"An Unstoppable Conflict: The Battle of Marineford"
"I just realized I might have rushed the pacing too much in the previous chapter and skipped over several ideas I had in mind. I'm not going to redo it, but I will make some adjustments from here on to ensure everything connects better. Don't worry, I'm on it. And if you feel like something was left hanging"let me know!"
......…
Whitebeard, furious as he watched his "sons" being wounded and killed, raised his voice with a roar so deep it echoed from the depths of Marineford to its surroundings… even among Kaido's pirates who were fighting the Guild outside the island.
"You asked for war?! Then you'll get a war to the death!" he bellowed.
The Emperor's Conqueror's Haki exploded like a destructive wave, sweeping across the battlefield and knocking out dozens of marines as Whitebeard marched toward the bay.
Sengoku frowned. His own aura flared as he released his Conqueror's Haki in turn, clashing with Whitebeard's in an invisible burst of power that made the air tremble. Everyone nearby froze"caught between awe… and fear.
"Looks fun. I don't have that Haki, but I can still join in," Kara said with a grin.
A faint tremor began to ripple around her. At first subtle… but within seconds, the pressure escalated. Nearby pirates dropped to their knees, overwhelmed by a very real, physical weight that crushed them"different from the Emperor's Haki.
The tremor spread, blanketing the entire island.
Whitebeard noticed, but didn't stop. He raised both fists forward, aiming straight at the bay, still protected by the great walls.
"Hey, Pops! If you use that attack, we're gonna be in trouble!" Marco warned, clearly worried.
But when he saw the unhinged, unstoppable look in his father's eyes, he turned urgently to his comrades.
"Protect yourselves!"
"The island will be destroyed…" Izou muttered, watching the Emperor's stance.
Then, Whitebeard struck with everything he had. The air tore open. Titanic cracks burst from his fists, spreading like fractures through the very sky.
Behind the walls, Kara felt the looming threat of absolute destruction. She looked toward Sengoku.
"Kara! Destroy it! Use everything you've got"whatever it takes!" the admiral commanded, alarmed.
Whitebeard was about to reduce everything to rubble"regardless of whether his own children were in the blast.
"They don't pay me enough for this…" Kara muttered, peeling off her gloves with irritation.
She gathered all her Haki and Crash magic, interlacing her hands as if preparing an ancient spell. A series of magical grids began to erupt from her palms, one after another at blinding speed"some even shattered parts of the wall surrounding her.
"Full Destruction!" she shouted.
The grids collided head-on with the warped space conjured by Whitebeard. The world trembled. Even Kaido and Garp halted their battle upon feeling the shockwave from afar.
And then… the space in front of Whitebeard shattered into floating cubes, as if the very sky had turned to glass and cracked into thousands of fragments"before everything snapped back to normal.
Whitebeard gazed at the spot where Kara had stood. The wall was gone.
He smiled in satisfaction.
"You crazy bastard…" Kara muttered, realizing his plan.
He had forced her to destroy her own defensive wall… leaving a perfect opening for Whitebeard's crew to charge in.
"Advance!" the Emperor ordered, leaping off his ship and sprinting straight toward the open bay.
The Marines reacted instantly, regrouping to defend the exposed section. Marco was the first to move forward with the commanders, clearing the way for his father…
But Ace stood in the way.
Face to face, two brothers. In another world. Now enemies.
"If you'd accepted being our brother… you'd be fighting by our side right now," Marco said, with a hint of sadness"and mockery"in his voice.
"You lost that right the day you killed my best friend," Ace replied, fury gleaming in his eyes.
"And we lost a brother… because of that woman," Marco added, shooting a resentful glare toward Kara, who was still guarding the defensive line, eyes locked on Whitebeard like she was ready to pounce"but Sengoku wasn't allowing it.
"Well… that woman is my big sister," Ace said proudly.
Electricity surged through his body as his Haki flared like a brewing storm.
"How about we stop holding back? After all… this is a battle to the death."
Marco's face grew serious. They both knew there were limits in a fight like this. The mission was to rescue Vista and retreat. If Ace unleashed his full power from the start… escape would become almost impossible.
But it was already too late.
In a blink, Ace vanished. His speed rivaled Kizaru's. Marco sensed him through Observation Haki, but barely managed to cross his arms before a devastating kick slammed into him, launching him backward.
His body crashed into the Moby Dick, already half-destroyed by Marine cannons.
"Returning the favor," Ace said with a grin.
He pulled a copper coin from his pocket, with the word "ACE" etched into it. He held it between his fingers, electricity crackling wildly around him.
"Now that I think about it, most of my attacks were Kara's ideas…"
He charged the coin with millions of volts until it began to melt. His arm trembled from the strain.
"Railgun."
The coin fired like an antimatter cannon, faster than any of Kizaru's lasers. The admiral himself watched with interest, ignoring the pirates trying in vain to attack him.
The projectile obliterated what was left of the Moby Dick, then kept going"splitting the ice and carving the sea in two as if a god had slashed it open.
Marco landed beside the massive crater of water. He was bleeding, a huge hole torn through his left side. He coughed up blood.
Then, his body ignited in blue flames, healing at an astonishing rate.
"You're… dangerous to my crew," he growled as his body regenerated.
"Of course," Ace replied proudly, adjusting his hat.
"You're facing the second-highest ranked S-Class Hunter in the Bounty Guild."
…..
"Slave Arrow!" Hancock exclaimed elegantly as she calmly raised her hand, launching a flurry of heart-shaped arrows that exploded powerfully around her. She made sure not to hit the marines, though clear annoyance was reflected on her face.
She had just heard what Ace said about being number two and couldn't help but scoff with disdain.
"Men are always so obsessed with their rank or level," she commented with indifference while spinning on herself, firing another volley to the side with deadly grace.
"Oh, but I thought you also wanted to raise yours by competing against Koki," Jimbei joked, having heard her from nearby, with a complicit smile.
"This queen is not interested in rank. It just bothers me that that brat is above mine," Hancock huffed with restrained fury. The mere name of a certain person irritated her even more than Momousagi, and she took it out on a group of unlucky attackers, turning them to stone without mercy.
"Hey, being number five isn't so bad. Look at me, I'm number seven, right below Pale… and he's in charge of information!" said Jimbei as he launched a powerful water punch that swept away several enemies in one blow.
"I don't care," Hancock replied, walking away from Jimbei with disdain. He could only respond with a forced smile.
Suddenly, Hancock opened her eyes upon sensing a high-pressure stream of water aiming directly at her head. She tilted her face quickly, dodging it by mere inches. The attack didn't stop: it pierced a building behind her and sliced it in half violently.
"Namur…" Jimbei murmured upon seeing the new attacker. Namur advanced with eyes full of hatred, his teeth still dripping blood from the marines who had gotten in his way.
..............
Zoro had a few cuts, but none too deep. Chopper was tending to him quickly, wrapping him in bandages amid the chaos.
Meanwhile, Uta sang a soft, enchanting melody. Every pirate who entered a five-meter radius fell asleep instantly… only to rise seconds later, turned into puppets that attacked their own comrades.
"Hurry up, I need to get back!" Zoro growled, his eyes lit with battle excitement.
"One moment!" Chopper responded, annoyed, working quickly with his hands. "Done. You can go. But don't get hurt so badly again!"
Zoro didn't reply. He just smirked to the side and rushed off like a whirlwind to the front.
"Let's head to the next zone, Doctor Chopper," Uta said, taking his hand before running toward the next group of wounded, protected by a squad of sleepwalking pirates blocking attacks with clumsy but effective movements.
........
"Seems like everyone's having fun…" Kara commented calmly, watching her comrades move all over the battlefield. She was in charge of keeping Whitebeard's commanders at bay.
"Although that Kizaru is still slacking off…" she added with irritation upon seeing the light admiral in a corner, firing laser beams from his fingers without even moving.
Kizaru noticed Kara's gaze and returned a wave with a smile. That annoyed her even more.
She was about to go complain when a bullet whistled toward her head. Without losing her composure, she raised her hand and caught it between two fingers covered in Haki.
"Wow… bullets covered in Haki. My fingers hurt. Nice attack," Kara mocked, turning her head toward Izou. "Your outfit confuses me… and I like women," she added with a provocative smile.
"I don't care about your preferences. I just want to see you dead," Izou spat furiously, aiming both pistols. "You killed one of our brothers… it's time for revenge."
Izou unleashed a storm of gunfire, each shot aimed with lethal precision at Kara's head. She dodged with fluid movements, but each bullet carried a murderous intent, and she began to get irritated.
Suddenly, Kara vanished. Izou crossed his pistols into an X to defend himself just in time, but Kara appeared in front of him like lightning, launching a punch that sent him flying several meters.
Izou quickly got up and raised his pistols… only to see them crumble to pieces before his eyes.
That moment of surprise was enough. Kara appeared again and landed a direct kick to his face that sent him flying like a bullet toward Whitebeard.
"A human projectile," Kara mocked, while Whitebeard frowned. The emperor raised a hand and caught Izou midair with strength and care, lowering him to the ground without letting him get hurt further. The commander groaned, blood on his face and his teeth clenched in pain.
Kara, without stopping, turned a direct gaze to Sengoku, as if silently asking for permission.
"Do it," Sengoku said tiredly, fully aware of what Kara had in mind. She wanted to face Whitebeard.
With the containment wall destroyed, it would be even harder to hold the tide. Whitebeard, save for a slight wound Kara had inflicted earlier, was still completely unscathed. The betrayal plan had failed. Kaido was getting closer and closer, fighting Garp violently, and time was running out.
"Great," Kara responded with a wild smile, and without losing a second, she launched herself like a lightning bolt toward Whitebeard once more.