Meanwhile, at Marineford.
Clang—Clang—Clang!
One by one, heavy anchors were hauled up onto the decks.
A massive fleet of battleships slowly pulled away from the port.
From afar, it looked like a solid wall of steel stretching across the sea.
This was every combat-ready force Sengoku could currently muster.
"Tsuru, I'll leave Marine HQ in your hands for now."
Standing at the bow of the lead ship, Sengoku crossed his arms and gazed solemnly at the harbor behind him.
He already had a solid grasp of Doflamingo's strength.
The man was still in his prime—getting stronger by the day.
This might be the only chance in his life to take him down.
Which meant he had to make a move personally.
But—
Marineford and the Holy Land Mary Geoise were just as important.
The Marines couldn't afford to send out every force they had.
And so, the burden was now left to Tsuru alone.
If only Garp hadn't used yet another excuse to head back to his home in the East Blue...
If only it didn't take so long to get to G-8...
They wouldn't be in such a passive position now.
"I'll be right here, waiting to welcome you back in triumph, Admiral. Justice will prevail!"
Of course, Tsuru understood all this perfectly. She raised her hand in salute beside her younger sister.
"Justice will prevail!"
...
The massive fleet was en route to the G-8 region, naturally passing through the waters near the Sabaody Archipelago.
The sight stirred another wave of uproar.
"Whoa! That's so many Marine ships! I can't even see the end!"
Yamato stood atop the mast's crow's nest, shielding her eyes from the glare as she scanned the ocean.
"It really is a lot." Monet replied from below, perched on the railing, fiddling with the spike hidden in her pant leg.
Such a force—and they still couldn't clean up something as small as Sabaody?
The Marines and the World Government truly didn't deserve to rule this world.
"Looks like they're planning another sweep through the Four Seas."
Buffalo, often accused of child trafficking... or rather, helping orphans find homes, chimed in.
He'd been going back and forth between Skypiea and the Blue Sea for some time now.
He remembered—after the Marines' crushing defeat a year ago, they'd also sent a grand fleet into all four oceans just like this.
"Phew! All done. My old back's about to give out."
Having finished the coating work, Rayleigh stretched with a satisfied sigh, then turned back to glance at the fleet.
The familiar presence made the corner of his mouth lift slightly as a thought crossed his mind.
So even Sengoku's been mobilized... Just who was it that made him move himself?
"Rayleigh-san, your payment."
Senor Pink passed Rayleigh an oversized leather pouch, utterly unfazed by the looming fleet.
He was a calm and grounded adult—unlike the excitable kids yelling around him.
"Ah, thanks, kid!"
Rayleigh grinned as he took the payment and leapt off the ship.
"Safe travels."
"Thanks! Bye, Rayleigh-ossan!"
...
Back at the original site of G-8 Base, the fierce battle still raged on.
From morning to night, and into the break of dawn, there had been no pause—only escalating ferocity.
With both combatants' endurance, this was merely a warm-up.
The sea surrounding the two giant figures was already boiling, churning like a massive cauldron.
Boom!
Another deafening explosion shook the area.
The black giant's obsidian body burst apart in segments, its size shrinking further.
It staggered backward, carving massive furrows into the sea with each step.
Now, the black giant barely reached the chest of the white one—like a teenager standing before an adult.
A glow of purple light—the sign of awakening—flickered across its surface.
Bullet charged in again like a wild beast, faster and more brutal than before.
Boom!
A black arm and a white arm clashed once again, sending shockwaves across the sea.
This time, the black arm held firm—no debris broke off.
Only two steps back before it regained balance.
"Fufufufufu~ Impressive, Bullet! You're growing fast!"
Doflamingo laughed, clearly satisfied with the durability of Bullet's awakened Gundam.
Though it was Bullet's first time using this form...
He truly lived up to the name of a prodigy—the very boy who once toppled nations.
When he'd first activated his awakened state, it was little more than a brittle frame held together by Armament Haki.
The interior had just been a patchwork of everything gathered from G-8—more rubble than body.
But through constant battle, Bullet was refining it using his merging ability—converting inorganic matter into solid steel.
Now, the body was as durable as iron.
"Bring out your real power, Doflamingo!!"
But rather than pleased by the praise, Bullet's face only darkened—his expression twisted with frustration.
Doflamingo hadn't even used his Armament Haki seriously yet.
"Or are you... underestimating me?"
The black giant hunched over—then, with incredible force, leapt out of the ocean.
Its enormous body launched upward like a missile, sending millions of tons of seawater surging behind.
Its colossal fist—fused with both Armament and Conqueror's Haki—thundered forth.
"Bullet Heavy Fist!!!"
"No, what I mean is... you've got a lot left to learn."
The white giant's neck exploded into sixteen whip-like tendrils.
It grabbed its own head and pulled it back like a taut slingshot.
Purple light shimmered from the skull, crackling with crimson Conqueror's Haki.
"Just having hardness isn't enough!"
Doflamingo let go.
BOOM!
For a split second, it was as if a shooting star streaked through the sky.
The air didn't even have time to react.
The white head pierced through Bullet's incoming fist like it was paper—
—then slammed straight into the black giant's Haki-armored chest.
RUMBLE!
A massive shockwave followed the impact.
Bullet's Gundam crashed into the ocean, a spiderweb of cracks spreading across its chest.
Inside the cockpit, blood poured from Bullet's mouth and nose.
The white giant slowly retracted its smoking head back into its neck.
Crack!
The black giant's chest split open, revealing Bullet, blood on his lips, eyes still burning with determination.
He ignored the pain, staring straight at Doflamingo.
"That speed... how did you do it?"
"You want to learn?" Doflamingo grinned.
"I'll teach you."
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg