As Aokiji rushed forward, a massive swath of ground instantly froze, and an overwhelming surge of ice swept toward Bullet.
"You're not leaving today!"
"The Marine won't allow criminals like you to run wild!"
Although Aokiji appeared calm, he was inwardly uneasy. Too many heavy hitters had gathered here today, and none of them would be easy to handle.
It had been a long time since Aokiji faced someone on Bullet's level.
As a former member of the Roger Pirates, Bullet had already been monstrously strong back in the day. Even after being locked away in Impel Down for twenty years, he hadn't shown any signs of weakening.
Now, the Marine stood face-to-face with three of the most powerful forces in the world. Just thinking about it made one's scalp tingle. The ordinary marines trembled as they watched. If the admirals and high-ranking officers couldn't set an example, morale at headquarters could quickly collapse.
"Let's see if you can stop me, Aokiji!"
Bullet launched a devastating punch, his Haki-infused fist tearing through the air at terrifying speed.
Boom!
Their powers collided, unleashing a monstrous shockwave. Air blasted outward in all directions, and the frozen ground cracked and shattered under the pressure.
The two clashed evenly at first.
It took nearly ten seconds before their powers pushed each other apart.
Aokiji stared at Bullet, then stepped forward with his right foot and rushed back into battle. He knew this was just the beginning. A man like Bullet couldn't be taken down without overwhelming force—and even that would come at a high price.
Even defeating him could mean a pyrrhic victory: one thousand enemies killed, but at the cost of eight hundred of your own.
And Bullet hadn't even used his Devil Fruit ability yet.
Elior could tell that Bullet's powers were better suited for wide-scale destruction, but not necessarily against equally powerful opponents. When Bullet merged into that massive behemoth form, he became a huge and sluggish target.
Elior had warned him about this before—and had also mentioned that he might be close to awakening his own abilities. Of course, Bullet had no idea what Elior's reasoning was.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
Aokiji muttered the name of a move, and four spears of ice formed at his shoulders, shooting out like arrows the next second.
Bang!
Bullet raised both fists and smashed the spears apart with brute force.
"Ice Time!"
Immediately after the spears, Aokiji activated a wave of freezing energy that surged up from the ground. Knowing full well that simple ice spears couldn't hurt Bullet, he needed to keep up the pressure with constant attacks.
In the next moment, Bullet's feet were encased in ice. Aokiji was just starting to feel hopeful—until Bullet flexed, and the ice shattered instantly.
"Alala... I can't even freeze you?"
Aokiji was genuinely surprised.
"My body isn't so weak that your ice can freeze it!"
Bullet sneered, and a second later, they charged at each other again. The real fight had begun!
Switching scenes...
Kizaru was stunned when his light blast was canceled by Elior before it even fired. For a moment, he couldn't make sense of it.
What just happened? Did his ability not work?
Still, Kizaru dashed forward and kicked out with his right leg, firing a light bomb—about the size of a rugby ball, but powerful enough to level a house.
But Elior, smiling calmly, charged straight at the blast, raised his left hand imbued with the Imagine Breaker and slapped the light bomb aside, nullifying it effortlessly.
"Eh? What's going on?"
Kizaru's confusion deepened. His ability had just been erased—again!
Before he could react further, Elior closed in and swung a Haki-enhanced right leg at Kizaru. The strike was so fast that Kizaru could only defend, unable to dodge.
Boom!
Kizaru crossed his arms just in time. Elior's leg collided with tremendous force—so much so that it felt like a mountain crashing down. The impact triggered a violent shockwave within a ten-meter radius, shattering the ground.
"What kind of strength is this?"
"He's even stronger than before!"
"What insane power..."
Kizaru was shaken. Elior's physical power far surpassed what he had shown during their encounter in the Sabaody Archipelago. And this was purely physical strength—no Devil Fruit powers involved. That was what disturbed Kizaru most. The force was so intense that, unprepared, he had almost collapsed on the spot.
"That brat..."
"He's seriously this strong?"
On the execution platform, Sengoku was sweating. Elior's strength terrified him.
When Sengoku, or even the admirals, were Elior's age — they weren't nearly this powerful.
Is this guy some kind of born monster?
And this time, the Marine was facing not only Whitebeard's forces but also the Revolutionary Army— and now Elior and his group of chaos-bringers!
Boom!
Elior pressed forward with his right leg, sending Kizaru flying across the battlefield. He tumbled through the air and finally smashed into the wall of Navy Headquarters, the impact force cracking the steel.
"Oww!"
"I haven't felt pain like that in years!"
Kizaru slumped to the ground. Because Elior had used Armament Haki, Kizaru hadn't been able to turn into light and phase through the attack. The impact, combined with Elior's raw power, made it feel like his bones were about to fall apart.
"Borsalino!"
Sengoku frowned. This was the first time he had seen Elior fight in person. And Elior hadn't even used his abilities yet—this was all pure physical might!
And Kizaru, despite his Devil Fruit and decent combat skills, had just been completely overpowered.
Sengoku realized Kizaru was being serious, which was exactly why he hadn't wanted him to fight Elior earlier.
Elior was simply too strong.
"Sengoku, this isn't looking good!"
Tsuru's voice was grave as she spoke. Her expression was as serious as ever.
"Tsuru... this execution won't go smoothly. Winning here won't be easy, either."
"I hope Kong gets here soon!"
"With the Whitebeard Pirates, the Revolutionary Army, and now Elior's group on top of that…"
Sengoku felt like he could cough up blood.
"This war is completely out of control."
"Sengoku, I'll go down there and deal with that brat myself."
After she spoke, Tsuru jumped from the execution platform. As a legendary figure of the same generation as Garp and Sengoku, her strength was not to be underestimated.