Whitebeard withdrew his gaze from Eriri and then smiled at Sengoku, saying, "Gurararara! Sengoku, let's not disturb the young lady's enthusiasm. Come on, let's begin."
In truth, Whitebeard was quite curious about Eriri, who had managed to defeat Kizaru. He also deeply admired the courage she and her companions had shown in standing against the World Government.
If this were any other time, he might have taken the opportunity to converse with Eriri and her group, perhaps even inviting her to become his "daughter."
But right now, the situation did not allow him the luxury of focusing on anything else—Ace had yet to be rescued. How could he even think about recruiting a daughter at a time like this?
As Whitebeard's words fell, the pirates, who had still been in shock from Eriri and her group's sudden appearance, let out battle cries and charged toward Marineford's main plaza.
Naturally, the Marines wouldn't simply let the pirates overrun them. The elite Marines filling the plaza rushed toward the frozen bay, and in an instant, the two sides clashed in a chaotic battle.
The moment the fight began, Luffy was already sprinting toward the execution platform. However, the sheer number of Marines blocking his path slowed his advance significantly.
Meanwhile, Zoro, Sanji, and the others stayed close by, clearing obstacles in Luffy's path. As for Nami, Robin, Usopp, and Chopper—who were not particularly suited for direct combat—they did not follow Luffy and the rest.
Although they desperately wanted to contribute to the battle, they knew that with their current strength, they would only become a burden if they pushed forward recklessly.
This sense of powerlessness weighed heavily on them, filling them with frustration.
Rayleigh, of course, was not one to lag behind. With his sword in hand, he charged at full speed toward the plaza, cutting down any Marines that dared block his path.
In no time, he had overtaken Luffy and his group. However, just as he was about to break through to the bay, Kizaru appeared in a flash and stopped him with a swift kick.
"Ohh~ my~ isn't this the Dark King, Rayleigh? How terrifying! I never expected even you to show up. Are you here to rescue your old captain's son?"
Rayleigh replied calmly, "Roger's son carries his only bloodline. I can't just stand by and watch him perish. Kizaru, will you let me pass?"
"I'm afraid not, Rayleigh-san."
Earlier, when Rayleigh was aboard the Thousand Sunny, he had kept his identity hidden under a hooded cloak. Because of this, Sengoku, Garp, and the others had failed to recognize their old acquaintance.
But now, due to the recent battle, his hood had been knocked off, revealing his face—allowing Kizaru to immediately recognize him.
Their exchange of words quickly spread among the surrounding Marines, causing a shockwave of disbelief.
"D-Dark King Rayleigh?! The former vice-captain of the Pirate King?! Why would a legendary figure suddenly appear here?!" the Marines shouted in astonishment.
As the vice-captain of the Pirate King's crew, Rayleigh was an infamous figure known throughout the world. His bounty had never been revoked, and every Marine present was well aware of his legendary status.
Sengoku, standing on the execution platform, soon caught sight of Rayleigh. His expression darkened even further.
"Damn it! I never expected that bastard Rayleigh would show up too!"
Not far from Kizaru and Rayleigh, several captains from the Reincarnator squads that had joined the Marine side were gathering.
"The former vice-captain of the Pirate King? Why wasn't this guy mentioned in the intel from the Lord God Space? What the hell is going on?"
"Who knows? Maybe the Lord God Space considered him irrelevant to the battle's outcome."
"Hah? Are you joking? Can't you see even an admiral can't take him down? This 'Dark King' Rayleigh is definitely one of the strongest fighters in this war."
"Luckily, though, the admiral is keeping him occupied, so he won't be breaking through to the plaza anytime soon. Right now, our top priority is eliminating the enemy Reincarnators. If we don't, things could get unpredictable."
"No worries. We have more people on our side. As long as we stall until Ace is executed, we win."
Although the Reincarnators were baffled by Rayleigh's unexpected presence, they didn't dwell too much on him.
Their main mission was to ensure the Marines' victory, but they were also eager to reap the battlefield's Reincarnation Points.
Their primary targets were other Reincarnators. Secondarily, they would go after the pirates. While killing a pirate earned only one-tenth the Reincarnation Points of eliminating an enemy Reincarnator of the same level, the sheer number of pirates made up for it.
The more they killed, the more they gained. This large-scale war mission was both a brutal test and a rare opportunity.
If they succeeded, their rewards from this single mission would be equivalent to three or four regular Reincarnation tasks.
Since every Reincarnator had been assigned a faction tag by the Lord God Space, they could easily distinguish between allies and enemies. There was no risk of undercover betrayals.
A total of six Reincarnator squads had joined the Marine side, and each of their captains possessed combat power on par with an admiral. If they worked together, they would be a terrifying force.
However, each captain had their own personal agenda, making true cooperation impossible. The fact that they were even working together right now was already rare.
Even this temporary alliance wouldn't last long—after all, no one wanted to share Reincarnation Points with others. The system didn't distribute points based on contributions; whoever landed the killing blow got the points.
Sure enough, before long, the six captains dispersed, each hunting for their own prey.
As for the other members of the Reincarnator squads, most of them were nothing more than foot soldiers in this grand war. A single misstep could get them killed by the enemy.
Unlike their captains, they couldn't just rampage through the battlefield. Instead, they cautiously roamed the chaos, picking off weakened enemies to secure Reincarnation Points.
However, the battlefield was unpredictable. No matter how careful you were, unexpected dangers could always arise.
Casualties soon began to appear among the hundred Reincarnators on the battlefield.
Sitting in the middle of the ice wall, Eriri and her group casually snacked on sunflower seeds while watching the battle below, showing no intention of intervening.
They even occasionally commented on some of the fights.
The battle below had no impact on Eriri and her group's location. They were seated nearly a hundred meters above the ground, a height even the Giants couldn't reach.
Each time a Reincarnator died on the battlefield, the fragments of the Lord God from their bodies would be instantly snatched up by Eriri and devoured by Little Skirt.
Meanwhile, the live broadcast chatroom was buzzing with activity, as the bizarre Devil Fruit abilities dazzled the spectators.
[Ruri Gokou (Level 6, Stage 6): Look at that guy—he actually turned into a diamond! How much do you think he'd be worth if we sold him?]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 6, Stage 6): We could try cutting off one of his arms to see if he stays in diamond form. If he doesn't, then he's worthless.]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 6, Stage 6): That's a great idea. If he can maintain his diamond form, we could smash that arm into pieces and get a whole pile of diamonds!]
[Risa Shiramine (Level 4, Stage 2): Hey, hey, don't say such scary things! It sounds like human trafficking.]
[Akeno Himejima (Level 2, Stage 9): Ara ara, but isn't this quite interesting?]
[Kaede Honjou (Level 4, Stage 4): War is so cruel… Peace is much better.]
[Risa Shiramine (Level 4, Stage 2): Don't worry, Kaede. If war ever breaks out in our world, we can use our strength to put an end to it.]
[Honda Kaede (Level 4, Stage 4): Mhm, mhm.]
[…]
As time passed, the battlefield became increasingly brutal, with casualties occurring almost every second.
The Ancient Giant Little Oars Jr., standing at a towering thirty-eight meters tall, had already entered the battlefield just as he did in the original storyline. However, his fate remained unchanged despite the presence of the Reincarnators.
He simply wasn't suited for this battlefield—his massive size only made him an easy target for the Navy.
By now, nearly half of the Reincarnators had died, though most of the fallen were the weakest among them. The stronger ones remained active, continuously harvesting Reincarnation Points.
Due to the growing death toll on both sides, the pace of the war had accelerated several times faster than in the original story.
Their relentless slaughter had naturally drawn the attention of Whitebeard, Marco, as well as Akainu and Aokiji.
Leaving opponents at Admiral level unchecked in a battlefield like this was not a wise decision.
Whitebeard, hailed as the world's strongest man, naturally possessed overwhelming strength. Even though he was plagued by illness, his power still surpassed that of the Admirals.
With a single strike, he swiftly took down a Reincarnator squad leader who had been in the midst of a killing spree.
However, this was largely due to an ambush. If it had been a head-on confrontation, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to deal with a Reincarnator squad leader in such a short time.
The death of this squad leader immediately put the remaining Reincarnator leaders on high alert.
A white spherical shockwave shot out from the blade, causing the air in front of them to tremble as it pressed toward them.
At that moment, Akainu suddenly flashed beneath Whitebeard's attack. His right arm transformed into magma, forming a massive lava arm, which rapidly extended at high speed, aiming to intercept Whitebeard's seismic strike.
"Dark Hound!"
With Akainu's powerful shout, their attacks violently collided, sending molten debris scattering in all directions like a miniature meteor shower.
Within seconds, both attacks neutralized each other and disappeared simultaneously.
"Forgetting about me wouldn't be a good idea. Let me join in as well."
Aokiji suddenly spoke from the side.
A massive ice bird rapidly formed along Aokiji's arm before detaching and soaring toward Whitebeard with incredible speed.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
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