Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

Marineford, Marshal's office.

Sengoku stood by the window, his Den Den Mushi silent. He stared at the calm sea outside, his teeth grinding as he thought of the approaching Masahito.

"What did he say?"

He leaned against the table, holding a newly delivered intelligence report in his hand, his brows furrowed.

The Warring States period did not turn back.

"He said," he said in a low voice, "that there's no need to send troops; he will come himself."

Crane's fingers paused for a moment.

She placed the intelligence report on the table, stood up, walked to Sengoku's side, and looked out the window with him.

"Where's Akainu?"

"In his hands."

The crane remained silent for a few seconds.

"That kid," she said, "is much more dangerous than we thought."

Zhan Guo turned to look at her.

Crane's face was expressionless, but there was a rare solemnity in its eyes.

"The Flame-Flame Fruit grants immunity to magma," she said. "Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it grants immortality. Akainu was completely countered by it; his defeat was well-deserved."

The Warring States period remained silent.

Crane continued, "But he dared to come to Marineford, dared to grab a general and fly here in front of the whole world—he must be either crazy or really confident."

Which one do you think it is?

"The latter."

The Warring States period closed his eyes.

Three seconds later, he opened his eyes.

"Where is Aokiji?"

"Still at sea, in another half hour, Somaz Saint will be there too."

"Where's Garp?"

"He didn't want to get involved with the Celestial Dragons, so he made up an excuse to take a vacation, but I've already notified him, and he's on his way back now."

"Kizaru?"

"I'm with Saint Shamrock. We just returned from the East China Sea. It will take at least forty minutes."

Zhan Guo stared intently at the sea outside the window, his gaze fixed on the surface, and he forced out a few words through clenched teeth:

"But he'll be there soon."

Crane stepped forward half a step, her tone solemn: "Warring States, listen to me."

Zhan Guo looked at her.

"Don't fight him head-on." Tsuru's voice was steady. "Drag it out, drag it out until Aokiji, Garp, Kizaru, and the God Knight all arrive, drag it out until he can't hold on any longer."

The Warring States period remained silent.

"If he dares to come, he's not afraid to fight you." Crane stared into his eyes. "But we can afford to drag this out, he can't. The whole world is watching Marineford, and every minute that passes is disadvantageous for him."

After a long silence, the sea breeze from outside the window swept in, making the documents on the table rustle.

Sengoku finally spoke, his voice carrying an undeniable authority: "Pass down the order! All troops on high alert! No one is to attack without my command! After he lands, surround him and kill him. We'll make our move only when reinforcements arrive!"

He nodded and turned to walk out.

She stopped abruptly at the door, without turning around: "Warring States Period."

"Um?"

"If Akainu really can't be saved, don't force it."

The door closed gently.

Sengoku stood alone by the window, staring intently at the horizon.

There, a blinding white dot had appeared, rushing toward Marineford at an astonishing speed.

Marineford, the bay.

A marine on guard duty yawned, wiped his face, and glanced up at the sky.

The next second, he froze.

That white thing on the horizon is getting bigger and bigger, like a snow mountain drifting by.

He rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he was seeing things.

His companion nudged him: "What are you spacing out for?"

He didn't answer, his mouth was wide open enough to fit a fist, and the rifle in his hand slammed to the ground with a loud bang.

"Th-what is that...?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a hole was forcibly torn open in the clouds above.

A giant bird, its body enveloped in pure white flames, burst forth from the clouds. Its wingspan stretched out to the sides, covering half the sky. With each flap, it stirred up a gust of wind, causing the warships in the bay to sway wildly and their sails to rattle loudly.

It flew lower and lower, and its size grew larger and larger.

The moment it broke through the clouds, it completely obscured the sky above Marineford.

Tens of thousands of marines in the square all looked up, staring blankly at the giant object in the sky.

The giant bird's body was like a small mountain, its head hovering hundreds of meters in the air, its two eyes shining like two small suns, and in its claws it was holding a person—Sakazuki, wearing a naval admiral's cloak and covered in wounds, who was like a weak little chick in its claws.

Some people's legs gave way and they collapsed to the ground.

Some people have their mouths open, but they can't make a sound.

Some people were so scared that they trembled all over and didn't even realize they had wet their pants.

The once bustling naval fortress instantly became as silent as a dead city, with only the sound of giant birds flapping their wings and the crashing of waves against the ship's hull.

Just then, the white flames on the giant bird's body suddenly changed color.

The pure white flames faded, and a bright red flame surged up, more dazzling than lava and more intense than blood. It started from the top of its head, running down its neck, chest, wings, and tail feathers, covering its entire body.

Just as the red flames reached their peak, it abruptly folded its wings.

The entire giant bird transformed into a shooting star falling to the ground, a sun burning through the sky, crashing straight down towards the central square of Marineford!

The moment Sengoku rushed out of the office, the entire fortress shook violently.

He stood in the corridor, looking through the window at the rapidly falling red light, which grew larger and faster, so fast that it didn't even take a blink of an eye.

"You bastard!"

Zhan Guo gritted his teeth, kicked off the ground with both legs, and smashed through the window to rush out.

While he was in mid-air, a dazzling golden light exploded from his body!

Buddha form!

His body grew rapidly at a visible speed, tens of meters, twenty meters, thirty meters—until he transformed into a golden Buddha tens of meters tall, his entire body covered in pitch-black Armament Haki. With his hands clasped together, he exerted all his strength to crash into the falling red light!

"boom--!!!"

That wasn't an ordinary explosion; it was a deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth!

In that instant, the central square of Marineford was smashed into a giant crater tens of meters deep. Cracks spread in all directions like a spider web, all the way into the bay. Seawater rushed in through the cracks, and dozens of warships that were docked were overturned. Marines on the decks fell into the sea like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

A devastating shockwave swept outwards, causing surrounding buildings to collapse one after another, with rubble and bricks raining down like a storm.

The golden Buddha's hands gripped the ball of red light tightly, its feet sinking into the ground up to its knees. Its indestructible golden body was now trembling violently, fine cracks starting from its arms and spreading all the way to its shoulders, chest, and back.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood gushed from Zhan Guo's mouth, staining the golden Buddha statue on his chest red.

But he didn't back down.

They didn't retreat an inch.

The red light slowly dissipated, and Sheng Ren appeared in human form, standing three meters away from him. His gray cloth jacket fluttered in the wind, and his face was expressionless.

He glanced at the cracks all over Sengoku's body and said calmly, "Not bad."

After he finished speaking, he turned to look behind him.

At the edge of the square, tens of thousands of marines had already rearranged their ranks, rifles aimed at him in unison, and the muzzles of the fortress cannons and naval guns were all locked onto his position. Tsuru stood at the forefront of the crowd, rapidly gesturing with his hands to direct the movement. Marines on both flanks were quickly flanking him, and the warships in the bay were also adjusting their formations. The snipers on the top floor of the fortress were all in position.

Not far away, a squad of elite marines was rushing out of the ruins, heading straight for the direction where Akainu had crashed.

"Want to save someone?"

Sheng Ren turned his head and looked at Zhan Guo again, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

Sengoku slowly lowered his hands, his golden body cracked all over, yet he remained like a mountain, blocking Shengren and the entire Marineford. His voice boomed like a bell: "With me here, you won't get past me a single step!"

Sheng Ren looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Then let's give it a try."