Izo's shots tore across the sea with terrifying precision, the bullets aimed directly at the concealed cannon port beneath the Marine warship's cabin.
However, Izo was fast, but someone else moved faster than his follow-up shot.
A golden figure suddenly rushed out from the cabin doorway behind Zaraki without warning, kicking diagonally through the air from a tricky angle.
The kick was so fast it left a faint afterimage, carrying a scorching wave of heat as it knocked several bullets off their path and forced Izo's aim to shift.
Bang!
A crisp metallic sound mixed with a dull impact.
Izo crossed his twin pistols to block the incoming kick, but the force still sent him skidding back across the rail.
He landed on the deck of the Moby Dick and slid several steps before steadying himself.
The golden figure flipped lightly through the air and landed steadily on the rail beside Zaraki.
The newcomer had dazzling blond hair, his eyebrows curled in their signature spiral shape.
A freshly lit cigarette hung from his mouth, and his well-tailored black suit looked completely out of place in this sea thick with murderous tension.
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring and spoke with a knightly elegance that still carried a touch of roguishness.
"Sneak attacks aren't very gentlemanly, my... flower-shirted friend."
From the corner of his eye, Zaraki glanced over.
Sanji, this guy, was showing off again.
Before Izo could respond, a figure wrapped in blue flames flashed in front of him.
A heavy flying kick came crashing down as well, slamming hard against Sanji's right leg just as he landed.
This collision was even heavier.
The blue flames of the phoenix clashed violently with the faint crimson heat rising from Sanji's leg.
Sanji's leg trembled, and he was forced to slide several steps along the rail before he managed to steady himself, smoke curling from the edge of his shoe.
First Division Commander Marco withdrew his leg and lazily stood in front of Izo, but his gaze was sharp.
"The Marine ship's hiding some pretty impressive people, huh? Still, starting trouble on our Pops's ship... isn't that a bit rude?"
"Rude?"
A lazy voice full of battle intent came from the shadows of the cabin.
A man with green hair and three swords at his waist slowly walked out with his arms crossed, leaning briefly against the doorframe.
Zoro swept his gaze across the densely packed pirates on the deck before it finally landed on Whitebeard's massive figure.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a battle-hungry grin.
"That guy never said we were here to follow your rules."
Immediately after, Carina and Smoker walked out one after the other.
Carina leaned near the cabin doorway, one hand resting close to the hidden firing lever with a smile that looked relaxed only on the surface.
Her eyes kept flicking between the commanders, the cannon port, and the path back into the cabin, clearly calculating how bad things could become if the whole ship exploded into battle.
Smoker, meanwhile, had two cigars clenched between his teeth.
His face was dark as he looked at the notorious pirates across from him, making no attempt to hide his hostility.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Just then, a roar broke the standoff.
"AAAAAAGH!"
It was Teach.
He crawled out from the wreckage near the rail he had smashed into, clutching the scorched wound across his side.
Blood soaked into his shirt, and pain twisted his face, but the greed in his eyes had only grown more savage.
His gaze locked onto Zaraki again.
"That power... that power should be mine!"
Like a madman, he charged again.
This made Marco and the other commanders' expressions turn extremely ugly.
On the Whitebeard Pirates' main ship, one of their own had been knocked back by the enemy and was now charging like a lunatic before Pops had even given an order.
This was an utter humiliation.
"Teach!"
Marco roared, trying to stop him.
But Teach had already rushed out.
"Hmph. Trash that doesn't know when to die."
Smoker's body instantly turned into a cloud of white smoke.
He surged forward, not to crush Teach outright, but to cut off his path toward Zaraki.
The tip of his jitte swept toward Teach's face. For one brief instant, an unstable flicker of Armament hardened the weapon's edge, forcing Teach to twist away from the blow and crash shoulder-first into the deck instead of reaching the Marine warship's bow.
The entire sequence happened so quickly that most pirates barely reacted.
Teach snarled and tried to rise again, only for a diamond-hard hand to seize the back of his collar and slam him heavily against the deck.
It was Jozu.
"Enough, Teach."
Jozu's voice was low and heavy.
"Pops hasn't spoken yet."
The deck fell into dead silence.
Every member of the Whitebeard Pirates froze.
First came shock, then anger, and finally, only humiliation remained.
Even Whitebeard, standing beside his throne, had gone completely dark in expression.
In those eyes that had looked down upon the sea for decades, true anger finally appeared.
"Stop!"
At that moment, an anxious voice rang out from behind the crowd.
Ace pushed past the crewmates blocking his way and rushed to the front in a few steps. He did not look at anyone else.
His eyes were fixed on the figure standing at the bow of the Marine warship, blade in hand, and his voice trembled slightly with emotion.
"Everyone, stop!"
He took a deep breath.
Under everyone's disbelieving gazes, he shouted at that Marine—the man who had defeated Atmos in three exchanges and met Pops's strike head-on—with everything he had.
"Brother what the hell!"
Brother?
Those two words stunned everyone, leaving their minds blank.
The laziness on Marco's face vanished completely, replaced by extreme astonishment.
Diamond Jozu even forgot to maintain the pressure in his transformed arm.
Izo, Atmos, and the hundreds of pirates on deck all looked as if they had seen a ghost, their gazes sweeping back and forth between Ace and Zaraki.
"Ace..."
Whitebeard's voice was low as thunder.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the son he took pride in.
"What are you saying?"
"Pops!"
Ace suddenly turned toward Whitebeard, his eyes full of earnest pleading.
"He... Zaraki is my sworn brother! He grew up together with me, Sabo... and Luffy. We're brothers!"
Zaraki finally showed a trace of reaction.
He lazily picked at his ear, then grinned at Whitebeard's stunned expression, revealing a row of white teeth as he admitted Ace's words.
"Brothers?" He spoke lazily, his voice not loud, but it carried clearly across the entire ship.
"That's true. But I didn't come here today for some family reunion."
His gaze moved past Ace and locked onto Whitebeard again.
The battle intent in his eyes had not weakened in the slightest. Instead, it burned even hotter.
"I just heard there was a man here called the strongest in the world, so I came to see whether he's actually worth cutting."
Those words made the atmosphere, which had barely eased because of the title "sworn brother," instantly become even colder and more dangerous than before.
Everyone's common sense had completely stopped working.
The man before them did not care about any of that.
He had simply been drawn in by the title of "strongest," and then he came.
"Gurararara..."
Unexpectedly, Whitebeard's signature laughter rumbled from his throat once more.
Only this time, there was no anger in the laugh. Instead, there was a complicated note to it.
He did not lower his guard.
He merely raised one hand, forcing the deck into silence through sheer authority.
"Ace's... brother, huh? I see. No wonder you've got guts like that."
He waved his enormous hand lightly, signaling for everyone to stand down, though the commanders' eyes remained fixed on Zaraki.
Teach's plan had completely fallen apart because of Ace's shout of "Brother."
"Pops!"
Diamond Jozu could not help but step forward.
He pointed at Zaraki and said in a deep, booming voice, "This guy is a Marine! He even tried to poach Ace just now! We can't just let this go!"
"Stand down, Jozu."
Whitebeard's voice allowed no argument.
Zaraki watched the scene, and the smile on his face became somewhat playful.
He lightly tapped Murasame, which rested on his shoulder, against the deck at the bow, producing a dull thud.
"Oi, old man. Don't tell me you think I'm going to let this go today just because of that relationship. If I cut you down, those old bastards from Marigeoise might even have to sit around worrying about how to write my commendation."
He paused, then raised his head.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the clouds and look toward the distant Holy Land Mary Geoise, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
"Come to think of it, they've really been causing me a lot of trouble lately. The last dogs of the Celestial Dragons who pointed fingers at me didn't leave Impel Down standing."
Yamakaji's face changed the instant those words left Zaraki's mouth.
That was not something to say in front of an Emperor crew!