Alright, a double One Piece crossover update, hope this is a good start to 2024.

Enjoy

Landing on the icy bay floor felt like an eternity, watching as Whitebeard leaped from the Moby Dick.

As he descended, swirls of wind ravaged like a tornado, revealing his true power to both sides of the battle, even those in the Plaza.

A nervous marine shared his anxiety with comrades, saying, "Oh man, here he comes."

The mere presence of the old man terrified Marines unfamiliar with his prowess, standing among the Damned. Many Legionnaires stared in amazement, but Whitebeard's focus was on Naruto as the two exchanged glances.

Without uttering a word, Whitebeard pointed his weapon at the scaffold, conveying the order to those around him.

Sengoku grimaced, but Whitebeard responded with a smile. In the background, a man yelled, "CHARGE!"

The Whitebeard Pirates pressed on with their assault on Marine HQ, and this time, the Damned Raiders joined forces rather than remaining a separate unit.

"Cover Whitebeard's men!"

"Focus on those cannons!"

As a multitude of men descended upon the Plaza, the commanders at the cannons ordered their crews to fire.

"Don't let them get any closer! FIRE!"

One cannon had already fired two shots at the pirates, directing two of them towards Whitebeard's location.

Observing this, Whitebeard raised his guard, but Naruto swiftly intervened, pulling out both blades.

*SLASH!*

*SLASH!*

He halted the two cannonballs with incredible speed, causing them to split in two and explode across the battlefield as sharp winds flew like blades.

Amidst the dissipating smoke, Naruto stood ready with his Tantō blade.

His presence alone intimidated the Marines handling the cannons, prompting one commander to voice their fears.

"Hold it together! And load another-"

*TKTKTKTKT!*

Gunfire erupted as Blackburn's biplane returned, firing upon the cannons. Marines were wounded or sought cover, and Blackburn announced, "Bombs away!"

Two bombs descended, targeting a loaded cannon. The commander urgently shouted to his men, "RUN!"

*BOOM!*

The bombs hit their mark, destroying the targeted cannon and another nearby. The resulting explosion sent flames soaring a mile high. Blackburn's biplane skillfully evaded the surge.

"You've just hit another ammo cache, Blackburn!"

"Good to know, Winston!"

Back on the ground, Naruto sensed movement beneath him.

'Was that-'

'The Walls!'

"Foster!"

"Sir!"

"Order all armor units to get to concrete ground - support the Allied Pirates against the Pacifistas."

"On it, sir!"

Amidst the ongoing battle, Naruto observed his men advancing alongside Luffy, who was determined to reach his brother despite the setback.

This time, Naruto remained on the sidelines not due to an opponent but to listen to Squard and Marco's conversation. Squard admitted his mistake, claiming he deserved nothing but death.

It left Naruto unimpressed but stirred unpleasant memories:

'Please, end me…'

'I lost my legs.'

'One bullet…give me the damn bullet!'

"Damn those memories!" Naruto shouted in frustration as he took off. "Damn you, Squard!"

Disregarding whether the pirate heard, Naruto sprinted toward his men, accompanied by members of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard himself observed the boy's fiery charge with a burning rage.

Gripping his weapon, the old man sighed in defeat.

"Damn it, boy…"

The pursuit to the Plaza was marked by spilled blood, with Marines unable to escape being shot or taken out in close combat by their enemies.

A Legionnaire, wearing a gas mask, shot a Marine in the back with his bolt-action rifle. As he noticed a frozen live transponder snail in a corner—the same one Aokiji had frozen—he remarked, "Poor little guy."

The man warmed up the snail, turning around to rejoin the fight.

Amidst the chaos, Buggy the Clown and his Impel Down band found themselves frozen, abandoned to their fate.

"Help…us…damn…it…"

…

Without pause, Luffy pressed on, determined to reach the Plaza walls despite gunfire and cannon shots. Unbeknownst to him, others joined the run at the same pace.

"Whitebeard joined the fight - look at him go!"

Hearing this, Luffy briefly turned around, witnessing the giant man effortlessly deflecting cannonballs with his naginata blade.

"That old man's tough," Luffy remarked while running, "he got stabbed and he's still at it!"

"He's an Emperor of the Sea for a reason, kid."

Luffy, now more aware of his surroundings, found himself amid Naruto's group who caught up to him. Jimbei and Ivankov were among them.

"Good to see you still standing, Straw Boy," Ivankov said without malice, turning to the others. "I am glad to see all of you still alive."

"My feelings are mutual on a professional level," Jimbei concurred, having taken a rough beating. He turned to his long-time friend. "Naruto?"

Naruto glanced up, noting the troop movement of the Marines. They seemed less focused on killing pirates and more intent on re-entering the plaza.

"They're preparing something, but so are we."

"What's going on?" Ivankov asked as he kicked another Marine in the head. "Naruto, what are you planning?"

"Trust me; you will thank me later," Naruto assured as he spotted Luffy heading for the wall. "Let's go."

The pirates closed in on the wall just as the Marines regrouped inside the plaza, firing rifles at the advancing pirates. Gunfire now overwhelmingly favored those on the high ground, putting the Whitebeard Pirates at a disadvantage.

"Argh!"

A pirate fell wounded, clutching his shoulder. A fellow pirate rushed to his aid.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The wounded pirate felt the blood streaming through his hand, a clear sign he was done fighting. He signaled to his comrade, "Leave me, just go."

Nodding, the pirate left, continuing his attack on the Marines. "You'll pay for this!"

Taking cover, the wounded pirate realized he was now an easy target for marine snipers. It was only a matter of time before he'd be picked off.

"Suppressing fire!"

The commanding shout came from behind the pirate. Suddenly, Legionnaires appeared with heavy guns and equipment.

"Place that machine gun!"

Dozens of Legion members lined up, returning fire at the Marines on the plaza walls. The amount of weaponry they carried brought relief to the wounded pirate; they were on their side.

Running past the firing line, Naruto was joined by Gin and another Damned member with a rifle and a gas mask, carrying a defrosting transponder snail on his shoulder.

"Gin!"

"Captain, we finally got back to you!" Gin sounded irritated as he loaded his rifle, addressing his blond commander. "Marines are taking defensive positions; this is a trap."

"Yet they haven't raised those damn walls!" The Raider with the gas mask responded. "Why's that?"

Then, a large shadow was cast in front of the advancing rescue party, causing them to stop immediately.

"We got bigger problems now…. It's Vice Admiral John Giant!"

Landing in front of the invading party, the renowned Vice Admiral named John Giant halted their progress toward the Plaza with his mere presence. Drawing his sword, he issued a warning.

"That's as far as you're going to get!" John Giant declared. "You'll never reach the plaza!"

John Giant rampaged through the battlefield like a brute, swinging his sword at any pirate in his way and crushing them without mercy, causing chaos and confusion.

"Run! Vice Admiral John Giant is attacking!"

Swinging and slashing his sword, the giant Marine took out scores of pirates unfortunate enough to stand in his way, plowing through them without encountering strong resistance.

Then he came across Whitebeard himself, roaring as he raised his sword, attempting to cut Whitebeard in half. He slammed the giant weapon down at him.

*CLASH!*

Failing, Whitebeard effortlessly blocked it with Murakumogiri, his naginata.

Shrieking, John Giant found himself halted by this man's mere action, realizing his attempt had little to no effect. The impact had only cracked the ice floor underneath Whitebeard, leaving the man unimpressed.

"You're blocking my view…move."

With that, Whitebeard pushed John Giant's sword, making the giant lose his balance, and this gave the mustached man a free hand.

With Murakumogiri stabbed into the ice, both of Whitebeard's hands grabbed into the air…

"SHIT!" Naruto recognized the move and yelled. "Hold onto something!"

"Huh?" Luffy was confused. "Why-"

"NOW!"

Whitebeard pulled on the air like he was ripping wallpaper from the walls. The ground began shaking beneath their feet as the whole area turned upside down, figuratively and literally for some.

The result was powerful and shocking: the ground beneath everyone's feet began to shake as if an earthquake had been conjured up.

"W-why's the ground tilting!"

"Just hold onto something!"

Some could see that it wasn't just the ground as they watched in disbelief; even the most seasoned veterans of the Damned stared at the sight as parts of the sea began to rise like stones. It all looked like a nightmare.

"Lord Above…this cannot be happening!"

Naruto clung to the ice floor, noticing others doing the same despite their unpreparedness. The Whitebeard Pirates struggled with their captain's actions, and most of the falling bodies were Marines.

Luffy, attempting to keep moving, found himself grounded by the immense pressure, his face flat on the ground.

"Jeez…"

"Kid, don't look up," Naruto suggested, lying next to him. "You'll be astonished."

Not listening, Luffy looked up, his eyes turning white at the parts of the sea rising inexplicably high, with ships caught in the attack. It was horrifying enough to leave the Straw Hat kid unable to talk.

"It can't be real…"

"It is real, kid. Too fucking real!" Gin shouted from behind them, holding onto the ground. "That is the power of a goddamn Emperor of the Sea!"

It wasn't over when cracks formed in Marineford itself, buildings breaking into pieces or being destroyed out of nowhere. Then the cracks extended to the battlefields, appearing right under Luffy and Naruto:

*CRACK!*

A crater erupted underneath them. Many of the Damned were fortunate enough to jump away or avoid the pit, but Luffy wasn't as lucky and fell into it.

Before Luffy could plummet to his death, his hand was grabbed by the mask-wearing Raider. "Hold on, kid!"

However, the soldier was losing his grip and slipped further into the crater, falling with Luffy. This time, Naruto grabbed his arm, and Jimbei supported them with his considerable strength.

"Pull!"

Jimbei roared, hauling the three out of the crater and tossing them to safe ground. All three were spared an unintentional and horrifying exit from this world.

Catching his breath after another near-death experience, Luffy smiled at Jimbei, "Thanks, Jimbei, I owe you again."

"Don't thank me, thank Naruto," Jimbei motioned to the recovering duo, "And thank that soldier; if it wasn't for his quick reaction, I doubt you would come out of there alive."

"Yeah, right." Luffy turned and smiled at Naruto, "Thank you, and you too, mister."

The masked Raider was on his hands and knees, breathing heavily after the ordeal, going through the shock.

"You're *breath* lucky *breath*," the man gasped, taking one final deep breath. "My god, I thought I was done for."

Naruto patted the man on his back. "You did good, rest for a moment." Naruto stood back up. "You okay, Straw Hat?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Luffy said, turning to Whitebeard. "Is that crazy old man trying to get his own crew killed?"

"No, his crew was ready; they're used to this kind of thing," Jimbei informed him and turned to Naruto. "But I'm surprised your men prepared themselves on time as well, how come?"

Naruto smirked and reminded him, "Remember we took out those Sky Nin in the Land of Sound?"

"Oh, right." Jimbei grimaced at that memory. "I nearly forgot."

At this point, the tremor was calming down, and the sea was returning to normal. All parties were trying to get back on their feet.

"Holy smokes…look at the damage."

Marineford itself was barely standing, with the buildings around the headquarters reduced to the ground in a single attack, and it wasn't even over.

"Look!"

Whitebeard finished his confrontation against John Giant, shattering the man's bones with his Devil Fruit and sending a shockwave toward the scaffold where Ace was. However, the shockwave got stopped, scattering its power as if halted. It didn't take long before someone figured out who did it.

"Of course they did…" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "The three Admirals stopped it."

And it was them—Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji—all stood side-by-side, hands extended, indicating they had blocked it.

"We need to move now," Naruto said, getting back on his feet and ordering his radioman. "Foster, tell Shikamaru and Haku to finish up the rear and regroup with us."

"They are trying, but it's easier said than done," Foster explained, listening to the chatter. "Those Pacifistas are as tough as a bloody tank; it takes time."

"This is bad, we can't afford to get cut off," Gin said to his commander, taking a look around. "Maybe we can-"

"I can't wait!" Luffy shouted, throwing his arm back. "I'll go myself!"

"Wait!"

New walls started to rise, catching both the pirates and the Impel Down rescue party off guard as they were surrounded by those inside the bay.

In response, pirates tried slamming or shooting the walls to bits, but there was no effect on the steel barriers.

"We're caught in a damn trap!"

"Those are steel walls - no way you can break them normally."

"Wait! Look there!"

An opening appeared in the steel ring of the Marines, where the gigantic body of Little Oars Jr, a comrade of Ace, lay on top of the final wall with blood leaking into the gears.

"Hey, something's being fired."

From inside the plaza, behind the body of Little Oars Jr, numerous fireballs were sent into the air, not ordinary fire but-

"Magma?"

The magma shots reached the far heights of the sky. Those caught inside the bay could only watch as they disappeared into the clouds. Ivankov worded the ominous feeling better than anyone else.

"I'm not feeling good about this…"

Haku appeared beside Naruto, having barely entered the bay before it got closed off. He spared no words.

"Naruto, we've walked right into a trap."

"I see that for myself," Naruto responded without looking away from the sky. "Got word from the ships?"

"They are standing by," Haku said, looking at him with contempt. "But I must protest - this is unnecessary."

"Look around."

Haku tried to reason but saw his opinion would be in the minority. Others, Legionnaires, members of the Raiders, or from other former battalions, prepared themselves, eyeing the walls with high alert.

"The Marines are about to try to cover the bay in our blood, and if it is blood they want, they can have it - just not only ours."

"Sky turned black!"

The alert was heard, with the sky having turned black, accompanied by loud, horrifying sounds resembling artillery being fired from afar. A memory too close to some.

"Damn it, sounds like those cannons they used outside Konoha."

"Don't remind me, I still got feelings from it."

Jimbei stood firm, listening to the men speak of haunting memories. He watched as the sky turned from black to dots of red.

As if hell itself was descending - magma fists fired by Admiral Akainu were coming down at the bay, whistling like cannonballs.

"INCOMING!"

Chaos erupted in the bay, with everyone either screaming in panic and running or seeking cover.

From the scaffold, Fleet Admiral Sengoku observed as the plan unfolded.

"They got nowhere to run," he yelled, reveling in their demise. "Now we'll melt that ice AND DROWN THEM ALL!"

Those inside the bay tried to run as fast as they could to avoid the magma fists, but their efforts would be in vain.

As the fists slammed into the icy floor, the fury fists of Akainu ruthlessly cut through groups of Whitebeard Pirates, creating enough holes for the ice to break apart and destroy parts of the battlefield where they stood. Some landed in the melted ice that turned into boiling water, burning alive those unfortunate enough to fall into it.

"HAKU!"

Without hesitation, Haku used all the strength he had, grabbed a boulder of ice from the floor, and sent it into the air just as a magma fist was about to hit him. The reaction caused the magma fist to implode across the place.

"Pacifistas behind us!"

Some pirates, attempting to retreat, found themselves attacked from behind by the Kuma lookalikes, firing laser beams without mercy into anyone fair game. One beam even hit one of the Mark tanks of the Legionnaires, exploding right there. The blast was close enough to Naruto and the others who were caught in the middle of it.

"Naruto!" Luffy shouted for him.

The black smoke from the destroyed tank that Luffy ran into was thick and toxic with fuel, gas, and oil coming out all at once. Naruto began coughing hard.

"Naruto!" Luffy continued to shout, "Naruto, where are you?"

"Medic!"

Hearing Naruto's voice, Luffy ran toward it and found him on the ground, surrounded by Gin, Foster, and another member of the Damned, kneeling next to a burned body.

"He's dead…"

"Damn it, now we only got Edward's Big Bess with Crusher and its crew gone," Foster said, closing the man's eyes. "We cannot afford to lose them, sir."

"Cover it as you can and send it close to Whitebeard."

Luffy took a closer look and found himself hollowly staring at the corpse, unprepared to see its state. Gin spotted him and his gaze on the fallen tanker.

"Pull a blanket over it."

Only a small piece of cloth was available, which was placed over the tanker's face for decency. Foster and Gin soon went out to follow their orders as Naruto turned to Luffy.

Seeing he was still staring at the body, Luffy then snapped out of that trance with one simple action.

*Snap!*

Looking back at Naruto, Luffy saw the seriousness in his eyes, despite his face being covered in black dust from the destroyed mechanical beast.

"Don't pay attention to them; it will only slow you down, you hear? Leave the mourning for later," Naruto advised him. "Take it from me; you are no use now if you allow your emotions to take over and let you shut down, okay?"

Luffy took a moment but nodded, understanding him.

"THE MOBY DICK!"

The two then turned around to witness the latest victim of this attack—a morale destroyer—the Moby Dick, perishing in flames. It was a painful sight for the Whitebeard Pirates, trying to save the ship, but the damage was too great. The flames became too strong, reaching all corners of the old ship. The crew abandoned it before they could be caught in its demise.

All everyone could do was watch in pain as the mighty Moby Dick went down, especially painful for Whitebeard himself, the ship's first occupant.

"I'm sorry, old friend."

From Luffy's perspective, the sight of the burning ship hit too close, reminding him of the Going Merry…

*Tap!*

Feeling a hand tap on his shoulder, Luffy saw Naruto, who had just left his side and was walking down some remaining ice. He was about to walk into the dark clouds of the destroyed tank. Naruto said one final thing to him.

"Stay with my men and tell them Hellfire is initiated."

Naruto's arm soon was covered in a powerful color of orange and yellow.

"Are you ready, Kuruma?"

'I am, let's make the tides even.'