Just then, Jozu burst forward.
With a thunderous roar, he slammed his fist into the ice. Cracks spider-webbed instantly, and under his monstrous strength, an enormous slab of ice was torn free from the frozen bay. Without the slightest hesitation, Jozu swung his arm and hurled the colossal mass straight toward the execution platform.
"Come on!" he bellowed. "Let's see you block this!"
The chunk of ice was nearly thirty meters in diameter—so massive that it dwarfed even the Giant Race. For a brief moment, even the giants hesitated. More accurately, there was simply no way they could catch something that enormous.
Akainu looked up at the incoming ice, his eyes burning like molten steel.
With a sharp motion, he rose to his feet. His right arm began to glow, transforming into bubbling magma as his voice rang out, heavy with anger.
"Everyone fighting on their own… and who do you think is supposed to protect the fort?"
His arm drew back.
"Great Eruption."
A gigantic magma fist—over twenty meters wide—shot forward, colliding with the ice in a cataclysmic impact. The sheer heat and force pulverized the ice instantly, melting it into steam before it could even hit the ground.
"He melted it in one blow…!"
"Is this the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit?"
"So this is an Admiral…"
Even the Whitebeard Pirates' captains felt a chill run through them.
"Akainu…" Jozu muttered, his expression darkening as he watched his attack erased so effortlessly. He had always known Admirals were monsters—but witnessing it firsthand was something else entirely. This was a level of power unlike anything he had ever faced.
And Akainu wasn't finished.
The magma fist suddenly detonated, splitting into dozens of blazing volcanic bombs that screamed through the air like falling meteors. One of them streaked straight toward Marco.
"Volcanic bombs—!"
"Move!"
"Get out of the way!"
Marco reacted instantly. Shifting into his beast form midair, he snapped out a powerful kick, deflecting the incoming magma. The bomb slammed into the ice nearby, melting a wide section instantly as waves of heat rolled outward.
"…That heat," Marco muttered, frowning slightly.
Even a casual attack like that left a burning sensation on his skin. After all, even Oda himself had stated that the Magma-Magma Fruit ranked among the most destructive Devil Fruits in existence.
Marco flew over and landed beside Jozu, his tone urgent.
"Jozu, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be protecting Pops?"
Jozu scratched his head honestly.
"Pops said he didn't need protection, so I came over. And don't worry—I already told him everything you warned me about. He's on guard now."
Marco nodded faintly.
But in his mind, a decision had already been made.
Since the war was already underway, there was no reason to hold back anymore. He would tell Pops everything about the Marines' true schemes.
With Whitebeard fully prepared…
They might just be able to tilt fate itself.
Jozu looked at Marco, his expression unusually grave.
"Marco, the Admirals are far stronger than we anticipated. They're nothing like the enemies we've faced before—we need to be extremely careful."
Marco nodded solemnly. Without another word, he turned and charged back toward the Marine battle line.
"Marines, attack!"
Kizaru's voice echoed across the plaza as he stood above the battlefield, calmly issuing orders. He showed no intention of personally clashing with the division commanders for now.
"Don't let the pirates set foot on the plaza!"
Marine soldiers poured off the plaza, leaping down onto the frozen surface of Crescent Bay in endless waves. Kizaru's gaze, however, never left Whitebeard, who still stood tall upon the Moby Dick. A sly, confident smile tugged at Kizaru's lips.
"Using a surprise attack from beneath the sea to enter Crescent Bay was clever," he mused. "But it also led you straight into the center of our defensive formation."
"Now surrounded on all sides… what will you do, Whitebeard?"
—
On the ice below, Marco deliberately adjusted his tactics.
To accumulate attribute points as efficiently as possible, he avoided Admiral-level combatants and focused instead on Lieutenant Colonel level Marines and below. Against such opponents, Marco was devastatingly efficient—cutting them down one after another with terrifying speed.
Finally, after allocating his newly gained points, the system panel updated.
Name: Marco
Age: 43
Devil Fruit: Zoan – Phoenix Form (Unawakened)
Haki: Armament (Advanced), Observation (Advanced), Haoshoku (Beginner)
Body Techniques:
– Rokushiki: Soru (Elementary)
– Rankyaku (Beginner)
– Moonwalk (Beginner)
– Shigan (Beginner)
– Tekkai (Beginner)
– Kami-e (Beginner)
Strength: 6344
Speed: 4400
Defense: 8500
Recovery: 45000
Stamina: 8000
Mental Power: 4600
Combat Assessment: Strong Yonko Commander Level
Marco's eyes widened slightly.
Strong Yonko Commander Level…
In less than a single day, his strength had increased by nearly three thousand points. If this pace continued, reaching Admiral-Emperor level was no longer a distant dream.
His attention shifted to another detail.
"…Soru advanced to Elementary?" Marco blinked, pleasantly surprised. So it improved just from repeated use…
It seemed that lower-level techniques could grow through actual combat experience without consuming attribute points.
Good. Then I'll grind Rokushiki properly during the war.
—
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Heavy, rhythmic impacts suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
The Marines looked around in confusion.
"What's that noise?"
"Did Whitebeard activate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit again?"
"No—look over there!"
A Marine pointed toward the distant shoreline.
A massive silhouette was approaching—like a walking mountain.
Marco narrowed his eyes.
"…Little Oars."
One of the Whitebeard Pirates' greatest trump cards.
In the original timeline, Little Oars Jr. had charged recklessly toward the plaza and been taken down by several Shichibukai working together.
The system panel updated.
Little Oars Jr. — Estimated Strength: Weak Yonko's Second-in-Command Level
Marco was briefly startled—then nodded.
That makes sense.
With such an enormous body, Little Oars possessed overwhelming raw power. But that same size made him a perfect target for large-scale attacks. Against enemies like Admirals or Shichibukai, precision wasn't even required.
When strength was equal, the smaller fighter always held the advantage.
Jozu, for example, possessed comparable strength—and yet he could still exchange blows with Admiral Aokiji. If Little Oars faced Aokiji instead…
He'd be frozen solid in seconds.
Marco knew this better than anyone.
Little Oars had no Haki.
His strength came purely from his massive physique—and in a battlefield filled with monsters capable of reshaping the terrain itself, that was both his greatest weapon…
And his greatest weakness.