Clang!
A deafening metallic crash rang out, shockwaves rippling through the air.
The bloody scene everyone expected never came.
Vice Admiral Gale froze mid-slash. His twin famous blades, coated in jet-black Armament Haki, had stopped dead in front of Tobirama.
More precisely—
They were caught.
Tobirama didn't even remove his hands from his pockets. He simply raised his left hand and casually pinched the blade between two fingers.
No Haki.
No Chakra reinforcement.
Pure physical strength.
"This… this is impossible!"
Gale's pupils shrank violently. Veins bulged on his forehead as cold sweat poured down his back.
What he felt wasn't resistance—it was like striking an immovable mountain.
"I'm using Armament Haki hardening!"
"You're not even using Haki—just your body! What kind of monster are you?!"
Decades at sea had shattered in an instant.
Gale had seen Logia transformations, Zoan awakenings—
But never someone who could stop Armament Haki barehanded.
"Haki?"
Tobirama glanced at the trembling swords between his fingers, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.
"So this is willpower?"
"It's too soft."
He twisted his fingers slightly.
Crack!
Both swords shattered instantly, snapping apart like brittle twigs.
"What?!"
Gale recoiled instinctively—but the moment his feet left the ground, Tobirama vanished.
The next instant—
That cold, merciless face was right in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
A pale hand shot out, gripping Gale's head completely.
Fast.
Too fast.
Even as a vice admiral, Gale sensed the danger—but his body couldn't keep up.
"There's no escape…!"
Driven to desperation, he triggered his final defense.
Every muscle tensed. His head was coated completely in hardened Armament Haki.
"Navy Six Styles—Iron Body: Steel!"
"Hold… hold for me!"
Tobirama looked down at him with open ridicule.
"Putting blind faith in Iron Body…"
"…is laughable."
He tightened his grip and slammed Gale downward.
Boom!
Like smashing a stone into the earth, Gale's body crashed into the ground headfirst.
The ground within a hundred meters buckled and collapsed, debris blasting outward.
The so-called Iron Body shattered under absolute force.
The vice admiral's struggles stopped instantly.
Tobirama straightened, flicking his blood-stained hand once, as if testing a technique.
"That felt decent."
"Let's call it… Naval Bomb."
—
Marine Headquarters.
Marineford.
"What did you say?!"
Sengoku slammed the desk and stood up, his glasses nearly falling off.
"An unknown powerhouse in the East Blue?! Hundreds of elites annihilated instantly?!"
"And Gale… is struggling?!"
From the Den Den Mushi came the trembling voice of the CP0 leader:
"N-No, Fleet Admiral… it wasn't a struggle…"
"Vice Admiral Gale… just now… had his head crushed with bare hands…"
"That man is a monster! We can't hold out much longer! Saint Delros is right here—send reinforcements immediately!"
"What?!"
Sengoku's expression darkened instantly.
A vice admiral's death was serious—but if a Celestial Dragon died in the East Blue, Marine Headquarters would be torn apart.
"Damn it! How can someone like this exist in such a backwater?!"
He spun toward the world map.
"Who's closest?"
"Admiral Kuzan!" an officer shouted. "He's nearby—traveling by bicycle!"
Sengoku grabbed the golden Den Den Mushi.
"Contact Admiral Kuzan immediately!"
"Tell him to head to Orange Town in the East Blue at full speed!"
"No matter the cost—the Celestial Dragon must survive!"
—
Orange Town Harbor.
The CP0 leader, Ghostface, lowered the Den Den Mushi, his face deathly pale beneath the mask.
He had watched Gale die like an insect.
His legs trembled uncontrollably.
"Calling for reinforcements?"
A cold voice whispered beside his ear.
Ghostface nearly jumped out of his skin.
He spun around—no one there.
"I'm above you."
He looked up.
Tobirama hovered in the air, gazing down like a god observing an ant.
"About ten minutes, right?"
"Too bad. You won't last that long."
"Protect Saint Delros!!"
Fear was crushed by indoctrinated loyalty.
Ghostface attacked.
Finger Gun techniques erupted in a storm, vacuum blades tearing toward the sky.
"It's noisy."
Tobirama reached out calmly.
Amenotejikara.
Flash!
Ghostface's attacks hit nothing.
In the next instant, his body appeared directly in Tobirama's grasp.
"Teleportation?!"
His neck was locked in an iron grip.
"You like jumping?"
"Let's go higher."
They shot upward in a streak of silver light.
Hundreds of meters.
A thousand meters.
Clouds tore past as Ghostface struggled to breathe.
"L-Let me—"
"Go down."
Tobirama released him—then drove a crushing kick into his chest.
Boom!
Ghostface became a blazing meteor, slamming into the harbor at terrifying speed.
The impact shook the entire port.
When the dust settled, only a massive crater remained.
Nothing else.
Instant death.
Hancock collapsed weakly into her sisters' arms, eyes overflowing with hearts.
"So… so brutal…!"
"So cool!"
Tobirama descended slowly, straightening his collar as if he had done nothing more than brush away dust.
Then he turned.
His gaze locked onto the last living being on the golden ship.
Saint Delros.
The Celestial Dragon was paralyzed with terror, golden gun shaking in his hand, his dignity completely gone.
"You… stay back!"
"I'm a descendant of the Creators! I'm a god!"
"I'll give you money! Anything you want!"
Tobirama stopped in front of him.
He looked down—
Not with hatred.
With contempt.
"God?"
He stepped on the golden pistol.
Crack.
The symbol of power crumpled beneath his foot.
"If trash like this counts as a god…"
"Then divinity in this world is far too cheap."
He leaned closer, lightly patting Saint Delros's trembling face.
"Next…"
"It's your turn."
"Are you ready to meet your ancestors?"