The mere sight of Whitebeard jumping from his ship struck terror into the hearts of the Marines. His presence alone was enough to shake their resolve. From the podium, Sengoku's commanding voice thundered over the chaos.
"Marines, stay alert! He's the strongest man alive! Proceed with caution!"
Even Sengoku seemed rattled, clearly not expecting Whitebeard to make such a move so early in the battle. Any other tactician would consider it reckless to deploy their strongest card right at the start. Common sense dictated that such power should be reserved for a critical moment.
But I saw things differently. What's the use of a strong hand if you can't play it at the right time? Whitebeard's presence was a weapon in itself, and it had already shifted the tide of the battlefield. Fear, palpable and relentless, began to spread among the ranks of the Marines.
First step towards winning a war: shatter the enemy's morale. Fear was a powerful weapon, one that could cripple even the bravest of soldiers. I had crossed blades with this man before, and I knew firsthand the overwhelming aura he carried.
The Marines clung to a fragile hope—that if they could kill Whitebeard, the war would be theirs. But they underestimated him. His endurance was enormous. To bring him down in the original timeline, it had taken the combined might of three Admirals, thousands of soldiers, relentless cannon fire, and the underhanded betrayal of Blackbeard. Even then, it was only possible because of Squard's treachery and Whitebeard's worsening health. Killing him wasn't just difficult; it was nearly impossible.
And now, here he was, tearing through the Giant Squad as if they were toys. His mere physical strength was greater than the giants he faced off against.
And I was going to use that fear and increase it tenfold. With my signal, Marco grabbed me with his talons and flew across the battlefield. Jozu noticed us and realized what was going to happen. He pulled back the pirates that were engaged in small skirmish and started moving towards the huge wall that separated us from the marine stronghold.
I landed right in front of that wall. It was reinforced with steel and concrete. But it wasn't something I couldn't cut. Marco has already marked a perimeter of two hundred meters to stop any pirates from entering the hit radius. Nidai Kitetsu turned black, my muscles bulged with the power of a giant. Not those flimsy giants that Whitebeard was currently fighting. No, this was the strength of the giants like Dorry and Broggy. The strength of true warriors of Elbaph. My sword swung downward and the gravity itself increased around me.
Swordsmanship of the Giants, Only Form: Titan's Impact
The power of the attack destroyed everything around me for a hundred meters. The wall was obliterated and another wave of panic spread through the marines as the squad led by Jozu entered the main bay.
"Pirates have breached the walls."
"How? Why?"
"We're going to die!"
Fear was intensifying. Good. Fear is a good tool. All hell broke loose as marines and pirates engaged in a free for all brawl. I looked up at the execution platform. Sengoku was barking orders at someone and Garp was sitting beside Ace, crying.
It was hard to imagine the turmoil in his heart. This was the very scenario he had always feared—being forced to choose between his duty as a Marine and his love for his family. He had pushed Ace and Luffy to become Marines in the hopes they would never stand on the opposing side.
But here they were.
I had no sympathy for him. He had made his choice, and now he had to live with the consequences.
I turned my attention to Ace, chained on the platform, his face a mix of confusion and disbelief.
"I hear Impel Down is nice this time of year," I teased, letting a smirk creep onto my face. "They were even nice enough to heal your arm."
"What are you doing here?" Ace asked, his voice tight with restrained emotion.
"Well, we're friends, aren't we? What other reason do I need?" I paused, then added with a grin, "Also, Whitebeard agreed to pay me fifty million berries."
Ace blinked, unsure how to respond to the casual tone. I was trying to lighten the mood. He wasn't in the right frame of mind to fight yet, and he needed every bit of focus he could muster.
Just then, Sengoku's voice rang out again, grim and pointed. He held a bounty poster in his hand.
"Phantom Blade Zephyr. Mind telling me how a dead pirate with only 25 million berries bounty reaches the level of a Whitebeard commander in only three years? What happened to you?"
"Life happened, Fleet Admiral. It seems that Cipher Pol is also lurking here somewhere. Otherwise, I don't think you'd be able to find this information this quickly," I replied casually. "Listen, I'd love to stand here and chat. Unfortunately, I have a job to do."
I glanced at Ace. "And you've got a big role to play once you're out of those sea-stone shackles. Don't waste too much energy till then."
Saying my piece, I darted towards where Whitebeard was. I was his bodyguard, after all. Aokiji and Kizaru has taken their respective posts beside Akainu. They couldn't let the platform be destroyed by one of Whitebeard's attack.
All three of them had ranged attacks. But Akainu's attacks had a massive AoE. If he used it, there will be too much collateral damage. So, Aokiji and Kizaru were throwing their attacks at Whitebeard for now. Even though they weren't enough to actually damage him, they did hamper his movement. They were trying to restrict him. I couldn't have that, could I?
I moved through the battlefield as fast as I could and appeared right beside Whitebeard just as he had finished cleaning up another giant. I spoke as I started to deflect the ice spears and laser beams that came this way.
"The plan is progressing smoothly. Sengoku must be planning something. I heard him saying to implement a plan. I couldn't figure out what it was as the numbers were coded."
"This is to be expected of him. Don't underestimate Sengoku just because you have predicted what he'll do for the start of the war. He must have multiple plans if one of them goes south."
"I know, I know. Don't worry, I also have contingencies. After I give the signal send a quake towards the platform with half your strength."
"The admirals will block my attack. Sengoku is also there."
"I know. But it'll destroy everything around the platform. I'm going with a fear inducing strategy right now. The marines will truly lose their morale when they get hit in every angle possible. I'm going to make some calls."
I took out the Den Den Mushi from my pocket with my left hand while my sword moved to deflect the ranged attacks from the navy. My observation haki was strong enough to deflect bullets and projectiles without even seeing them. Squard responded to the call,
"Squard, how's it going on your side?"
"It's going okay. We've sunk a few ships, but it'll take time to sink them all."
"No need. You've done the damage you needed to do. Now, take the ice-cutter equipped ships and break the walls on both sides."
"Okay. What about the central part?"
"Don't worry. I've already taken care of that. Commanders are already on the inner side. Move quickly."
I cut the line, not bothering to hear his confirmation. My fingers moved as I called Jozu.
"What is it, Zephyr? I'm not exactly in a position to chat right now."
"Jozu, engage with the warlords."
"Now? Isn't it too soon?"
"Yes. The timeline needs to be moved up. Sengoku is planning something. I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Okay, I'll pass the message to the commanders."
"Also, Jozu?"
"Yes?"
"Do exactly as planned. People will die if you don't follow exactly what I said."
"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me again." He was clearly annoyed.
"That's good to hear."
As I cut off the line, I waited for the allied ships to arrive. Just as Whitebeard finished off the last gaint, I heard a loud sound on the very right corner of the battlefield. Whitey Bay was the first to break the walls followed by Decalvan brothers. Soon there was ten new entry points for our troops as the allied ships started pouring in. I could only install ten ships with ice cutters on such short notice.
Ranks started to break as more and more pirates entered the stronghold. I looked at Whitebeard and gave him a nod. Placing Murakumogiri in the ground, Whitebeard punched towards the platform. The world itself seemed to crack as a massive shockwave carried towards the platform.
Just as predicted, the admirals blocked the shockwave. But hundreds of meters around the platform was destroyed. The fear was increasing drastically as they saw what a single attack from Whitebeard can do. The thousand pirates invading the bay didn't help that either. Even the warlords couldn't do anything as they were engaged in their respective battles against the commanders.
The level of fear has reached the breaking point. Now, time to give the finishing touch.
And right on cue, the whole battlefield froze in stunned silence as a marine Warship along with 200 inmates from impel down plummeted from the sky.