Although it was a little different from what they had expected, this was indeed the Marines' plan.
In the Marines' original vision for this war against the Sky Pirates, they would use Aokiji's Hie Hie no Mi to seal off the entire coastline, then have the Marine warships bombard Golden Crow Island with wide-range, indiscriminate artillery fire.
That would have been more than enough to wipe out most of the Sky Pirates' fighting force.
This was the Marines' advantage, not only in the number of soldiers and high-level combatants they had, but also in the number and firepower of their warships.
Akainu was the one responsible for carrying out the plan, because his Magu Magu no Mi was the only Devil Fruit ability that could silently melt the glacier.
The only difference from what they had anticipated was that Sengoku had originally planned to target the fighting forces of the Sky Pirates' three great fleets. Now, that target had become the Germa Corps that had suddenly appeared. Still, if they could wipe out the Germa Corps, that would not be a bad result either.
Clearly, although the Germa Corps soldiers looked fearless in the face of death, they were still flesh and blood. On top of that, they were gathered so densely together that under the bombardment of large-caliber shells, it took only a few rounds before countless soldiers were turned into corpses.
The Marines caught inside the encirclement immediately felt the pressure on them drop sharply.
"That's it! Don't stop!"
For these elite Marines, loading and firing a shell took no more than a few seconds.
In just one minute, the entire coastline of Golden Crow Island was swallowed by artillery fire.
Black smoke spread across the whole coast.
The Germa Corps suffered devastating losses.
But just then, in a place no one had noticed, deep beneath the sea...
In the pitch-black depths, as bubbles rose through the water, a group of dark fish-man warriors appeared.
Under the lead of Jinbe, Aladdin, Arlong, and Hachi, nearly two thousand fish-man warriors split into ten teams and silently reached the underside of the ten warships. Then they took out shells shaped like wheels.
These were naturally the Impact Dials from Skypiea, with the terrifying power to absorb impact and release it all at once.
With the current demands placed on Yemu's Sky Pirates, they simply did not have the time to research and manufacture ordinary weapons like these.
So the Impact Dials became the perfect substitute.
And with the fish-men's strong bodies, they could withstand the recoil.
Before long, the fish-man warriors had installed the Impact Dials at the very bottom of the ten warships. They nodded to one another, signaling that they were ready.
Then Jinbe, as their leader, spoke directly.
"Ready... fire!"
In an instant, Jinbe's voice rang out across the seabed, followed by the clicking sounds of something being pressed down.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
...
Among the Marines' ten warships, one was a very special vessel. Its main responsibility was intelligence gathering.
Just as the Marines had worried, the Sky Pirates' Fish-Man Corps was one of the key targets they were watching.
That meant monitoring movements beneath the sea was also part of their mission.
But the moment the fish-men's voices sounded in their listening devices, a tremendous roar followed, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.
...
On the Marines' flagship.
Sengoku looked out over the battlefield shrouded in black smoke and the artillery fire that still had not stopped, his expression cold and stern.
Although Sakazuki's attack had also treated Tessis as a target, Sengoku had no intention of blaming him.
From the Marines' perspective, there was nothing wrong with what Sakazuki had done. More than that, Sengoku had given Sakazuki the authority to act according to the situation, and this strategy had clearly succeeded.
Evidently, Fire Dragon Yemu's Observation Haki did not cover as wide a range as Enel's. On top of that, the towering glacier blocked his field of vision.
The ten Marine warships had silently completed their encirclement of Golden Crow Island and begun their bombardment.
The Germa Corps suffered heavy losses.
The Marines' stalemate was instantly broken.
"Give the order. Have all Marines fall back a little. Leave the rest to the cannons!"
"Yes, sir!"
But at the very moment he gave the order, the glacier beneath his feet suddenly shook violently, followed by the sound of something cracking.
"What's going on?"
Before Sengoku could fully react, he turned toward the source of the sound.
Along the surrounding coastline, violent explosions were erupting around the ten Marine warships that had broken free of the glacier's control.
Countless bubbles and columns of water burst up around them.
Immediately after, Sengoku's Den Den Mushi filled with the terrified shouts of Marines.
"This is bad, Fleet Admiral Sengoku! The warships... the warships are under attack!"
"There's something under the sea!"
"It's the Sky Pirates' Fish-Man Corps!"
"This is bad! The hull's been breached! Water's flooding in everywhere!"
"What kind of weapon is that? A bomb?"
"Hurry, patch it up!"
"No, there's no time! The ship is sinking!"
"Quick... abandon ship!"
...
The voices coming through the Den Den Mushi made everyone on the flagship's faces change drastically.
"So we still couldn't guard against them in the end? Damn fish-men!"
Looking out, all ten warships had begun shaking violently, listing and sinking to varying degrees.
Sengoku's expression changed instantly.
Then, something even more terrifying happened. Two warships suddenly burst apart, sending towering flames straight into the sky.
The violent impact had tilted the hulls, causing the cannons that were about to fire to explode. The blast then ignited the surrounding shells, blowing the entire warships apart.
It had to be remembered that each of those warships still had at least two thousand Marines aboard.
That meant four thousand Marine soldiers had lost their lives before they even had time to escape.
The towering flames lit up the entire world, reflecting in the eyes of every Marine commander and across the faces of everyone watching this war.
At that moment, explosions began ringing out one after another from some of the other warships as well.
Fortunately, those ships did not explode, though they still caught fire.
"Quick... save them!"
Sengoku gave the order numbly.
Naturally, Kuzan moved the fastest.
At that moment, he had no time to worry about anything else.
"Ice Time: Pheasant Beak!"
The power of the Hie Hie no Mi activated, and two birds formed from cold air flew across the entire sea.
Wherever they passed, the sea was covered in a "thin" layer of ice, every flame was extinguished, and even the Marines' bodies were coated in frost.
"Achoo!"
The freezing air made all the Marines shiver uncontrollably, but in the end, they were saved.
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Kuzan..."
"We... we're saved..."
"Good work, Kuzan!"
Watching Kuzan descend from the sky, Sengoku thanked him sincerely. Yet at that moment, his expression was uglier than it had ever been, and a few drops of cold sweat had already appeared between his brows.
Garp and Zephyr, standing nearby, both noticed it.
"It looks like ordinary soldiers won't be of any use anymore. It's time to carry out the second phase of the operation."
Zephyr spoke in a reassuring tone.
"Mm."
Sengoku took a deep breath and picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, begin the second phase..."
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