The colossal golden sword that pierced through heaven and earth fully emerged from the clouds.
In that moment, it was as if the entire world had been frozen in time—
A deathly silence engulfed everything.
Every sound on the battlefield—roars, explosions, even the clash of weapons—vanished.
A Marine soldier stood with his mouth agape, the longsword in his hand clattering to the ice with a sharp clang—yet he didn't even notice.
He was staring dumbly upward.
Above him…
a sword—no, a true sword—made of pure energy, large enough to cleave the entire island and ocean apart—hung above their heads.
"This… this has to be a joke…"
A Vice Admiral's legs gave out, collapsing to his knees. A warm wet stain spread quickly through his trousers.
Fear.
Overwhelming, uncontrollable fear shattered the Marines' mental defenses in an instant.
They had faced countless bloody battles—fought pirates of the worst kind—
But they had never seen anything like this.
This… wasn't something humans could achieve.
Was this divine punishment?
"What… what kind of monster are we even fighting…?"
Even Sengoku, his lips pale, was trembling uncontrollably. Beside him, Steel Bone Kong's expression had gone blank with shock.
Because in that moment—they both realized:
Against absolute power, no scheme, no reinforcement…
meant anything.
All of it was laughable. Weak. Useless.
Unlike the Marines' despair and silence, the Whitebeard Pirates erupted with joy upon seeing the golden sword in the sky!
"That move!"
"I recognize it! Lucian used that back at headquarters—it evaporated an entire section of the sea!"
"No… wait—"
"Look closer!"
Jozu, Vista, and the squad captains stared up at the heavens, stunned.
"This one's even stronger than last time!"
"Zehahahahaha! This is too fun!"
"How can I miss out on something like this?! I'm helping too!"
As everyone stared at the golden sword, Nika Luffy let out his signature, wild laugh.
He couldn't let Lucian hog all the spotlight!
With a sudden pull, the white steam surrounding him condensed inward.
Then, a deep, ink-black Armament Haki instantly covered his entire body.
The once-bright Nika form—
now transformed into a pure black war god.
Only his eyes—
burned blood-red.
"What… what is that…?"
From a distance, Zoro's pupils shrank.
He had seen all of Luffy's awakened forms.
But this one…
This one felt several times more dangerous than any of them.
"Gum-Gum: Super Flame Lance!"
Peak Luffy roared.
His massive, Haki-coated fist suddenly burst into crimson fire, so intense it vaporized the ice below!
BOOM!
He punched—
The black flame fist shot forward like a meteor, roaring with annihilating heat.
It raced downward—
As above, the golden divine sword fell.
Both aimed directly for the battlefield center—where the Five Elders stood.
"No!"
The Elders tried to move—
But they couldn't.
The golden sword's pressure had become an invisible prison—freezing them in place.
All they could do was watch, helplessly, as the twin forces of destruction grew larger in their eyes.
"NO—!!"
Their desperate screams echoed—
As the golden divine sword descended with a roar—
And the black flame fist crashed down from above!
BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM—!!!
The explosion that followed…
was indescribable.
Blinding light engulfed everything—
and all sight was lost.
Then—
a shockwave tore through the world.
At the impact site, Marineford collapsed.
The earth split.
Structures crumbled.
The frozen ocean evaporated into a cloud of mist.
Already in ruins, Marineford lost another half of its landmass to this strike.
The very shape of the island was altered—forever.
Only after a long time—
when the light and smoke had faded—
A massive crater was revealed on the battlefield.
At the bottom…
Five blood-soaked figures lay broken and battered.
Itsumade's wings shattered.
Bakotsu's bones fractured.
Sunaworm's body impaled.
Fengxi's fangs destroyed.
Gyuki's spider legs mangled and torn.
There was no longer a shred of the world's rulers' dignity.
Just five broken corpses, barely clinging to life.
"…Still alive?"
From the sky, Lucian Thorn slowly descended, golden eyes devoid of emotion.
"No wonder. Eight hundred years of life. Imu's gift sure makes you hard to kill."
He raised his hand toward the crater.
"But this is the end."
"Farewell, parasites of the world."
He was ready to unleash the final blow.
To end them completely.
Then—
it happened.
A dark, indescribable energy appeared beside the Elders.
It twisted space—
Ancient. Ominous. Far older and darker than even the Five Elders.
Like a giant, invisible hand, it enveloped them—
and pulled them into the void.
In an instant—
They were gone.
So fast…
Lucian couldn't stop it in time.
He slowly lowered his hand.
Staring at the calm, empty air where they had vanished, he smirked.
"Oh?"
"Imu, is it?"
His voice wasn't loud—
but every powerful being on the battlefield heard it.
"You finally made your move, huh?"
"…No rush. We've got all the time in the world."
He lifted his head, gaze piercing the heavens—
as if staring straight through the clouds to the Empty Throne atop the Red Line.
"Wait for me."
"I'll be coming soon—with an army—straight to Mary Geoise…
to find you."
With the Five Elders gone,
the tide of battle fully turned.
The Whitebeard Pirates had won.
The Marines dropped their weapons one by one, staring blankly at the apocalyptic wasteland before them.
They had lost.
Utterly, completely lost.
Their top forces—
The three Admirals?
One was being crushed by Prime Whitebeard, and the other two were… playing dead.
Their Fleet Admiral and Commander-in-Chief were being toyed with by Rayleigh and the two Whitebeards.
CP0?
Completely useless—and they ran the moment the Elders vanished!
The Five Elders, the highest authorities of the World Government, were beaten to a pulp and mysteriously vanished.
Even Blackbeard's support… had been worthless.
What was left?
What could they possibly fight with now?
Sengoku slowly straightened his aging spine.
He looked like he'd aged twenty years in an instant.
His gaze swept across the shattered Marineford, over the moaning, broken soldiers…
and then across the battlefield—
Where stood:
Two Whitebeards, still unscathed and awe-inspiring The Dark King Rayleigh, holding his blade, relaxed Nika Luffy, giggling as he stretched his rubber body And finally, that golden figure, floating like a god above them all
Sengoku closed his eyes.
His face—filled with exhaustion and bitter defeat.
When he opened them again, he looked straight at Elder Whitebeard and, in a hoarse voice, spoke through a Den Den Mushi, his words echoing across the battlefield:
"…Whitebeard."
He paused.
As if using the last of his strength.
"This war…"
"…we lost."
"…the Marines Lost."