All-out war had erupted.
Pirates and Marines clashed in an instant, and the sounds of battle cries and colliding weapons echoed throughout Marineford.
Most of those present were fighting with everything they had.
The pirates pushed toward the execution platform, while the Marines held their defensive lines with all their might. Not one person dared slack off.
And yet, there were two people on the battlefield whose behavior was strangely out of place, completely mismatched with the brutality around them.
Kizaru and Katakuri.
Kizaru moved through the battlefield at the speed of light, occasionally stopping to fire a laser.
His target remained fixed on Katakuri the entire time.
Katakuri stood where he was, unmoving.
By relying on his Observation Haki to foresee the trajectory of each attack, he dodged with perfect precision every single time.
The laser beams struck the ground around him, blasting open crater after crater, yet he barely even shifted his feet.
One of them had speed pushed to the extreme, while the other could see into the future.
The two had fallen into a bizarre stalemate.
There were no fierce collisions, no exchanges of powerful techniques. There were only Kizaru's constant laser attacks and Katakuri's completely unharmed evasions.
At this rate, even if they continued for three days and three nights, nothing seemed likely to change.
As for Kizaru, he had also realized that Katakuri had no intention of attacking.
The man only dodged again and again, which Kizaru found rather interesting, as though he had discovered some strange new land.
His original task had been to rescue the soldiers. Right now, he was completing that task while casually firing lasers at Katakuri on the side.
It was merely something convenient to do. He had no intention of fighting seriously.
Perhaps, at this very moment, he had not entered a proper battle state at all.
He was simply slacking off.
Katakuri, meanwhile, saw that Kizaru's attention was focused entirely on him and thought to himself, 'This much should be enough.'
He had come here only because he had agreed to Cain's request.
But he was also carrying Big Mom's orders.
In the end, he would have to make a move against Whitebeard.
Katakuri did not know what Cain's attitude toward Whitebeard truly was, but Ace would definitely try to stop him when the time came.
Before exposing his real objective, holding back one Admiral for Cain was the best help he could provide.
After all, Ace was not his younger brother.
Katakuri had no need to risk his life for Ace. As long as Cain was safe, that was enough.
And so, in the middle of this vicious war, the two of them somehow became the most relaxed people on the battlefield.
…
As the main fighting force at the front line, the Seven Warlords of the Sea each began acting on their own.
Moria used his usual method, summoning zombies to attack.
The zombies charged stiffly onto the battlefield, tying down quite a few pirates.
Hancock, on the other hand, openly turned against the Marines and attacked the soldiers around her.
If this was to save Luffy's brother, then of course she had to contribute as well.
The Marines had already noticed Hancock's betrayal, but precisely because they noticed it, they fell victim to her petrification ability instead.
Mihawk fixed his eyes on Whitebeard and swung his blade, sending out a flying slash.
He wanted to see the true distance between himself and that man.
Diamond Jozu immediately stepped in front of Whitebeard. Half of his body transformed into diamond, and he forcefully blocked the slash.
Seeing that it had caused no damage, Mihawk sheathed his blade and did not continue attacking.
Marco transformed into a phoenix, circling through the sky and providing aerial support.
Not all three Admirals had taken action yet, so he did not dare rush recklessly toward the execution platform.
He could only dive down from time to time, knocking back Marines who came too close to Whitebeard and protecting Whitebeard's flank.
Akainu, who had been sitting in the middle seat of the three Admirals, watched as the pirates stepped onto the ice one after another.
Whitebeard had also jumped down from his ship and was advancing toward the harbor.
The spy he had planted in the Whitebeard Pirates had still shown no movement, and had not played any role at all.
Akainu stopped watching.
He finally made his move.
Magma rose from both his hands, churning with red light and releasing scorching heat.
He raised both arms high and punched toward the sky.
"Meteor Volcano."
The moment his words fell, countless streams of magma erupted from his surging fists.
After shooting high into the air, they split apart, turning into huge magma fists that came crashing down toward the pirates on the ice and their ships.
Seeing the magma fall, Whitebeard swept one arm forward.
The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit erupted, and shockwaves that shattered space spread outward, smashing all the falling magma fists apart.
However, the magma's terrifying heat did not disappear.
A large stretch of ice near the shore melted away, and the ice beneath the feet of many pirates became unstable, halting their advance.
Akainu glanced at Aokiji.
If not for Aokiji using Ice Age to freeze the sea, the pirates would never have been able to approach so easily.
Without question, that move had ended up helping the enemy.
Akainu did not linger any longer.
He jumped down from the platform and walked toward Whitebeard, facing him directly.
…
Meanwhile, the battle between Yamato and Zephyr had reached a stalemate.
Yamato's speed, strength, and reflexes were far superior to the aged Zephyr's.
Zephyr was old now, and still troubled by asthma.
During the fierce battle, he occasionally bent over to catch his breath, his movements sluggish.
He was far from his prime.
Yet Zephyr was still able to hold her back, and the key lay in the enormous Sea-Prism Stone mechanical arm he wore.
Every time Zephyr made contact with Yamato, weakness washed over her.
After forcing Yamato back, he said sternly,
"Stop struggling meaninglessly. Ace is a pirate. Once a pirate, always a pirate! As long as he is a pirate, he deserves to be executed."
Yamato did not listen to Zephyr's words at all.
Instead, she charged at him again.
"Don't give me that nonsense! How could you possibly understand how I feel right now? Ace is my most important friend! I can't just watch him die!"
Zephyr fell silent.
His mechanical arm crashed toward Yamato's abdomen with tremendous force.
"You say I don't understand? There is no one in this world who understands that pain better than I do. But… Ace must die! He brought this upon himself! If there is anyone to blame, then blame him for walking the path of a pirate!"
Boom!
With that strike, Zephyr activated his Smash Blaster. The built-in explosive impact sent Yamato flying.
Cold air spread through the violent smoke and dust, and Yamato's voice came from within.
"This has nothing to do with whether Ace is a pirate or not…"
"All I know is… he's my friend!"
…
On Cain's side—
"Arara. I can't let you run wild as you please."
Just after freezing the surging tsunami with Ice Age, Aokiji's figure appeared in front of Cain in an instant, steadily blocking his path.
He raised one hand, and a freezing projectile condensed rapidly in his palm, exuding bone-piercing cold.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
The icy projectile, wrapped in howling cold wind, shot straight toward Cain.
Cain had already foreseen the attack's path with Observation Haki, but he had no intention of dodging.
In the blink of an eye, the ice projectile struck his body squarely.
Frost spread instantly, and Cain's entire body was sealed inside a thick layer of ice.
He stood there motionless, like a solid human-shaped ice sculpture.
The Marine vice admirals whom Cain had attacked one after another earlier were covered in wounds, with blood still at the corners of their mouths.
Even so, they clearly had not lost their ability to fight.
At this moment, pirates were still continuously stepping onto the ice and pushing toward the harbor.
This was the crucial moment when the defensive line needed to be held.
Seeing this, Aokiji took over the battle against Cain from them, telling the vice admirals to hurry to the front line and support the defense against the other pirates coming ashore.
But the moment he turned his head back toward Cain's ice sculpture, it had already vanished.
Aokiji sensed something was wrong.
Just as he turned around, Cain's Conqueror's Haki-infused attack came crashing down!