"Sir, yes sir!"
The soldiers stationed along the perimeter responded in unison.
The machine‑gun units stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and took aim at Grimm, who was running relentlessly through the hail of falling meteorites.
At the exact right moment, Onimaru barked out an order: "Open fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!…
In an instant, countless bullets swept across the battlefield, turning Grimm's body into something resembling a honeycomb.
But no matter how many meteorite fragments struck him, or how many bullets pierced through him, Grimm didn't slow down or hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
Even the Marines watching felt their scalps prickle in horror — yet Grimm showed absolutely no sign of fear.
"How terrifying… truly terrifying. If anyone else were facing such a foe, they'd likely be scared out of their wits already!"
Kizaru pressed his palms together then raised them high above his head, materializing a glowing sword of light between his hands.
"Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven!"
"Seems we really do have to step in personally!"
With that, Kizaru was the first to charge forward. It wasn't that he wanted to, but he had no choice — after all, he was still a Marine, and there were thousands of eyes watching him.
Besides, they had already come to an understanding beforehand: it didn't matter if he held back or not, Grimm seemed completely confident regardless.
So for now, he had to fight seriously. And let's not forget — Fleet Admiral Kong and Vice Admiral Garp were watching from the rear!
"Hm?"
Just as Kizaru closed in and Grimm raised his arm to strike back, Grimm suddenly felt his body become incredibly heavy.
Glancing down, he saw he was enclosed within a cube‑shaped formation of purple energy; everything inside it had become subject to immense gravity.
"Issho…"
Grimm looked past Kizaru toward the blind swordsman. Issho had partially drawn his cane‑sword, his expression grave — this was the power of his Devil Fruit.
"Oho… you're getting distracted, Mr. Grimm!"
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Kizaru thrust his light‑blade straight through Grimm's torso!
Grimm simply smiled. He dismissed his weapons, grabbed Kizaru's right wrist with his left hand, clenched his right fist, and drove it viciously into Kizaru's stomach.
Thud!
A massive shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact. The sheer pain caused Kizaru's hands to "go limp," dropping his weapon.
"Such attacks… really are quite effective, aren't they~?" he said, feigning weakness.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Kuzan stretched out a hand, gathering immense cold energy into a single point.
Seeing Kizaru locked in a struggle, this future Admiral certainly wasn't going to slack off.
Grimm's lips curled upward slightly. From the "sun" hanging in the sky, two winged angels — each as large as a giant — descended rapidly!
They shattered the ice Kuzan had created, then swung their massive greatswords straight at him.
"In the name of the absolute justice upheld by the Marines…"
Strawberry drew his twin blades, which he had just sheathed moments earlier, and slashed toward Grimm. "Eliminate him!"
At that signal, every officer ranked Rear Admiral or higher leaped down from the surrounding cliffs, rushing into the fray.
Left behind were only the reserve support units and Garp, who remained in overall command.
"Ara ara… must you use such overpowered techniques?!"
Kuzan flashed sideways, dodging the strike from one of the angels, then soared high into the air.
He unleashed two lines of freezing cold that raced across the ground. "Ice Time — Ice Time Capsule!"
"Justice…"
The angel murmured the word softly. Instead of retreating, it charged straight through Kuzan's ultimate attack.
Trading half its body to the freezing cold, it slammed its colossal weight directly into Kuzan.
"Oh my!"
Mid‑air, Kuzan barely managed to anchor himself to an iceberg with a pillar of ice, preventing himself from being blasted miles away by the impact.
Landing safely, he looked up at the angel, whose entire left side was encased in solid ice.
"You're a whole different league compared to that bird‑man from before!"
Even as he spoke, the angel was already shattering the ice and breaking free.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan! We're coming to assist you!"
Several Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals rushed to his side.
Kuzan glanced at them briefly, then turned his gaze back to the enemy. "Fine by me. Just help me keep this… bird's attention diverted. I'll find an opening and finish it off!"
"That is definitely not a bird…" the officers muttered internally, though they immediately readied themselves for combat.
Meanwhile, after being forced back by Grimm, Issho — despite his large and heavy‑set frame — moved with surprising agility.
He rushed forward, the edge of his drawn cane‑sword clashing hard against Ashbringer.
"Admiral Issho, is it?" Grimm asked with a grin.
"Yare yare… I am merely a lowly Captain at the moment. You flatter me far too much with titles like Admiral!"
Issho used his gravity powers to increase the weight and pressure behind every strike.
Grimm countered instantly by casting Blessing of Freedom on himself, breaking the control. He then swung his massive hammer straight down at Issho!
"Watch out, Issho!"
Onimaru and Momonga shot past Issho's head like lightning, their long blades slicing across the left and right sides of Grimm's neck simultaneously.
But as the two officers turned back to look, they saw Grimm standing completely unharmed, still locked in combat with Issho.
A moment later, Grimm forced Issho backward with a heavy strike.
"Truly a ferocious fighting style!" Issho reversed his grip on his sword.
He parried every blow Grimm threw at him — from Crusader Strike to Holy Judgment — with astonishing speed and precision.
"Tempest Kick!"
"Finger Pistol!"
Attack after attack rained down upon him. The Marines were absolutely determined to use this chance to end Grimm for good.
Stationed at the edge of Trabia Island with ten thousand elite Marines, Kong oversaw the entire operation, his eyes fixed intently on the center of the island.
Massive beams of blinding light erupted constantly, followed instantly by blizzards or waves of fire from the sky.
Each earth‑shaking clash told Kong and his men just how brutal the battle raging inland truly was.
Yet it also told them something else: despite the Marines displaying such overwhelming power and numbers, they still hadn't managed to defeat Grimm.
Because as long as the attacks continued, the fight was far from over.
"How long has it been since the battle began?" Kong suddenly asked, standing at the bow of his flagship.
A Major standing behind him blinked in surprise, then quickly replied, "Approximately six hours, Fleet Admiral!"
"Six hours?!"
Kong's brows furrowed deeply, veins throbbing visibly at his temples.
"After all this time… and Grimm is still standing? I even transferred Issho here specifically for this…"
"Sir, should we send further reinforcements to the battlefield?" a Rear Admiral asked, stepping up to Kong's left.
"Not yet!"
Kong steadied his emotions. "I gave orders before the battle commenced: if any unit is overwhelmed or cannot hold their ground, they are to fire signal flares immediately."
On the battlefield, nothing is more dangerous than impatience. When facing a powerful enemy — whether fighting alone or in a group — panic and haste lead only to defeat.
Therefore… no reckless assaults.
"With Garp commanding the front, there shouldn't be any major issues…" Kong thought to himself.
That old man may act foolish and irresponsible most days, but when it comes to war, nobody was more reliable than him.
__________________
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