Screams echoed throughout Marineford as pirates and marines alike reeled from shock and fear. All eyes were fixed on the sky, where a massive ship, Moby Dick, was hurtling through the air.
For the second time that day, a ship was falling from the heavens.
The pirates onboard were screaming in confusion. None of them, not even the commanders, had been informed about this part of the plan. Only Marco, Whitebeard, and I knew what was about to unfold.
And for good reason.
Little Oars Jr. wasn't exactly a fan of listening to orders. I knew very well that if he was left alone, he'd go on a rampage and die like in the original story. I couldn't have that on my conscious. So, I did him a little favor and sabotaged his ship. Not that much, just enough to delay their arrival by an hour. I couldn't allow the other pirates to know about the sabotage. Otherwise, they'd lose trust in their commanders. The rest went as it should be.
The coated ship of 'Little Pirates' got stuck beneath the ice. I called them and told them to wait a bit so that I could destroy the ice covering the bay. And when Sengoku barricaded us, I destroyed the three ships filled with explosives, giving Little Oars Jr. the chance to get out.
The 'throwing the ship' part was also a necessity to speed things along. There was also the part of 'Dramatic Flair'.
And now, here we were.
The ship soared across the battlefield, the perfect mix of chaos and drama. Sengoku's wide-eyed expression was priceless.
Aokiji acted quickly, summoning a massive ice wall to halt the ship's momentum. Not on my watch.
I leapt from the ship, my blackened sword slashing through the air. The blade created a swirling illusion of petals as it cut through the ice barrier like it was paper.
Black Lotus Style, Seventh Form: Thousand Petal Storm
I landed on the plaza with the ship crashing down behind me. A thunderous THUD echoed across the battlefield.
For a moment, there was silence. Then chaos erupted.
Marines screamed orders, shouting about the enemy breaching their last line of defense. Pirates stared in stunned confusion at the ship's sudden arrival. But their stupor didn't last long.
Whitebeard leapt down from the ship, his commanders close behind him. Planting his naginata into the ground, he pointed toward the execution platform. His booming voice thundered across Marineford.
"Ace is right there! Show them what happens when they mess with the Whitebeard Pirates. Show them HELL!"
Every single person on the ship roared with renewed vigor and charged forward as if there was no tomorrow. There was no formation, no pattern, nothing. Just pure blinding motivation. A motivation to crush their enemies and rescue their nakama.
Luffy charged with Jimbei and Ivankov on his tail, rushing towards the execution platform. Jozu screamed at the top of his lungs as his diamond body crushed marines left and right. The allied captains led their crews towards the biggest fight of their lives, a fight for their glory. Meanwhile, Little Oars Jr. destroyed marine artilleries placed on the walls as he went on a rampage.
Sengoku and I both knew that the time for strategies and tactics was over. This was the final moment of the war—the point of no return. This was raw, unfiltered war. The strongest side would win, and the victor would shape the new era to come. The war has now truly started.
Sounds of clashes rang throughout the battlefield as the Marineford island itself shook to its core. Admirals were now going to fight with everything that they had.
"Old man," I called out, addressing Whitebeard, "you handle Akainu. Marco, keep Kizaru busy. I'll take care of Aokiji."
Marco hesitated. "Who's going to free Ace?"
"His brother," I replied without missing a beat.
Whitebeard raised a brow. "That brat? He might be brave—but he's weak."
"Yes, but he's the only one who can get past Garp unharmed. The Navy Hero might be the strongest marine, but he's weak towards his family. We need to use that."
Luffy was the prime candidate for going to save Ace. Not only can he handle Garp, but at the same time he had something that was more powerful than anything in this world.
Plot Armor
I'll be a fool not to use that. At the same time, Luffy had a way with people. Seeing him rally up all sorts of people behind him, I realized that if this was an RPG game, then he would have Max-level charisma. This was another reason why I wanted him to be the one to free Ace.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the sky turned black, a sudden arrival. A black bird made of soot flew over Marineford, carrying two individuals with him.
I grinned as I saw them land.
One was a young woman in a crimson newsboy cap and military uniform. The other was a man in a black top hat wielding a steel pipe.
The battlefield froze as two familiar voices cried out.
"Sabo!"
"You're alive!"
The brothers were stunned to see Sabo standing before them, alive and well.
Sabo smiled seeing his long-lost brothers. But he was more mature than both of those two combined. So, he quickly stopped them before they went out of control.
"We'll have time to catch up later. Luffy, let's save Ace!"
Luffy grinned as these two brothers made their way towards the platform. I was certainly relieved that Sabo was here. Now, I don't need to use the commanders to clear the path for Luffy.
Sabo was strong, very strong. He learned haki when he was only 17. That, along with his Dragon Style martial arts, made him as strong as a commander. Maybe even stronger. By all means, he was the perfect bodyguard for Luffy.
Seeing me grinning like crazy, Whitebeard asked,
"Another one of your contingencies?"
"Not really. It was more of a gamble I took in Sabaody. Lady luck seems to be on our side today."
"Gurararara! You never cease to amaze me, you brat!"
Sengoku bellowed from above the platform. His eyes went towards Karasu, the black bird flying in the sky of Marineford.
"What is the revolutionary army doing here? Are you here to rescue the prisoners that fled from Impel Down?"
Karasu didn't reply, just mumbled something beneath his mask. I didn't have time to hear what they were saying as I sensed an ice spear coming from right behind me. My sword moved as I deflected the ice spear and looked at my opponent.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Admiral Aokiji."
"You've been quite the nuisance today," he replied. "Sengoku's particularly angry with you."
"Good," I said with a smirk. "That means I'm doing my job. I don't have much desire to fight you. But it seems that the situation demands it."
Aokiji replied by sending hundreds of ice spears my way. My sword moved like a blur as I intercepted his attacks with perfectly timed parries. Suddenly, one of the spears I parried burst into a thousand pieces, creating a smokescreen in front of me.
He wanted to take me down while my vision was impaired. My observation haki warned me of an attack coming from my right. A layer of ice was also forming in the ground, trying to trap me in it. I twisted my body in an unnatural way and jumped. The ice coming through the ground found nobody as my sword deflected the attack to the right.
My sword moved again as I sent a slash towards where Aokiji should be according to my calculations. I heard the cracking sound of ice, followed by the sounds of a footstep. My senses flared again as my sword intercepted a sword made of ice. It seems Aokiji has realized that he can't win with me while using only ranged attacks. My observation haki was just too strong.
The force of clash between the attacks cleared the smokescreen around us as my eyes met the eyes of the admiral. I decided to plant another seed for the future.
"Tell me, Admiral," I said, "don't you think it's cruel to punish a son for the sins of his father?"
"It doesn't matter what I think," Aokiji replied. "I'm just a cog in a much bigger machine."
"Is that what you tell yourself when you remember the events of Ohara?" Aokiji's eyes went wide open with the mention of Ohara. His attacks became more intense, and my sword moved to match his intensity. But I continued,
"No, you're not like Akainu. You still have a soul left. After all, you let Nico Robin go back then."
"How do you know that?" Aokiji exclaimed.
I just laughed. "Knowing things others shouldn't know is kind of like a thing for me. But that's not important right now. Are you truly satisfied with the brand of justice that the Navy is spreading right now? Being on the beck and call of the Celestial Dragons? Is this what you envisioned Justice to be when you joined the Navy?"
My words gave him a momentary pause. He had an opening, but I didn't attack. Aokiji is a good guy stuck in a bad organization. He's most probably going to leave the Navy after this war is over. I didn't want him to join the likes of Blackbeard. No, I wanted him to join me. Not like a crewmate or anything. More like an alliance. Having a powerful ally was always a good thing.
"Why're you asking me this?" Aokiji demanded.
"Because I'd hate to see someone like you—someone with a conscience—be corrupted by this rotten system."
Aokiji's expression hardened. "If I can reach the top, I can change the Navy from within. But to do that, we need to win this war."
His determination flared as he resumed his attack.
I smiled ruefully. Looks like that didn't go as planned.
"If you want to be free—I mean truly free—then contact me after war is over. Now, let's fight!"
Our blades clashed again, the sound of steel meeting ice ringing out amidst the chaos of Marineford.