One Piece: Bai Ye Deputy Captain of the Straw Hats

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

The Navy had war-gamed countless scenarios for the inevitable conflict at Marineford. But the sudden, world-spanning live broadcast had forced Fleet Admiral Sengoku to scrap many of their carefully laid plans. The objective, however, remained unchanged for the strategists at headquarters: project absolute military might across the globe, execute Portgas D. Ace, and crush the Whitebeard Pirates in the process.

As for the Straw Hat Pirates, the crew that had escalated this entire affair? They weren't considered a top-tier threat. While the Navy had noted their rapid and frankly absurd rate of growth, their analysis of the Sabaody incident gave them a clear estimate of the crew's capabilities. With only a month having passed since then, the consensus was clear: no amount of training could elevate them to a level where they could dictate the course of this war.

One man, however, had his doubts. The Priest, Bai Ye, the enigmatic figure who had been tied to the Straw Hats since the East Blue, sat watching the broadcast, lost in thought. Even he had only anticipated that the crew would influence the battle. He never could have imagined this.

The war had been raging for less than an hour, and yet, the core combatants of the Straw Hat crew had already bypassed the entire battlefield. They were standing directly before the execution platform.

-----

"ACE!"

Luffy's voice cut through the din of battle. He looked up at his brother, a wide, unwavering smile on his face. "I'm not gonna let you die."

"Ah, it seems I've made a miscalculation, Straw Hat Boy."

Admiral Aokiji was forced to his feet, his gaze fixed on Luffy. While he held a certain respect for the Straw Hats' actions on Sabaody, that sentiment did not extend to letting them halt a public execution. His body began to frost over, his breath turning to mist.

"Even with your grandfather here," Aokiji said softly, his voice dangerously calm, "I will have to eliminate you."

"Ice Block: Partisan!"

Leaping into the air, Aokiji summoned two jagged spears of ice and hurled them at Luffy. But before they could find their mark, they were intercepted. A flash of burning light and a wave of black sword energy shattered the ice lances mid-flight.

Two figures now stood protectively in front of Luffy.

"An attack like that is hardly a test for our captain," Sanji said, his right leg glowing with intense heat.

Zoro was even more direct, pointing one of his swords at the Admiral. "We didn't get to finish our fight last time. Let's settle it now." He shot a sideways glance at his crewmate. "Try not to get in the way, curly brow."

"What was that?" Sanji snarled, a look of disgust on his face. "You're the one who gets lost on a straight road. Watch you don't wander into one of my kicks!"

"Don't worry about me, you love-sick cook," Zoro retorted coolly.

"You moss-headed buffoon! I told you a bounty doesn't represent strength!" Sanji shot back, his temper flaring.

"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"

Seeing his opponents distracted, Aokiji didn't waste the opportunity. He unleashed a massive, sharp-beaked bird of solid ice that rocketed toward them.

But in the next instant, the two who had been glaring at each other moved as one. They dodged in perfect sync, then launched their own counter-attacks, shattering the ice bird into a thousand glittering shards.

"Hey, cook!" Zoro yelled.

Sanji met his gaze and understood immediately. They charged toward each other. When they were just a meter apart, Zoro planted his foot firmly on Sanji's raised leg.

"Don't go soft on me, moss-head," Sanji grunted. With a powerful kick, he launched Zoro into the air like a cannonball, straight at Aokiji. Simultaneously, Sanji slammed his hands to the ground for support and unleashed a wave of fire from his foot.

"Diable Jambe: Flambage Shot!"

Soaring through the air, Zoro clamped the hilt of his Wado Ichimonji between his teeth. His other two blades, Shusui and Sandai Kitetsu, were crossed over his chest as a demonic, purple aura flared to life around him.

"Three-Sword Style: Demonic Tornado!"

Zoro's flying slash and Sanji's wave of flame converged on Aokiji at the exact same moment.

BOOM!

A massive explosion of steam and ice enveloped the Admiral. When the mist cleared and Zoro landed, Aokiji stood there, visible cracks spiderwebbing across his frozen arm.

"You've got to be kidding me..." an elite Marine fighting nearby exclaimed in disbelief. Their top-tier weapon, an Admiral of the Navy, had actually been injured.

"Arara... no wonder you two had the confidence to face me alone," Aokiji said, exhaling a plume of cold air as the ice on his body repaired itself. His gaze had turned cold, all traces of his lazy demeanor gone. "So you've reached this level."

-----

Just as the battle began with Aokiji, Admiral Akainu made his move.

"Great Eruption!"

An arm of molten magma shot across the plaza, aimed directly at Luffy. The heat was so intense it vaporized the moisture in the air.

CLANG!

"My, my. Are all Navy Admirals so eager to jump into a fight?" Bai Ye, the Priest, stood before Luffy, his arms crossed and glowing with a golden light, easily deflecting the magma fist.

"Any measure taken to eradicate evil is justice," Akainu growled, his face a mask of grim determination. He stepped down from the platform, his magma-laced body radiating heat. Bai Ye's taunts were useless against a man of such extreme conviction.

Unsurprised, Bai Ye simply turned to his captain. "Go. Save your brother. I'll handle this one."

Luffy nodded without hesitation and stretched his arms toward the platform. But as he flew through the air, a familiar fist appeared directly in his path.

"Gomu Gomu no: Fusen!"

Luffy instantly inflated his body into a balloon to absorb the impact.

BOOM!

A single punch sent him rocketing back to the ground. The force was immense. The man who threw it was a legend.

"It's Vice-Admiral Garp! The Hero of the Marines has made his move!" the Navy soldiers roared.

Garp, his face an unreadable mask, walked to the chair Akainu had vacated and sat down. He crossed his arms, his presence alone a stabilizing force for the entire Marine army.

"If you want to pass," he bellowed, his voice carrying across the battlefield, "you'll have to get through me first, you little runts!"

The Marines erupted in cheers. Only Fleet Admiral Sengoku, standing on the platform, could see the profound pain hidden behind Garp's stoic expression.

Just then, another voice, equally dominant, boomed across the plaza.

"Gurarara! Since when did you resort to bullying children, Garp?"

An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki swept over Marineford, causing weaker men to foam at the mouth and collapse.

"Whitebeard! It's Whitebeard!"

The jubilant Marines froze. They had almost forgotten. The entire purpose of this one-hundred-thousand-man army was to face this single man. Holding his massive bisento, Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, had officially entered the battle.

"So, you finally decided to show up, you old relic," Garp said, completely unaffected by the wave of Haki. A wry grin touched his lips. "I wonder how many of my punches you can still take."

Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh. "How many?" He slammed the butt of his weapon into the ground and clenched his fists, which began to glow with a pale, shimmering light. "Come and find out for yourself, old friend!"

His muscles tensed, and his power exploded.

"I AM WHITEBEARD!"

CRACK!

He punched the empty air, and reality itself seemed to shatter like glass.

"QUAKE SHOCK!"

The fracture spread rapidly through the air, racing toward the execution platform. Everywhere it passed, the ground buckled and explosions erupted. Marines dozens of meters away were thrown from their feet, coughing up blood from the sheer force of the shockwave.

"That power...!" Garp stood up, a look of surprise on his face. He glanced from Whitebeard to Bai Ye, who was still facing down Akainu. He knew. Only the Priest's godly intervention could have restored the old pirate to such a state.

"GARP! DON'T LET HIM DESTROY THE PLATFORM!" Sengoku yelled from above.

Garp snapped back to attention. He looked at the rapidly approaching fissure in reality and grinned. "Then let's have a real fight, Whitebeard!"

He launched himself forward. With no fancy techniques, just pure, unadulterated power, he moved faster than the eye could see. In a blink, he stood directly in the path of the tremor. The solution to Whitebeard's devastating power was simple: meet it head-on with even greater force.

Garp's fists turned a glossy, metallic black as he poured an immense amount of Armament Haki into them. He looked at the crack in space right before him and unleashed a furious two-fisted punch.

BOOM!

A shockwave of unimaginable force erupted from the point of impact, blowing away every pirate and Marine for dozens of meters. A vast, empty circle cleared around the two legends.

"Is this... a battle between gods?" a reporter stammered into his Visual Den Den Mushi, his voice filled with awe.

"Gurarara! Not bad, Garp!" Whitebeard roared, feeling invigorated. The elixir from the Priest and Chopper had purged every last ailment from his old body.

"Now try this on for size, Whitebeard!" Garp yelled, shaking off the residual vibrations and disappearing again.

The duel between the Hero of the Marines and the World's Strongest Man had begun.