"Kaido succeeded in the end..." Aokiji looked distressed.
Kizaru, standing beside him, also wore a worried expression. "They killed two of the Seven Warlords right away... and that includes someone like Hawkeye."
"Kaido is terrifying..." This might be the first time since Kizaru became an admiral that he genuinely acknowledged someone as being fearsome.
"Damn it," Sengoku the Buddha looked extremely displeased. Hawkeye was dead. An important force had been lost. More crucially, the Navy's spirit had suffered a significant blow.
Whether it was the Navy's momentum or the people's confidence in their forces, both were likely severely damaged at this moment. That was the most troubling part.
"It seems we will have to carry out the execution ahead of schedule," Sengoku frowned, voicing his decision. "Executing Ace will immediately quash the pirates' morale and turn the tide."
"After that, I won't need to remain at the execution platform. I can join the fight directly."
"However, to avoid carrying out the execution prematurely and risk losing the people's trust in the Navy," Sengoku continued, "we'll need to cut the live signal."
"The people only need to know that justice prevails. As for how victory is achieved, the outside world doesn't need to know."
"Not everything should be made public."
Originally, Sengoku didn't want to take such measures. His plan was to execute Ace openly, publicly destroy Whitebeard, and elevate the Navy's reputation to its highest point. Everyone would win. How great that would have been!
But circumstances no longer allowed for that.
The live broadcast, initially meant to raise the Navy's standing and demoralize the pirates, had now become a propaganda tool for Kaido's carnage. Instead of promoting justice, the Navy's broadcast had bolstered the pirates' reputation.
This self-inflicted wound was unacceptable, and now changes were necessary.
However, Sengoku hadn't made his move just yet. He hesitated. The Navy, after all, still held the upper hand. There were the three admirals, himself, and Garp. On the other side stood only Whitebeard and Kaido. Five against two—the advantage was theirs.
Regarding regular troops, the Navy had 100,000 elite soldiers, while the pirates numbered between 40,000 and 50,000. Again, the advantage was clearly with the Navy.
As for the pirate commanders like Marco, the Navy had Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma, and other Shichibukai, along with a cadre of vice admirals. Once again, the Navy held the upper hand.
And with the home-field advantage of Marineford, Sengoku was reluctant to make any drastic changes. They didn't need to resort to dirty tactics just yet. An open execution followed by a decisive victory would not only win the battle but elevate the Navy's reputation to unprecedented heights.
But then…
"Hawkeye is gone..." Sengoku muttered to himself.
"Even two admirals couldn't stop Kaido from accomplishing his goal!"
Just as Sengoku had feared, the Navy's morale had taken a significant hit.
It was inevitable. They had lost a major asset, and the two admirals had been unable to prevent it. How could this not shake their resolve?
Among the shaken soldiers were many deserters, including Coby—the young marine rescued by Luffy in the earliest days, who had since joined the Navy and trained under Garp.
Even Coby, who had trained with Garp, couldn't resist the urge to flee in this moment of chaos.
The damage to the Navy's morale was immense.
It's easy to understand why Sengoku was considering executing Ace ahead of schedule now. Even a marine like Coby was giving in to fear.
But Coby's attempt to desert didn't succeed. Not with Admiral Akainu around.
Desertion? Who would dare with Akainu's iron will watching over them?
Meanwhile, on the Sabaody Archipelago, news of Hawkeye's death sent shockwaves through the region.
Everyone had been certain that the combined efforts of Aokiji and Kizaru—freezing Kaido and bombarding him with Kizaru's ultimate move—had sealed his fate.
But Kaido hadn't even been scratched.
And now, he had killed Hawkeye.
The two admirals couldn't stop him!
The fragile confidence the people had built up crumbled. Despair spread as hope vanished, leaving many soldiers collapsed on the ground, unable to muster the strength to fight.
The weak-hearted fainted on the spot, while others began fleeing—abandoning the archipelago and seeking safety at the furthest reaches of the world.
If Kaido continued rampaging, the Sabaody Archipelago would be far from safe, and the world would become a lawless paradise for pirates.
Despair, fear, and panic engulfed the Bubble Islands.
Back at Marine Headquarters, after killing Hawkeye, Kaido's eyes scanned the battlefield.
He was searching for the next Shichibukai.
His side quest was to eliminate three of them.
So far, he had killed two.
What Kaido hadn't expected, though, was that another Shichibukai was approaching him.
Could it be that one was offering themselves up?
Initially, Kaido had killed Gecko Moria and Hawkeye. He assumed the remaining Shichibukai would flee, hiding behind the admirals, and he was already strategizing how to launch a sneak attack on one of them under the admirals' protection.
But what he didn't expect was that a Shichibukai was brazen enough not to run away.
At that moment, Kaido turned his gaze toward Bartholomew Kuma, just as Kuma opened his mouth and began to charge a ball of laser-like energy. The light gathered quickly, growing more intense, and the next second—
Boom!
A powerful blast exploded right where Kaido had been standing. But by the time the laser hit, Kaido had already dodged effortlessly, even though he didn't need to. The power of the attack wasn't enough to harm him.
"I see now," Kaido muttered, his eyes narrowing as he pieced it together. "Kuma's no longer the man he used to be. Vegapunk turned him into a mindless weapon—a Pacifista, PX-0."
Before the Paramount War, Kuma still had his consciousness. He had even saved the Straw Hat Pirates at the Sabaody Archipelago, sending them to different parts of the world, places that would help them grow stronger. That action led to two years of training, and when the time came, the crew reunited and set sail for the New World.
However, after saving them, Kuma underwent the final stages of his transformation. By the time the war at Marineford began, Kuma had completely lost his self-awareness. He had become a lifeless, obedient weapon—his free will erased.
Two years later, after the Shichibukai system was abolished, Kuma's tragic fate only worsened, as he was made a slave of the Celestial Dragons. Kaido smirked. "Miserable guy. What did he agree to with the World Government to end up like this?"
Kaido's smirk grew wider as he cracked his knuckles. "But this works out perfectly for me. The last Shichibukai's head just delivered itself to my doorstep. No reason to hold back."
Kuma, as a mindless weapon, knew no fear. There was no hesitation, no doubt—just the directive to eliminate enemies. And since Kaido was an enemy, Kuma attacked.
But that didn't matter.
In an instant, Kaido closed the distance between them, moving with terrifying speed. He swung his iron kanabo down with immense force, his attack reaching the 'invincible' level.
The club smashed into Kuma with overwhelming power.
Despite Kuma's incredible durability and resilience, his body couldn't withstand the full brunt of Kaido's strike. His frame, once considered nearly indestructible, shattered under the weight of the attack. In a moment, the body of Bartholomew Kuma—the "Tyrant"—crumbled and fell to pieces.
Kuma was dead.
But perhaps, in this death, there was finally peace for the once proud revolutionary turned mindless weapon.
[Side quest: Kill three Shichibukai]
[Completed]
[The reward has arrived, please claim it!]
The system's voice rang in Kaido's mind, causing him to grin. Another reward had come, and another Shichibukai had fallen by his hand.
Meanwhile, the Navy was reaching its breaking point. They could no longer sit idly by. The admiral Aokiji and Kizaru had silently agreed—it was time to fight with everything they had.
The two admirals prepared for an all-out attack, gathering their strength for a massive offensive.
But then, something strange happened.
A shadow suddenly appeared in the sky, growing larger and larger as it approached.
"What the...?" The unusual scene caught everyone's attention.
As the shadow came closer, people could finally make out the shape of a ship descending from the sky. Confusion spread across the battlefield.
"Is that...?"
They squinted, trying to make sense of what they were seeing.
"Straw Hat Luffy!"
"Former Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile!"
"Jinbei, the Sea Knight!"
"Revolutionary Army cadre, Ivankov!"
"And Buggy the Clown, the former partner of Pirate King Roger!"
Not to mention a group of dangerous prisoners, once locked up in the dreaded Impel Down, now gathered together.
"What is this lineup?" one Marine gasped. "Why would such a mismatched group with conflicting goals be together?"
"And why are they descending from the sky... straight to Marineford?!!"
At the Navy Headquarters, countless soldiers and officers stood in shock, speechless. This was yet another development they couldn't comprehend.