The next morning, the first rays of sunlight crested the horizon like the sounding of a war horn.
The Nightfall Pirates moved.
Seven armies advanced simultaneously, driving straight toward Whitebeard territory.
There was no elaborate strategy behind the offensive. No complicated feints or hidden maneuvers. What the Nightfall Pirates sought was simple: overwhelming force. They intended to crush the Whitebeard Pirates through sheer military superiority.
Many Whitebeard Pirates were still asleep when the attack began.
Long before the fleets reached their targets, the Fish-Man Army had already gone into action. Whitebeard's scouts and lookout teams stationed near Nightfall-controlled waters were silently dragged beneath the waves and eliminated.
As a result, the Nightfall fleets advanced almost completely undetected.
The first person to discover the movement was none other than Morgans.
The infamous news king had been closely monitoring the looming conflict between the Nightfall Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates for months.
"Hoo-hoo! The real battle is finally beginning!"
Morgans' eyes shone with excitement as intelligence reports poured in.
He immediately turned toward his staff.
"Get every News Coo into position! I want eyes on every battlefield. Nothing must be missed!"
Then he faced the bustling newsroom behind him.
"Hurry and finalize the war special edition! The fighting is about to start, and the entire world needs to know!"
"Yes, President!"
The reporters answered enthusiastically.
Several journalists were already hammering away at keyboards connected to Den Den Mushi communication systems while massive display screens continuously updated incoming information.
"We'll finally be able to rotate shifts again!"
The entire newspaper headquarters erupted into activity.
On one of the islands defended by the Whitebeard Pirates, a sleepy lookout stood atop a watchtower.
Suppressing a yawn, he lazily lifted his telescope and scanned the sea.
The moment he saw what was approaching, every trace of drowsiness vanished.
A massive fleet.
Black-and-purple warships.
Dragon-headed prows.
Pirate flags fluttering proudly in the wind.
Three skulls above crossed bones, backed by a dark swirling vortex.
The unmistakable banner of the Nightfall Pirates.
His face turned pale.
"When did they get so close?!"
At their current speed, the fleet would reach the island within minutes.
"The Nightfall Pirates are attacking!"
He spun around and slammed a switch.
A shrill alarm echoed across the island.
Many Whitebeard Pirates were jolted awake. Weapons were grabbed. Boots pounded across wooden floors as pirates rushed toward the shoreline.
Similar scenes unfolded across numerous islands.
Some reacted quickly.
Others reacted slowly.
Regardless, the initiative already belonged to the Nightfall Pirates.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky erupted with artillery fire.
Countless shells screamed overhead before crashing into Whitebeard positions.
Explosions engulfed the coastline.
Flames erupted.
Bodies were thrown through the air.
Screams echoed endlessly.
The Whitebeard Pirates had not fully mobilized before the attack began, while the Nightfall Pirates had arrived completely prepared.
Their artillery crews displayed terrifying precision.
Shell after shell landed directly among gathering Whitebeard forces, inflicting devastating casualties from the very beginning.
"Counterattack!"
A massive figure leaped into the air.
Jozu smashed an incoming cannonball apart with a single punch.
"Sink their ships!"
The Whitebeard Pirates responded quickly.
Despite being caught off guard, they were veteran fighters.
Cannons roared as they returned fire.
From the deck of a warship in the distance, Sladar watched calmly.
His eyes locked onto Jozu.
The two had fought before.
They knew each other well.
"Everyone, charge."
Sladar's lips curled into a savage grin.
"Leave Jozu to me."
The Whitebeard Pirates suffered heavily during the artillery exchange.
Their firepower was simply inferior.
Men died every second.
Seeing the losses mount, Jozu immediately made a decision.
Holding the shoreline was impossible.
The Nightfall Pirates possessed overwhelming naval artillery superiority.
If they remained exposed, casualties would only continue to rise.
"Retreat!"
Jozu roared.
"Fall back! Abandon the coastline!"
"Let them land!"
"We'll fight them on the island itself!"
The Whitebeard forces immediately began withdrawing.
Their defensive positions were abandoned.
The shoreline was surrendered.
"They're retreating?"
Sladar laughed.
"Good."
"Then we'll crush them."
Nightfall warships slammed into the docks.
Boarding ramps dropped.
Thousands of pirates surged forward.
Sladar jumped from the flagship.
His enormous body crashed into the earth, creating a crater.
A gigantic anchor rested across his shoulder.
Without hesitation, he began marching toward the retreating Whitebeard forces.
Behind him came the elite warriors of the Nightfall Pirates.
Every one of them radiated anticipation.
Excitement.
Bloodlust.
Confidence.
It formed an invisible pressure that even veteran pirates could feel.
The battlefield quickly expanded.
Veteran captains.
Division officers.
Famous New World pirates.
All gathered for the clash.
The Nightfall Pirates also brought their affiliated crews.
Though they possessed fewer subordinate fleets than Whitebeard, they still commanded twenty-nine affiliated pirate crews.
Each captain was a respected figure within the New World.
Most carried bounties exceeding 300 million berries.
The rest had earned recognition directly from Nightfall leadership.
Unlike Whitebeard's looser alliances, Nightfall affiliations came with obligations.
Protection demanded loyalty.
When called to war, refusal was not an option.
Anyone who refused would be eliminated before the battle even began.
The fighting was deliberately pushed away from population centers.
Towns represented valuable assets.
Destroying them meant reconstruction costs.
Still, war was war.
Collateral damage was inevitable.
Many civilians had already evacuated deeper into Whitebeard territory.
Those who remained hid inside their homes, doors and windows locked tightly shut.
Entire streets stood empty.
The only sounds were distant cannon fire and approaching battle.
"Jozu!"
Sladar stepped forward and raised his massive anchor.
"Prepare to be crushed!"
Power exploded through his body.
His muscles swelled.
Scales emerged as he entered his hybrid form.
Then he swung.
"Elbaf Spear: Hakoku!"
BOOM!
The earth shattered beneath his feet.
A colossal shockwave erupted forward.
The attack carried immense penetrating force and devastating range.
Jozu's expression changed immediately.
He recognized the technique.
A giant warrior art.
One perfectly suited to monsters of immense size and strength.
Without hesitation, his body transformed into gleaming diamond.
"Shining Impact!"
He launched himself forward.
His goal was simple.
Stop the attack.
The collision shook the battlefield.
Invisible waves distorted the air.
The earth cracked apart.
Jozu forced himself through the advancing shockwave.
Yet his momentum slowed.
Slower.
Slower.
Until he stopped entirely.
Then he was thrown backward.
The attack had overwhelmed him.
More importantly, he had failed to stop it.
The shockwave tore through Whitebeard's ranks.
Men were launched into the air.
The ground was ripped open.
A path hundreds of meters long and several meters wide was carved straight through the battlefield.
The casualties were horrific.
"Kill!"
Sladar charged forward immediately.
The Nightfall Pirates surged after him.
Within seconds, dozens of Whitebeard pirates fell.
Against Sladar's overwhelming strength, ordinary fighters stood no chance.
The slaughter began.
Both sides suffered casualties.
But the initiative belonged firmly to the Nightfall Pirates.
Jozu rushed back into the fight and intercepted Sladar before the giant warrior could continue his rampage.
The two commanders finally collided.
Three years earlier, they had fought as equals.
That was no longer true.
Jozu discovered this immediately.
His diamond body remained incredibly durable.
Yet Sladar's attacks were stronger.
Faster.
Heavier.
Every exchange pushed Jozu backward.
His proud physical strength, once among the greatest in Whitebeard's crew, was now being suppressed.
The realization was difficult to accept. Over the past three years, Jozu had grown stronger. But Sladar's growth had been even greater.
His natural physique had always been monstrous. His Ancient Zoan power had continued evolving. His training in Elbaf had further enhanced his strength. He had shattered his limits again and again.
Now the results were visible.
"You still don't understand!"
Sladar's golden reptilian eyes burned with excitement.
He swung the anchor downward.
Jozu blocked with a diamond-coated arm.
The impact forced him back another half-step.
"I've been pushing myself every single day!"
Sladar roared.
"How could someone who grows complacent ever keep up with me?!"
Another strike.
Another retreat.
"The Whitebeard Pirates are nothing without Whitebeard!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
For many members of the Nightfall Pirates, defeating Whitebeard had always been the ultimate goal.
Teach himself had once sailed beneath Whitebeard's flag before choosing a different path.
Because of that history, the Whitebeard Pirates had become both rival and target.
The enemy they most wanted to surpass.
The hostility born from that rivalry had become fuel.
Fuel for training.
Fuel for ambition.
Fuel for war.
Many within the Nightfall Pirates admired Whitebeard's strength.
Few admired the structure of his crew.
To them, the Whitebeard Pirates existed because Whitebeard existed.
The bonds among his sons were genuine. But the pillar holding everything together was Edward Newgate himself. Remove that pillar, and fractures would inevitably appear.
Teach and his officers had long recognized that reality.
One victory would never be enough.
They wanted total victory.
A victory so overwhelming that the Whitebeard Pirates would forever become a stepping stone beneath the Nightfall Pirates' rise.
Three years ago, some lingering sentiment still remained.
Teach had once considered Whitebeard family.
Opportunities for redemption had existed.
Not anymore.
The relationship between the two crews had become openly hostile.
This war would be fought without restraint.
The Nightfall Pirates had unleashed their full strength.
Their finest commanders.
Their elite forces.
Everything.
And behind that confidence stood Teach himself.
The gap between him and Whitebeard had narrowed dramatically.
His Haki had grown stronger. His body had become tougher. His mastery over his powers had deepened.
Whitebeard's terrifying Tremor-Tremor Fruit remained a threat, but the Dark-Dark Fruit existed specifically to counter such power.
Combined with allies like Redyat and Ares, Teach no longer feared the Whitebeard Pirates.
The time had finally come.
This war would determine the future of the New World. And in the hearts of every Nightfall Pirate, only a single conviction remained:
The Whitebeard Pirates would become the foundation upon which the Nightfall Empire rose.
That was the will of Nightfall.