Chapter 297: It Has Only Just Begun

"Ace, Sabo, Luffy!" Drake blinked in mild surprise before quickly recovering his composure.

A subtle, knowing smirk touched the corners of his lips.

"So you guys made it up here too."

"Hmph! We weren't about to let you handle the secret power behind the World Government all by yourself, Drake," Ace said, adjusting the brim of his hat with a faint grin.

"Count us in!" Luffy and Sabo stepped forward, trading a quick glance before breaking into shared smiles.

Luffy, in particular, was cracking his knuckles with eager anticipation, looking as though he had been starving for a real battle for far too long.

He hadn't had nearly enough fun down there yet!

"Oh?" Im's ringed pupils glinted sharply. It was completely outside her calculations that all four of these young men could ascend to the plateau simultaneously.

What on earth were those five old fools doing down there?!

Down below, a colossal, bottomless crater dominated the center of the primary plaza. Collapsed at the absolute floor of the pit was Fleet Admiral Akainu, wearing a mask of sheer physical agony, looking half-dead.

The Five Elders looked as if they had been forced to swallow a mountain of trash. They had never anticipated that a battlefield completely within their operational grasp would undergo such a violent, catastrophic shift.

The Legendary Four Brothers seemed as though they were operating on sheer divine adrenaline, each displaying a level of terrifying, absurd combat mass. Akainu had been beaten into a broken dog by Ace going at maximum output.

When the four golden-masked agents—reputed to possess immortal bodies—first stepped onto the field, they had indeed delivered a wave of pure terror. They fought with total disregard for their own physical trauma, trading flesh for blood.

Upon entering the fray, they deployed the Marine Six Powers—techniques Luffy knew intimately—yet executed with a kinetic density exceeding anyone he had ever encountered.

Even that pigeon-toting fellow, Rob Lucci, lagged slightly behind their baseline. However, the moment Luffy unleashed his Advanced Conqueror's Haki domain, the engagement degraded into a total, one-sided slaughter.

You don't feel physical pain?

Simple enough—I'll just shatter your frame until you physically CAN'T stand back up.

Operating under that logic, Luffy systematically pulverized every major bone in the body of the masked figure engaging him, leaving the agent paralyzed in the dirt, unable to twitch so much as a single finger!

Immediately after, Luffy pivoted to reinforce Sabo. The two masked agents engaging Sabo were already struggling to hold their line; the moment Luffy dropped onto their flank, they were pulverized into literal mud within a fraction of a heartbeat.

Having swept their respective lines, the three brothers rocketed straight toward Im's coordinate.

"Pursue them immediately!" The Five Elders abandoned all pretense of dignity, preparing to step onto the frontlines themselves. Yet before they could take a single stride, a solitary figure materialized to block their path.

"Ice Age!"

In an instant, a vast sheet of thick, shimmering ice spread across the entire plaza.

The Elders' faces turned hideously dark. They had zero context as to why Aokiji was standing on the field, but at this milestone, the details were entirely redundant.

"Aokiji! Out of our way this instant!" the lead Elder roared in fury.

Aokiji lazily dug his pinky into his ear, giving a light blow to his fingertip before asking with an idle, puzzled expression, "What was that you said?"

"YOU...!" The lead Elder was left speechless with rage.

"Look over there! It's Admiral Aokiji!" A wild, electric roar erupted through the Marine ranks.

"Admiral Kuzan, sir!"

"This is incredible! With Admiral Kuzan holding the line, we can definitely turn the tide!"

"Um... about that..." Hearing the ecstatic cheers ringing through the surrounding Navy ranks, Aokiji scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression. "I haven't properly introduced myself yet. Currently, I am serving as a standard crew member of the Dragon Flag Pirates."

"So, well... what I mean to say is, I am no longer a comrade to the Navy. I am your enemy!"

Aokiji's flat words echoed softly across the icy plaza, leaving every Marine on the field frozen in absolute, horror-stricken disbelief, their pupils contracting to tiny dots.

"An Admiral... is our enemy...?"

The Marines couldn't comprehend the reality of what their ears had just processed. Several young Marines who had heroically idolized Aokiji for years stood completely paralyzed, their minds going blank.

They had caught malicious rumors floating around prior to this war, but they had continuously reassured themselves that the dispatches were sheer propaganda.

Anyone who had served under Vice Admiral or Admiral Kuzan understood what manner of man he truly was—he was an individual who anchored his soul to absolute justice!

Why? Why was he standing squarely on the opposing side of the Navy?!

If everything prior had been a undercover operation, shouldn't he be returning to their ranks on a catastrophic field like this?

"ADMIRAL! Tell us... tell us this is all a lie, right?!" A young man with short crimson hair stepped out from the formation.

It was Aokiji's disciple, Grant.

To Grant, Aokiji had granted him a second life; to call him a master and a father figure was no exaggeration.

Ever since Aokiji had departed the Navy, Grant had held an unshakeable belief that the Admiral would eventually return—that his departure was driven by some unavoidable, hidden burden.

Or a secret objective.

Yet right now, Aokiji's presence tore that cherished belief to shreds.

He had officially joined the Dragon Flag Pirates under Drake of the Legendary Four Brothers—he had boarded the ship belonging to Straw Hat Luffy's older brother!

"You absolute idiot! Can't you see he's standing squarely against us?!" A furious roar cut through the air as Akainu hobbled into view, limping heavily as he approached the front ranks.

"He cut his ties with the Navy two whole years ago! Every single one of you had better print that truth into your brains!"

Akainu glared menacingly at the surrounding Marines, forcing every officer to lower their heads in silence.

"But..." Grant tried to force another plea, but under Akainu's harsh, unforgiving glare, his words withered away, and he slowly closed his eyes.

Yet his white-knuckled, tightly clenched fists revealed the violent turmoil raging in his chest.

"Aokiji! What is your purpose for stepping onto this field?!" Akainu demanded, glaring at his former colleague with pure, unadulterated fury.

"To stop you lot."

"With just yourself?" Akainu sneered in contempt. "What can a single man like you possibly achieve?"

At that exact microsecond, four figures stepped up to anchor the line directly behind Aokiji's back—Kenshin, Bell, Locke, and Ann.

"He's not alone!"

Wielding his long blade, Kenshin maintained an utterly serene expression. Casting a glance at the slightly surprised Aokiji beside him, he noted calmly, "You're an official member of our Dragon Flag Pirates."

"And since you're our crewmate, facing the enemy together goes without saying."

The other three offered quiet, confident smiles, their posture making their stance abundantly clear.

A streak of golden light flashed across the air as Kizaru materialized beside Akainu. Though he was breathing heavily through his mouth and nose, his body was completely devoid of critical physical trauma.

Standing beside Akainu, the contrast was painfully stark.

Akainu was severely battered, devoid of a single uninjured patch of skin, his face covered in extensive thermal burns.

For magma to suffer thermal burns was a bizarre, unprecedented anomaly in itself.

Casting a quick glance at Kizaru, Akainu refrained from speaking.

Moments later, Admirals Fujitora and Ryokugyu closed in as well, stepping up behind the Five Elders, their expressions calm as they faced the Dragon Flag Pirates.

Not a single weapon was swung, yet the surrounding atmospheric pressure shifted visibly. Every individual standing on that line represented the absolute apex of power across the infinite seas.

The surrounding soldiers involuntarily swallowed hard—and it wasn't just the troops on the plaza; even the populations watching the live feeds across the globe were paralyzed by the sheer tension of the standoff.

Down in the primary theater, Yamato looked up at the four brothers standing atop the highest plateau, a bright, genuine smile blooming across her face.

She felt genuinely thrilled for Ace. She knew intimately how deeply Ace had yearned for this reunion; every time he mentioned his younger brothers, he would talk endlessly without pause.

To see the four brothers fully assembled today, Ace had to be overflowing with happiness. How could she not envy a bond of brotherhood so pure and unyielding?

High atop the plateau, Drake took a bold stride forward.

BOOM!

"ALRIGHT! Today, the four of us brothers fight as one! Let's see what manner of divine entity this legendary Im truly is!"

"This battle... HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN!"