Sengoku's mind went completely blank.

The rest of the Marines stared in stunned silence, barely believing what they'd just heard.

The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi—the power once wielded by its previous user—needed no introduction.

Shiki the Golden Lion, the "Flying Pirate," had ruled the seas with unmatched might and swordsmanship. With the strange abilities of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, he had nearly reduced Marineford itself to rubble.

And now, a Devil Fruit with such immense strategic value had been used by the Celestial Dragons... as a prize in a hunting competition!?

Had they learned nothing from God Valley!?

As a high-ranking officer of the Marines, Sengoku knew all too well: Kaidou's "Uo Uo no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Seiryu Form" was one of the prizes awarded during the God Valley hunting games. Back then, Charlotte Linlin—then a member of the Rocks Pirates—had seized it and gifted it to Kaidou.

That was what forged his legend as the "strongest creature in land, sea, and sky!"

Without that absurdly powerful Mythical Zoan fruit, they would've taken Kaidou down long ago. There would've been no humiliating Battle of Miracle Island.

"Those arrogant, delusional Celestial Dragon bastards!"

Sengoku cursed inwardly, jaw clenched tight.

No... something didn't add up.

Even as a Marine Admiral, he had no idea what the prize for the North Blue hunt was—so how did Kaidou and Big Mom find out about it?

"Hahahaha! Kaidou! Big Mom! You think we're just going to hand over the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi!?"

While Sengoku stood frozen in disbelief, a loud, defiant laugh rang out from the sea of flames.

It was the blood-soaked Vice Admiral.

He turned to Sengoku, whose eye twitched madly, and said with solemn clarity,

"Admiral Sengoku, I ask that you safeguard the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi."

"Shiki's power... must never fall into their hands."

Sengoku: ???

He whipped his head around, staring at Daren in disbelief.

The Vice Admiral met his gaze with a half-smirk, half-glint of mischief in his eyes.

And just like that, Sengoku understood. His eyes flushed red with rage.

That damn brat Daren!!

Beside him, Borsalino's lips curled into a faint grin.

...

Then came the thunderous laugh of a dragon rolling through the sky like distant thunder.

"Worororo! Just as I thought! Sengoku—hand it over!!"

A dark crimson haze spread across the heavens. The enormous dragon's greedy eyes glinted as it opened its monstrous maw, rows of razor-sharp fangs bared.

It inhaled deeply.

The heat—visible to the naked eye—began rapidly condensing inside Kaidou's mouth, forming a massive, molten fireball.

That move!

Sengoku's heart dropped. He didn't spare another thought for Daren and shouted,

"Prepare for combat! Be ready to abandon ship at any moment!"

Transformed into a dragon, Kaidou let out a thunderous roar:

"DIE!!"

ROAR!

A colossal pillar of fire—red as molten steel—erupted from his mouth like a tidal wave, descending toward the fleet.

The heat blasted forward with crushing force. Flames filled the Marines' entire field of vision.

And then—

Whoosh!

A towering figure suddenly leapt from the deck, cloaked in a grim, oppressive aura. The word "Justice" on his coat began to melt, consumed by blazing magma as black smoke surged around him and the choking stench of sulfur flooded the air.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki!!"

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki is moving in!!"

Amid the panicked shouts of the Marines, Sakazuki stepped forward to meet the oncoming inferno, his upper body swelling with molten, blood-red magma.

He hurled a punch.

"Dai Funka!!"

BOOM!

The searing magma smashed into Kaidou's fiery breath, not retreating but devouring it, sparking a massive, explosive shockwave.

Waves of blazing heat rippled outward, sending the sea into a frenzy of crashing tides.

"Mamamama! You've gotten stronger, little magma brat!"

Big Mom cackled sharply, raising her hand.

The clouds above erupted in turmoil. A terrifying aura turned into a vast net of thunderbolts, as if alive with will, shredding the night sky and striking down in blazing beams toward the fleet gathered along the coast.

"Tenman Daijizai Tenjin!"

"Borsalino!!"

Sengoku's eyes went wide, red with rage as he roared.

"Got it..."

Borsalino sighed helplessly, his body shimmering as he returned to elemental form. In the next instant, countless golden light bullets shot out in reverse bursts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each searing blast struck the incoming purple thunderbolts with pinpoint precision, intercepting them midair before erupting into waves of flame across the sky.

"Worororo! You think it's that easy!?"

From above, Kaidou, still in his dragon form, let out a mocking laugh, amusement flashing in his eyes.

When it came to naval or aerial warfare, he and Linlin were an unbeatable duo!

With a single thought, Kaidou's massive form weaved through the stormy skies, dragging colossal gusts behind him as a monstrous tempest erupted over the sea.

Tornadoes shot down from sky to sea, spinning like pillars of destruction and sending tsunamis tens of meters high crashing in every direction.

"Sink into the depths, Marines!"

Damn it!

Sengoku seethed with frustration and could only turn toward Kuzan.

The latter stood with his arms crossed, unmoving.

"Kuzan! Are you just going to let us all go down with the ship!?"

Kuzan gritted his teeth stubbornly.

"I won't attack Daren."

Sengoku nearly exploded with fury.

"The situation's changed! Our targets are Kaidou and Big Mom!"

Kuzan blinked—then his eyes lit up again with fighting spirit.

"No problem. Leave them to me."

He leapt from the deck, eyes burning, and plunged straight into the sea.

In the next second—

"Ice Age!"

Shhhhhh—!

A ten-kilometer stretch of sea froze over in an instant, glistening with thick, crystalline frost. Even the tsunamis kicked up by Kaidou's wind were frozen mid-surge, locked in place above the ocean.

Kneeling on the frozen surface, Kuzan exhaled a cloud of white frost and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

The entire fleet stopped rocking.

...

Kaidou reverted to human form, and together with Big Mom, the two Yonkō plummeted from the sky like meteors.

"Bring it on!!"

Sakazuki and Kuzan charged in headfirst.

The rest of the Marines launched a furious barrage.

The battlefield was chaos—a raging storm of frost, magma, lightning, and fire exploding in all directions across the icy surface.

...

Sengoku instinctively turned to look at the nearby island. Through the sea of fire, his eyes locked with the figure standing at its center.

That bastard Daren—had he planned this from the start? Had he calculated that Sengoku would bring the Marines against him?

Had he really spread false intel just to lure Kaidou and Big Mom—two monsters—into the fray!?

He's insane!

And yet... just as Sengoku stood torn, unsure whether to proceed with arresting Daren or turn his full attention to Kaidou and Big Mom...

The Vice Admiral calmly raised a hand and gestured.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four blinding beams of light shot up from beneath the frozen seabed around the warships, streaking toward the island.

The moment Sengoku recognized what they were, a chill swept through his entire body. Every hair stood on end.

Those four swords...

They'd been hidden beneath the sea this whole time!?

That meant—if Kaidou and Big Mom hadn't shown up, if Sengoku had actually given the order to land—

Then the moment the fleet moved, that bastard Daren would've unleashed those four razor-sharp Meito blades straight from the deep, tearing the Marine ships apart from below!

And once Devil Fruit users fell into the sea... no amount of support from fellow Marines would have saved them. The ocean's curse would've rendered them helpless before those swords.

It would've been a death sentence.

The thought alone sent a shiver down Sengoku's spine. His scalp tingled as he swallowed hard.

Such a masterful, insidious trap... far beyond anything he, the "The Resourceful General," could've devised.

This was... Daren's ace in the hole. His final safeguard against the Marines.