The Seraphim appeared with the precision of lightning cutting through the night.
Their attacks were ruthlessly efficient, every movement refined to perfection without the slightest hesitation or wasted motion.
Worse still, they struck without warning, like deadly hunters concealed in the darkness and launching their killing blow before their prey even sensed the danger.
Their coordination was flawless.
Every glance and gesture conveyed exact information, allowing the six of them to operate like parts of a single precision machine.
Most astonishing of all, the battle had only just begun, yet through that extraordinary teamwork, they had already managed to pin down Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido—the three supreme fighters capable of deciding the outcome of the entire war.
Those three should have served as immovable pillars for their respective forces.
Instead, they had been trapped within the Seraphim's carefully constructed assault and could not easily break away.
With the six Seraphim entering the battlefield, the situation changed completely.
The anticipated clashes between Emperor-level fighters were forcibly divided into several smaller battlefields.
Every eye turned toward those fierce confrontations.
Everyone understood that victory would no longer be decided solely by the monsters standing at the summit.
The strength of both sides' commanders, officers, and overall forces would now play a decisive role.
In this intense struggle, the Marines displayed the full might of their technology.
Their advanced weapons proved enormously effective on the battlefield, offering not only tremendous offensive and defensive power, but also the ability to adapt their tactics according to the changing situation.
With those advantages, the Marines successfully regained some momentum during the opening stages of the war, restoring confidence to their forces.
...
Three formidable Seraphim closed in on Whitebeard like meteors, forming a perfect triangular encirclement around him.
Their speed produced shrieking gusts powerful enough to sweep everything nearby into the battle.
Whitebeard's mountain-like body, however, remained firmly planted where he stood.
He resembled an unshakable monument.
The years had carved deep lines across his weathered face, yet they only added to the courage and determination radiating from him.
There was no fear in his expression.
Instead, a faint excitement appeared in his eyes, as though the three opponents before him were merely a welcome warm-up after a long career of battle.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard's booming laughter rolled across the sea like the tolling of a colossal bell.
His sharp gaze swept over the three childlike machines painstakingly created by Vegapunk, curiosity and disdain shining within his eyes.
"You're sending robots that look like children to fight me? Vegapunk really has created some interesting toys!"
S-Hawk attacked first.
The beam sword in his hands began spinning at tremendous speed, producing a high-frequency hum as it slashed straight toward Whitebeard's thick neck like a bolt of light.
Its edge gleamed with a cold, merciless sharpness.
Even the air shattered wherever it passed.
At the same time, S-Bear's palm cannon finished charging.
Scorching light gathered rapidly inside the weapon's barrel, ready to unleash enough energy to melt through even the strongest steel.
Deep beneath the dark water, S-Shark was also making his move.
His enormous body churned the ocean and generated a violent underwater current.
Like an invisible pair of hands, it surged toward the Moby Dick with enough force to overturn the massive vessel.
At that critical moment, Whitebeard displayed the power that had made him one of the sea's greatest rulers.
He did not even use Murakumogiri.
He merely raised one enormous fist.
A glowing white sphere quietly formed around it, radiating a mysterious and overwhelming power.
Then he punched the air in front of him.
Crack—!
It was as though his fist had shattered the balance of the world.
The atmosphere broke apart like fragile glass.
A terrifying shock wave erupted from Whitebeard and spread forward in a vast fan, shaking everything in its path.
S-Hawk's seemingly certain slash was insignificant before that force.
The shock wave knocked the blade away from its intended course and sent the Seraphim flying backward like a kite with its string cut.
S-Bear's laser cannon fared no better.
The violent vibrations twisted the carefully stabilized energy beam until it detonated prematurely.
A brilliant explosion erupted in the air and illuminated the entire sea.
Even S-Shark, who had remained hidden beneath the waves, was forcibly blasted out of the ocean.
His massive body broke through the surface amid a towering spray of water, looking unusually disordered.
Whitebeard stood alone at the front, proudly facing three formidable opponents at once.
The sight of one man fighting three Seraphim shook everyone watching.
His long mustache moved in the wind, seemingly recalling the countless victories and glories of his past.
Even so, Whitebeard appeared entirely at ease.
Every movement carried deep, overwhelming strength, perfectly displaying the absolute power of the man once hailed as the Strongest Man in the World.
Each motion was forceful and decisive.
Even his breathing seemed capable of stirring the heavens and the sea.
The situation soon began to shift, however.
The qualities that made the Seraphim so difficult to defeat quickly revealed themselves.
S-Hawk and S-Bear, despite having been blasted away by tremendous force, twisted rapidly through the air.
Their extraordinary reflexes and precise control allowed them to stabilize almost immediately.
A closer look revealed brilliant energy shields covering their bodies.
The barriers flickered violently after absorbing Whitebeard's attack, waves of light rippling across their surfaces as they struggled to resist the enormous impact.
...
Astonishingly, aside from the violent flickering of their energy shields, neither Seraphim had suffered so much as a scratch.
Their defensive systems combined the Lunarians' extraordinary natural gifts with the finest modern technology, creating protection so durable that it bordered on absurd.
Unless their actual bodies were struck directly by an attack powerful enough to tear through space and infused with top-tier Haki, breaking through those nearly flawless defenses from the outside was almost impossible.
It would be no more realistic than asking an ordinary man to overturn a mountain.
"Tch."
Whitebeard frowned slightly.
For the first time, a trace of gravity appeared on his weathered face, and a flicker of concern passed through the eyes that had witnessed countless storms.
"The Lunarians' natural abilities really are extraordinary. You can't help envying a race born with defenses like that."
His voice was quiet, carrying both admiration and resignation.
Whitebeard understood that allowing the stalemate to continue would place him at a disadvantage. He needed to end the battle quickly and break free of the Seraphim's encirclement.
At that moment, his sharp eyes caught S-Shark bursting from the sea once again.
A high-pressure blast of water rapidly gathered around the Seraphim's arm before surging toward Whitebeard with crushing force.
Whitebeard's eyes flashed.
Instead of evading, he made an extraordinarily bold decision and accepted the attack head-on.
Thud!
The high-pressure water cannon slammed directly into his broad chest.
Its tremendous force made his mountain-like body sway slightly.
What appeared to be a moment of weakness, however, had been a calculated choice.
Whitebeard had seized the fleeting opening created by S-Shark's attack.
His eyes widened, fierce courage and fearlessness covering his face as he roared,
"Take a little souvenir with you!"
His voice rang across the chaotic battlefield like an enormous bell, filled with absolute confidence and resolve.
A brilliant sphere of vibration energy enveloped Whitebeard's enormous, calloused hand.
The strange light danced around his palm like living flame, heralding the devastation about to follow.
The instant S-Shark's arm reached him, Whitebeard moved with lightning speed.
His massive hand shot forward and caught the Seraphim's attacking limb with perfect accuracy.
The motion was so fast that it tore thin scars through the surrounding air, producing a piercing whistle.
"Shatter!"
Whitebeard roared again.
An overwhelming surge of energy erupted from his palm.
Crack—!
The horrifying sounds of twisting metal and splintering internal components filled the air, sharp enough to make everyone's teeth ache.
S-Shark's right arm had been built from exceptionally durable materials and contained an intricate mechanical structure designed for combat.
Before the terrifying vibrations of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, however, it proved painfully fragile.
The violent force twisted and crushed the entire limb.
Sparks exploded in every direction, while electrical arcs danced wildly across the mangled machinery.
Within moments, the once-perfect arm had been reduced to a pile of smoking, sparking metal scattered across the ground, filling the air with a harsh, acrid odor.
Whitebeard had traded an injury for a decisive result.
Like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, however, that victory immediately triggered a chain reaction.
Recognizing the severity of the damage, S-Shark activated its emergency protocols and retreated with ghostlike speed.
Its combat program classified its condition as critical, prompting several defensive systems to engage and prevent further damage.
Meanwhile, the red lights in S-Hawk and S-Bear's cold, mechanical eyes began flashing rapidly.
They were reassessing Whitebeard's threat level.
After a brief analysis, both Seraphim altered their tactics.
Rather than continuing their reckless frontal assault, they shifted to a far more cautious and strategic approach.
Using their exceptional flight capabilities, they moved flexibly through the sky, sometimes diving toward Whitebeard and at other moments circling far above him.
They also launched a continuous stream of ranged attacks.
Energy beams streaked through the heavens like meteors, each aimed precisely at Whitebeard.
The two machines behaved like cunning hunters, relentlessly harassing the lion before them and refusing to grant him even a moment to breathe.
An unusual stalemate settled across that section of the battlefield.
Whitebeard possessed enough destructive power to overturn the heavens and sea, every movement of his arms capable of raising violent storms and enormous waves.
Yet the three fearless Seraphim combined astonishing defenses with constantly shifting tactics, binding him to the area like invisible chains.
He could not easily break free to support the other battlefields.
By committing three of its most powerful Seraphim, the Marines had successfully restrained the enemy's greatest trump card and purchased precious time for the rest of their forces.
...
On another section of the battlefield, an area thick with murderous intent and suffocating tension, Charlotte Linlin faced the Seraphim S-Snake.
Their confrontation looked entirely different from the other battles raging nearby.
Something deeply unsettling hung over it.
"Mamamama! A soulless little puppet dares act so arrogantly in front of Mama?!"
Big Mom's harsh, intimidating voice thundered through the air.
Every syllable carried almost physical force, making the ears of everyone nearby ache.
...