Roger tightened his grip on his sword's hilt, arcs of red electricity dancing along its blade.
"Navy, do you intend to start a war?"
Darkness pooled around Lloyd's figure and he let out a light chuckle,
"It's just a bandit suppression operation, how could it be called a war?"
Whitebeard's voice was cold as iron,
"You dark youth, today I care for no one else, you will leave your life here."
Lloyd tilted his head, his expression quiet amusement,
"Then let us see."
No sooner had he spoken than Lloyd and Whitebeard unleashed their Haoshoku Haki. In the collision of those two colossal wills, the sky split in thunder and lightning, and fissures spread in every direction across the ground.
Both Marines and Pirates alike within range were overwhelmed by the shock of the Haki clash and collapsed unconscious.
Seeing this, Roger released his own Haoshoku Haki. With his addition, Lloyd's influence faltered for just a moment, because among the Navy present today, only he possessed Haoshoku Haki.
Yet the Marines standing behind him felt something more than fear.
Though Lloyd was being slightly suppressed by the combined Haki of two Emperor‑level adversaries, one of them being Whitebeard and the other Roger, his presence still radiated a terrifying aura that filled every soldier with awe.
Many of these Marines had crossed paths with the Roger Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates before, and they remembered well how dire the confrontation with Captain Haki could be.
Those who had served under Garp remembered how frustrating it was to face Roger's Haoshoku Haki. Garp himself was unbothered by it, but his subordinates had struggled against it because he did not possess Haoshoku Haki himself.
Admiral Zephyr stood beside Lloyd, silent but deeply moved.
In less than three years, this former student of his had become strong enough to stand alone against the world's most feared powers.
In the Roger Pirates, Rayleigh and Barrett both yearned to jump into the fray. Both had awakened Haoshoku Haki as well, and both wished to join the clash with Lloyd and Whitebeard.
Lloyd, however, would not grant them that opportunity. The dark flames at the back of his neck dissipated, and in an instant his body vanished from sight, charging directly into the enemy ranks.
In sheer speed Lloyd had long since surpassed the Red Count of that era, and the Pirates had no time to react. One moment there was quiet, the next a flash of blood and several heads soared high into the heavens.
Buggy frowned and instinctively retreated behind Shanks.
Shanks' forehead was slick with cold sweat, his heart frozen, because a member of the Whitebeard Pirates who was standing beside him moments ago was now a headless corpse, and his missing head could not be found anywhere.
Lloyd's slaughter continued.
Bat wings unfurled behind him as he weaved through the Pirate ranks like a shadow of death. None of the Pirates he killed even let out a scream.
Whitebeard's eyes widened with fury as he charged toward Lloyd.
Lloyd was holding a blonde strong‑fisted man by the throat. This man was the Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' 11th Division, Kingoudo.
Sensing Whitebeard's attack from behind, a streak of crimson gathered in Lloyd's palm. With that flash, Kingoudo was pulled into a shroud of dark energy and hurled aside like a broken puppet.
At that moment, Whitebeard appeared directly behind Lloyd, brandishing Murakumogiri, the great bisento, and brought it down toward him.
Lloyd did not turn his head. His body did not shudder. He simply phased aside as though the attack were nothing more than a gust of wind. Whitebeard's slash left nothing in its wake but a bottomless crack in the earth; not even Lloyd's clothes bore a mark.
Seizing the opening, Whitebeard's men surged forward, encircling Lloyd in the center of their ranks.
But the Marines were far from helpless. Lloyd's speed had been so blinding that neither Pirates nor Marines had reacted in time.
Seeing Lloyd surrounded, Lucia and Ginny raced forward to support him, but even their swiftness could not rival Akainu's.
Akainu's lower body transformed into blazing magma, and with explosive force he rocketed into the crowd like a falling star.
Pillars of molten earth erupted amid the mass of fighters, accompanied by screams that split the air.
The battle had erupted fully.
Marines and Pirates clashed with brutal force. Roger attempted to aid Whitebeard, but Admiral Zephyr restrained him, momentarily preventing him from moving.
Akainu, unleashed and burning, used the devasting might of the Natural System Magu Magu no Mi to carve a path through the battlefield. So conspicuous was his power that he became a target almost immediately.
Rayleigh slashed a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral down in a single stroke, then teleported beside Akainu and struck him with a blade infused with Haoshoku Haki.
Akainu's eyes burned with killing intent as he detonated a barrage of magma fists to dispel the sword energy, before hardening his arms into molten siege weapons and charging at Rayleigh.
Momonga, Huoshaoshan, and others were embroiled in fierce struggle against Barrett, who was known as the "Demon Descendant."
Lucia faced off against Marco in the skies. Both wielded Mythical Zoan powers that granted flight, and their duel was evenly matched, neither willing to yield.
Gion, Ginny, Kaji, and other Marine Headquarters officers fought against the remaining sons of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Still, there remained a significant gap in top‑tier combat strength between the Navy and the pirate alliance. The Roger Pirates had their own elite cadre under Jabba, and Marines below Vice Admiral rank simply were not their match.
More troubling was the difference among the very strongest combatants. Zephyr was clearly outclassed by Roger.
Akainu, though powerful, was still young and struggled fiercely against prime‑aged Rayleigh.
Barrett's strength barely fell short of Rayleigh's. Momonga and the others could only match him through sheer numbers. Without an Admiral‑level officer joining their side, those Marines risked total annihilation.
Yet Lloyd remained an unpredictable force. Between fighting Whitebeard, he could leap across the battlefield using Kamui, offering occasional support to allied Marines. Even Whitebeard found himself unable to directly trivialize Lloyd for a time.
Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi had far less impact in the ongoing clash with Lloyd. Every time he attempted to unleash a devastating quake attack to clear the battlefield, Lloyd would entangle him before the technique could complete, nullifying its effect.
Whitebeard could only watch helplessly as his beloved sons were swallowed by darkness one by one — a pain far deeper than any blade.
Just as the battle reached its peak, something even more jarring occurred.
Oden, long absent from the fight, suddenly leapt down from the Moby Dick.
His Enma had been taken by Lloyd, so he had returned to the ship to retrieve Ame no Habakiri from Kozuki Toki.
Kozuki Toki, holding Momonosuke in her arms, leaned over the ship's railing and cheered loudly for Oden, as though she believed he still had the strength to turn the tide.
Oden, heart aflame again, roared into the wind,
"Baigi, I'm here to help you!"
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