newcomers.
"So they still have a hidden trump card."
He had long expected that the World Government would prepare something to counter Rolan's arrival. Still, the sight of all seven appearing together startled him.
The weakest among them possessed power close to that of a Marine Admiral.
As for the old man at the front, even Whitebeard felt a faint pressure from him.
"The World Government hides its strength well."
Rolan glanced upward lazily.
"So they finally show themselves, the World Government's lapdogs."
His gaze swept across the seven figures before settling on the old man at the front.
There was something vaguely familiar about him, as though Rolan had once seen him somewhere before.
He searched his memory briefly, then dismissed the thought. It did not matter.
What did matter was the strength standing before him.
The last time Kaido and Big Mom had joined forces to ambush Peach Garden, three World Government agents had appeared, each nearly as strong as an Admiral.
Now seven more had emerged.
More troubling was the old man's presence. His strength had already surpassed Admiral level and reached the realm of the Four Emperors.
Rolan clicked his tongue inwardly. The World Government had ruled the seas for centuries for a reason.
Murmurs spread throughout the battlefield.
"Who are they?"
"That aura is terrifying!"
"Look at their uniforms, they're from the World Government!"
"Are they here to deal with Ion Tempest?"
The battlefield trembled with unease.
"Too noisy. These ants never stop chirping."
The old man's cold voice echoed across Marineford.
Scarlet lightning erupted from his body.
A vast wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
In that instant, it felt as though only he existed in the world.
The sky darkened under his will.
Pirates and Marines alike collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Only those at Vice Admiral level and above remained standing. Even several captains from Whitebeard's allied fleets fell where they stood.
"Conqueror's Haki…"
"The intensity… it's almost on par with Rolan."
"That's monstrous."
All ongoing battles paused as eyes turned toward the execution platform.
Whitebeard's brows furrowed.
Before Rolan had risen to prominence, Whitebeard had been called the strongest man in the world. But now, that title felt less absolute.
The old man before him was slightly stronger.
When the old man withdrew his Haki, the sky gradually returned to normal.
Sengoku's expression darkened further.
The man had released his Conqueror's Haki without restraint, knocking out countless Marines along with pirates.
Their attitude was identical to that of the Five Elders.
Human lives meant nothing to them.
To them, people were insects.
Enel watched the scene unfold, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Yehahahaha, finally something interesting."
A born warmonger, Enel had been searching the battlefield for worthy opponents. The weak bored him, and the truly powerful were already occupied.
These newcomers were perfect.
In a flash of lightning, he appeared above the execution platform.
"World Government scum, witness the power of thunder."
A massive bolt of lightning, tens of meters thick, descended from the sky toward the platform.
"Aurora Slash."
One of the white-clothed swordsmen calmly drew his blade and split the lightning in half with a single stroke.
The divided lightning crashed into the ice on either side of the platform, blasting two enormous holes straight through the frozen sea. Water surged upward from below.
Enel raised an eyebrow.
"Not bad, but don't get ahead of yourself."
The swordsman's expression twisted with anger.
"You are the first in this world to speak to me like that."
Enel laughed loudly.
"In my eyes, your precious World Government is nothing."
The swordsman stepped forward and launched himself into the air, blade aimed at Enel.
Their weapons clashed in a burst of sparks and thunder.
Meanwhile, the black-robed old man ignored the skirmish.
His gaze remained fixed on Rolan.
"Rolan. A man beyond prophecy. You cannot be allowed to live."
The instant his words fell, he stomped down.
The execution platform shattered beneath the force.
He shot forward like an arrow, drawing his Western sword mid-flight and slashing toward Rolan.
Rolan's expression remained indifferent.
He clenched his hand, and a blue purple Electromagnetic Blade crackling with lightning formed instantly in his grasp.
He vanished and reappeared before the old man using electromagnetic acceleration.
Clang.
The two blades collided in mid-air.
A violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
Between the blades, a distortion formed, like a dark singularity. Scarlet lightning surged outward in chaotic arcs.
The surrounding space fractured like shattered glass.
Marineford trembled violently.
The central fortress collapsed under the shockwave.
Cracks split the island apart, widening as seawater surged upward through them.
The island broke into massive sections. Some pieces began to sink, while others rose unevenly into the air.
The shockwave spread across the surrounding sea.
The ocean itself fractured into towering segments, like shattered stone suspended in mid-air.
Except for the ship of Ion Tempest, every vessel was lifted into the sky.