The Marines, caught between two crushing waves, descended into chaos.
On the execution platform, Ace witnessed such a spectacle for the first time.
Though Ace had clashed with Whitebeard after setting sail, he was too weak back then. Even an injured Whitebeard could defeat him with ease, a few swings of his fist sending him and his crew flying.
Even after joining the crew, Ace had attempted to assassinate Whitebeard multiple times, only to be knocked away with a single punch.
When facing enemies, Marco and Jozu, the division commanders, were usually present, and Whitebeard rarely intervened.
At this moment, Ace truly witnessed his father's strength.
Wave after wave crashed against Marineford, pushing forward, two colossal waves swept in from both sides, as if intent on burying the entire island at the bottom of the sea.
"This is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit user, the quaker, Edward Newgate!"
Amidst the violent tremors, Sengoku stated with a grave expression, "Even if your uncle has the advantage, don't assume you'll win. We might be the ones to fail in the end."
"That man possesses power capable of destroying the world!"
As the waves loomed, Admiral Aokiji of the Three Admirals suddenly made his move. He leaped from his seat into the air, spreading his arms wide.
"Ice Age!"
Two streams of cold air shot out, hitting the colossal waves on both sides. The waves began to freeze at a visible pace.
"It… it stopped."
The soldiers beneath the giant waves were trembling with fear.
"We… we're saved."
"It's Admiral Kuzan…"
Aokiji, having frozen the waves, did not cease his assault. Hovering in mid-air, he launched the first attack on Whitebeard.
"Ice Time!"
Aokiji's elementalized hand in the air waved, and four spears made of ice appeared, hurtling towards Whitebeard below.
Such trivial tricks could hardly harm Whitebeard.
Whitebeard clenched his fist and slammed it to the side. The air cracked again, accompanied by a wave of shock that shattered all the ice spears in the air, and then struck Aokiji.
Fortunately, Aokiji's devil fruit ability was skillfully used, and he elementalized the area about to be hit in advance, thereby evading the attack.
Aokiji, transformed into a mass of chilling ice, fell into the sea.
Generally, devil fruit users fear water the most; falling into it means doom.
But Aokiji was different.
The cold emanating from his body allowed him to freeze the sea surface into ice just before hitting the water, preventing his body from coming into contact with it.
Upon landing, Aokiji placed a hand on the sea, and instantly, streams of cold air spread out, freezing all the sea surface within the harbor.
Warships and pirate ships were all frozen in the harbor, unable to move.
Unbeknownst to anyone, a bead of sweat trickled down Aokiji's forehead.
"As expected, the injuries have recovered."
From Whitebeard's performance and the scale of the earthquake he caused, Bai Qi deduced that although Whitebeard's strength had not returned to its peak, the injuries in his body had healed.
In the original story, Whitebeard's mighty strike had caused the massive earthquake, but now, his movements were clearly more relaxed than in the original, and the scale of the destruction far surpassed it.
All this could only prove one thing: Whitebeard's strength had recovered.
As for Whitebeard's pirate fleet entering from the sea, Bai Qi was aware of it but did not inform the Marines.
Firstly, Bai Qi joined the Marines to complete his mission: eliminate Whitebeard and let the world proceed according to its original trajectory.
Informing the Marines in advance was already altering fate.
While the world's strength might not be high, its will was unexpectedly powerful. Though Bai Qi didn't understand the source of its power, this was not his home ground, and it was best not to challenge the world's will as an outsider.
Bai Qi's world also had a world will, but unlike the single will in most worlds, his had two, jointly borne by righteousness and darkness.
Its uniqueness made it powerful. Before this incident, the world will of Bai Qi's world could definitely crush the world of One Piece. Although its overall strength had declined due to the weakening of the dark energy, it was still not something this world could contend with.
Furthermore, if he informed the Marines and set up traps in the sea to successfully stop Whitebeard, what would happen to his mission?
Bang!
A cannonball was fired, striking the ice surface in front of the pirate ships.
At this moment, the war was declared to have begun.
Aokiji's Ice Age had indeed restricted the pirates' ships, but it also provided a battlefield for the pirates. Weighing the pros and cons, Bai Qi felt Aokiji's move was somewhat counterproductive.
"Brothers, charge with me!"
"Let them taste our might!"
With that, Vista, the Flower Sword, was the first to jump off the ship and charge towards the Marines, followed by a large number of pirates.
A large number of Marines also leaped onto the ice.
The two forces engaged in battle on the ice.
The Marines, as expected, were uniformly equipped with sabers and spears. Only a few officers used unconventional weapons, such as Smoker's Seastone Jitte.
The pirates' weaponry was a vibrant display of diversity: swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, meteor hammers, maces – whatever you could imagine, they had.
On the execution platform.
"The war has begun. Aren't you going to make a move?" Sengoku said slowly, gazing at the battlefield shrouded in smoke.
"Who are you talking to?" Ace's heart, which had been dead, began to beat again, reawakened by Whitebeard's words.
Hearing Sengoku's words, Ace looked around and saw no one on the platform besides Sengoku himself, Ace, and two execution soldiers.
"These shrimp are no match for me. My target is only Whitebeard."
Looking in the direction of the voice, Ace saw no one and felt as if Sengoku were talking to thin air, which then responded.
However, a figure soon appeared, initially transparent, then gradually solidifying.
Ace looked again and confirmed he didn't recognize the person. However, judging by their attire, they were indeed a member of the Marines, and a Vice Admiral at that.
Someone who could make Sengoku speak like this must be no ordinary individual.
Sengoku sighed and looked at Bai Qi behind him, "I know why you joined the Marines, and I know this war has little to do with you. But I still hope you'll make a move. It will save more lives."
Hearing Sengoku's words, Ace was even more shocked. The Fleet Admiral himself was pleading with a Vice Admiral he couldn't command? What was this person's identity?
"Oh? The dignified Fleet Admiral actually cares about how many people die? I thought you rulers didn't care about the lives of others."