At this moment, Aokiji looked utterly battered—half his body encased in ice, the other half smeared with blood, his appearance thoroughly wretched.
Then it dawned on them—the way he had flown in earlier didn't seem like a deliberate charge. No, it was more like he'd been thrown.
Sure enough, before they could even turn around, another figure came soaring through the air.
It was none other than Hashirama Senju, now in his Six Paths Sage Mode!
Even Admiral Kuzan was defeated?!
The Marines reeled in shock. Their pillars—the Navy Admirals—had fallen. The sheer terror of it sent tremors through their ranks.
How could the enemy be this strong? Two Admirals had been taken down in such a short time!
As the shock and disbelief spread, an even more horrifying thought crept into their minds—
What if Admiral Borsalino is next?
Their eyes instinctively darted toward the battlefield where Kizaru and Namikaze Minato were still locked in combat.
To their relief, their worst fears hadn't come true—yet.
Kizaru remained as elusive as ever, his light-speed movements keeping him just out of Minato's reach. Though Minato was powerful, he couldn't match the sheer might of Madara or Hashirama, so it wasn't surprising that he hadn't yet secured victory.
But Jiraiya, watching from the sidelines, wasn't having it.
In his eyes, the three Admirals were roughly equal in strength. If Akainu and Aokiji had already been taken down by Madara and Hashirama, then Minato's struggle against Kizaru felt… underwhelming.
"Tch. I'm stepping in."
Without hesitation, Jiraiya abandoned his duel with a Marine Vice Admiral and made a beeline for Minato's battlefield.
The Vice Admiral, however, wasn't about to let him go. He lunged forward, blocking Jiraiya's path with a furious shout:
"Halt! You think you can just gang up on him?! How dishonorable!"
Jiraiya burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! Oh, that's rich! You Marines brought tens of thousands to this fight, and you're calling us dishonorable for outnumbering someone?!"
The Vice Admiral's face flushed with shame, but he stood his ground.
"You'll have to go through me first!"
He was ready to die if it meant stopping Jiraiya. Because he knew—if Kizaru fell too, the Navy's morale would shatter completely. And with it, the entire war.
Others shared his desperation. More Marines rushed in, determined to overwhelm Jiraiya with sheer numbers.
But they'd forgotten one thing—Jiraiya wasn't alone.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A cold voice cut through the chaos.
An invisible force blasted through the charging Marines, sending them flying like ragdolls.
Nagato Uzumaki landed beside Jiraiya.
"I'll come with you, Sensei."
Jiraiya grinned. "Good!"
Then, with a nostalgic sigh, he added:
"Never thought I'd see the day—my two students, who never fought side by side in life, would team up in death."
Nagato said nothing, silently pressing forward.
But just as they neared Minato's battlefield, a commanding voice rang out:
"Four Red Yang Formation!"
Jiraiya and Nagato skidded to a halt.
Four towering crimson barriers erupted from the ground, sealing Kizaru inside an impenetrable prison.
It was the same barrier Minato had once used alongside the First, Second, and Third Hokage to trap the Ten-Tails—a seal so powerful, not even a Tailed Beast Bomb could break it.
And now, Minato had replicated it with shadow clones, trapping Kizaru inside.
No matter how hard the Admiral struggled, he couldn't escape.
With that, all three Navy Admirals had been defeated.
Lin Xuan couldn't help but smirk as he watched Kizaru fruitlessly batter against the barrier.
Then, turning to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, he said:
"Looks like your Navy can't stop me from executing those Celestial Dragons… or taking Sabaody Archipelago."
"You bastard!" Sengoku snarled, mind racing for a way to turn the tide.
But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find one.
Is this it? Is the Navy really going to lose? Will we just stand by as those three Celestial Dragons are slaughtered?!
Then—
A voice, calm yet commanding, cut through the tension.
"Sengoku. Stand down."
Sengoku froze.
Who dares order the Fleet Admiral around?!
And if he stepped back now, who would stop Lin Xuan?!
Lin Xuan, equally surprised, turned toward the voice—
And his eyes narrowed.
He recognized the man instantly.
And he knew—this one would be trouble.
Because standing before them was one of the Five Elders, the highest authority of the World Government.
Lin Xuan had hoped they'd show up.
And now, one of them had.
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T/N:
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