If Oars had recklessly charged the front lines, he would have likely been neutralized by the Seven Warlords of the Sea before the Marines even had to lift a finger. Instead, he remained in the rear, hurling Marine warships like massive sandbags and causing catastrophic destruction along the shoreline.
If this continued, the Marines' strategic defense would crumble. The very coastline they needed for the second phase of their operation was being pulverized into debris.
"Since when did the descendants of Oars become so tactical?" Sengoku frowned, his jaw tightening. This war was being fought on the Marines' home turf. Even against one of the Four Emperors, they should have maintained control. Where exactly had the plan gone off the rails?
"Wororororo! Sengoku, it seems your 'flawless' arrangements have a few holes after all," Whitebeard said, looking down at the Fleet Admiral with a booming laugh.
"The battle has only just begun, Whitebeard," Sengoku replied indifferently, though his composure was being tested.
Whitebeard didn't press further. He knew the tension was reaching a breaking point. At that moment, another warship whistled through the air, shadows looming over the harbor.
Boom!
Another section of the stone coastline shattered. Shrapnel from the broken hull scattered like buckshot, injuring dozens of Marines.
"What is the Giant Unit doing? Stop that damn Oars! If he keeps this up, the entire port of Marineford will be scrap metal!" some Marines screamed. It was infuriating to watch their own legendary vessels being used as blunt-force weapons against them.
"Don't panic! The Giant Unit is on the move! They'll put an end to this!"
Eight or nine Vice Admirals from the Giant Unit, weapons drawn, began thundering across the ice, their massive strides shaking the frozen bay as they closed in on Oars.
"I can't let you interfere with his work," Whitebeard said, sensing Sengoku's rising anxiety. He stepped forward and unceremoniously threw a punch into the air.
With a sharp crack, the atmosphere fractured. A powerful shockwave erupted, screaming toward the Giant Vice Admirals like a physical wall of force.
"Pfft..."
The impact sent the giants staggering back, coughing up blood as the sheer pressure of the Gura Gura no Mi's power rattled their massive frames.
"Whitebeard has made his move!" the Marines cried out in terror. Despite their training and the bravado of their officers, the reputation of Edward Newgate—the world's strongest man—struck a deep, primal fear into their hearts.
"Whitebeard..." Sengoku narrowed his eyes. The old pirate was reading his movements perfectly.
"Uncle, is your body holding up?" Yamato asked. She knew Whitebeard's health was precarious, a ticking clock of illness and age. A prolonged battle of this scale could be his end.
"Wororororo! I am Whitebeard!" the old man laughed, his pride shielding any sign of weakness.
Yamato nodded, respecting his resolve.
"Giant Unit, I'll provide cover. Go deal with Oars," Kizaru said. He transformed into a shimmering mass of light and ascended into the sky. "Yasakani no Magatama!"
A barrage of golden light rained down once more, targeting the Moby Dick.
"It's you again, Kizaru. You still haven't given me a straight answer about Akainu," Yamato shouted. She opened her mouth, and golden lightning surged upward, meeting Kizaru's lasers in a spectacular, blinding display.
The sky was dyed in a brilliant golden radiance. However, the exchange was mostly posturing—a long-range stalemate that did little actual damage to either side. Meanwhile, the giants recovered and pressed their charge again.
"Did I say you could pass?" Whitebeard growled, throwing another punch. The resulting shockwave sent the Giant Vice Admirals reeling once more.
"Damn you, Whitebeard!" Sengoku growled. He watched as Oars hoisted yet another warship.
The ship flew through the air, crashing into the coastline and crushing several shore batteries into twisted piles of scrap metal.
"Great job, Oars! Keep it up! Flatten that shoreline!" Marco cheered, watching from the sky. Oars' role had become the most significant factor in the bay.
"Kizaru, talk to me. What is Akainu really doing?" Yamato pressed.
Kizaru looked exasperated, his light-formed body flickering. "I've really had it with you. I already told you he went to the bathroom. Why are you so obsessed?"
"Haven't you heard the rumor? 'Kizaru's mouth, a devil's truth.' How can I trust a word you say? Call Akainu out so I can see him," Yamato challenged, raising a clawed hand.
Kizaru's aged face twitched. "What nonsense... 'Kizaru's mouth'? Who on earth is spreading such rumors about me? If I find them, I'll show them what a real nightmare looks like."
"I am right here, Onihime. Did you need something?"
Akainu had returned. He stood at the base of the execution platform, having just reappeared from the inner corridors.
"Oh, nothing. I just suspected you were off doing something underhanded," Yamato said lazily, resting her chin on her crossed arms. "Kizaru said you were in the bathroom, but I wasn't buying it. What mischief were you up to?"
"No comment," Akainu replied coldly, his eyes burning with hatred. "You're nothing but a pirate. Don't get cocky here."
"Oh my, how scary. I am a lady, you know. Being so rude is quite ungentlemanly," Yamato mocked.
Akainu didn't take the bait. He simply stared, his killing intent radiating like heat from a furnace.
"You seem eager to kill me, but don't be in such a hurry," Yamato said lightly. "We can play later. This war is just starting, and the main players aren't supposed to take the stage yet."
Among the three Admirals, she feared Akainu the least. His magma-based powers were less effective against her own elemental defenses compared to the light of Kizaru or the absolute zero of Aokiji.
"Arrogant brat," Akainu muttered. He wanted to incinerate her on the spot, but he knew the priority was the Whitebeard Pirates. Yamato was a dangerous variable, a dragon capable of dominating sea, land, and air, and engaging her now would be a massive drain on resources.
"Uncle, how about we change the view? Make these Marines look up to see you," Yamato suggested.
"What do you mean?" Whitebeard asked.
"Just this," Yamato replied. She concentrated, manifesting a thick mass of pink flame clouds that drifted toward Whitebeard.
Whitebeard understood immediately. "Wororororo! You little imp, you're quite clever." He stepped onto the clouds without hesitation. The flame clouds lifted him high into the air, positioning him right beside Yamato's massive dragon head.
"Here, Uncle. If you have something to say, don't waste your breath shouting," Yamato said, handing him a massive megaphone.
Whitebeard's eye twitched at the sight of it. "How are you so well-prepared for this?" He didn't take it, but he gestured for her to keep it handy.
Below them, Akainu's brow furrowed as he watched the pirate captain rise into the sky. "That brat... is she acting as his escort now?" He thought of the plan he had just put into motion. Because of Yamato's interference, a sliver of doubt began to prick at his mind.
Suddenly, another warship came hurtling toward the shore.
"Great Eruption!" Akainu barked. He punched upward, sending a massive fist of magma to intercept the ship, shattering it into flaming debris. "Oars is a problem. He must be eliminated immediately."
"Sakazuki, things have deviated too far from our expectations," Sengoku's voice crackled through a Transponder Snail. "Deploy the Pacifistas. Begin phase two."
"Let's do it," Akainu agreed.
From behind the bay, a mysterious Marine unit emerged from the flanks. They were a line of identical, towering figures, all possessing the likeness of the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma.
"What are those? More Warlords?" the pirates and Marines shouted, stunned by the sight.
"Pacifistas, attack!" a muscular man in a red tank top shouted, wielding a giant axe. Sentomaru had arrived.
The mechanical giants began firing concentrated laser beams from their mouths and palms.
Boom!
Explosions tore through the ice, indiscriminately blasting both pirates and Marines into the air.
"Deploying them already? The Marines are desperate," Yamato noted. She was surprised to see them use the Pacifistas so early and with so little regard for their own troops. It showed a ruthless determination to end the war at any cost.
"So that's the humanoid weapon Vegapunk developed... the Pacifista," Haruko exclaimed. "He replicated Kizaru's lasers and modeled them after Kuma. Truly, the world's number one scientist."
Whitebeard grabbed his Transponder Snail. "Marco, take Oars and deal with those weapons. Be careful; don't let Oars take a direct hit from those lasers."
"Understood, Pops! I've got him," Marco replied, peeling off to lead Oars against the mechanical threat.
Whitebeard looked at the shoreline. Oars' bombardment had leveled the defensive batteries and broken the coast. His forces were already pushing onto the land.
"Sengoku, those emplacements are gone. Raise the Enclosure Walls now!" Vice Admiral Tsuru urged.
"I know! It's all because of that damn Onihime," Sengoku snarled. "All units, withdraw immediately!"
The Marines began a disciplined retreat, disappearing into underground passages.
"Charge! Don't let them go! They're planning something!" the pirates shouted. They knew a Marine retreat usually meant a trap was about to spring.
Just then, the sky seemed to open up. A warship plummeted from the clouds, carrying a group of screaming figures.
"Young Master, look! Something else is falling!" Haruko pointed upward in shock.
"Haha! It seems the unexpected guests have arrived," Yamato chuckled.
Whitebeard looked up, his eyes widening. They weren't Marines. They were wearing... prison stripes?
"What is that? A falling ship?" the soldiers below shouted.
"I didn't throw that one!" Oars yelled, mid-swing against a Pacifista.
"I recognize those faces... wait, are those prisoners?" Marco muttered.
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" screams echoed from the sky.
Yamato watched as the ship fell past her. She saw Jinbe, Crocodile, Ivankov, Buggy, and—at the very front—Monkey D. Luffy.
"Is that... a dragon? A real dragon?" the falling prisoners screamed as they zoomed past Yamato's massive head.
"Pops!" Jinbe shouted as he saw Whitebeard on the flame clouds.
"Jinbe! Glad to see you're alive," Whitebeard managed to shout back.
Splash!
The warship and its passengers landed squarely in the massive water pit Jozu had excavated earlier.
"Talk about luck," Yamato laughed. "Of all the places to land, they hit the only pool of water in the bay."
"They must have escaped from Impel Down," Haruko deduced. "That's no small feat."
"It seems the prison is in chaos as well," Whitebeard mused.
Then, a loud, defiant voice cut through the noise of the battlefield.
"ACE! I'VE COME TO SAVE YOU!"
Luffy stood on the wreckage of the floating ship, his voice reaching the very top of the execution platform.
"Luffy!" Garp's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Ace looked down in utter shock. Neither of them had ever imagined the youngest brother would appear at the center of the world's greatest war.
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