"No rush," Yamato said, her voice calm despite the chaos below. "Someone is about to make a move."
She had originally intended to step in herself, but the flickering images she saw through her Observation Haki made her reconsider. The future was already in motion.
"Oh? Is that so?" Kizaru asked, his curiosity piqued. He wondered who could possibly intervene from such a distance to save a man with blades already at his throat.
On the execution platform, the two executioners raised their heavy blades, ready to end Ace's life. But just as the metal began its descent, a massive, invisible wave of pressure erupted from the plaza. It was a physical force, a primal scream of will that swept across the battlefield.
In an instant, hundreds of Marines and pirates crumpled to the ground, their eyes rolling back as they lost consciousness. The two executioners on the platform didn't even have time to gasp before they collapsed, their blades clattering harmlessly against the wood.
Conqueror's Haki!
At the absolute limit of time, a power no one expected had saved Fire Fist Ace.
"Who was that? Who released Conqueror's Haki?!"
While the stronger fighters remained standing, the shock on their faces was palpable. They turned their heads, their senses locking onto the source of the outburst: the rookie, Monkey D. Luffy.
"It's the Straw Hat! He... he possesses Haoshoku!"
"The aptitude of one in a million... and it belongs to a brat like that!"
"He's too dangerous! If we don't kill him now, he'll become a monster we can't control!"
The high-ranking Marine officers, driven by a sudden, frantic fear, abandoned their current targets and charged toward Luffy with murderous intent.
"For real?" Kizaru muttered, his eyes wide. "Haoshoku? And it awakens right now?"
He turned his gaze back to Yamato, his expression shifting from amusement to genuine disbelief. "Did you know he was going to do that? How is that possible? Don't tell me you actually saw the future."
The Straw Hat's awakening was one thing, but Yamato's lack of surprise was far more concerning to the Admiral.
"If I told you I could see it, would you even believe me?" Yamato asked lazily, floating amidst the clouds.
"Normally, no," Kizaru admitted. "But after seeing that... I might have to. How did you manage it? Is your Observation Haki really at that level?"
He looked at her with a newfound wariness. A pirate who could see the future was a threat that changed the entire calculus of the war.
"Train harder and maybe you can do it too," Yamato bluffed, keeping a perfectly straight face. "Trust in me, and you'll find the path to greatness."
Kizaru rolled his eyes, his skepticism returning. "You really have a thick skin, don't you?"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Yamato replied.
Kizaru sighed, feeling completely defeated by her shamelessness. He turned his attention back to the boy in the plaza. "Still... to possess such terrifying power at that age. It's quite something."
In a world where most people lived their entire lives without even touching Haki, a teenage boy wielding the "color of the supreme king" was a sign of a changing era.
"So what?" Yamato said, curling her lip. "He just awakened it. If he can't control it, it's just a party trick."
"Perhaps," Kizaru conceded, stroking his chin. "But the potential is there. It seems the Marines will have to keep a very close eye on him from now on."
"Tch, what's the big deal?" Yamato sneered. "Conqueror's Haki? I awakened mine when I was seven. You don't see me acting like it's a miracle."
Kizaru's pupils constricted. "Seven years old? You really are a monster through and through. And for the record—you look extremely proud of yourself right now."
"Shouldn't I be?" Yamato asked, blinking innocently.
"I suppose you should," Kizaru muttered.
Down below, the execution had been temporarily halted. Sengoku, his forehead creased with frustration, barked out new orders. "Get new executioners up there immediately! Hurry!"
The war was spiraling out of his control. Every time he thought they had the upper hand, something—or someone—interfered. Within minutes, two more Marines were sprinting toward the platform to replace their fallen comrades.
"Get lost, Magma Boy!" Whitebeard roared.
"Why should I?" Akainu countered, his arm a bubbling mass of molten rock. "You're a fossil, Whitebeard. Why don't I just send you to your grave right now?"
The two were fighting with genuine fury, their powers turning the plaza into a wasteland of cracked earth and cooling lava.
"Everyone, charge! Save Ace!" Marco yelled, leading the Whitebeard Pirates in a desperate push toward the scaffold.
"Arara... I can't let you do that," Aokiji said, his breath visible in the freezing air. "Ice Age!"
He pressed his hands to the ground, and a wave of frost surged forward with terrifying speed. In seconds, dozens of pirates were turned into human ice sculptures. Even the massive Oars Jr. found himself encased in ice, his forward momentum halted.
"Damn you, Aokiji!"
"Don't stop! Follow the Straw Hat!"
The pirates rallied behind Luffy, who was once again leading the charge, carving a path toward his brother.
"He really is something," Kizaru remarked. He raised his finger, a golden light beginning to gather at the tip, aimed directly at the boy.
"Kizaru, what do you think you're doing?" Yamato's voice dropped an octave, and her Haki flared, locking onto the Admiral.
Kizaru paused, the light fading. "Don't be so nervous. I was just putting on a show."
"Your mouth is full of lies," Yamato said, rolling her eyes. "See if I ever believe you."
"You really don't give me an inch, do you? How scary," Kizaru said, lowering his hand with a helpless shrug.
"Young Lord, look," Haruko interrupted, pointing toward the horizon. "Something is approaching Marineford."
A massive, dark shadow was looming on the sea, growing larger and more distinct by the second. Yamato squinted at the shape. It was a triangular silhouette, moving steadily toward the island.
"Kizaru, take a look at that," Yamato suggested, gesturing toward the highest vantage point.
Kizaru gave her a suspicious glance, then dissolved into light, reappearing atop the highest spire of the Marine headquarters. His relaxed demeanor vanished instantly.
"That's..."
He had worried Yamato was tricking him, but the sight before him was no illusion. It was a behemoth.
"That size... and it's moving through the water with a warship in front of it..." Kizaru's brow furrowed. Had the Gates of Justice been opened?
"Well, Kizaru?" Yamato said, flying up to join him. "Is that another one of your Marine trump cards?"
The shadow was close enough now to see the outline of a giant head and torso rising from the waves.
"Don't talk nonsense," Kizaru snapped. "We don't have anything like that left. After an hour of fighting, why would we hold back something that big?"
This wasn't a Marine asset. But it didn't look like part of Whitebeard's fleet either. A third party—or perhaps a fourth—had entered the fray.
"Kizaru, is that the direction of Impel Down?" Yamato asked pointedly.
Kizaru's eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. He stared at the colossal figure. "It can't be... did the prisoners from Level Six escape? There is only one man that size: the Colossal Battleship, Sanjuan Wolf."
As the figure drew closer, Kizaru spotted the warship leading the way. The flag wasn't one of the Marines. It belonged to the new Warlord, Marshall D. Teech—Blackbeard. And standing beside him were some of the most dangerous criminals in history.
"Now we have a problem," Kizaru whispered. "To release the monsters of Level Six... Blackbeard has some nerve. No wonder he didn't show up for the summons; he was busy playing executioner at the Great Prison."
"It looks like everyone got played," Yamato said with a smirk. "Aren't you going to sink them? I might even give you a hand."
"Are you serious?" Kizaru asked, looking at her. "If you're willing to help, I won't say no."
"Sure. We're just standing around anyway. Consider it my good deed for the day," Yamato laughed.
She was curious to see how Blackbeard's "grand plan" would handle being blasted into the ocean before he even reached the shore.
"Are you really a pirate?" Kizaru muttered, his mouth twitching. "Regardless... let's sink them."
He leaped into the air, his body glowing with an intense, blinding radiance. "Yasakani no Magatama!"
Thousands of golden light orbs rained down from the sky, blanket-bombing the area around Sanjuan Wolf and the Blackbeard warship.
"My turn," Yamato added. She took a deep breath, her chest expanding before she unleashed a devastating pillar of crimson flame. "Heat Breath!"
Hundreds of meters away, Sanjuan Wolf looked up, his massive face turning pale as the sky turned gold and red.
"This is bad! Something is coming! Run!" he bellowed.
He tried to scramble away, but his massive size made him a sitting duck. As a Devil Fruit user, the sea water sapped his strength, making every movement a struggle. On the warship, Blackbeard and his crew looked up in confusion.
"Wolf, what are you yelling about?"
"Is this a joke? Because it isn't funny!"
Then, the world turned bright.
"That ability... Kizaru?! Oh, no!" Blackbeard shouted.
They were still far from the island; they shouldn't have been spotted yet. At this stage, the Marines should have been too preoccupied with Whitebeard to notice a single ship. He didn't have time to wonder how they'd been caught.
"Dark Vortex!"
Blackbeard slammed his hands down, and a swirling mass of darkness rose like a curtain, absorbing the golden lasers aimed at the ship.
BOOM!
The surrounding sea erupted as Kizaru's lights hit the water, while Yamato's Heat Breath tore through the air.
"Good thing we have the Captain," Burgess grunted, wiping sweat from his brow. "Otherwise, we'd be swimming."
"Ahhh! It hurts! It burns!"
A deafening scream tore through the air behind them. Blackbeard turned and paled. Sanjuan Wolf had a massive, smoking hole in his shoulder and several deep puncture wounds across his chest. He had taken the brunt of the combined assault meant for the ship.
"What is that wound?" Van Augur gasped. "Kizaru's lasers shouldn't be able to do that much damage to someone his size."
Sanjuan Wolf thrashed in the water, his movements creating massive waves that nearly capsized the Blackbeard warship.
"Wolf! Stop moving! You're going to sink us!"
"It hurts! I'm dying!" the giant sobbed.
The hole in his chest was the work of Yamato's Heat Breath. It had pierced right through his thick hide. If he hadn't flinched, it would have taken his heart. The intense heat had instantly cauterized the wound, preventing him from bleeding out into the ocean, but the pain was unbearable.
"Damn that Kizaru!" Blackbeard snarled, seeing his new recruit nearly killed before the fight even started.
"Captain, look above the island," Van Augur said, pointing his rifle toward the sky. "There's a dragon. Is that... Kaido?"
"What? Kaido? Here?" Blackbeard grabbed his binoculars, his heart skipping a beat as he looked toward the clouds.
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