"What?!"
At that very moment, Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu all tensed up, their senses screaming danger.
Without a moment's hesitation, they simultaneously unleashed powerful Armament Haki from both raised palms, forming an impenetrable barrier in the confined space.
This blocked the sudden, completely invisible, and terrifying attack.
"Boom..."
Ice shards exploded outwards, and smoke filled the air.
The terrifying shockwaves caused the ice surface to tremble violently, spreading outwards in all directions.
In a split second, several astonishing figures materialized.
Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru immediately counter-attacked.
"Great Eruption!"
Akainu's face contorted with rage.
Scorching magma surged all over his body, relentlessly bubbling.
He slammed his fist forward with all his might.
"Ice Age: Pheasant Beak!"
Aokiji raised his right hand, releasing an astonishingly cold gust of air.
A colossal ice bird erupted forth, carrying a terrifying chill.
Everything in its path instantly froze solid.
"Eight Trigrams: Yasakani no Magatama!"
Polusalino folded his hands together.
Dazzling light, intensely bright, erupted.
Countless light bullets burst forth like an overwhelming storm.
"Boom..."
"Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..."
The combined assault of the three Admiral candidates was simply overwhelming.
Wilhelm, Katakuri, Miyamoto Musashi, Shiryu of the Rain, and the others were forced to temporarily evade their attack.
The three Admirals charged forward, directly into the battlefield under the shocked and bewildered gazes of countless Marines and pirates locked in combat, breaking through Wilhelm's group's attempt to intercept them, emerging unscathed.
Their goal was to separate the entangled pirates and Marines.
"Vice Admiral Polusalino!"
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki!"
"Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, as candidates for Admiral, commanded immense respect within Marine Headquarters due to their overwhelming strength.
Dauberman, locked in battle with Perospero, and Flying Squirrel, struggling against Moria, both looked visibly excited and overjoyed.
The Marine elites seemed to have found their backbone, and a wave of relief washed over them.
"Everyone, retreat immediately!"
There, "Akainu" Sakazuki, the second-in-command of the expedition fleet, roared the order.
Extremely hot magma surged around his fist, coated in Armament Haki.
He ruthlessly blasted it forward, instantly incinerating a Homie-type Pacifista standing before him.
The Pacifista shrieked and disintegrated.
"What?!"
"Retreat?"
"Did I hear that correctly?"
The complexions of all the Marines changed drastically.
No one had anticipated that Sakazuki wasn't there to support them.
His order was to fall back.
"Boom...々"..."
A massive ice wall erupted from the ground, reaching for the sky.
It stood there like a moat, cutting off the majority of the Homie Legion pirates and the Big Mom Pirates who weren't already engaged with Marines, effectively blocking their advance.
"There's no time to explain, we must retreat at once!"
Aokiji exhaled a long stream of cold air, his voice urgent.
"Damn it, has it come to this?"
Dauberman, Flying Squirrel, Dalmatian, Tea Pork, Momousagi, and the other Rear Admirals couldn't help but pale upon hearing those words.
Their shock intensified when they noticed Polusalino, a Logia user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, among the three Admiral candidates. They had rarely, if ever, seen him so bloodied and utterly defeated, reaching his absolute limit.
These Naval Headquarters officers, known for their exceptional composure, didn't hesitate. They immediately pushed back their respective enemies and barked orders: "Everyone, follow the command! Disengage from the enemy and retreat!"
"Shiryu, Ryuma, you two hold off Akainu until Mom arrives!"
At that moment, Wilhelm, Katakuri, Shiryu of the Rain, and the others charged in.
Relying on his exceptionally keen Observation Haki, Wilhelm had already sensed that Charlotte Linlin hadn't been seriously injured in the previous earth-shattering explosion, though she was undeniably disheveled.
Her thundercloud Zeus and Prometheus, who had been blown away, were being summoned back.
They should be arriving soon.
"Understood!"
"Roger!"
In a split second, Shiryu of the Rain, the Swordsman Ryuma, Miyamoto Musashi, the Feathered Serpent Kur, and the others didn't hesitate in the slightest.
They moved to intercept Akainu and Aokiji in pairs.
"Wilhelm/My lord—"
"Big Brother Katakuri/Sir..."
Seeing Wilhelm and Katakuri join the fray, the members of the Charlotte family present and the other pirates couldn't contain their elation.
A weight lifted from their hearts.
"Hell Hound!"
Akainu's eyes blazed with fury, his murderous intent palpable.
Magma surged all over his body as he unleashed a powerful punch.
The bubbling magma solidified into a colossal lava hound, erupting like a volcano and charging towards Shiryu of the Rain and the Swordsman Ryuma who were rushing towards him.
Shiryu of the Rain didn't flinch.
Activating the power of his Momo-Momo Fruit, he fiercely swung his renowned sword, Thunderstorm: "Momo: Thirty Slashes!"
"Shimotsuki Style: Tiger Hunt!" The swordsman Ryuma gripped his black sword Shusui and also faced the terrifying magma hound that had dyed the sky crimson, unleashing a violent slash.
"Boom..."
"Woo hoo hoo..."
Ice shattered, and a scorching heatwave rolled outwards.
Vast amounts of magma and crushed ice sprayed wildly in the area.
Some pirates, Homies, and Marine elites who were too close to evade the attack.
Were directly caught in the blast and howled in agony.
Some were instantly reduced to ashes.
"Puck—"
Aokiji's gaze was serious.
He stared at Miyamoto Musashi and the Feathered Serpent Kur who were charging towards them.
Between his hands, a large number of ice pucks carrying terrifyingly cold air were launched, directly submerging their opponents.
His intention was to freeze them solid.
"Two-Sword Style: Peach Orchard Waterfall!"
Miyamoto Musashi leaped high into the air.
Wielding Tian Yu Yu Zhan and Enma in each hand, both blades were coated in Armament Haki.
His Observation Haki locked onto Aokiji as he unleashed a powerful dual slash.
"Yehahaha..."
The Feathered Serpent Kur cackled loudly.
His wings flapped violently: "Chaos Blade Storm!"
"Woo hoo hoo..."
"Shhhhhh..."
Accompanied by intense wind pressure, countless wind blades tore through the atmosphere in an instant, forming a raging storm.
They ripped through the ice pucks and continued their trajectory towards Aokiji unabated.
"Boom..." But in the blink of an eye, an incredibly thick ice wall, imbued with the color of advanced Armament Haki, materialized horizontally.
It firmly blocked their attacks.
Without Shiryu of the Rain and the Swordsman Ryoma to contend with, the pressure on Aokiji was undoubtedly greatly reduced.
Dealing with the two newcomers, even the Feathered Serpent Kur whose strength was far below his "original body" from less than a month ago, posed no real challenge.
And at the same time, the two brothers, Wilhelm and Katakuri, moved like lightning.
Without hesitation, they targeted Polusalino, who was currently extremely weakened.
"Hoo----" A blinding white light flashed.
Incomparably scorching fist strikes carried a powerful impact.
They attacked with terrifying speed.
"Brush....…
In the blink of an eye, a kick imbued with the speed of light was brazenly launched.
It blocked Katakuri's astonishing attack.
Using his Observation Haki, Polusalino narrowly avoided Charlotte Wilhelm's almost imperceptible attack.
But in mid-air, blood splattered.
Strangely, another shocking bloody wound had appeared on his shoulder.
"Hoo----" The next moment, Kizaru transformed into a beam of golden light without hesitation, rushing into the distance without looking back.
It wasn't that Polusalino was clinging to life and afraid of death, wanting to abandon Aokiji, Akainu, and the others to escape alone.
It was that he knew.
Charlotte Wilhelm had him locked in her sights.
Instead of staying here, it was better to directly eliminate her and even Katakuri, the strongest general of the Charlotte family.
Regardless of whether he could escape, perhaps the others could still find a way out.
Otherwise, with Charlotte Wilhelm's elusive and unpredictable abilities, coupled with the powerful and extremely troublesome Logia Air Fruit abilities of Katakuri, they were all likely to perish here, especially once Big Mom joined the fray.
"Big Brother Katakuri, you stay here..."
Wilhelm's eyes flickered, and he immediately stopped Katakuri who was about to pursue Kizaru: "Whatever you do, keep Aokiji occupied! His abilities pose a huge threat to us!"
After speaking, he immediately gave chase.
Polusalino's attack just now had been indiscriminate, unleashing a wide area of light bursts.
If he couldn't stop the weakened Polusalino, then adding Katakuri to the pursuit would yield the same result.
Compared to Akainu, Wilhelm's priority was to contain Aokiji.
That Logia Ice-Ice Fruit ability held immense strategic significance for the Marines and even the World Government.
Aokiji had to be dealt with first.