"Divine Departure! Kamikaze!"
Shanks swung his sword with a stern expression. The jet-black flying slash split Akainu's magma attack in two. Before Onigumo could lead the Marines through the opening, Shanks had already struck again. Countless smaller flying slashes combined together, roaring forward like a furious swarm of bees, bombarding the fastest-charging Marine troops.
"Ten Blade Style: Spider Web Cut!"
Even among the Navy Headquarters' vice admirals, Onigumo was one of the strongest. Despite facing Shanks' sudden assault, he showed no fear and countered with his blades. With both hands and eight additional "arms" formed from his prehensile hair, he wielded ten swords simultaneously, using his hair as if it were part of his own body. This was a technique only achievable by those who had mastered the "Life Return" technique from the Six Powers to an exceptional level. Even more impressive—his ten "arms" moved without interfering with each other. Each blade, coated in Armament Haki, danced in perfect harmony, forming an impenetrable web, blocking the relentless storm of flying slashes.
Unfortunately, Onigumo's Armament Haki and swordsmanship were far inferior to Shanks'. Even though he fought with everything he had, he still couldn't block all of the attacks.
Splurt!
Splurt!
Splurt!
The razor-sharp flying slashes pierced through the bodies of the Marines. These wounds weren't fatal, but they were enough to incapacitate them temporarily. Even Onigumo himself couldn't avoid being hit—more than a dozen flying slashes tore through him. His Armament Haki wasn't enough to fully defend against Shanks' strikes, and he collapsed to the ground, his body drenched in blood.
"Shanks!"
Akainu had finally arrived, roaring with fury. Onigumo wasn't just a fellow member of the Navy's hawk faction, he was also a longtime comrade-in-arms. Now, seeing him cut down—combined with his rage from earlier events—Akainu's hatred for Shanks exploded to its peak, rivaling his grudge against Dragon, the man who cost him his dream of becoming Fleet Admiral.
"Hold back the Navy! Don't let them through!"
Shanks sighed, reluctantly facing Akainu again. Thankfully, he still had his crew to rely on. Ben Beckman, having just taken down Van Augur, let out a deep sigh. For the Red-Haired Pirates, who were greatly outnumbered, trying to hold back the massive Marine forces was no easy task. But what choice did they have? With a captain like Shanks, no matter how tough it got, they had to step up.
"Open fire!"
Under Ben Beckman's command, the Red Hair Pirates' snipers unleashed a spectacular barrage, halting the Marines' advance.
Even Vice Admirals with decent Armament Haki hesitated to charge forward under fire from a dozen elite marksmen—some even among the world's best.
Without leadership from Marine officers, regular soldiers struggled to break through the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just as the Red Hair Pirates' snipers successfully suppressed the Marines, the ground at Marineford's plaza trembled.
Amidst the Whitebeard Pirates' furious shouts, a massive figure appeared on the battlefield.
"Little Oars! He's still alive! I have to save him!"
Ace, who had been covering his crew's retreat, immediately tried to rush back. To him, all Whitebeard Pirates were family, but Little Oars held a special place in his heart.
"Calm down, Ace! Little Oars is already dead!!"
Curiel, the 10th Division Commander, quickly held Ace back. They had seen Little Oars fall to the Warlords' attacks. No matter how tough a giant's vitality was, there was no way he could have survived.
And just as Curiel suspected, Gecko Moria stood atop "Little Oars'" massive shoulders, looking down on the Whitebeard and Red Hair Pirates with a gloating grin.
"Go, Little Oars! Hee-hee-hee! Show them your true power!"
Moria cackled excitedly. Though he hadn't obtained the corpses of Dorocas or Whitebeard, he had gathered plenty of shadows during the chaos.
Having received an offer from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Moria had even brought out his most prized collection, using them to drive "Little Oars" against the Red Hair Pirates' defenses.
Although a corpse without Dr. Hogback's modifications couldn't fully utilize the zombie army's true power, Little Oars' sheer size alone made him devastating—even when stuffed with random, low-quality shadows.
As expected, the zombified Little Oars moved sluggishly. Minutes passed before he finally took a slow step forward, heading toward the Red Hair Pirates' snipers.
"Hee-hee-hee! If one shadow isn't enough, I'll stuff in a hundred! With enough quantity, even weak shadows can make up for lack of quality!"
Moria's excitement was palpable. Ever since his defeat at Thriller Bark, he had been thinking of ways to improve and strengthen his zombie army.
Now, he finally understood—while he couldn't handle too many shadows himself, zombies didn't have that problem.
Even if there was a limit to how many could be stuffed into a single corpse, he no longer had to worry about a zombie suffering the same near-explosion as he had.
Of course, ordinary shadows couldn't compare to those of true powerhouses. But Moria no longer cared about that—his real target was either Dorocas or Whitebeard's corpse.
Whether through deals or theft, if he could obtain the body of one of those top-tier warriors and stuff it with powerful shadows, he could finally take revenge on Kaido!
"Fire!"
—
Seeing "Little Oars" charging forward like a moving mountain, Ben Beckman frowned.
His Observation Haki easily confirmed that "Little Oars" was already dead. But now, controlled by Moria, the giant was crashing into their defenses, becoming a real headache.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets rained down on "Little Oars," some coated with Armament Haki strong enough to pierce through him.
Yet, injuries that would be fatal for a normal person meant nothing to a zombie. Without pain, unless it was disabled entirely, no amount of damage would stop it.
"Tch, aim for its right leg!"
Firing just once, Ben Beckman quickly realized that normal tactics wouldn't work. Against an "undying" opponent, conventional attacks were useless.
Without needing further orders, the snipers adjusted their Haki-infused bullets, shifting from piercing damage to maximizing internal destruction.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Another round of shots, and "Little Oars'" right leg was shredded. His massive body toppled to the ground.
"Damn it! Useless zombie!"
Moria cursed but had no better options.
His body had deteriorated from years of neglect, leaving his Armament Haki weak. Even at his peak, he couldn't coat all of "Little Oars" in Haki, let alone withstand the Red Hair Pirates' sniper fire.
"Fuffuffuffu... Useless as ever, Moria! Is this all you've got?"
Descending with invisible threads, Doflamingo sneered arrogantly.
He had always looked down on Moria, a so-called Warlord who constantly boasted about fighting Kaido without realizing how vast their gap had become.
More importantly, Moria had repeatedly refused to cooperate—because Doflamingo was tied to Kaido.
But Doflamingo didn't care about the reason. What mattered to him was how much profit he lost because of it.
"You bastard! If you're so tough, go do it yourself, damn clown!"
Moria snapped. Even just Ben Beckman could beat him to a pulp, not to mention the other elite snipers and skilled fighters.
For a mere Warlord like him, there was no way to deal with that lineup!
"Fuffuffuffu! Then let me show you the difference between us!"
Doflamingo's cold eyes gleamed behind his sunglasses, but he didn't attack Moria just yet.
After all, he still needed to stay on Kizaru's good side—not just because Kizaru might become Fleet Admiral, but also because of the Pure Gold he still had.
A key to eternal life.
Doflamingo had once set his sights on Law's Ope Ope no Mi, but now he saw another path.
As long as he obtained Pure Gold, he could achieve immortality.
And one day, he would seize the throne of the World King!
Moria suppressed his anger. He didn't really care about Fleet Admiral Sengoku's wrath, but unlike Doflamingo, who had entered the New World relatively late, Moria had been sailing since the era of Pirate King Roger and had personally witnessed just how terrifying Kizaru, the "Navy Monster," truly was.
With Sengoku soon to step down, his successor would be Kizaru, which made Moria uneasy. Though he wasn't planning to lower himself to curry favor with Kizaru like Doflamingo, he also saw no reason to provoke that terrifying man over Oars Jr. Even "the world's strongest man," Whitebeard, had died at Kizaru's hands—Moria had no intention of making an enemy of him.
Reluctantly reaching a compromise, the two Warlords of the Sea drove Oars Jr. forward. However, this time, taking him down wouldn't be so easy for the Red-Haired Pirates' snipers. The massive demon was now covered in Doflamingo's threads. Even when Yasopp shattered Oars Jr.'s knee, countless thread-like tendrils, as if alive, immediately gathered to repair the wound.
"You guys handle this—I'm going after those two troublemakers!" Ben Beckman flicked away his nearly burnt-out cigarette and set his sights on the two Warlords standing on Oars Jr.'s shoulder. He didn't need to defeat Doflamingo and Moria, just keep them too busy to control Oars Jr., giving the Red-Haired Pirates' officers enough time to block the Navy's pursuit.
"Alright, but you better hurry! I'll cover you!" Lucky Roux, momentarily pausing his feast, spoke while biting into a cleaned-off bone. Even he could feel the pressure of this intense battle.
"Don't worry, I'll be quick." Beckman twirled his gun and charged forward. As the Red-Haired Pirates' first mate, his strength wasn't just in outsmarting his enemies—he was also one of the New World's top combatants.
"Lucky me."
But before Beckman could reach Doflamingo and Moria, an unexpected challenger appeared. Thick ice spikes rained down from above, forming a frozen barrier in front of him. It was Esdeath, who, after losing her target, Blackbeard, had begun searching for a new opponent.
Her ideal target had been Red-Haired Shanks, but since Akainu was already fighting him to the death, Esdeath, despite not knowing Akainu personally, felt it inappropriate to interfere—especially out of respect for Kizaru. While she hesitated, her eyes locked onto Beckman, who radiated formidable strength. Her battle-hungry nature kicked in, and she immediately sprang into action.
"Where the hell did this woman come from…?"
Beckman's mastery of Observation Haki was exceptional, on par with top-tier fighters. Even before engaging her, he could sense the deadly threat Esdeath posed. It was baffling—strong individuals constantly emerged on the seas, but those who reached a certain level were well-known. So where had this ridiculously powerful woman come from?
Esdeath stood atop an ice pillar, looking down at Beckman, her usually cold expression shifting into an excited grin.
Seeing this, Beckman's face darkened. With a powerful leap, he sprang into the air just as the ground beneath him froze over. At that moment, sharp ice spikes surged upward from the frozen earth, rising like waves to impale him.
"Flintlock!"
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel