Chapter LXIX: A Sad Reminiscence

The Straw Hat alliance and their guests stood on the deck of the Sunny. Sanji was inside the kitchen, cooking everyone meals to keep their strength up before the battle. Law and Bonney were seated by the rail, looking bored, and Crocodile and his group were sitting to the side, waiting for their arrival. Everyone else was discussing the upcoming battle when their chef walked outside, the food noticeably absent.

"Luffy? You're going to want to see this," he said.

Luffy turned Sanji, and blinked at the sight of the fruit in the chef's hand.

"I found this in the pantry," Sanji said.

Ace's eyes widened, and he looked momentarily pained. "That's…"

Thousands of Marines prayed for their lives as the island of Marineford tilted on its axis. The ground caved in as the tectonic plates beneath the land shook and trembled along to Whitebeard's will. Fissures in the earth swallowed entire battalions of soldiers whole, and massive ocean waves filled them. Screams filled the air as the tremors continued, and the island began to crumble, piece by piece, like a puzzle that was always meant to be broken.

Sengoku thought fast. "Issho!" he shouted, and the Vice Admiral seemed to understand what was expected of him. His sightless eyes narrowed in concentration as he reached out with his gravity powers, attempting to keep Marineford from collapsing in on itself.

To a degree, it worked. The island's descent into the ocean slowed dramatically as the forces of gravity began holding the island in place. But anyone could tell it was a temporary solution at best. Although Issho had taken to his Devil Fruit quickly, he was still fairly new with it, and keeping an island from crumbling as a more experienced Devil Fruit user continued to send tremor after tremor through the earth was no simple test of his powers. Sweat dripped down his face as he did everything he could to save the Marines under him.

Sengoku was already thinking about the next steps of his hastily revised battle plan. "Whitebeard won't stop. If we stay here he'll drown us all. We have to take the fight to him."

He turned toward Garp, who nodded. "Garp! Akainu! Aokiji! You're with me! Issho will hold the fort while we're gone!"

The four used Soru to descend to the plaza below, where the Warlords were gathered. "There's been a change of plans. Follow us." He pretended not to notice the amusement in the pirates' eyes as they voiced their agreement.

Aokiji led the way, freezing the ocean so they could make their way over by foot. Sengoku, Garp, Akainu, and Aokiji all used Soru to traverse the frozen sea, while Mihawk kept pace behind them and Doflamingo flew using his strings. Sengoku sighed in frustration as Moria fell behind, unable to keep up with their pace. Why do we even keep him around?