The winds of change were already in motion, and even the dullest observers could sense that the era was approaching the end of the World Government's eight-hundred-year dominance.
Its authority, once thought unshakable, no longer felt absolute.
"Fufufufu!" Doflamingo laughed to himself as he watched the broadcast from King's Heights, his red high-heeled boots tapping lightly against the floor. The laughter echoed through the empty space as his eyes gleamed with twisted excitement. This chaos, this collapse of order, was exactly the kind of spectacle he had always dreamed of.
Meanwhile, the fate of the defeated allied forces on the Ice River battlefield continued to spiral downward.
Under the encirclement of the pirate fleet, most of the allied soldiers had already abandoned resistance. Kuzan, if still in peak condition, could have ended everything with Ice Age, freezing the entire sea and trapping the pirate ships in a frozen graveyard. But that moment was gone. The retreat had already begun, and such a large-scale technique could no longer be controlled with sufficient precision or power. Even if ice formed, it would not be strong enough to stop determined pirates.
On the battlefield, Army Admiral Vulture fought desperately, refusing to yield even as exhaustion dragged at his body. He pushed himself beyond his limits, but stamina was not something willpower alone could restore. Even the strongest bodies had limits governed by reality.
Redyat had already fully entered the fight.
He showed no intention of sparing Kuzan, yet Vulture bore the brunt of his killing intent. In human-beast form, Redyat moved with terrifying efficiency. His dragon wings sliced through the air like execution blades, while his claws, reinforced with Haki, struck Vulture with crushing force.
Blood splattered across the frozen battlefield.
Vulture's massive wing was torn apart in one exchange, leaving him barely able to maintain flight. Forced to rely on Geppo, he struggled just to remain in the air.
Still, he endured.
If Redyat was not held back here, the remaining allied fleet would be wiped out in moments.
He grit his teeth and held his ground, buying time with every breath he had left. Inwardly, however, he was already waiting for reinforcements.
White Ghost was coming.
That alone was their last hope.
Elsewhere, Alex, and Gar continued their own operations, fully aware that Kuzan was no longer a viable target. Taking him down now would bring no strategic benefit, only unnecessary retaliation. The real value lay elsewhere.
That calculation, however, did not stop other pirates from attempting to finish him off for reputation alone.
Kuzan understood this better than anyone.
He was no longer a combatant. He was a liability.
"Ice Seal."
A deep chill erupted from his body, spreading outward in a controlled surge of freezing air. The surrounding space solidified in an instant. Ice climbed over his limbs, his torso, his face, until Kuzan himself was entirely encased in a massive crystal of ice.
Absolute freezing.
A self-imposed stasis technique.
His body functions slowed to the bare minimum, as if entering suspended death. This was not a defensive wall in the traditional sense. It was hibernation, a final escape method designed to preserve life when survival was no longer possible.
From the outside, the ice appeared indestructible. Yet everyone present understood that its true vulnerability was not external force, but Kuzan's own survival. If broken incorrectly, it would become his grave.
For now, however, it achieved its purpose.
Attacks against him ceased, and pressure on the remaining forces lessened slightly.
Still, the allied fleet's situation only worsened.
Without Kuzan, the battlefield tilted further into chaos. Cannon fire resumed in relentless waves, forcing desperate defenses from already exhausted soldiers.
Then it happened.
"Exploding Ghosts."
A hoarse voice echoed through the air.
Strange ghost-like figures descended from above, drifting across the battlefield. As incoming cannonballs struck them, they detonated instantly, unleashing explosions far stronger than the artillery itself. Shockwaves collided midair, forcing premature detonations and scattering fire across the sky.
Confusion spread among the pirates.
No one understood what had intervened.
Redyat narrowed his eyes.
A new presence had arrived.
A figure descended slowly into view. Frail in appearance, with white hair and an aged frame that suggested time had long since passed him by. Yet despite his appearance, no one underestimated him.
Instinct alone warned them.
This man was dangerous.
"White Ghost…"
Redyat recognized him immediately.
One of the World Government's highest-tier combat specialists. An Army General who had long since surpassed the need for direct physical confrontation.
His power came from the Ghost-Ghost Fruit.
A Devil Fruit that allowed the user to become a spirit-like existence, granting intangibility, stealth, and phasing through matter. At a high level of mastery, the user's body itself became semi-ethereal, immune to most physical attacks. Detection became nearly impossible.
Even Redyat had not sensed his arrival.
That alone was enough to confirm the threat.
Above the battlefield, Vulture exhaled in relief when he saw him.
White Ghost was here.
That meant survival was still possible.
Even severely weakened, Vulture allowed himself to drop onto a warship, no longer needing to force flight. The tension that had kept him going finally loosened, though exhaustion still consumed him.
White Ghost hovered in midair, hands clasped behind his back. He did not look like a battlefield commander. He looked like an ordinary old man taking a walk, calm and unhurried.
Yet his reputation contradicted that appearance completely.
Countless lives had ended under that unassuming demeanor.
Redyat remained still, observing carefully.
The battlefield quieted slightly, both sides instinctively pausing under the pressure of this new arrival.
White Ghost smiled faintly. "Can you let them leave?"
His tone was gentle, almost polite.
Redyat responded after a short pause. "Fifty Devil Fruits."
The demand landed without hesitation.
White Ghost's expression did not change. "Agreed."
No negotiation. No resistance.
A simple acceptance.
Neither side had any intention of escalating this encounter into a full-scale clash. The risks were too high, and the timing too uncertain.
If a battle broke out here, the allied forces would be annihilated. But even worse, an unrestricted Admiral-level confrontation would devastate the battlefield beyond recovery. At the same time, the pirates would also suffer heavy losses against an opponent who could not be easily restrained.
White Ghost understood this clearly.
Redyat understood it just as well.
White Ghost was not here to win. He was here to recover what could still be saved.
Fifty Devil Fruits were costly, but acceptable.
Both sides reached an understanding.
The battlefield tension eased slightly.
Pirates withdrew in controlled formation, maintaining encirclement while increasing distance. They did not relax their guard. If anything, they became more cautious. The earlier ghost explosions had left a deep impression.
The allied forces, however, had no room for pride.
What remained of their strength was already on the edge of collapse.
Even so, they were still alive.
White Ghost turned his gaze toward Redyat, calm and steady. "This war is not finished."
Redyat smiled faintly. "Of course not."
Neither of them expected otherwise.
The exchange was temporary.
The war itself had only just begun to show its true scale.