On the Marine side, including the World Military Draft and temporary transfers, they had gathered over 150,000 elites.
The pirates were no pushovers either.
Even adding Kaido, Big Mom, and their affiliated forces, their numbers still fell short of the Marines.
But on the high-end combatant side, the pirates temporarily held the advantage.
Temporarily.
Perhaps only a select few knew that the true 'main forces' of both sides hadn't yet appeared.
The fighting had just begun but quickly escalated towards a fever pitch.
Many understood that this war had already transcended the scope of 'rescuing a hostage'.
Ace was merely a catalyst.
A catalyst for the Marines to provoke the fragmented pirate forces.
The Marines could certainly take more time to gradually weaken the pirates… they might not even need to lift a finger, as pirates would fight among themselves.
But just as people would join the military in droves, new forces would continuously replenish the pirate ranks.
If they couldn't curb the pirates' arrogance, this conflict would be endless.
That's what the Marines thought and acted upon. Whether the World Government was involved behind the scenes wasn't for outsiders to know.
When the sky falls, the tall ones bear it.
Now that the Marines' high-end combatants were engaged with the enemy, they could just go through the motions.
That was Doflamingo's calculation, not even wanting to personally enter the fray.
"Parasite..."
Standing at a high point, his fingers gently danced, and below, many pirates attacked their own comrades.
"My body! I can't control my body!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Fufufufu..."
"Hey… Donquixote Doflamingo!"
At that moment, a mature voice rang out.
Accompanying it was a massive fist half a person tall.
"Giant Mochi!"
Bang!
The Haki-covered mochi fist struck Doflamingo's defensive web woven from strings, producing a harsh sound.
"Katakuri-"
Doflamingo's expression was quite unpleasant, looking at the Sweet Commander, Katakuri right before him.
"Don't say you've forgotten the humiliation to the Big Mom Pirates!"
Katakuri's gaze was fierce.
Big Mom had kindly sent Doflamingo an invitation, even planning to cooperate with him.
But this guy had immediately switched sides once the Marines came to Whole Cake Island, and after being imprisoned, even escaped with Orochimaru.
Thinking this, Katakuri increased the force in his hand. Doflamingo, responding hastily and not in a good position to exert force, was immediately pressed down.
"I think... we can still talk... remember the gigantification research..."
Doflamingo offered the gigantification research, which Big Mom coveted, as a bargaining chip. Unfortunately, it held no sway over Katakuri.
"Donquixote Doflamingo, you've lost the Big Mom Pirates' trust. If you have anything to say, you can say it slowly after meeting Mama."
With that, Katakuri delivered a roundhouse kick to Doflamingo, sending him flying.
The other Warlords nearby hardly reacted, watching coldly.
Seeing this, Katakuri didn't engage them either, continuing to relentlessly pursue the flamingo.
Both were awakened Paramecia users, even possessing Conqueror's Haki.
But Katakuri's mastery of Observation Haki was superior, and soon Doflamingo fell into a disadvantage.
He couldn't expect other Warlords to lend a hand.
Especially Hancock (fake), her gloating smile was almost undisguised.
Watching his good friend Katakuri beat up Doflamingo up close, Naruto was in a rather good mood.
Simultaneously, he occasionally looked up at the execution platform.
Garp and Sengoku were currently stationed there.
From the earlier display, there was no indication that this Ace was a fake.
So now, it was about waiting for the Marines', or more accurately, the World Government's backup plan.
Naruto knew these people's nature all too well.
This was just the beginning, and the main event was far from starting.
But just because Naruto knew this didn't mean others did.
-At least Luffy and the others didn't know the inside story.
Currently, they were submerged underwater, looking up at the thick ice sheet above in silence.
"How do we get up there?"
Luffy was anxious. Actually, he wanted to surface the Thousand Sunny earlier, following the Moby Dick and that strange moustache guy.
He was someone Ace admired, so he believed Whitebeard is trustworthy.
But his actions were stopped by Nami and Usopp.
"Don't forget what Rayleigh told us."
"Our goal is to rescue your brother, not just fight."
The others, including Sanji and Zoro, shared the same sentiment.
Though they were underwater earlier, the terrifying shocks, tsunamis, and the thick, seemingly endless ice sheet above all conveyed one truth.
The intensity of the battle here… their chances of participating and withdrawing unscathed weren't great.
Luffy understood the logic, but his desire to save Ace made him extremely restless.
"We still need to think of something."
"Hmm!"
At that moment, Franky, the shipwright, stepped forward.
"I didn't expect to use this function here when I designed it..."
"But it seems I was quite farsighted after all!"
"SUPER… Transformation!"
Under Franky's control, amid the sparkling eyes of Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp, the Thousand Sunny truly began to transform.
The lion head at the bow retracted, replaced by a massive drill. The modified mast automatically retracted downward, ensuring its height didn't exceed the drill.
Simultaneously, tank-like treads appeared on both sides of the ship's hull.
"Hang on tight! I'm starting it up!"
Hearing Franky, everyone rushed into the cabins, finding positions to secure themselves.
Only Luffy chose to stretch his arms and hug the mast, though the mast's height wasn't much taller than him now.
-That's the confidence of the skilled.
Under Franky's control, the Thousand Sunny's center of gravity shifted, the ship becoming 'top-light, bottom-heavy'. The bow rose, the drill pressing against the ice sheet.
"Luffy, get into the cabin! Seawater will flood the deck soon!"
After several warnings from Franky, Luffy reluctantly ran into the cabin.
At the same time, doors and windows throughout the cabin were reinforced, with only Franky's control room having a transparent observation window.
As he pressed the control button, the drill at the Thousand Sunny's front began spinning rapidly.
"Wait! I remember Rayleigh said if sharp objects touch the resin bubble, it'll burst!"
Nami suddenly remembered something, shouting in alarm.
"I know! But it's fine, it'll only last a short while. Everyone, get ready!"
The next moment, the drill began excavating at full power.
The ice sheet below was far less solid than the surface layer. Under the drill's assault, a passage large enough for the Thousand Sunny was quickly dug.
But simultaneously, the outer resin bubble began shaking violently… clearly, the drill's friction had destabilized the bubble.
The resin bubble's durability was quite high, and one could even briefly pass through its surface without causing a rupture.
But it couldn't withstand being drilled into like this.
Soon, the bubble burst before everyone's eyes, but the expected seawater invasion didn't occur.
Because they were drilling diagonally upward, there was still air ahead of the Thousand Sunny, but the stern, including the mast, was submerged in seawater.
Thankfully, the Thousand Sunny's water resistance was excellent.
The drilling ship advanced through the ice sheet for a while, then adjusted the drill's direction, starting to dig horizontally.
Once the ship leveled out, the seawater that had risen immediately receded.
And as the Thousand Sunny continued drilling forward, the seawater behind maintained a consistent distance, neither too close nor too far.
"Amazing... what's the principle behind this?"
Even Robin saw this for the first time, let alone near-illiterates like Luffy and Zoro.
"It's atmospheric pressure... sigh, you wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just know we won't drown."
Appearing perverted on the outside but actually a highly knowledgeable intellectual, Franky waved his hand, then turned another knob.
"Now, full speed ahead!"
"Yeah!!!"