Akainu had not been on the frontlines just now—instead, he had gone to enforce discipline.
In an army of a hundred thousand people, it was inevitable that some would cower. But on the battlefield, without orders from above, retreating and escaping were not permitted.
The cowardice and flight of a single individual could spark a chain reaction, ultimately leading to the collapse of the entire defensive line.
The rejuvenated Whitebeard, the interfering Kaido, and the destructive power of earthquakes and Blast Breath shattered the psychological defenses of many soldiers.
They tried to slip away while the battlefield was in chaos, but Akainu caught two as examples, killed them to serve as a warning to others, and forced the deserters who had been hiding in the shadows to return to the battlefield. Akainu then returned.
Before joining the fight, he gave his suggestion.
Ace's value to the Marines was to lure in the Whitebeard Pirates. Now that the Whitebeard Pirates had already entered the encirclement, the subsequent battle no longer concerned Ace—it was now a direct contest of forces between Marine Headquarters and Whitebeard.
To avoid any unexpected developments, Akainu believed Ace should be executed immediately. That way, they could eliminate the possibility of him being rescued and avoid losing the "bait."
"It's not time yet, Sakazuki."
"Do the Marines need to act morally towards pirates?"
"Killing him now will only drive Whitebeard crazy, and if he starts destroying without regard for the consequences, Marine Headquarters can't afford it. Whitebeard and Kaido are the main targets."
"I understand. I'll go join Borsalino in dealing with Whitebeard first."
Seeing Garp, who stood silently on the side yet clenched his fists tightly, Sakazuki said nothing more and headed straight to the frontlines.
He wanted to see what kind of excuse Sengoku would give after Whitebeard was taken care of.
...
"Worororo, the power of youth really is something else. I'd better go find something to do too."
Whitebeard wouldn't fight him seriously until he achieved his objective. While Kaido could lend Whitebeard a hand, he had absolutely no such intention.
Using Whitebeard to wear down the Marines—he wasn't about to miss a chance like that.
The Great Buddha form of Sengoku piqued Kaido's interest a little, and Yamato's slacking off was also starting to get on his nerves. He grabbed the wine gourd at his waist and downed the strong liquor inside in one gulp. Just as Kaido was about to make a move, he suddenly found himself targeted by a big guy.
"Kaido… die!"
A deathly pale arm swung toward Kaido—it was Moria, who had been approaching Kaido earlier. His body was now more massive than ever, even surpassing Little Oars Jr.
Along the way, who knows how many shadows he had absorbed—even the clothing on his arms had burst apart from the swelling, yet his gaze remained clear and lucid.
Moria himself couldn't quite grasp what kind of emotion he felt toward Kaido. He didn't know whether it was fear or rage, but a voice had been screaming inside him all this time—telling him to kill Kaido.
"Die, die! Shadow Hell!"
Countless shadows coalesced into a forest of razor-sharp thorns, piercing toward Kaido's body. Moria's fists frantically pounded the ground, as if venting years of resentment.
"I'd say… you've hit enough, haven't you?"
After the barrage of furious attacks, a voice from below rang out—it was Kaido's. Moria's fists froze mid-air. Kaido had blocked him with just one hand.
The other hand was still holding his wine gourd—Moria hadn't even managed to interrupt his drinking.
"If it's just a back massage, I'd say you're doing alright. But… who are you again?"
Who are you...
Those three words were like sharp nails, piercing straight into Moria's heart. The nightmare he could never forget, the demon in his dreams for over a decade—and yet Kaido didn't even know who he was.
"You b*stard… you killed all my comrades! Kaido, and you actually forgot who I am?! Spiky Shadow Lizard!!"
"What the hell are you babbling about? I'm a pirate—I've killed more pirates than I can count. The weak don't deserve to be remembered by me. And the fact that someone like you actually made me fight personally? Looks like I was pretty weak back then."
Kaido emptied the last of the liquor in his gourd. With a trace of drunkenness in his eyes, he looked at the gigantic Moria.
"You do look kind of familiar…"
"Gecko Moria! Kaido, remember this name with your body! Everything that happened in Wano Country—I'll return it back to you! Black Box!"
Dark shadows formed a square box around Kaido. Moria then raised his palm to strike down, but before he could even make contact, the shadow box was torn apart from the middle by Kaido.
"So it was you—I remember now. Compared to back then, you've gotten much weaker."
Back in the day, Moria could at least trade a few blows with him. Kaido had expected Moria to have grown stronger over the years, but to his surprise, he had become even weaker.
"My mistake—how foolish of me to still remember you. This time, I'll forget you completely... Narikabura Arrow!"
Boom!
The kanabo slammed directly into Moria's abdomen. His massive size offered no advantage at all. With just one strike, Moria was sent flying, while countless shadows spilled from his mouth.
"Boring."
After landing that one blow, Kaido didn't spare Moria another glance. He simply continued walking deeper into the battlefield.
...
"Just one strike... and he instantly defeated a Shichibukai..."
"That's not an enemy we should be worrying about! Focus on what's in front of you! The pirates are advancing!"
"Wait a second—something else is falling from the sky... it's prisoners!"
At a Marine artillery station, several gunners stared blankly at the sky. Ever since the war began, strange things had been falling from the sky with increasing frequency.
That warship riding the wave was the one Shayna and King saw earlier. Onboard were the prisoners from Impel Down—and Luffy, who had come to rescue his brother.
Back on the Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy had been sent flying together with Heracross. They had landed on an island populated by Heracross, who temporarily took them in and gave Luffy the latest newspaper.
Thanks to Heracross's ability to fly, Luffy eventually located the Marine's Tarai Current and invaded Impel Down from high-altitude. His successful entry into Impel Down was also largely thanks to Blackbeard and his crew.
That gave Luffy the opening he needed to charge inside and pass through the sealed Gates of Justice.
As for how he managed to reach this battlefield in time, it was all thanks to a sudden tsunami. Riding the massive wave, he was able to arrive precisely at this moment.
And the one responsible for the tsunami—Arceus—was still at the center of the Tarai Current. However, the whirlpool that had spun for decades without stopping had now disappeared.
Arceus had forcibly halted the rotation of the sea current with his powers. It was precisely this forced stop that gave rise to the enormous tsunami.
What others saw as a world-ending tsunami was nothing more than the aftermath of Arceus taking action. At this moment, the plate had already emerged from the sea and was now floating directly above the sea's surface.
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