As the lazy voice rang out, a chill passed through the Marines and turned into a cloud of white cold air that drifted to the very center of the battlefield.
With a series of cracking sounds, the air froze and condensed. The last of the future three Admirals, Kuzan, the user of the Hie Hie no Mi, finally appeared before everyone.
And with Kuzan's appearance, the Marines also began to make major movements.
Visible to the naked eye, the Marines' strongest fighters below the Admiral level, most of the twenty-three Marine Vice Admirals who had joined this expedition, stepped out from the crowd one after another.
Every one of these Vice Admirals represented the strongest and most outstanding among humanity. The pressure they carried was so overwhelming that even from a distance, it made people feel suffocated.
The happiest ones to see this were naturally the Marine soldiers.
"Great! The Vice Admirals are all moving out!"
"There are fifteen Vice Admirals... a scene like this..."
"We're definitely going to win!"
The Marines' morale surged once again.
With these Marine Vice Admirals joining the battle, the Marines also began a major adjustment.
Led by the Vice Admirals, the Marines spread out in all directions, forming thirteen squads that surrounded Golden Crow Island in a fan-shaped formation.
On the Sky Pirates' side, however, aside from the Germa Corps clustered together like ants, only two fleet captains stood at the very front. Their momentum suddenly seemed much weaker.
"Oh? Changed your battle strategy?"
Enel, who had already become a Yonkō, was naturally no longer the ignorant rookie he had been when he first set out to sea.
Yemu's strategy of letting them go out and make their own way had been absolutely correct.
Although Enel still did not need to personally handle most of the crew's affairs, the experience had tempered him. Now, he had begun to look a little like a captain.
"Ara ra..."
The one who answered Enel was Kuzan, who had only just arrived.
The reason he had been the last to appear was to prepare all of this.
Aside from that, he also had another goal.
Ever since he first met Yemu in Loguetown, Kuzan had been left at a disadvantage every time he clashed with him.
Personality-wise, Kuzan was not especially competitive, but the direct opposition between the Mera Mera no Mi and the Hie Hie no Mi still affected him to some degree.
So this time, he had volunteered to take on the responsibility of drawing Fire Dragon Yemu onto this battlefield.
"It can't be helped... Yemu is just far too unpredictable. If we Marines can't break open the situation in this war, we'll have a real headache on our hands."
He looked as lazy as ever, but his gaze remained fixed on Yemu aboard the Twin Goddesses in the distance, who showed no sign of moving. Kuzan asked in return, "Looks like Yemu has no intention of taking action himself. Does he think the two of you alone can stop the three of us?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the auras of Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan changed sharply, standing before the Sky Pirates like an unbreakable wall of iron.
"What a shame."
Facing the momentum of the three men before him, Enel actually looked regretful.
"I'd love to see what it feels like to fight three of you at once, but this is a battlefield. I can't just do whatever I want. So, Marine Vice Admiral Kuzan, your opponent isn't the two of us..."
"Hm?"
Kuzan frowned slightly. His first thought was that Fisher Tiger was about to appear.
But just then, raging flames burst out from the air door, sweeping across the entire sky. The scorching heat immediately began to melt the ice, and the whole world was dyed crimson.
"!"
At that moment, everyone froze.
"Did Fire Dragon Yemu make a move?"
"No, he hasn't moved at all..."
"Then what's going on with these flames?"
Indeed, without looking closely, this scene really did resemble Yemu's Mera Mera no Mi ability.
But only the powerful fighters present could sense that within the flames overhead, there was a huge and terrifying creature hidden inside.
"Is another monster about to appear?"
"How many trump cards does the Sky Pirates still have?"
"Where is this war going to end up..."
While the Marines were each lost in their own thoughts, the flames overhead began spinning rapidly, turning into a flaming tornado that descended from the sky and slowly landed at the very center of the battlefield.
At that moment, Lina, who was the most familiar with this scene, shouted excitedly.
"Anne-sama!"
"Anne?"
The moment that name came out, everyone froze.
Because no matter how they heard it, that name sounded like a woman's name.
As if answering everyone's doubts, the figure of a tall, graceful, beautiful woman appeared within the flames, accompanied by a clear voice.
"Stop standing around here like an idiot. Hurry up and take your mother back. Leave this place to me!"
"Okay! Good luck, Anne-sama!"
Lina nodded hard.
"Uncle Lacroix, let's leave this to Anne-sama and the others."
"Mm!"
At that moment, as they watched the three giants leave, the Marines' three future Admirals showed no intention of stopping them.
Because in that instant, all three of them could feel it. The woman before them was also a monster whose strength was in no way inferior to theirs. This was absolutely not something the Marines had anticipated, and the battle had taken another unpredictable turn.
All three men on the field frowned deeply.
...
On the Marines' flagship, Sengoku's expression grew uglier and uglier as he looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared.
"Damn it, where did this woman come from? Intelligence, tell me!"
"I'm sorry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
The voice of the intelligence department came through the Den Den Mushi.
"We have no information on this woman whatsoever!"
"Damn it..."
At that moment, if Sengoku had not been doing everything he could to restrain himself, he would have crushed the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
By now, he could clearly feel the situation slowly slipping out of control.
"If the Marines lose even their advantage in combat strength, then what will we have left to destroy the Sky Pirates with?"
Thinking this, he turned to Hammond beside him.
"Do you CP people have any intelligence?"
Hammond stared at the woman before them, who looked unbelievably beautiful yet carried a presence as fierce as a monster, and he was just as confused.
"This... we haven't received any related information either. Where did she come from? How many secrets does the Sky Pirates still have that we don't know about...?"
Hammond was beginning to panic as well.
"Calm down, Sengoku. Don't forget, we still have the advantage!"
At that moment, Zephyr, still an Admiral, stepped forward to steady everyone.
But no sooner had he finished speaking than two terrifying auras suddenly erupted from the battlefield not far away.
In an instant, they swept across the entire battlefield.
Cold sweat streamed down Sengoku's face.
"Another monster with Conqueror's Haki?"