Crack, crack!
Along with the constant thunderous rumbling, a sea surface dozens of meters wide froze into ice all the way forward, and a tall figure with his hands behind his back sped across the ice.
Hm?
The massive commotion instantly drew the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
"Hey, that is…?!"
Many Marines in the middle of battle sensed the disturbance and raised their heads one after another.
Once they saw who it was, they were instantly struck by a mix of shock and joy, erupting into deafening cheers.
"It's Great Admiral Aokiji! It's Mr. Kuzan!"
"Too good! Even though Grand Admiral Kizaru isn't here, Great Admiral Aokiji actually came back?!"
"With the Three Great Admirals gathered, the Whitebeard Pirates won't be able to hold out for long now!"
However.
The cheers hadn't even faded.
Aokiji's figure suddenly accelerated; under everyone's stunned gaze, he swept over the Navy Fleet, and slammed a fierce kick into Ryokugyu's back while he was locked in a fierce fight with Whitebeard!
BOOM!!!
That kick was fast and vicious. Ryokugyu, caught completely off guard, screamed miserably and was sent flying hundreds of meters before he barely managed to stop.
Who?
Who ambushed me!
Ryokugyu staggered as he found his footing, then raised his head in fury. When he saw who it was, he instantly cried out, "Kuzan?! Why is it you—are you insane?!"
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Even if he already left the Navy, he shouldn't be attacking his former colleagues, right?!
"Sorry about that, Aramaki."
Aokiji landed on the ground beside Whitebeard, pushed his sunglasses up, and said calmly:
"You guys really didn't know? My current position's long since changed—I'm now a top executive of Endgame."
The entire battlefield fell silent in an instant.
The ecstatic looks on many Marines' faces suddenly froze solid.
On the side of the Whitebeard Pirates, the division commanders also all bulged their eyes, plunged into complete bewilderment.
Huh?
Did they hear that right? How did this former Grand Admiral, who left the Navy not long ago, just introduce himself?
—A top executive of Endgame?
He became the subordinate of that man named Shano?!!
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard was the first to snap out of it; he couldn't help but burst out laughing, baring his teeth at Aokiji. "Oi, what the hell, looks like I really have lived a bit too long. To think I'd see the day a Navy Grand Admiral joins the Pirates' camp!"
Back in the day, that guy Roger loved to brag, saying he was just a step away from pulling Garp into his Pirate Gang—just a tiny step.
And he still didn't manage it!
But today's different. He was actually seeing that kind of scene for real!
"Correction, old man Whitebeard, Endgame isn't Pirates. I only chose the right path, that's all."
Aokiji casually shoved his hands into his pockets and let out a frosty breath. "Forget it, talking this through with you won't work. More importantly…"
His gaze shifted, sweeping toward the distant, livid Akainu, and he smiled slightly:
"Sakazuki, after more than a month apart, we finally meet again."
"Kuzan!!!"
Akainu flew into a rage. "And to think this old man even spoke up for you in front of Marshal Kong—turns out you bastard really did fall so low as to stand with Endgame!"
Traitor, deserving a thousand deaths!
With his roar, his magma-transformed left arm suddenly swelled several times larger, and a terrifying magma torrent surged straight toward Aokiji!
"Great Eruption!"
"Ah la la, still as hot-tempered as ever…"
Aokiji raised his hand unhurriedly; a massive wall of ice shot up from the ground in an instant. Magma slammed into the ice, and billowing white steam erupted into the sky before both powers finally dispersed.
"Don't think you can steal this old man's opponent, you brat with the ice!"
Whitebeard frowned. "You should give this old man an answer. Since you've already joined Endgame, why show up here? Did Shano send you? Didn't I make it clear over the Den Den Mushi—Whitebeard Pirates don't need his help!"
As he spoke, he glanced into the distance. Murakumogiri suddenly stabbed into the ground, and the Power of the Quake-Quake Fruit erupted once more.
Crack!
A terrifying shockwave spread out, instantly blasting away Ryokugyu, who was charging over in a fury in the distance, along with all the Marines surrounding them.
"See that?"
Whitebeard gave a cold snort.
In his view, this new young Grand Admiral of the Navy had indeed developed his Fruit Ability to a very high level, but in terms of fundamentals, he was still quite a bit lacking!
Whether in Haki strength or Body Techniques, there was a sizable gap between him and himself!
It was precisely because of this that he could keep blasting Ryokugyu away with his ability, fighting two at once without falling into disadvantage!
"Is that so?"
Aokiji, off to the side, smashed fists with Akainu once more. When the two crossed and separated, returning to their original positions, he spoke calmly:
"Keeping your mouth hard like this is really boring, stubborn old man. The entire force of Navy Headquarters has been deployed. Your Pirate Gang stopping them for a short while is of course no problem, but when it comes to the very end, who wins and who loses—you should be clearer on that than I am, right?"
"Speaking of which, an old-era remnant like you, if you've lived enough and want to die, that's whatever. But are you planning to have all these sons of yours be buried here together with you as well?"
Whitebeard's pupils suddenly shrank.
Then he burst into furious laughter: "What enormous guts, brat Kuzan! You bastard, are you lecturing this old man?"
"Just stating a fact. If you can't understand it, I can switch to our Captain's way of talking and tell you again."
Aokiji didn't even glance at Whitebeard. Grinning, he said:
"The current New World is decided by the Endgame. Whether you agree or not doesn't matter. How this war is fought, to what extent it goes…"
"That's for us to decide!"
Boom!!!!
Just as Aokiji's voice fell, from the distant sky there suddenly came an ear-splitting explosion!
A black-and-red lightning bolt violently tore open the clouds, blotting out the sky and sun, dyeing the entire battlefield a blood-like crimson.
"Tha… that's what?!"
Countless Marines looked up in terror.
The next instant, they saw an enormous black warship burst out from the sea of clouds, wreathed in that black-and-red thunder, descending from the heavens!
The Silver Wolf figurehead looked down upon the earth, and on the fluttering white flag, a pair of crossed swords had brutally run through the seagull emblem that symbolized Navy Headquarters!
"Th—the… the Endgame?!"
A recently promoted Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral broke out in a cold sweat and cried out, "There's no mistake, that flag can't be wrong! It's the Endgame's main ship, the Endgame!!!!"
"So it's finally here."
Aokiji looked up at this scene and couldn't help but chuckle lightly.
Using the wind of his fists to drive an entire ship to fly over the sea—this method, he had only ever seen it from a certain old man before. As expected, the Captain could do it too.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Before the giant ship fully descended, six figures bursting with overwhelming aura suddenly leaped off the deck!
At their head was a black-haired youth, draped in a black cloak, laughing wildly as he let his body crash into the center of the battlefield like a meteor. The hard wooden ground instantly collapsed into a massive crater a hundred meters in diameter!
When the dust settled.
He slowly straightened up, casually brushed back his black hair fluttering in the wind, and under countless gazes filled with either shock or fear, bared his snow-white teeth in a grin:
"I'm a bit late. Got an unexpected piece of news on the way and got held up a bit. My bad, Kuzan, Newgate."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Almost at the same time, the other five figures landed behind him together.
The cool, aloof Female Sword Master gripping the Supreme Great Blade Sakura Yuki!
The towering giant of a man in a Bear Ear Hat, silent and immovable as a mountain!
The purple-robed Blind Swordsman draped in a bathrobe!
The Fishman whose Ivory had only half grown out, making him look even more ferocious!
And… the Archangel who slowly unfurled eight wings within holy light!
Deathly stillness.
Truly, a silence as if death itself had fallen.
The sea wind howled past. Only after several long seconds did an uproar finally erupt on the Navy side!
"How can this be!!"
"That man, that man… is the Godslayer Shano himself, with a bounty of six billion three hundred twenty million Belly!!"
"And the ones behind him!"
"'Wind Erosion' Kuina, with a bounty of 1,646,000,000 Belly; 'Star Fall' Issho, with a bounty of 2,840,000,000 Belly; 'Thunder Meteor' Bartholomew Kuma, with a bounty of 1,600,000,000 Belly; and 'Earthquake' Jack, with a bounty of 1,420,000,000 Belly…"
"The Endgame's five highest-ranking officers, the Five Calamities… they've all gathered!"
"N-no, that's not right."
Doberman's face went pale as he watched his all-too-familiar senior brother Aokiji, hands in his pockets, smiling as he walked step by step to stand behind Shano, lining up with the other five…
Only then did he swallow hard and speak with difficulty:
"It should be said, it's the six highest-ranking officers, the Six Calamities all gathered… that's what it is."