Whitebeard looked upon his sons"battered, fallen, fighting until their last breath. The battlefield, stained with blood, spoke a truth he could no longer ignore: this war was already lost.
Even with Kaido's unexpected intrusion"only for him to flee afterward with part of his men"the defeat was undeniable. Most of his family had fallen.
And when he raised his hands to unleash one final desperate attack""the roar of the earth trembling in his fists""something stopped him.
A burning stab pierced his chest from behind.
Vision clouded by pain, he slowly looked down... Three dark blades jutted from where his heart beat.
"…Teach," he whispered, his deep voice fading with every weakening beat.
"Teach, you damn bastard!" Marco roared as he saw his father fall.
Whitebeard, a man who had never taken a wound to the back, now bore the deepest of all.
Taking advantage of the chaos Kara had caused, Blackbeard appeared from behind like a lurking shadow. His laughter shattered the air.
"Zehahahaha! In the end, I was the first to damage that proud tattoo on your back, old man!" he mocked, as Lafitte, Burgess, Doc Q, Van Augur, and five unknown pirates he'd gathered in place of the Impel Down crew appeared at his side.
Blackbeard jeered, but the old man hadn't fallen yet.
"Teach!" Whitebeard roared, charging his fist with the power of the Gura Gura no Mi.
But a black hole swallowed his attack, absorbing it completely. Shock rippled through everyone's faces.
Still, Whitebeard didn't stop. He swung his naginata in fury, slashing and sending Blackbeard flying through the air.
"AAAAAH, DAMN IT!" Teach screamed, writhing on the ground.
His men opened fire, but Whitebeard took the hits head-on, hardening his body with Armament Haki. Even with his heart pierced, he was still a monster. Another slash cut through the air, making the battlefield quake.
Teach couldn't believe it.
"Marines, damn it, I need reinforcements! I stabbed his heart"he shouldn't be able to fight!" he yelled in desperation.
But Sengoku gave no order. The Marines watched in silence.
"What are you talking about? You ran during the war," Kara said with a sharp smile. "Your title of Shichibukai blew away with the wind."
"I'm here to help you! To defeat Whitebeard with you!" Teach cried, feeling his meticulously crafted plan crumble. He had abandoned Impel Down, relied on the chaos... but now everything seemed premeditated.
He had hidden to avoid being targeted by Whitebeard's sons. The Black Blade still weakened his body.
And then…
"How much is Blackbeard worth?" Kara asked calmly to Koki, floating high above.
"After defeating Vista… about 400 million," she answered with a calm smile.
"Bird head. Do it."
"Wha… what did you sa""
Two blades pierced Blackbeard's chest, right where he had stabbed Whitebeard.
"Owls are silent birds," Pale said, flapping his wings behind him. "Perfect for sneak attacks... and spying."
"Captain!" Van Augur cried, raising his rifle.
Pale spun in the air and unleashed a storm of feathers coated in Haki, sharp as blades, piercing several of Teach's subordinates.
"AAAGH!" they screamed as poison surged through their veins, their skin turning purple.
"Oh, right... they're also poisonous," Pale added before calmly retreating.
"Damn it…" Teach muttered, collapsing to his knees. His vision was already a swirling blur.
"Doc Q!" he shouted, but no answer came.
His crew tried to flee with his body. But a shadow fell over them.
An invisible, colossal force slammed down, crushing them violently and breaking the ground.
From Fairy Tail's floating ship, Issho slowly sheathed his sword.
"Sorry, captain," Burgess murmured, barely on his feet. He grabbed his crewmates and fled as best he could, leaving Blackbeard behind, who collapsed.
His gaze dimmed as he watched the silhouettes of his men disappear.
"She acts like a clown," Tokikae commented, watching Kara. "But her plans... are even darker than Sengoku's."
Kara, as if she'd heard him, turned and waved with a bright smile. As if none of this had been her idea. As if she hadn't foreseen it all"the fall of Whitebeard, Teach's dirty game... even Impel Down's failure.
Whitebeard spat blood. He only had seconds left, but there was still something more important to do: protect his sons.
Even with his final breath, he would use it so they could escape. So they could live.
"THE ONE PIECE…!"
But just before he could finish the sentence, the ice beneath him rose like a giant spear, impaling him from chest to back. Aokiji appeared in front of him, cold and implacable, surrounded by the very commanders of the Yonkō, as if nothing could touch him.
"DOESN'T EXIST!"
The voice thundered across Marineford. Everyone following the transmission heard it, like an echo impossible to ignore.
Whitebeard's eyes widened in confusion. No... He hadn't said that.
He looked down. Aokiji held a large sound dial under his arm.
Far away, behind Sengoku, a figure held a microphone connected to the same dial.
It was Uta.
"I'm using a voice synthesizer," she explained quickly, while Chopper looked at her in shock and fear. She held a strange mechanical device marked with Vegapunk's seal.
"Scary... It's like she can see the future," Kizaru murmured, appearing beside Sengoku with his usual smile, though his eyes were narrowed with focus.
Sengoku, for his part, couldn't shake off one troubling thought:
Not letting Kara rise to admiral would be the Navy's greatest mistake.
She wasn't just powerful"she had devised more contingency plans than he, the legendary strategist, ever had.
Makarov, listening closely from the ship, smiled with pride.
"In the end, Kara was always brilliant... She strayed off the path, yes, but never stopped being that girl who drove the Magic Council mad every time she got arrested."
"DAD!!" Whitebeard's commanders screamed in unison, lunging at Aokiji with unleashed fury.
"NOW!!" Kara shouted toward Uta.
Out of nowhere, Brock appeared beside her, violin in hand. Gajeel arrived with his guitar, as if drawn by the sense of Uta setting a stage.
In the middle of the battlefield, Uta's voice began to ring out with hypnotic calm, as if the world itself had stopped.
It felt like a concert in the heart of hell.
The weaker pirates began to stagger, slowly falling into a deep sleep.
"Cover your ears!" Marco shouted, realizing the danger too late.
Even the marines began to drop to their knees, eyelids heavy, consciousness slipping away.
That was the reason Uta wasn't used in direct combat. Her melodies didn't distinguish between allies and enemies. But as a desperate move… it was perfect.
Aokiji took advantage of the widespread confusion to slip away to a safe spot like a shadow in the snow.
The marines, now alerted, began to cover their ears as best they could.
"Surrender!" Sengoku roared. "Whitebeard has fallen! If we launch a massive attack, none of you will survive!"
Uta collapsed to her knees. The massive use of her ability had completely exhausted her.
And then… the bounty hunter guild ships returned, surrounding the island and blocking every escape route.
"Damn marines…!" Marco growled, tears in his eyes. "Even if we die here, we'll avenge our father!"
Whitebeard closed his eyes. Silence. He was dead.
"STOP!!" a voice thundered through the chaos like a lightning strike.
Kara frowned. She recognized that voice.
From the fog of battle, Shanks emerged, surrounded by his entire crew.
They entered the battlefield like they owned the world, fearless, with firm steps.
"This war has already taken too many lives… How about you stop? Do it for me…" Shanks said, smiling with false kindness.
"Red-Haired…" Garp growled, his fist trembling with rage. Sengoku gestured for him to stop.
They both knew. They knew what he had done.
Garp knew that Shanks had used his entire hometown as hostages to force Kara.
He knew he had manipulated Uta to attack entire islands.
"Shanks…" Uta whispered, trembling. She dropped the microphone, which hit the ground with a hollow thud. She took a step back.
"Hey, are you okay?" Wendy asked with concern.
Shanks saw her. His smile widened, cruel behind its mask of tenderness.
"Well, if it isn't my beautiful daughter… Uta. Come give your father a hug."
He opened his arms, as if he were a loving parent welcoming his long-lost child.
"No…" Uta whispered, taking another step back, shaking.
The marines who heard began to look at her with wide eyes. Surprise. Doubt.
"Stop trying to sow discord among our officers," Kara said with a mocking smile. "What's wrong? Did it hurt when Captain Uta made you flee from the East Blue when she was just a kid?"
The murmurs grew louder. It was true. Uta had revealed Shanks' crimes. Thanks to her, there was a bounty on his head.
And everyone understood: Shanks wanted them to doubt Uta. Maybe even hand her over. Maybe even kill her.
The tension exploded.
Shanks looked at Kara and smiled, as if it didn't affect him in the slightest.
"Vice Admiral Kara… I still remember our encounter. Such a shame you were too weak to""
He couldn't finish the sentence.
A punch hit him from an impossible angle. Shanks spun in slow motion, his face twisted in surprise. His Observation Haki hadn't seen it coming.
He barely raised his arm before being blasted away like a cannonball. The ground crumbled into cubes behind him, revealing the sea beneath Marineford.
"Sorry…" a deep voice said. "But I'd prefer you didn't insult my daughter in front of me."
Gildarts appeared through the smoke, wearing the most serious expression he'd ever shown.
The Red-Haired Pirates raised their weapons quickly, aiming straight at Gildarts. Their faces showed surprise"no one had sensed his presence, not even with active Observation Haki.
But before they could act, overwhelming pressure fell upon them. The ground shook. The air thickened.
Gildarts' magical power radiated with immense intensity, distorting the space around him. Beside him, Makarov emerged with a stern face. Laxus descended with thunder, his body crackling with lightning, eyes locked on the enemy as if craving an excuse to unleash his fury. Kara stood strong as well. Their auras, different from haki, seemed to grow together, dense like a storm.
The atmosphere became suffocating. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a sword. It even seemed to turn into a fine rain that dissolved upon touching skin.
"Alright, that's enough!" Shanks' voice rang out suddenly, walking forward with calm steps, his clothes torn and dirty, as if the blow had meant nothing. "We came to stop a war… but if you want to continue, I can't guarantee there won't be more casualties," he added with a dark, threatening smile.
Sengoku frowned, his face hardened by restrained fury.
"Kara…" he murmured, his voice low but clear.
She nodded instantly.
"Alright, Dad… Come here. That disgusting man wouldn't have come without a plan. He's probably got several islands full of innocent people as hostages," she spat, her gaze fixed on Shanks.
Kara's words unsettled the members of Fairy Tail. Even Gildarts narrowed his eyes.
"Hey, hey… That makes me sound like the villain," Shanks said with a light laugh. "But you're right. I never step onto a battlefield without securing an escape route."
A wave of silent outrage rippled through the Marines and guilds.
"This war is over. Just… disappear before I change my mind," Sengoku declared sternly.
"That's good," Shanks replied, turning calmly. His men began to withdraw, though they still shot daggers at Gildarts with their eyes as they retreated to their ship.
Even as they set sail, weapons remained raised, fingers tense on triggers, as if any provocation could restart the war.
"Kara… destroy it," Sengoku ordered quietly.
Kara looked at Whitebeard's fallen body. With solemnity, she removed a glove and raised her palm toward him. In a breath of wind… Whitebeard turned to dust, completely disintegrated.
Sengoku knew why: they couldn't allow the World Government to get even a single cell from the Yonkō's body. A Whitebeard clone in their hands would be an uncontrollable monster.
"The Marines have won the war!" Sengoku declared loudly.
A roar of euphoria erupted in Marineford.
…
Meanwhile, miles away, aboard the flagship of the Red-Haired Pirates…
"We're far enough. You can let it out," said Benn Beckman without turning.
Shanks smiled… and spat a stream of blood. His body staggered.
"That bastard hits hard… And to think my Observation Haki didn't catch even a flicker…" he said with a crooked smile, pain in every word. "Me… the one they call the Haki Destroyer."
"Seems like the pieces on the board are moving sooner than expected," Benn commented, face serious.
"Tell Rockstar to go back to the Archipelago and remove the explosives. I don't want to antagonize that old acquaintance living there… yet," Shanks ordered as Hongo approached with bandages and medicine.
"If you didn't want a fight, you shouldn't have chosen that place," Yasopp said sarcastically.
"There were a couple of women with the same tattoos as those new players…" Benn said, eyes fixed on Shanks. "We could've used them as hostages to pressure both sides."
"Tsk… What a shame…" Shanks muttered as he lay back, gritting his teeth from the pain. "I wanted Kaido and Whitebeard to owe me a favor. But we arrived late because of that damned typhoon. Kaido escaped… and Whitebeard died."
His eyes glinted with a sinister spark.
"There are still a few left alive. Maybe… we can convince them to join our cause."
"And if not…" Benn Beckman added, lighting a cigarette, "we can always make them an offer they can't refuse."
Shanks laughed quietly, dark and dangerously.
"The world has just changed. And I… I don't intend to be left behind."