IW: Chapter 237 - The Drums of Liberation Resound Through the World, Nika Pierces Through the Marine's Last Stubbornness!
"He's hijacking the global broadcast feeds again?"
Deep within the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the Five Elders sat before the glowing monitors, their brows knit into deep, synchronized frowns. Looking at the unfolding chaos on screen, an overwhelming, bitter sense of déjà vu washed over the room. They had watched this exact same theatrical arrogance play out at God Valley, and again during Roger's execution.
The World Government's original strategy had been simple and absolute: crush and capture Bai Ye behind closed doors, then broadcast the heavily edited footage of his defeat to the world. Such a display would have dealt a fatal, demoralizing blow to the Great Pirate Era, while simultaneously paralyzing the increasingly restless Revolutionary Army.
Because in the eyes of the global elite, Bai Ye was no longer just a lawless pirate. He didn't engage in the typical, petty vices of burning, pillaging, or slaughtering civilians. Instead, every single one of his movements was a calculated, rapid advance aimed directly at the throat of the World Government.
In fact, his subversive actions had directly paved the way for the rise of the Revolutionary Army.
At one point, the Five Elders had been completely convinced that Bai Ye was the shadow pulling the strings behind the revolutionaries—until their intelligence network uncovered the true identity of the leader, a revelation that nearly made the rulers of the world cough up blood in sheer fury.
Monkey D. Dragon. The son of Monkey D. Garp!
If it weren't for Garp's ironclad reputation among the ranks and the fact that the World Government had spent decades heavily promoting him as the literal "Hero of the Marines," they would have thrown the old man into the deepest, darkest pit of Impel Down without a second thought.
"Does he honestly believe he holds the advantage here?" Saint Jaygarcia Saturn let out a cold, raspy chuckle. He had lived through centuries; over the last eight hundred years, the World Government had never suffered a shortage of arrogant challengers.
Yet, without fail, every single one of those rebels had ended up in a grave. The Government didn't maintain its absolute rule just because it possessed overwhelming military might—they won because the true powers behind the Void Throne simply could not die, nor would they ever wither with age.
"Perhaps," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro murmured, his hand resting on his blade. "But consider this... that man is technically older than Kaido by now, yet his physical form still appears to be operating at its absolute peak."
Actually, to be completely fair, he didn't look aged at all.
At that stark reminder of Bai Ye's seemingly immortal youth, Saturn's cold laughter died out, and the room fell into a heavy, tense silence.
"We should have deployed there directly," Nusjuro added. The Five Elders possessed the absolute authority of summoning circles, but there was a strict prerequisite: Saint Jaygarcia Saturn had to physically manifest at the location first. Without Saturn acting as the anchor on the ground, the remaining elders could not teleport their forces into the fray.
"Let us wait and see. This time, there is nowhere left for him to run," another elder stated coldly.
The battle line drawn in Loguetown was unprecedented. The Three Admirals, Hero Garp, Fleet Admiral Kong, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the elite vanguards of CP0 were all standing on the same battlefield, backed by thousands of the Navy's finest soldiers.
Could a single man, even a myth like Bai Ye, truly hope to tear through a lineup like that?
Meanwhile, on the rain-slicked streets of Loguetown, the sound of marching boots echoed as civilians were frantically ushered toward the harbors.
"Colonel Smoker! The evacuation protocols are complete, and the final civilian blocks are moving out!"
Tashigi rushed up to Smoker, her breath ragged and her glasses fogging slightly in the panic. She had only recently been assigned as Smoker's executive officer, following his sudden, unceremonious demotion and transfer to the East Blue.
Because of his fiercely insubordinate nature and a blatant refusal to follow the political whims of the Nobles, Smoker had long been deemed a headache at Marineford. Banishing him to this backwater sea was meant to be a leash.
But Smoker had absolutely no intention of sitting this out.
Years ago, during Roger's execution, a young Smoker had stood right here in this plaza, watching from the crowd as Bai Ye shattered the execution platform. In the wake of that day, a tidal wave of scum had flooded the seas. Loguetown, serving as the final gateway for East Blue pirates entering the Grand Line, had been plagued by relentless pirate raids ever since.
On that day, Smoker had sworn an oath to his own justice: if he ever wore the Marine coat, he would hunt down every pirate who dared set sail—and Bai Ye was the ultimate target he had vowed to bring to justice.
Now, the man himself was standing less than a mile away. Smoker wasn't about to turn his back on the ghost that had defined his entire life.
Adjusting his coat and biting down hard on his cigars, Smoker turned his back on the evacuation route.
"Tashigi, take the remaining squads and secure the docks," Smoker ordered, his voice shifting into dense, swirling smoke. "I'm staying. I'm going into that fight."
"Ah?!"
Tashigi stared at Smoker's retreating back, standing stunned in place, unsure of what to do. This was the first time she had been so shocked.
Although she had heard about Smoker's situation before being transferred—that he was a maverick with his own ideas—now she finally understood why Smoker had been demoted to the East Blue.
However, Tashigi only hesitated for a moment before deciding to stay and protect the civilians during their evacuation.
Firstly, she couldn't catch up to Smoker, and secondly, she had to fulfill her duties.
Inside the encirclement.
"Surrender, Bai Ye. There's no need to continue fighting. The situation now is even more difficult than it was back then, after all, no one is buying you time anymore!"
Back then, with other pirates around, Bai Ye could move with ease, but now it was so many Marines against Bai Ye.
Fleet Admiral Kong also didn't want to fight Bai Ye here; it would only destroy Loguetown, and rebuilding it would be troublesome.
"Do you think you've already won? Just like God Valley back then?"
Bai Ye was not in a hurry. Although there were many experts here, he still had many ways to deal with them.
Scanning around, there were a total of six Admiral-level combatants: five from the Marine, one who seemed to be from the World Government, and then a group of CP agents and Vice Admiral-level combatants like Tsuru.
"Nami, you hide behind them. Buggy, you…" Bai Ye said, then saw Buggy's expectant gaze: "You protect the broadcast!"
"Dude?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Aren't you going to have them protect me?"
Buggy had originally thought Bai Ye would tell him to hide behind Yamato and the others.
He had just been thinking of hiding behind them and looking for an opportunity to escape, but it seemed Bai Ye had no intention of having them protect him; instead, he expected him to be self-reliant?
And he wanted him to protect the broadcast?
"Do you have a heart?!"
Buggy opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed all the words back down.
Persecution!
This was persecution!
Holding the Den Den Mushi, Buggy tried his best to lower his presence, hoping everyone else would forget he was there.
"Gion…"
Tsuru looked at Gion, a hint of an unknown meaning in her eyes.
And facing Tsuru's gaze, although Gion didn't flinch, there was a flicker of hesitation in her heart.
At this moment, she didn't know what to do.
She was clearly a Marine, yet she already had thoughts of betrayal. But Gion understood Tsuru's look now: it was to tell her to seize the opportunity and prepare to act.
If she hadn't made her decision before, she wouldn't have hesitated at all. Even at Fish-Man Island, there might have been only a tiny bit of hesitation, but after following Bai Ye across the seas, she had discovered that the World Government's justice and the justice she wanted to uphold were at odds.
After defeating Bai Ye, then what?
Would they still maintain the current rule, with everyone oppressed by the Celestial Dragons, and the nobles of other countries oppressing the common people?
And she also noticed Yamato's gaze. Gion knew she was always being suspected by that woman.
"Stop talking nonsense. Be careful of enemy reinforcements."
Tsuru warned. She didn't want to see any more accidents. Bai Ye was still alone right now. Bai Ye talking to them now might be him waiting for his own people to arrive as reinforcements.
At Tsuru's reminder, everyone reacted. It really wasn't impossible!
"Speed is power, little brother. Have you ever been kicked by light?"
Before the words even fell, Kizaru was already standing beside Bai Ye, lifting his leg with a flash of light and kicking directly at Bai Ye.
"Too slow. Is that all there is to the speed of light?"
Bai Ye raised his hand and directly grabbed Kizaru's shin. The Mangekyo in his eyes spun, and in just a moment, Kizaru fell into an illusion.
Taking advantage of this gap, Bai Ye's fist, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, directly smashed into Kizaru's chest: "Your teacher must have told you that you rely too much on the Glint-Glint Fruit, didn't he?"
"Boom!"
As soon as Bai Ye finished speaking, Kizaru was directly slammed into the ground.
"Watch out behind you!"
Robin shouted. Behind him, Aokiji was emitting wisps of cold air. But in the next second, Aokiji was frozen in place.
"How does it feel to be frozen?"
Bai Ye exhaled a wisp of cold air, then two black rods suddenly appeared in his hands. With a flash, he appeared directly in front of Akainu. His left hand, imbued with Haki and Amaterasu, directly slammed him into the ground, while also inserting the two black rods into Akainu's body.
The black flames continued to burn on Akainu's body, and the excruciating pain made Akainu not even let out a groan.
"I really don't like your gaze, Sakazuki. Although I don't know what you've been through, I hope you won't look at me like trash next time, okay?"
This was the first time Bai Ye used the black rod's ability against a Logia user. In the Naruto world, it could directly seal Chakra, but here, Bai Ye wasn't sure if it could interfere with the opponent.
In just an instant, all Three Admirals were severely hit.
Aokiji often used his ice ability to freeze various pirates, but now he was frozen in place by Bai Ye, unable to move.
Kizaru, who had always prided himself on his speed, was defeated by Bai Ye's speed.
And Akainu, who had eaten the Mag-Mag Fruit, was now being burned by flames.
Everyone present looked at this scene in disbelief.
"Please, I must be dreaming, right?!"
Buggy slapped his own cheek. He felt like he was going to faint. He kept feeling like he was dreaming, otherwise, there was no way to explain how the Three Admirals could be instantly defeated by Bai Ye.
"As expected of Lord Bai Ye!"
Yamato excitedly waved her hands, just like a cheerleader.
Is this the highest combat power of Marineford?
And they were still instantly defeated by Bai Ye?
"No way, Admiral Kizaru, Admiral Aokiji, and Admiral Akainu, why is this happening?!"
The Marines stared blankly at the scene before them.
They had come with a determination to win, but after just a brief exchange, they felt a suffocating sensation.
However, thankfully, in the next second, a light flashed out from the deep pit, the ice on Aokiji's body also shattered, and Akainu used his elementalization to separate the burning parts from his body.
Seeing that they had all recovered, the Marines couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Their previous worries seemed a bit excessive.
"Hey, hey, hey, what exactly is your ability?!"
For years, the World Government and the Marine had been researching Bai Ye's abilities, but after much research, they found that there was no such race, nor was there such a Devil Fruit.
Now it seemed he possessed not only the abilities he had previously shown, but even ice and fire abilities.
Aokiji muttered, he had really lost face big time just now, an Ice-Ice Fruit user being frozen by someone else.
"Oh, how scary!"
Kizaru's mouth was twisted, but deep down, he truly felt an indescribable sensation. Bai Ye's punch just now had almost killed him.
"He must be eliminated!"
Akainu felt insulted. He loosened his arm. He just hadn't expected Bai Ye to be so fast.
Not anymore…
The most dangerous man in the world was worth killing!
"Let's attack together. His abilities are very strange."
Tsuru said gravely. Although the Three Admirals didn't seem to have suffered much damage from Bai Ye's attack until now, Tsuru didn't dare to gamble further.
Wano Country.
Everyone was now gravely watching the live broadcast.
"Damn it, aren't they going over there?!"
Golden Lion didn't want to see Bai Ye captured. That guy had just painted a grand vision for him, and if he was captured just like that, he really couldn't accept it!
This situation looked so familiar…
Isn't this exactly the scene when Roger was imprisoned in Impel Down?
"It's probably too late to go now."
Although Bai Ye's movements just now seemed to instantly incapacitate the Three Admirals.
But Mihawk knew very well that facing an encirclement of so many people, going now was not a good idea.
They hadn't been exposed yet. It would be better to wait until the Marine captured Bai Ye, and then see where the Marine took him, and then they could launch a rescue.
"I think you're worrying a bit too much."
Issho rolled his eyes. He couldn't see the live broadcast here, but from their previous descriptions, Bai Ye seemed to have a slight advantage at the moment.
He understood Bai Ye. If Bai Ye couldn't win, he would definitely run.
"He has a spatial transfer ability. I witnessed it on the way to Wano Country. If he wants to leave, no one can stop him. The Ice-Ice Fruit simply can't restrict him."
The Marine's original intention was to freeze the sea, so Bai Ye couldn't possibly escape, right?
But they didn't know that Bai Ye could use Kamui to leave, so Issho wasn't worried about Bai Ye at all.
"Damn it, what kind of Devil Fruit is that guy's?!"
After hearing Issho's words, Golden Lion, who had been agitated, calmed down.
That guy has spatial abilities, why didn't you say so sooner?
It made him worry so much before. Now it seemed his worries were a bit unnecessary.
"So, he can leave by himself, right? What about Yamato?"
Kaido asked impatiently. Bai Ye could run, but his precious daughter couldn't!
He had already said Yamato shouldn't go out to sea, and now look!
He had just claimed the title of Emperor of the New World, and now his daughter was gone?
"He can take people with him."
"That's good."
Kaido breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Bai Ye could take people with him.
"So that guy is just playing around right now!"
Old John took a sip of his drink, his eyes hazy with intoxication.
That guy was really the same as before!
He felt he had to mention the first S6… cough… their tree-climbing friendship back in Elbaf!
"Do you know Nika?"
Nika?
Hearing Bai Ye's sudden question, everyone was stunned for a moment, and the Five Elders watching the broadcast were startled.
He… what exactly does he know?!
"The legendary Sun God Nika, 800 years ago, was known as the Warrior of Liberation. It was also Joy Boy's Devil Fruit ability 800 years ago. However, 800 years ago, the Great Kingdom led by Joy Boy was defeated by the Twenty Kings, and the history of that century is known as the Void Century."
"What are you trying to say?"
As Tsuru listened to Bai Ye's sudden yet dangerous words, a bad premonition suddenly arose in her heart.
Bai Ye had previously taken away the scholars of Ohara, so was he trying to reveal something else?
"Stop him!"
Fleet Admiral Kong immediately shouted and charged towards Bai Ye first. He couldn't let Bai Ye speak those words.
The danger posed by Roger back then was still vivid in his memory. Even the incident at God Valley had cost the World Government immense effort, yet many people still understood some things. Now, he was going to continue speaking, and Fleet Admiral Kong absolutely would not allow it!
"Hehe…"
Is this Nika?
Four spirits surrounded Bai Ye, singing.
After entering Fifth Gear, Bai Ye was enveloped in smoke and clouds, and his hair had turned into flames.
His heartbeat was like the Drums of Liberation, audible even from a great distance.
"What a truly amusing ability!"
Bai Ye chuckled and raised his head. His enormous body immediately astonished everyone present. Wasn't he a Logia user?
No, that's not right.
No one knew what his Devil Fruit was.
Only the Five Elders, upon seeing Bai Ye's ability unleashed, immediately lost their composure.
"We have tried to reclaim the Gum-Gum Fruit in every era, yet we have never managed to obtain it. It has been this way for 800 years!"
"That is a Fruit known as a god…"
"Zoan-type, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nika form!"
"How can this be?! This Fruit was actually eaten by Bai Ye!!"
"But wasn't it just lost not long ago? Why could he awaken it so quickly?!"
This is bad!
The Nika Fruit was eaten by the person they considered most dangerous.
"Will they lose?"
"As long as they hold out until he runs out of stamina, they can win!"
Saint Jeygarsia Saturn said excitedly. If they captured Bai Ye, it would at least guarantee that Nika wouldn't appear for a long time.
Then, they would have Vegapunk research Bai Ye's lineage factor. Once the research was successful, he believed that after this, the World Government would never be able to lose.
"That's the only way!"
New World.
Zunesha turned its head to look in a certain direction behind it. After 800 years, it finally heard that voice again!
Has he returned?!
"Joy Boy!!!!"
Kaido's eyes widened as he watched the live broadcast. He knew Joy Boy, but not Nika.
If Bai Ye hadn't explained before the fight, he would still be completely confused.
But he never expected that Bai Ye was actually Joy Boy!
Although Bai Ye had tricked Tengetsu Toki back then, Kaido never truly believed in his heart that Bai Ye was Joy Boy.
But now, it seemed as if everything was fate.
Kaido had always believed that the one who would defeat him must be Joy Boy, and he also knew some things about Nika, so he understood that Nika was Joy Boy.
Now, upon seeing Bai Ye's ability, he immediately recalled the scene of his defeat against Bai Ye.
Everything was still vivid in his memory, and he suddenly realized, "Joy Boy was right by my side?"
"I knew that Lord Bai Ye was Joy Boy! The one I found when I traveled through time was him!"
Tengetsu Toki looked at Bai Ye on the screen with excitement.
When she traveled through time and appeared before Bai Ye, his words, "Perhaps everyone is Joy Boy," made Tengetsu Toki believe he must be Joy Boy. Now, it seemed her guess was not wrong!
"Warrior of Liberation, huh?"
Issho murmured, then thought of all the things Bai Ye had done, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
It seemed he had, unknowingly, followed the right person. He truly was someone who could bring liberation to everyone.
"Shanks, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine."
Shanks was staring intently at the live broadcast. Wasn't that Fruit eaten by Luffy?
Why was the ability appearing on Bai Ye?
He couldn't figure it out. He glanced at Luffy, then tugged at Luffy's mouth, and after confirming that the Fruit's ability was still on him, Shanks became even more confused.
Why?!
Would two identical Fruits appear in the world?
Or was his information wrong, and the Gum-Gum Fruit was just the Gum-Gum Fruit, and Nika was Nika?
"Let's go! To Loguetown!!"
Without time to ponder, Shanks immediately stood up, preparing to leave Windmill Village.
"Everything is becoming so joyful!"
Bai Ye bounced on the ground, and the ground bounced along with his movements.
He raised his right hand to his mouth and blew on his thumb, and his arm inflated like a balloon. As he rotated his arm 360 degrees, the moment Kong approached, Bai Ye punched Kong directly, sending him flying.
Then, he gathered Kizaru's lasers, Akainu's magma, and Aokiji's ice in his hands, making a gesture as if bundling them up: "Isn't this fun?"
Fun?!
This is horrifying!
Someone is directly grabbing an Admiral's attacks and playing with them in their hands.
"Why aren't you talking?"
Bai Ye grinned, and a powerful burst of Haoshoku Haki suddenly erupted from him. Purple-black lightning shot into the sky, and Marine soldiers around him fell one by one. Then, CP0 agents looked at their struggling comrades beside them and exclaimed, "Hey, hey, hey, how can you be affected by Haoshoku… Uh…"
Before he could finish speaking, he also felt his mind instantly go blank. What incredibly strong Haoshoku Haki!
"Hehe, this way, there are a lot fewer people!"
A shockwave of Haoshoku Haki knocked out everyone except Yamato and a few others behind Bai Ye who weren't affected.
Only elite Vice Admirals like Tsuru could barely withstand it.
"Such strong Haoshoku!!"
Akainu's face was already very grim. He never expected that just the level of Haki could make a Vice Admiral lose their combat ability.
Although Tsuru hadn't fainted, she was definitely affected by the Haki, and whether she could fight was debatable.
And Smoker, who had just arrived on the battlefield, fainted with just one glance.
Before he fainted, he was still wondering what the meaning of his presence here was.
Weak…
Simply too weak.
He couldn't even withstand a single Haoshoku Haki from the opponent!
"Brat, go to hell!"
Kong transformed into a giant ape demon and directly threw a huge rock from a distance.
His Fruit was the Ape-Ape Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Ape Demon form.
After transforming, he would become an ape demon monster capable of controlling Rocks, possessing immense strength and super defense.
"Yata no Kagami!"
"Inugami Guren!"
"Ice Block Pheasant Beak!"
"Fist Meteor!"
"Thunderous!"
Six attacks from different directions surrounded Bai Ye.
"Here it comes! The Admirals' ultimate moves!"
"This time, we will definitely win!"
A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Mole's eyes.
Thunderous?
A hint of confusion flashed in Bai Ye's eyes, then he looked at the person from the World Government's side.
It should be him, right?
"This is so much fun!"
Bai Ye retreated, then grabbed the ground, blocking all these attacks while bouncing them back.
"Reckless! This is simply too reckless!! Is this Nika?!"
Kong took a deep breath and leaped into the battlefield. His incredibly strong Haki shattered the Rocks.
Compared to Kong, Kizaru was not so lucky and was directly pierced by the light flash.
He wore a bitter expression, feeling somewhat displeased. He was just clocking in for work, so why was he always the most injured?
"A bit troublesome."
Warhal frowned. He was the one who had just used lightning. Considering Bai Ye had the Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability, Warhal had been sent by the World Government.
He was the Tanuki-Tanuki Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Raiju form, capable of controlling lightning while also bringing wind and rain.
"Let's keep playing!"
Bai Ye casually grabbed the lightning in the air, his playful spirit growing even stronger.
"Haven't the side effects of Nika already been eliminated?"
Bai Ye felt a hint of confusion. Was this constant feeling of happiness not brought by Nika?
"Ding! The host's mood is inherently joyful, and happiness is not a side effect, so it has not been eliminated."
Since when was happiness a side effect?
Bai Ye suddenly understood a little.
He really did feel like playing around a bit.
Bai Ye directly threw the lightning in his hand, then raised his hand and grabbed Kizaru, who was closest to him.
Kizaru, caught, widened his eyes and couldn't help but roar in his heart, "Why does all the bad luck happen to me?!"
Just now, due to the influence of Bai Ye's Haki, he even dared not move for a moment.
Held in Bai Ye's hand, Kizaru couldn't escape at all, not even having the chance to turn into his elemental form.
"You're the fastest runner here, so go cool off somewhere else first!"
Bai Ye directly absorbed Kizaru and threw him into Kamui Space.
He admitted that Kizaru was very fast, and if he wanted to escape, he might not be able to catch him. But if Kizaru was in his Kamui Space, he wondered how Kizaru would cope?
"Kizaru…"
A bad start.
They had originally thought it was a great situation for the Marines to encircle Bai Ye, but they never expected that Bai Ye would eliminate Kizaru almost immediately.
"This is troublesome!"
"Garp, be serious!"
Kong frowned, his gaze towards Garp filled with a warning.
"I know!"
Garp put away his usual jovial expression. Kizaru had gone offline shortly after making his move, and now they were down one Admiral-level combatant. Garp knew that if he continued to be playful, it could truly become very dangerous.
Garp roared, his face contorting as he clenched his massive fists, coating them in a layer of pitch-black, obsidian Armament Haki. With a ground-shaking leap, the Marine Hero launched himself directly above Bai Ye, throwing his weight into a devastating, downward strike.
Fist Impact!
"Count me in!" Bai Ye laughed.
Instead of dodging, Bai Ye raised his own hand, but his technique was vastly different—crackle-black lightning erupted around his knuckles as he imbued his strike with Advanced Conqueror's Haki. Their fists collided in mid-air with a deafening crack.
The shockwave alone should have shattered a small island into pebbles, yet Garp's legendary force seemed to utterly die the moment it touched Bai Ye.
His Haki was inferior; his raw physical power was inferior. This guy is a monster that makes even Rocks look like a saint! Garp realized, his teeth grinding as he poured every ounce of his strength into his arm. It was futile. Bai Ye's left hand suddenly whipped out like a viper, snapping around Garp's wrist, and with a casual twist of his torso, he slammed the Marine Hero violently into the bedrock below.
"Who else wants to play?" Bai Ye chuckled, his eyes sweeping the frozen battlefield. "How about you, Akainu?"
Ōwatatsumi!
In an instant, a colossal torrent of dark, crushing water materialized out of thin air, roaring across the plaza like a localized tsunami.
"The power of the sea?!"
"What kind of joke is this?!"
The Marines erupted into a panic. To manifest an entire ocean out of nothingness violated every law of physics they knew.
"Aokiji!" Fleet Admiral Kong bellowed, his voice laced with uncharacteristic dread. If the three Logia Admirals were fully submerged in seawater, this war was over before it even began.
"I'm on it!" Aokiji slammed his palms forward, ice instantly racing out to meet the surging black tide. But a second later, his eyes widened behind his sleeping blindfold. His absolute-zero freezing ability didn't even leave a scratch on the black water. "It's useless! I can't freeze it!"
The dark abyss swallowed them whole.
Internally, Bai Ye felt a slight twinge of regret. While Ōwatatsumi was a terrifyingly destructive technique, it didn't possess the literal properties of the One Piece world's ocean. The weakness of Devil Fruit users stemmed entirely from the unique Seastone energy concentrated in natural seawater—a factor his manufactured technique lacked.
Even so, this move was never meant to drown them all. It was specifically tailored to suppress Akainu. Trapped beneath the sheer, artificial gravity of the black tide, the Magma Admiral was completely pinned, unable to liquefy his body or break free from the crushing weight.
"Now, Aokiji, it's your turn," Bai Ye whispered.
Mahapadma!
Time and space abruptly ground to a dead halt. The color bled out of the world, freezing the roaring water and the desperate expressions of the Marines in place. Moving seamlessly through the static reality, Bai Ye materialized directly in front of Aokiji. He raised a single hand, calling forth a torrent of Sand Gold that completely encased the frozen Admiral.
The moment the temporal freeze shattered, the world snapped back to life. The Marines blinked, only to find Bai Ye standing precisely where Aokiji had been a millisecond prior. Aokiji himself was gone, replaced by a massive, perfectly sealed sphere of solid Sand Gold resting heavily on the cracked earth.
"Hehe, that's enough warm-up. Now there are no pesky Logia users left to worry about."
Bai Ye leaped high into the stormy sky. As he soared, his right arm began to inflate, expanding at a terrifying, unnatural rate. Within seconds, his fist grew so colossally massive that its shadow completely blanketed the entire horizon of Loguetown.
"We're... we're going to die here, aren't we?" Vice Admiral Mole muttered, his sword trembling as he looked up at the sky-blocking fist.
Is that... Nika?
He really is an absolute madman...
"We are dead meat, brothers!"
"Get up, Garp! Stop playing dead down there!" Kong roared, his veins bulging as he unleashed every bit of his remaining strength.
"I know, Fleet Admiral!" Garp growled, spitting blood as he dragged himself out of the crater, his eyes locking onto the apocalyptic fist descending from the heavens. Vice Admiral Warhal stood beside them, a heavy sense of finality settling over all three veterans.
They knew the stakes. Behind the lenses of Buggy's hijacked Den Den Mushi, the entire world was watching. If the absolute vanguard of the Marines fell to a single man here today, the Navy's prestige would be permanently extinguished, plunging the world into total anarchy. Even if they managed to drag Bai Ye down with them, the damage to their reputation was already severe.
There was no retreat. No turning back.
With a unified roar, Kong, Garp, and Warhal threw caution to the wind, burning through their life force to unleash a monumental, combined wall of Armament Haki to meet Bai Ye's descending, Conqueror-infused fist.
The sheer pressure of the colliding wills sent a shockwave deep into the ocean floor, causing giant Sea Kings miles below the surface to instantly black out. The sky split in two as black lightning and raw Haki swirled violently in a catastrophic vortex.
BOOM!!!!!
The entire island of Loguetown violently ruptured, shattering into a million fragmented pieces under the pressure. Billowing screens of smoke and dust blotted out the sun, completely blinding the Den Den Mushi broadcast feed.
Across the globe, millions of spectators stared at their static, trembling screens in dead silence, their hearts hammering against their ribs.
Is this the power of Nika?!
How can human beings possess such terrifying, god-like power?!
As the dust slowly began to clear over the ruined, flooded remains of the plaza, only one question remained on the mind of every soul alive:
Who won?
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