"BOOM—!"
A deafening explosion ripped through the air.
An incredibly violent blast erupted, unleashing an overwhelmingly dazzling light and an intense heatwave that spread outwards in all directions with terrifying speed.
It forced everyone to instinctively shield their eyes, a temporary blindness seizing them, rendering them utterly unable to look directly at the source.
Kizaru's attack had detonated.
The sheer scale of it was beyond the wildest imaginings of Wilhelm, Katakuri, and the others.
Even Aokiji, Akainu, Charlotte Linlin, Shiryu of the Rain, Kuro, Miyamoto Musashi, and Swordsman Ryoma, locked in fierce combat hundreds of meters away, had no time to evade and were engulfed by the unprecedented explosion, tossed about like ragdolls.
In the blink of an eye, the colossal shockwave had swept across the entire battlefield, its diameter exceeding several kilometers, its power rivaling Smoothie's earlier devastating attack.
Wilhelm could only manage to instantly transport Katakuri, Shiryu, and Musashi to another space.
There was no time to think of anything else.
Of course, Katakuri, as a Logia-type Devil Fruit user of the Mochi Mochi no Mi, wouldn't be harmed by such an explosion.
The cunning Kizaru had clearly anticipated this.
That was why he had resorted to such a reckless self-detonation, directly engulfing Aokiji and Akainu in the process.
"B... Bastard!"
"That's the direction Vice Admiral Sakazuki and the others are..."
"Gulp! Mama's over there!"
"My God, what in the world just happened?!"
The entire ice surface shuddered violently under the force of the explosion.
Countless pirates and Marines were caught completely off guard, sent sprawling.
They all gaped, staring blankly at the blazing, blinding area in the distance, completely swallowed by the light, so intense they couldn't look directly at it.
Cold sweat poured down their backs, their scalps prickled with a terrifying numbness.
They were utterly bewildered.
"What caused such an enormous explosion?!"
Perospero, Cracker, and the other Big Mom Pirates were completely stunned, a wave of worry and unease washing over them.
Because the unprecedented force of the blast was too violent, too astonishing.
Deeply unsettling.
Momousagi, engaged in battle with the two Charlotte sisters, Brulee and Amande, had a flicker of understanding in her eyes. "This trick... could it be...?"
Whoosh—
Thousands of meters in the sky, the figures of Wilhelm and Katakuri materialized.
Looking down at the battlefield below, completely obscured by light and shockwaves, the air rippling with such intensity that nothing was clearly visible, Wilhelm's expression was dark and uncertain.
"Damn it... will Mama be alright?" Katakuri's voice was laced with worry.
"Mama's body is as tough as an iron balloon, invulnerable. Nothing will happen; at most, she'll be a little ruffled!"
Wilhelm's eyes were cold as he said quietly, "I truly underestimated him. The Pika Pika no Mi's ability actually has this kind of move. If it were any other strong individual, I doubt they could have avoided it entirely..."
"But... you think you can escape like this?"
With his remarkably keen Observation Haki, everything within a ten-mile radius unfolded in Wilhelm's mind like a detailed three-dimensional map.
"Can you truly escape?"
Smoke billowed, obscuring the edges of the battlefield.
Three figures were running wildly towards the area where the two armies were still clashing, now faintly visible through the haze.
A somewhat ashamed Aokiji asked worriedly, "Kizaru, can you hold on?"
"It's rare for you to remember a single secret code taught by Teacher Zephyr. You always had the worst relationship with him..." Sakazuki, also covered in blood and looking disheveled, said in a deep voice, "But having said that, that trick really gave me a scare!"
He hadn't expected that Kizaru, who had joined the Marines at the same time, often fought alongside him, and whom he thought he knew well, would secretly possess such a trump card.
This move didn't distinguish between friend and foe, and the range of damage was far too extensive.
If they weren't Logia Devil Fruit users, they wouldn't have gotten away so easily.
"Cough cough..."
Kizaru's mouth was bleeding, his face ashen, and he looked weak. "That was truly careless of me. I didn't expect Charlotte Wilhelm's abilities to be this powerful!"
He glanced at his left arm, now a makeshift limb constructed from his Pika Pika no Mi powers, a hint of unwillingness and bitterness flashing in his eyes.
While it was entirely possible to use his Devil Fruit to create such a prosthetic to replace his lost arm, and it would only require a little adaptation without significantly impacting his daily life...
Who would willingly use a prosthetic if they could remain whole?
Moreover, the strength that such a prosthetic could exert was limited.
After all, it could never be as good as a real arm.
"Although I don't want to admit it, we made a mistake in this war, and our Marine forces have failed..."
Aokiji said in a low voice, "You must retreat immediately, or the losses will only escalate!"
"If we want to withdraw, I'm afraid it won't be easy..."
Kizaru was silent for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "Although that self-explosion was massive, it probably didn't have much effect on monsters like Charlotte Linlin, and with Charlotte Wilhelm's abilities, well, those guys can also hide..."
Sakazuki's expression was dark and uncertain.
He hesitated, as if wrestling with a difficult decision.
The enemy was relentless and their numbers overwhelming. They would never simply stand by and watch them retreat easily. Someone had to cover their escape.
And the person tasked with holding the rear had a slim chance of survival!
"Just to be safe, I'll go back!"
But at that moment, Aokiji suddenly spoke.
He said decisively, without a moment's hesitation, "Kizaru, you and Sakazuki take everyone away, and bring back as many as possible. Those are the elite of the Marines!"
"Kuzan! You..."
Sakazuki and Kizaru's eyes widened, staring blankly at Aokiji's determined face.
"No need for pointless arguments. We don't have time to waste. My abilities can effectively intercept the enemy..."
Looking at the battlefield drawing closer ahead, Aokiji gritted his teeth and said, "And without a sufficiently high-ranking Admiral candidate as bait, the enemy won't give up easily!"
"The consequences of the Marine's defeat this time... you all should understand the total losses!"
Sakazuki and Kizaru fell silent.
For this crusade against the Big Mom Pirates, the Marines had transferred more than half of the Grand Line's first half's forces to the expedition fleet.
They all knew that under such circumstances, safely evacuating the tens of thousands of surviving Marines wouldn't be easy. No one could say for certain how many would make it back alive.
With the loss of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the entire expedition fleet had been nearly wiped out.
It was an unprecedented blow to the Marine's prestige and morale.
"It's estimated that in the next five years, or even longer, it will be difficult for the Marines to recover..."
Aokiji's face was set with resolve as he said in a deep voice, "If there's nothing else you can do, there's no need for you to sacrifice yourselves in vain. One escape is one saved!"
"Try to return with Vice Admirals Onigumo and Momousagi; they are the future of the Marines!"