Whitebeard's twin fists that shattered the heavens did more than deliver an overwhelming shock to the eyes and soul—
They churned the sea into madness.
The ocean, violently stirred by the tremors, rose in two colossal tidal waves that curled inward like gigantic closing flower buds.
One from the left.
One from the right.
They surged toward Marineford Plaza, casting a vast shadow that swallowed half the fortress in darkness.
"…What a ridiculous power."
Seated in the Admiral's chair, Kuzan glanced up at the apocalyptic walls of water blotting out the sky and gave a lazy sigh as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Still… we can't let this man wipe us out with a single move."
Before his words had even finished echoing, his body half-transformed into ice and shot upward into the air. Hovering before the world-ending waves, he threw his arms wide.
"Ice Age!"
Twin pillars of frost burst from his palms, spearing forward with surgical precision into the collapsing walls of seawater.
"Crack—crack—!!!"
A bone-piercing chill spread instantly.
White frost raced outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within mere breaths, the monstrous tidal waves—capable of swallowing everything—froze solid.
They became two towering glaciers radiating murderous cold, locked in place just beyond Marineford's harbor.
And at the exact moment Kuzan sealed the sea—
Whitebeard landed.
"Thud."
The impact cracked the earth beneath his feet.
Without hesitation, his gaze pierced across the battlefield and locked onto the shackled figure atop the execution platform.
"Ace!!"
There was no pause.
The instant the name left his mouth, his left fist clenched once more. A white halo shimmered into existence around it.
He aimed toward the inner defensive walls of Marineford—the reinforced fortifications shielding the assembled Marine formations—and hurled a quake-infused strike through empty air.
He intended to rip apart the Navy's line in the most direct way possible.
But—
Just before Whitebeard's fist could unleash its "air-quake"—
A figure moved faster than the strike itself.
Gern Reginald Sigmar, who had been seated among the Admirals, was suddenly standing directly before Whitebeard.
There was no grand flourish.
No wasted motion.
Simply—
A single punch.
Released later—
Yet arriving first.
"Vrrrnnn—!!!"
There was no white quake-halo around Gern's fist.
Instead, condensed vibration particles flowed across his knuckles, meeting Whitebeard's impending blow with exact precision.
"BOOM—!!!!!"
The two forces—each capable of destroying the world—did not erupt in the cataclysmic explosion one might expect.
Instead, the instant they collided, an impossibly dense, suffocating roar reverberated—as though space itself were being crushed and compacted.
The tremor forces clashed in midair—
Neutralizing one another.
What remained was a silent, expanding ripple that spread outward in transparent waves, shattering the ground beneath both men into spiderweb fractures as dust surged skyward.
Gern withdrew his fist slowly.
He stood there.
Between Whitebeard and the Navy's defensive line.
He had stopped the first strike.
"Gern…"
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the man who had intercepted him.
Gern met the gaze of the old-era sovereign and spoke clearly, his voice carrying across the chaos.
"This… is Navy Headquarters."
"If you want to pass…"
"Then ask me first, Whitebeard."
Whitebeard showed no surprise at being blocked.
He fell silent for a brief moment.
Then—
He slammed Murakumogiri heavily against the ground.
A dull thunder rolled outward.
His voice—deep and vast—overpowered every scream and explosion on the battlefield, reaching each and every member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"All of you—!!!"
"Don't worry about me!!! Save Ace with everything you've got!!!!"
With that, he raised his blade and pointed it directly at Gern.
"This man…"
"I'll handle him!!!!"
Almost at the exact same instant Whitebeard finished speaking—
At the top of the execution platform—
Fleet Admiral Sengoku roared into the Den Den Mushi with all his strength, issuing the Navy's command to engage.
The voices of the two commanders overlapped in that single moment.
Like twin verdicts handed down by history itself.
"Commence the war!!!!"
"Begin the assault!!!!"
"UOOOOOOOHHHHH—!!!"
"For Justice!!!"
The orders shattered the final restraint.
Like a dam collapsing—
Both sides surged forward.
The pirates under Whitebeard's banner howled, roared, brandished their weapons, and charged toward the execution platform in a suicidal assault.
Their eyes saw only one thing—
The brother in chains.
The Marines formed solid defensive lines, shouting "Justice" as they swore to halt the pirates' advance at any cost.
Gunfire thundered.
Cannons roared.
Steel clashed against steel in showers of sparks.
Shouts, explosions, screams—
All tangled together in a deafening symphony.
Marineford Plaza became a merciless grinder of flesh and blood.
And yet—
At the very center of the battlefield—
The atmosphere was entirely different.
Whitebeard.
And Gern.
Still facing each other.
All around them, war raged like a hurricane.
But the small space they occupied became an invisible vacuum zone—
No one dared approach.
Gern studied Whitebeard carefully.
His Observation Haki clearly sensed the subtle disorder in the old pirate's aura after shattering the sky and summoning the tidal waves.
Beneath that mountainous body, the life force within flickered—
Like a candle struggling against the wind.
"…It seems," Gern said calmly, "you truly have grown old, Whitebeard."
"Gurararara!!!"
Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed boldly, gripping Murakumogiri tight.
"Brat! Don't spout nonsense! I am… Whitebeard!!"
"And precisely because you are Whitebeard—"
Gern's eyes sharpened instantly.
"What I must face…"
"…is the man who once left an indelible mark upon me."
"The 'World's Strongest'… who shook the very world."
Before the final word had fully fallen—
Gern moved.
"Vrrrnnn—!!!"
In Whitebeard's current condition, there was no time to respond perfectly.
Gern closed the distance in a flash.
Feet rooted.
Waist sinking.
Center of gravity dropping low.
His right fist shot forward in the straightest possible trajectory toward Whitebeard's chest.
Jet-black Armament Haki coated his knuckles in an instant.
Countless high-frequency vibration particles were compressed and condensed at the forefront of the blow.
"Black Quake—Mountain Breaker!!!!"
"THUD—!"
A heavy, crushing impact exploded outward.
"Guh—!!"
Whitebeard's massive frame shuddered violently.
Pain flashed through his widened eyes.
Still—
He clenched his teeth.
Forced the metallic taste of blood back down his throat.
But the irresistible force struck true.
The towering body of the "World's Strongest Man" lifted from the ground—
Blasted backward several meters before crashing down.
"Old Man!!!"
In the distance, Whitebeard's commanders cried out in shock as they witnessed the scene.
Gern lowered his fist slowly and stood motionless.
One strike.
Just one.
And it had already revealed the devastating gap between them—
In condition.
In current strength.
The legend of the old era.
The former king.
The man once called the strongest in the world.
Whitebeard—
Had grown old beyond redemption.
So old…
He could not even fully react to a single, direct punch.