Piercing alarms immediately blared throughout the entire Marine fleet!
All sailors on the warships swiftly entered their highest combat readiness.
Gunners frantically turned winches, adjusting cannon angles, uniformly locking onto the rapidly approaching, suffocating silhouette of the black ship.
On the decks, the urgent commands of officers at all levels mingled with the sound of soldiers' running footsteps.
Yet at the bow of the flagship, two tall figures cloaked in "Justice" coats stood immovable like mountains.
They were the Marine Admiral candidates—Sengoku the Buddha and Black Arm Zephyr.
With their powerful Observation Haki, they had long sensed the approach of the Rocks Pirates.
Now, their faces showed no surprise, only the steady composure of those who had expected this and were prepared for battle.
The two fleets rapidly closed in on the sea, the distance shrinking continuously—eight thousand yards, five thousand yards, three thousand yards...
Suddenly, the sea on the right flank of the Marine fleet churned violently without warning.
Countless enormous bubbles surged upward with a gurgling roar.
Immediately after, four Marine warships, fully coated and no smaller in size than the main battleships, burst forth from beneath the sea.
The coatings shattered and vanished instantly, and the four warships stabilized on the sea's surface, their broadside gun ports opening in unison, their dark muzzles aimed squarely at the flank of the Rocks Pirates.
The decks were filled with fully armed elite Marine soldiers, clearly prepared for some time.
At the prow of each of the four warships stood a formidable elite Vice Admiral from headquarters, cloaked in a "Justice" coat.
These four Vice Admirals were only slightly inferior to Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr.
To put it plainly, if not for Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, the new Admiral candidates would undoubtedly have been chosen from among these four.
"This is... the Marines' ambush?!" Whitebeard's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't expected the Marines not only to be prepared but to have hidden a fresh force beneath the sea, intending to form a pincer attack or even encirclement!
"Captain! Our plan has been leaked. Clearly, the enemy is much more prepared than we anticipated."
"Hmph, so what if they've noticed? So what if it's leaked?"
Rocks' eyes blazed with ferocity as he scanned the densely packed elite soldiers on the warships, his tone filled with disdain:
"With these ants, even twice as many, do they think they can stop our Rocks Pirates?!"
Rocks looked at Raiver Sky: "Raiver, you will attack immediately with Newgate and Shiki!
Your primary objective is to crush or contain the Marines' high-level combatants, creating an opportunity for the fleet to break through!"
"Understood!" Raiver Sky nodded solemnly, then stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Whitebeard and Shiki.
"Shall I take the lead, you two?"
In terms of high-level combat power, they still had Captain Rocks holding the line. With the three of them facing Sengoku, Zephyr, and the four elite Vice Admirals, they might not be at a disadvantage at the top tier—perhaps even holding a slight advantage.
However, the low-level pirates were at an absolute disadvantage in both coordinated combat and defensive formations compared to the well-trained, disciplined, and likely numerically superior Marine soldiers.
Once a full-scale melee erupted, the swarming Marines coordinated with their officers would inevitably cause heavy casualties among their own fierce but disorganized pirates lacking unified command.
In that case, it would be better to maximize the reduction of the enemy's effective forces before close-quarters combat fully broke out!
Shatter their formations! Clear the path for the subsequent assault!
"Oh? Raiver Sky boy, what do you plan to do?"
Shiki raised an eyebrow with interest, looking at the young man beside him who always brought unexpected methods.
"Hmm?" Newgate also glanced sideways.
As the words fell, Raiver Sky closed and opened his eyes, his gaze seeming to pierce through space, directly locking onto the sea area where the entire Marine fleet was located.
"Gravity Domain!"
An intangible, formless force field instantly enveloped the entire Marine fleet ahead!
All Marine soldiers, whether gunners and lookouts on the deck or support personnel below decks, suddenly felt tremendously heavy!
It was as if they had been instantly thrown into the deep sea floor, with unimaginable immense pressure crushing them from all directions!
Breathing became difficult, and many weaker Marines even collapsed on the spot, dropping their weapons.
"My body... I can't move! Is this a Devil Fruit ability?!"
"Gravity?! Someone is controlling gravity?!"
Shouts of surprise and horror erupted across the Marine ships.
Sengoku and Zephyr both looked up sharply almost simultaneously, their eyes like lightning, firmly fixed on the young figure at the bow of the Rocks flagship in the distance.
They saw Raiver Sky slowly raise his right hand, fingers spread, aimed at the direction of the Marine fleet, and softly utter:
"Shinra—Tensei!"
Hum—!
A humming sound resonated!
Immediately after, a massive semi-transparent spherical force field large enough to cover all the warships materialized out of thin air.
This terrifying repulsive force field began expanding outward and downward at an astonishing speed, crushing everything in its path!
Wherever it passed, the air was violently pushed aside, emitting a piercing shriek.
Zephyr's furious roar rang out: "Sengoku! We can't let him succeed!"
Zephyr's fists were already coated in pitch-black, gleaming Armament Haki like dark steel, ready to violently strike the rapidly approaching crushing force field with pure brute force.
"Leave it to me!" Sengoku growled, abruptly throwing off the large Justice cloak behind him.
Dazzling golden light erupted from his body!
His form rapidly expanded and grew within the radiance, his skin turning into brilliant gold, muscles bulging and swelling.
His face became solemn and majestic, with a faint halo appearing behind his head.
Zoan-Mythical Type-Human-Human Fruit, Great Buddha Form—fully unleashed!
In an instant, Sengoku transformed into a golden giant Buddha over ten meters tall, his eyes like lightning, locked onto the rapidly approaching repulsive barrier.
He raised his massive golden right palm, facing forward, with vast, immense Haki and Devil Fruit energy madly gathering!
"Great Impact Wave!"
Boom—!!!
An energy shockwave over five meters in diameter, like a golden torrent, erupted violently from the giant Buddha Sengoku's palm!
The next moment, two attacks containing terrifying destructive energy collided violently in mid-air!
The sea surface below was pressed into a severe depression by the dispersed shockwaves from the collision, forming a huge bowl-shaped deep pit.
"Crack... crackle..."
The shockwave erupting from the golden giant Buddha's palm continued unabated, its power flowing endlessly.
The repulsive barrier stubbornly resisted and eroded this force, but the cracks multiplied relentlessly.
Finally!
With an exceptionally crisp and thunderous explosion, the repulsive barrier shattered completely.
The shockwave erupting from Sengoku's palm in his Great Buddha Form gradually subsided.
His massive Buddha body swayed slightly—maintaining the Great Buddha Form continuously while releasing such a full-scale shockwave had taken a tremendous toll even for him.