"Surround them!"
"For justice!!"
"Kill!!"
"Take down the Roger Pirates!"
...
The roars of the Marines shook the skies.
Aboard one of the warships...
"Are you really that confident, Sengoku?"
Rayleigh, sword in hand, squinted toward the direction where Daren and Shiki had vanished. He frowned, then turned to Sengoku and said calmly,
"That brat's strong, sure. But if he's going one-on-one with Shiki… he won't survive."
"If I'm not mistaken, he's your most valuable strategic deterrent in the entire Navy, isn't he?"
Sengoku narrowed his eyes, replying coldly,
"Dark King Rayleigh, that's none of your concern."
His gaze flicked toward the Oro Jackson, now completely surrounded by warships.
"We've waited a long time for this—an opportunity to wipe out Roger's crew in one fell swoop... I won't let myself get distracted now."
With eyes as sharp as his, Sengoku instantly saw through Rayleigh's real intention.
Rayleigh had brought it up to rattle him. And if Sengoku actually diverted some of his top forces to support Daren, that would only ease the pressure here.
Giving the Roger Pirates a better chance to break through the encirclement.
"Save your breath."
"...What a shame."
Rayleigh sighed, a heavy seriousness settling in his gaze.
He swept a quick glance at the Oro Jackson.
The pirate ship was entirely boxed in. Marines had boarded, and fierce close-quarters combat had erupted across both their vessel and the Navy warships.
His crew was struggling, pushed to their limit.
They'd just come out of a brutal sea storm—not only exhausted, but worn down physically and mentally.
Worst of all, the Oro Jackson had suffered heavy damage. Though the shipwrights were scrambling to repair it, there was no way it could sail anytime soon.
This was it. All they could do now was fight.
With that realization, a wave of intense Haki erupted from Rayleigh's body!
Zzzz!
Red arcs of lightning crackled across his form, the sheer pressure warping the air around him, making the world itself tremble.
An overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki!
Sengoku's eyes narrowed, unease flashing in his heart.
The rumors said Rayleigh, "Dark King" and Roger's right hand, possessed strength rivaling the Pirate King himself...
And now, it seemed those weren't just stories.
"So, Sengoku... that intel—was it your Marines who leaked it?"
Rayleigh stood with his sword in one hand, eyes gleaming behind his rimless glasses. His aura rose, hair whipping upward, eyes radiating a crushing pressure.
"No comment."
Gold light burst from Sengoku once more as he transformed into the towering golden Buddha, assuming a battle stance.
Rayleigh exhaled deeply, his tone chilled.
"Throwing us to the front just to bait Shiki... A clever move. Almost too clever."
"I'm starting to think this entire war was planned by your Navy from the start."
"To quietly let the two strongest pirate crews in the sea destroy each other... Sengoku, your cunning truly befits the title of the Marines' Resourceful General."
Sengoku's eyes narrowed further.
The two locked eyes for a brief, intense moment.
Then—both launched forward from their positions, clashing head-on!
...
"Inugami Guren!!"
Boom!
A roaring fist of magma surged forth, morphing into a blazing giant hound that bloomed like a crimson lotus!
The scarlet glare engulfed the entire field of view, forcing nearby Marines to retreat in alarm.
"Moon Fang: Twin Hunt!"
A pair of giant axes wreathed in Haki stirred a violent gale. A cross-shaped slash erupted forth, cleaving the charging magma beast cleanly in two!
Molten rock splattered everywhere, hissing as it struck the deck, releasing columns of black smoke.
Dark red magma trickled down the twin blades. Gaban, his black ponytail fluttering and shades glinting, watched the young Marine stepping out of the smoke with a heavy expression.
"Magma, huh? The Marines really have churned out some remarkable youngsters lately..."
"That last attack—if it hit, it would've pierced straight through my heart."
Sakazuki strode forward expressionlessly, half his body already transformed into surging magma.
"Scopper Gaban, number three of the Roger Pirates..."
He spoke coldly.
"This is where your crew meets its end."
Gaban smiled faintly as he knocked his twin axes together, their clang echoing with tension.
"That's not a given."
...
"Protect the Oro Jackson!!!"
"Damn it, he's too fast!"
"He's a Logia!"
...
Aboard the Oro Jackson, Borsalino's body flickered, sometimes bursting into a scatter of photons, sometimes reforming in human shape—completely surrounded by Roger Pirates like Spencer, Blumarine, and Mugren.
Clang!
Ama no Murakumo clashed with a harpoon aimed at his back by Sunbell, sparks flashing across Borsalino's reflective shades.
He glanced at the panting fishman before him, scratched his head lazily, and muttered,
"A Fishman warrior, huh... The Roger Pirates really are monsters. Every crewmember is terrifyingly strong."
"Shut up!"
"In your dreams!"
"You bastard!!"
The fighters flushed with rage, shouting as they charged at him again in a wild flurry of attacks.
...
"Bwahahahaha! Roger!! Come on, let's have a proper fight!!"
"Damn you, Garp! You knocked out my front tooth!!"
Above the floating debris of a shattered pirate ship, two figures cloaked in black and red lightning clashed like meteors crashing into the earth!
Iron fists and longswords split the sky.
Their strikes clashed in midair!
A compressed orb of black and red energy twisted violently between them, bursting into shockwaves that tore through the heavens.
The world itself seemed to lose its color.
Waves dozens of meters tall erupted across the sea, clouds shattered, and shockwaves radiated for kilometers.
Just as they locked horns midair—
"Dahaha! Vice Admiral Garp, I'm here to help!!"
A bold, energetic voice rang out.
A tall, lean figure leapt from the dog-headed warship, wielding a spear of ice as he dove toward Roger!
Roger raised a brow, just about to act—
But Garp beat him to it.
"Kuzan, get outta here!! Don't get in the way!!"
"Roger is mine!!"
With a roar, he launched a punch!
"Eh?"
Kuzan froze.
Before he could react, Garp's fist filled his vision—
Kuzan: ???
Boom!
Like a cannonball, he was blasted into the sea by Garp's punch.
With a whoosh, the surrounding waters—within a radius of nearly two kilometers—froze solid in an instant, turning the entire ocean surface pure white.
Shards of frost whirled and spread, encasing all the warships and the Oro Jackson in ice.
"The sea froze over!"
"Rear Admiral Kuzan is insane!"
"He just gave us the battlefield!"
"Charge!!"
Stunned for a moment, the Marines aboard the ships quickly regained their senses. They drew their weapons, leaped onto the frozen sea, and charged toward the Roger Pirates across the ice!