Silence!
A deathly stillness fell between heaven and earth.
In the vast Marineford battlefield, it suddenly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at the port's towering elevated ground, where a terrifying, burly Demon God had torn the Army Commander in two.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed—the discarded, mangled corpse thrown aside by Caesar.
Akainu stared blankly at Atlas, who was slowly reverting to his original form, his body now shattered and broken.
This man, known as the 'Earth King,' wielder of the Earth-Earth Fruit powers, was a peak-tier combatant even among Admiral-level fighters.
Possessing fists second only to Garp's and the world's strongest defense surpassing even the Diamond Fruit.
The fierce warrior who led the Army to rival the Revolutionary Army across nations worldwide, capable of clashing head-on with Dragon!
To die in such a manner...
By now, the sky was nearing noon.
The sun hung high, radiating scorching light.
Yet all the Marines felt a chill seeping from the depths of their souls!
A dark shadow fell over Akainu's vision as Caesar slowly lowered his head, his cold, indifferent eyes locking onto Akainu.
His gaze was filled with menace, tyranny, ruthlessness, and killing intent!
"Brothers! Annihilate the Marines!"
Caesar suddenly threw his arms wide and roared, his voice like muffled thunder exploding in every corner of the island!
"Captain Caesar is invincible! Kill all the Marines!"
Instantly, Marineford erupted into chaos.
The pirates of the Beast God Pirates, as if injected with a powerful stimulant, turned bloodshot-eyed and charged at the Marines before them with frenzied excitement!
In just a few breaths, towering waves of blood surged in every corner!
"Tokikake! I leave this dragon to you! I must go help Sakazuki—he can't hold out alone!" Kuzan suddenly roared loudly.
Tokikake gritted his teeth, rushing over swiftly, and shouted back.
"Leave it to me!"
Kuzan didn't care whether Tokikake could hold off the Candle Dragon.
The top priority was to help Sakazuki restrain Caesar, that monster!
Though the other pirates were formidable too, Caesar was utterly inhuman through and through!
Kuzan dared not imagine the consequences if Caesar were freed to target the Marines' other combatants!
"It might take three, four, or even more Admirals to possibly kill him!"
In the distance, Katakuri had long noticed Kuzan's movements, his expression cold as he swiftly advanced toward them.
"If you want to get past, you'll have to step over my corpse!" Onigumo, like a mad demon, wildly swung his eight spider arms, recklessly unleashing his Haki in a desperate attempt to block Katakuri's advance.
"Foolish!"
Katakuri didn't even bother to look. Behind him, doughnuts burning with black flames rolled forward, crushing directly toward Onigumo!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent explosions erupted, causing Katakuri to frown slightly.
Before him, Marine soldiers drenched in blood aimed their weapons at him.
The explosions just now were caused by fearless—no, more accurately, resolute soldiers who charged forward without hesitation, using their bodies to block the path of the rolling doughnuts!
Standing in front of him were Doberman, Onigumo, and Momonga, all fighting with one arm!
And beside them stood row upon row of Marine soldiers!
Katakuri shook his head, and his spear, Mogura, materialized in his hand.
"Since the outcome is already predictable, your struggle is nothing more than a futile last stand."
Onigumo and the others remained silent, charging forward with their heads down!
…
On the icy surface of the inner bay, Loki, locked in fierce combat with Floyd, was already showing signs of exhaustion!
He was still too young. Whether in terms of Haki or physical strength, he was far from reaching his peak.
Floyd, on the other hand, was an Ancient Zoan user with the Titanoboa ability, and his Devil Fruit had long been awakened.
Years ago, in his quest to claim the title of the strongest Zoan user, he had challenged Kaido, the strongest creature!
Although Floyd lost that battle, he did not die.
His defense was so formidable that even Kaido at the time failed to completely break through it.
By now, Loki was panting heavily, his limbs aching unbearably.
This ten-meter-tall, scale-covered giant hybrid before him was actually slightly stronger than Loki, the legitimate king of the Giant tribe!
This fact filled Loki with a deep sense of humiliation!
A hybrid, stronger than him—a pure-blooded giant who had even awakened the bloodline of the ancient giants!
Seeing the anger and frustration in Loki's eyes, Floyd grinned mockingly.
"Giant King Loki, how dare you call yourself the Giant God? I, Floyd, am the true descendant of the great giant progenitor, Odin! And you? You're nothing but a dwarf and a failure!"
Floyd's harsh words made Loki's eyes burn with rage, his entire body trembling with fury.
With a furious roar, he swung his fist at Floyd once more!
Thud!
The massive log-like fist struck Floyd's chest but failed to deliver the expected damage.
The terrifying impact was largely deflected by the smooth scales covering Floyd's chest!
Even the Haki wrapped around Loki's fist was mostly dispersed.
"Wahahaha! Weak! So weak, Loki! I'll stand right here and let you hit me, yet you still can't break my defense! Why are your fists so soft? Just like your dick! Worthless!"
Floyd threw his head back and laughed wildly, his eyes filled with nothing but contempt and mockery as he looked at Loki.
"Ahhh! I'll kill you!"
Loki's eyes turned bloodshot as he lunged forward in a frenzy!
Suddenly!
A blurry afterimage descended from the sky, wielding an enormous club, and struck Floyd squarely on his smooth, scale-covered head!
Boom!
The ice surface shattered, countless ice crystals scattering in all directions.
Amid the swirling mist of ice, a violent aura swept through the inner bay like a storm!
The glacier cracked with countless fissures, and the horned demon king hoisted his spiked club onto his shoulder, slowly advancing toward the massive crater before him.
In the pit, Floyd's eyes rolled back, blood spurting from his forehead with a sizzling sound, his massive serpent head buzzing incessantly.
"Ka... Kaido." Loki came to a halt.
"This little snake belongs to me now."
Kaido, carrying a pitch-black spiked club, tilted his head and looked at Floyd, who had regained his senses and was pushing himself up from the icy surface.
"Bastard Kaido! Attacking by surprise? No wonder you lost the title of the strongest creature. Have you no shame at all?"
On Floyd's enormous serpent head, his two narrow pupils were filled with ferocity and rage.
He raised the back of his hand to wipe the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Shame? You, a high-ranking Army general, bullying an eight-year-old child, and you dare talk to me about shame?"
Kaido pointed at the bewildered Loki.
"If you keep hitting him like this, what if it stunts his growth?"
Floyd: "..."
Loki blinked, his fifteen-meter-tall body slowly shrinking to six meters.
"See! You've beaten him so badly he's shrunk!"
"You...!" Floyd's green serpent head flushed red and pale in turns.
"Enough from you!"
"Thunder Bagua!"