Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! — The other navy warships finally reacted, unleashing their cannons at the vessel.
But whether by weaving along eerie trajectories or simply refusing to dodge at all, the ship was quickly engulfed in a storm of concentrated fire.
Just as the marines thought they had sunk it, the ship reerged from the billowing smoke!
Its blasted-apart bow, hull, and stern all regenerated in an instant — after it devoured the wreckage of the very warships that had struck it!
During the war council beforehand, most of the navy's focus had been on studying the Whitebeard Pirates.
As for the Davy Jones Pirates and the strangeness of their ship, the marines had only a half-baked understanding. So didn't even know anything at all.
Now, they were finally witnessing the true horror of the Terror Ghost Ship.
The only ones who hadn't underestimated it were those who had already seen it with their own eyes.
"This ship is a monster…" On one of the warships, "Smoker" bit down on his cigar and muttered, "No matter how many tis I see it, it never feels real."
"Indeed." "Black Cage" Tashigi stood beside him, rain pelting down on her, "And the ones aboard it are monsters as well."
Her left hand clutched her right palm tightly as she struggled to keep her breathing steady and her emotions in check.
"You okay?"
"Tina is fine. Tina's fine."
From the mont the downpour began, a stabbing pain had wracked her palm, and her vision kept distorting with illusions. Smoker and Tashigi had been forced to stay close, watching over her.
She frowned deeply at the black ship.
Shff, shff, shff— A young woman in glasses, sword in hand, ran across the rain-slick deck.
"Captain Smoker!" Tashigi adjusted her glasses and shouted, "The Terror Ghost Ship is about to fire!"
Just as she said, rows of cannons protruded from the ship's hull. Buggy had broken out his stockpile of Buggy Bombs.
He even manned a cannon himself, standing in the rain with a dagger raised high as he bellowed:
"Marines! Take my cannonballs and march straight into hell!"
Smoker recalled the incident at Reverse Mountain, dread welling up. He barked:
"Have the warships scatter imdiately!"
But before his order could spread, the barrage was already unleashed.
He leapt into the air, turning into smoke to intercept the shells!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! — The cannons thundered, and the shells scread in all directions!
Their power was devastating. Within only a few exchanges, more than a dozen warships nearby were reduced to drifting debris!
And these weren't fragile ships.
True, they didn't yet boast Dr. Vegapunk's cutting-edge designs, but compared to the ships at Reverse Mountain, they were much sturdier.
Yet even they couldn't withstand the relentless bombardnt of Buggy Bombs!
Many quick-thinking marines were forced to abandon ship. The slower ones vanished alongside their vessels.
Smoker, anticipating this, kicked away the shells, detonating them midair.
The handful of warships that survived reeled in shock, their crews pale and shaken. They circled aimlessly for a mont before retreating, clearing a path for the black ship.
Not one dared bar its way again!
The morale that had soared after Whitebeard's death now plumted to the depths.
"Those are cannonballs? And that's supposed to be a ship?" Ace swore again, veins standing out in his neck. "Marco, now we can take Pops with us!"
"I know!" Marco spread his flaming rainbow wings and took off. "I'll grab a warship with a few of the brothers. You hold this ground and wait for us!"
If they didn't seize a warship now, the Ghost Ship would sink every last one!
Ace imdiately tightened their guard around Newgate.
At that mont, Sabo approached, cradling Luffy in his arms, with Ivankov and three others at his side.
"As expected, Davy Jones had a way prepared." Sabo, as if unsurprised, told Ace, "We'll help you escort Whitebeard."
The Revolutionary Army needed ships too. Better to move with the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Good!"
Ace slapped Sabo's shoulder, glanced at the unconscious Luffy, then spotted a familiar figure—"Sea Knight" Jinbei.
"Jinbei!"
"Ace!"
The two embraced, bonded by battles fought, by prison chains shared, their friendship needing no words.
Sabo raised his hand, introducing: "These are my comrades, Koala and Hack. We've co to help you."
Koala and Hack nodded firmly at Ace.
Just as Ace opened his mouth to thank them, the ground beneath his feet lurched.
Everyone's faces changed as they realized—the entire ice field beneath them was being lifted up!
And the one lifting it was a giant, towering like a mountain.
Wearing a striped prison uniform, he held the massive ice island aloft with ease!
"Who is that?!" Ace and the others were aghast.
Soon, a group of n climbed onto the ice.
Ferocious, savage figures, nearly half still clad in Impel Down prison garb.
"They're the inmates from our level!" Jinbei growled. "'Evil Governor', 'Moon Hunter', 'Great Barrel'—and the one carrying us, 'Colossal Battleship'!"
Ace's gaze fixed on a man among them, teeth grinding.
"Blackbeard!"
Marshall D. Teach strode forward, laughing thunderously.
Behind him trailed his crew — those he had recruited or broken into submission, including Impel Down's forr head jailer, Shiryu.
The Whitebeard Pirates glared daggers at him.
But Teach ignored them, his laughter booming:
"Long ti no see, everyone… ah, though I t Ace not long ago, hahaha!"
"You bastard!" Flas erupted around Ace.
This war had begun because of Teach — once of Whitebeard's own, who murdered a crewmate and fled.
Ace couldn't swallow that betrayal. Against Whitebeard's wishes, he pursued Teach alone.
But instead, Ace was defeated and handed over to the navy.
That bargain earned Teach a Warlord's seat. And when Luffy and Sabo sparked chaos in Impel Down, Teach exploited it, freeing a host of terrifying inmates.
And the Whitebeard Pirates, in their desperate bid to rescue Ace, had bled grievously.
Their captain, Whitebeard himself, had fallen here.
Now, blood enemies t face to face.
Ace nearly lunged, but Jinbei seized him.
"Ace! Did you forget what you told back in Impel Down?" Jinbei urged. "You and I reviewed that battle. You swore that if you ever faced him again, you would not underestimate him!"
Ace's eyes sharpened. Yes… he had said those words.
Teach's strength was no trivial matter.
His Haki had scarred even "Red-Haired" Shanks. His Dark-Dark Fruit could nullify other Devil Fruits.
And now he had gathered a crew of vicious, powerful monsters.
This was not an enemy that could be crushed recklessly.
Ace had to stay calm.
"What do you want?"
Diamond Jozu stood guard over Newgate's body, his diamond flesh ready to shield against stray fire. He roared at Teach.
"Don't make it sound like we're strangers. I'm Pops' son too. Of course I ca to see him one last ti."
Teach bared his broken grin, several teeth missing.
"And besides, leave Pops' remains to ."
Jozu's frown deepened.
"No matter what you're planning, do you think we'd ever hand Pops over to you?"
"Pops is already dead. Right now, he's nothing but a burden holding back your escape. Why not entrust him to ?"
Teach grinned wider.
"As a Warlord of the Sea, the navy will give the courtesy of letting handle his last rites."
"Don't you dare call him Pops!" Ace roared, cutting him off. "We will never bow to you!"
Teach's expression darkened.
"Is that so? Then I've no choice. Wolf! Throw us onto Marineford's harbor! Let's see how you escape, trapped between us and the navy's jaws!"
"Got it!" bood the Colossal Battleship, Sanjuan Wolf, clutching the ice island to hurl it across to Marineford's mainland.
Sabo's face hardened. Hugging Luffy tightly, he shouted:
"Everyone, brace yourselves!"
But the Whitebeard Pirates, upon hearing this, instead closed ranks even tighter around Newgate's body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—
Before Wolf could act, his body was suddenly pumled by a storm of cannon fire, blood spraying!
He howled in pain and looked down — only to see the Terror Ghost Ship charging, cleaving through wind and waves, its prow aid straight at his chest!
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