On the plaza of Marine Headquarters, the battle between the Marines and pirates had reached a fever pitch.
Both the elite Marines and the pirates of the Beast God Pirates, whose physiques had been enhanced by the Evolution Potion, were completely consumed by bloodlust.
"One Sword Style—Red Warbler!"
Tashigi, wearing red-framed glasses, let out a sharp cry as her long sword traced a crimson arc, resembling a red warbler taking flight.
Swish!
Blood splattered, flesh tore, and a pirate clutched his slit throat, gurgling incoherently before collapsing to the ground.
"Huff... huff..."
Tashigi leaned on her sword, her breathing ragged and chaotic, her ample chest heaving up and down.
Her body was splattered with scarlet blood, like blooming plum blossoms.
Her ears were filled with the roaring battle cries of her comrades, the clashing of swords, and the incessant screams of agony!
Her vision grew slightly hazy and distracted.
She was exhausted.
Never had she been so tired!
This was a war ten times more brutal than the Summit War at Marineford two years ago!
Because back then, the Marines held a significant advantage.
In the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard himself was already aged and frail, his physique and Haki far from their peak levels.
Aside from the top-ranked commanders like Marco, Jozu, and Vista, his crew lacked any other notably powerful figures.
Akainu alone could effortlessly handle all the other division commanders besides Whitebeard, even with the addition of Crocodile and Jinbei.
But now?
The situation had completely reversed.The Beast God Pirates possess an overwhelming number of top-tier combatants.
Among the veteran Emperor-level fighters alone, there are Caesar, Shiki, Raid, Kaido, and Linlin.
Slightly weaker but still comparable to Admirals are Bullett, Loki, and Katakuri.
Although Ganzui was slightly weaker, he was still one of the top great swordsmen to have ever sailed the seas.
He was currently overwhelming Momousagi with relentless assault.
On the Marines' side, the top-tier combatants included Akainu, Kizaru, Fujitora, and Ryokugyu.
Additionally, there was the Army's commander Atlas, along with two generals Pavlov and Floyd.
With the additions of Black Horse and World to round out their numbers, it seemed both sides were evenly matched on the surface.
However, the Beast God Pirates had their excessively monstrous captain Barbarossa Caesar, who alone managed to hold back both Akainu and Atlas!
Meanwhile, Bullett took care of Black Horse and World single-handedly.
Magellan had even been slain by Katakuri.
In the current battlefield situation, Kizaru was exchanging blows with Raid, while Fujitora had flown off to who-knows-where to battle Shiki.
Ryokugyu was tied up dealing with Linlin and, already hard-pressed himself, had no capacity to assist others.
Pavlov was being entangled by Crocodile and Doflamingo, gradually descending into a frenzy.
Floyd and Loki were locked in combat, the two having tumbled and rolled their way onto the icy surface to continue fighting.
The Marines' high-end combat power was completely tied up, with some even finding themselves in perilous situations!
Yet on the Beast God Pirates' side, Katakuri, Kuzan, and the long-absent Kaido could all pose extreme danger to the Marines' mid-to-high-ranking officers!
Beyond these fighters operating at another level entirely.
The Beast God Pirates also had formidable combatants like Akin, King, Moria, and Yamato.
Moreover, the pirates' lower-tier forces were exceptionally powerful as well.
Most notably, there was the nearly two-hundred-strong Giant Legion and the 18,700 pirates who had consumed the Evolution Potion.
These forces alone had already slaughtered the Marines until rivers of blood flowed and corpses piled like mountains.
"Kishishishi, a little Marine girl actually spacing out on the battlefield? How careless."
A shadow fell over Tashigi's body, jolting her from her dazed contemplation.
She gripped her longsword tightly and rapidly retreated.
While backing away, Tashigi instinctively looked up.
She saw a giant roughly ten meters tall, all sinewy muscle, with two long horns on his head and fangs in his mouth, holding a pair of scissors and grinning weirdly at her.
Tashigi's pupils instantly dilated, a bone-chilling cold surging through her heart.
She practically screamed without thinking.
"Caesar!"
But quickly, Tashigi realized her mistake and scrutinized the giant before her more carefully - noting the scissors in his hands, and the constantly swelling and cracking ground around the giant's feet from which ragged zombie soldiers were emerging with low growls.
"Wait! Not Caesar... it's... Gecko Moria! How did he become like this? He looks vastly stronger than two years ago!"
Though it wasn't Caesar, Tashigi was still shocked.
She had seen Moria two years ago.
Back then, Moria had been given a concussion by Straw Hat and still had bandages wrapped around his head at Marineford.
While Kuma had an inverted triangle physique - broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist - Moria was shaped like a roly-poly toy, wider at the bottom.
His hard-summoned Undead Soldiers were completely countered by the Knight of the Sea Jinbei, who beat him until he vomited bile.
It was precisely because he so degraded the title of Seven Warlords that the World Government had Doflamingo eliminate him after the war.
But now, the aura emanating from Moria was worlds apart from what it had been two years before.Moria let out a sinister laugh as the shadow beneath his feet extended like lightning, instantly connecting with Tashigi's shadow!
"Kishishishi, Shadow Master, bring her to me."
With a hook of Moria's left hand, Tashigi felt as if someone had suddenly grabbed her ankle, lifting her into the air.
She hurriedly looked down and was horrified.
Her own shadow was being gripped by a large black shadow hand, dragging her toward Moria!
Gritting her teeth, Tashigi raised her long sword and fiercely slashed at the large hand reaching for her!
"One Sword Style—Iron Cutting!"
She had already achieved the swordsmanship realm of cutting through steel.
This single strike possessed considerable formidable attack power.
But the sword energy she unleashed didn't sever Moria's left hand—instead, it passed right through it.
"What?" Tashigi's mind went blank. "How is this possible? You're not a Logia user!"
"Kishishishi, because I can shift between my shadow and my true form."
A mocking voice came from behind her. Tashigi saw the Moria standing before her transform into a tall, pitch-black shadow.
While behind her stood Moria's true form!
"Ahhh!" Tashigi's waist was seized by Moria, his five fingers exerting force, immediately making her cry out in pain.
Moria pulled her close and chuckled, "There are far too few powerful female warriors in the Marines. After today, I'm afraid there will be none left."
As he spoke, Moria's left hand began to exert pressure.
Crack, crack, crack.
Tashigi, clenched in his grip, heard her bones creaking under the strain, blood continuously trickling from the corner of her mouth!
"Tashigi!"
"White Smoke Launcher!"