Uchiha's personal opinion

Sengoku, inside the golden Buddha statue, remained silent, still pointing his large finger at the Whitebeard Pirates.

“That’s true. After all, those remnants who won’t do anything without a profit are besieging the Sabaody Archipelago, and you’re all gathered here. He might not be able to leave…”

Whitebeard chuckled, the tip of his swift sword 'Murakumogiri' gathering extremely subtle yet incredibly sharp energy that even caused spatial fluctuations and shockwaves, as he slightly raised it towards the lurking, towering golden Buddha.

After a brief respite, Whitebeard once again expressed his stance through his actions.

"Netherhound!"

Sakazuki, still the most stubborn and headstrong, launched the first attack, his molten arm slamming towards Whitebeard's head!

"A flash!"

Whitebeard, who was originally pointing his sword at Sengoku in a sweeping motion, immediately twisted his waist and turned around, unleashing the shockwave and Armament Haki sword energy gathered at the tip of his sword at Sakazuki with a slashing motion!

"Peng!"

With a deafening roar, Sakazuki's Armament Haki was shattered by the ranged attack of the Shockwave Blade, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on his right shoulder! Furthermore, the Shockwave from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit directly impacted his body, causing Sakazuki to be knocked away. His internal organs, which hadn't yet fully transformed into their elemental form, were also severely damaged, and he was sent flying like a broken toy, coughing up blood!

But the golden Buddha of the Warring States period also struck Whitebeard squarely from behind, slamming him into the ice!

"boom!"

Thanks to the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, all the seawater beneath the surface was shaken away, and Whitebeard's body remained completely dry.

At the same time, taking advantage of the opportunity to fall under the ice, he forcefully used the shockwaves surrounding him to create a waterless space on the seabed, while also taking advantage of the naval turbulence to stir up monstrous waves on all sides!

"Shockwave!"

With a gloomy expression, Sengoku activated the golden giant Buddha and blasted the waves into countless water droplets with a single punch, preventing them from affecting others.

However, in doing so, Whitebeard gained a chance to escape the siege by being injured!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!"

Sure enough, a series of muffled sounds like the surging of seawater came from beneath the ice, and a frosty path that had been blown open by the shock pointed directly towards the port of the G1 branch!

Whitebeard actually used the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to part the ocean underwater, creating a waterless passage, and rushed towards the land!

The Warring States period could no longer maintain its somber and composed demeanor!

"Kizaru!"

Sengoku roared, and then countless beams of light appeared out of thin air, shooting towards the white-bearded man who was charging forward with his sword.

"This is just kids playing house!"

Sengoku swung his sword repeatedly, unleashing countless shockwaves of sword energy, and continued his assault despite being hit by Kizaru's 'Yasakani no Magatama'.

His target was Portgas D. Ace, the person who caused the entire Whitebeard Pirates to mobilize and even instigate the decisive battle between the Four Emperors and the Navy!

Or to put it another way: Gol D. Ace!

No matter how fiercely the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates had competed, Ace had ultimately joined Whitebeard's crew, and given his belief in protecting his 'family,' it was impossible for him to abandon any of his 'family.'

But Sengoku, who was urging the golden Buddha to chase after it, was not flustered at all; on the contrary, he was quite relaxed.

The reason Ace was placed on the high platform was to "lure him into a trap," but Whitebeard's move saved him a lot of effort.

"boom!"

After cleaving through the naval warships blocking his path with a single strike, Whitebeard landed on land at the G1 branch port!

His subordinates and forty-three affiliated pirate crews were all blocked behind him.

In other words, Edward Newgate, the Whitebeard, single-handedly stormed into the heart of the Navy's elite forces!

"Protruding beak!"

Kuzan, who was sitting on the execution platform, immediately leaped down and punched Whitebeard, unleashing an ice crystal phoenix that froze everything in its path!

At the same time, he blew out a blast of cold air, freezing the video Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooped-up insect) that was filming into an ice cube and cutting off the live broadcast signal.

"Bah!"

Whitebeard still wielded the 'Murakumogiri' and unleashed a burst of sword energy, instantly annihilating the Ice Crystal Phoenix!

"Punch team!"

But the delay was only a short while before squads of marines wielding long spears emerged from all directions, raising their spears and aiming at the imposing Whitebeard.

"put!"

At the command of Vice Admiral Momonga, the base commander of G1 branch, thousands of marines simultaneously pulled the triggers, unleashing a barrage of seastone bullets at Whitebeard!

"It's actually sea stone!"

Sensing something was wrong, Whitebeard was startled and immediately brandished his 'Murakumogiri' to form an impenetrable curtain of blades to protect himself. At the same time, he desperately channeled his Armament Haki to form an outer layer of protection to withstand the damage from the Seastone bullets.

"Second row, come on!"

At Vice Admiral Momonga's command, countless marines stepped forward and unleashed another barrage of bullets.

This was also the "multi-stage firing" tactic that Vice Admiral Momonga devised based on the heavy artillery barrage tactics of the "Remnant Fleet," for which he was quite proud of himself for a long time.

However, for the Four Emperors who have reached the pinnacle of the world, Seastone is a considerable threat, but in reality, it's not that big of an issue. Unless they are truly outmaneuvered, it won't have a significant impact.

After all, their abilities are not only based on Devil Fruits, but also on their unparalleled mastery of Armament Haki!

However, Sengoku no designer expected these marines equipped with seastone spears to be of much use; it would be enough if they could keep Whitebeard trapped by a barrage of bullets.

"Finally, I've cornered you!"

Sakazuki, still coughing up blood, was the first to land in front of Vice Admiral Momonga, while Sengoku, Kizaru, and Kuzan surrounded Whitebeard from the left, right, and rear.

Vice Admiral Momonga waved his arm behind him, and the gun-wielding marines immediately retreated. A group of elite naval vice admirals, each with their own elite subordinates, rushed out.

"You've really gone through a lot of trouble..."

This situation left Whitebeard with virtually no way out, and he was completely surrounded.

"After all, it's you, so it's never too much to be serious..."

"Warring States" said in a deep voice.

Even a lion needs to exert its full strength to hunt a rabbit, let alone when facing Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors.

Therefore, Sengoku felt that there were still too few people to gang up on Whitebeard. If possible, he even hoped to recall the two admiral candidates who were currently targeting the vassal pirate crew, as well as Garp who was stationed at Sabaody Archipelago, so that everything would be foolproof.

"Let's see who dies first!"

Whitebeard laughed heartily, then brandished his 'Murakumogiri' and charged towards Sakazuki in front of him!

……

"Lord Garp, islands 60 through 69 have all been destroyed..."

A naval captain reported to Vice Admiral Cap, who was watching the fleet of remnants of the sea indiscriminately bombarding the islands.

"understood……"

Lieutenant General Karp nodded, but gave no further instructions.

After all, there was nothing he could do.

As a veteran naval officer, this was the first time he had ever felt so powerless—not even when he was forced to withdraw from Loguetown, he had not felt this pain!

"us……"

The naval captain asked hesitantly.

"Wait!"

Lieutenant General Garp coldly replied with a single word, his fist, hidden inside his coat, already trembling from being clenched too tightly.

"Yes, sir..."

The naval captain responded helplessly.

Although I had already guessed that this would be the reply, hearing it with my own ears still felt different.

The indiscriminate bombing by the remnant fleet also caused enormous harm to the indigenous people of the Sabaody Archipelago.

The most direct manifestation of this is the sea surface teeming with floating corpses.

In particular, islands 60-69 are the bases of the Navy and the World Government. Most of the people living in these areas have close ties with the Navy and other vested interests. As a result, the stationed Navy feels deeply indignant because of the sense of kinship among them.

……

"This is war..."

Hanzo the Salamander gazed at the devastation at sea and spoke calmly.

But Fugaku Uchiha, standing next to him, was not so calm.

"Should I log in now...?"

"Uchiha Fugaku asked in a low voice."

"Let's fire another load of shells first..."

Hanzo of the Salamander politely declined Fugaku Uchiha's offer.

In his view, this so-called tragic situation was nothing compared to the far more devastating battles during the Fourth Shinobi World War, especially in the Land of Rain. Moreover, he had always been cautious since joining the expeditionary force, preferring to delay the battle rather than recklessly send his ninja army into dangerous situations.

While Fugaku Uchiha was also a three-tomoe ninja from the Uchiha clan and had led ninja forces to garrison the region, the intensity of the wars he experienced was far less than that of the Fourth Shinobi World War, so he was somewhat uncomfortable with it.

"Killing civilians is pointless!"

Fugaku Uchiha took a deep breath and expressed his thoughts.

"But we haven't completely crushed their fighting spirit yet..."

Hanzo the Salamander pointed to the Sabaody Archipelago billowing with thick smoke and said, "After bombarding them for so long, the navy stationed on the islands is in a state of high morale. Landing at this time would only make them risk their lives!"

"...Then I'll lead my men to attack Marine Headquarters at Marineford!"

Fugaku Uchiha licked his lips, glanced once more at the Sabaody Archipelago engulfed in flames, and then lowered his head slightly to avoid eye contact.

'Indecisiveness, womanly compassion...'

Because of the gas mask that shielded him, Hanzo the Salamander could openly frown and purse his lips in disdain.

He didn't quite understand why Uchiha Fugaku, a royal ninja who usually appeared fierce, tough, and methodical in his dealings with others, would have such a comical side.

"Fine, since you're unwilling, then take your direct troops and head to the waters off Marineford first..."

Hanzo the Salamander was too lazy to continue arguing with Fugaku Uchiha, but he still made his request.