The pirates sat and forgot, and they really believed the nine truths and one lie.

As night fell, dozens of crimson lights, trailing long fiery streaks, tore through the clouds at a despairing speed, hurtling down toward Marineford.

That was a world-destroying meteorite summoned from outer space by Shiki the Golden Lion using his unleashed Float-Float Fruit powers.

For ordinary people, a meteor shower may be a romantic spectacle, but when this romance turns into the shadow of death looming overhead, all that remains is the most primal fear and despair.

"So many shooting stars fell!"

"Run!"

"Where do you think you're going?! The whole island is in the sky!"

A violent commotion inevitably broke out within the pirate ranks, and panic spread like a plague. Even the fiercest pirates felt a deep sense of powerlessness in the face of such a catastrophic blow.

Their swords could cut down enemies, but they couldn't cleave meteorites.

On the naval side, morale was also low. Although discipline was stricter, many soldiers' faces were filled with fear. They came to fight pirates, not to be smashed into mincemeat by meteorites.

"Everyone—quiet down!"

A roar as loud as a great bell suddenly exploded, the supreme majesty and overwhelming momentum contained in the voice instantly suppressing all the noise and commotion. It was Edward Newgate with the white beard.

His towering, mountain-like figure stood at the bow of the Moby Dick, his enormous white cloak fluttering in the gale, his gaze sweeping over the panicked pirates below.

"They're just a few stones that fell from the sky, what's there to be afraid of!"

A simple sentence, yet it seemed to possess magic. Those pirates who were originally in a panic, upon seeing Whitebeard's calm and steady figure, seemed to instantly find their backbone, and their fear was quickly replaced by a fervent trust.

"That's right, with Dad around, we have nothing to be afraid of!"

"Let's fight the navy!"

The pirates' morale was miraculously boosted by Whitebeard's words in this desperate situation. They gripped their weapons tightly once more and roared as they launched an even more ferocious attack on the opposing Marines.

Whitebeard nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to the burly man beside him, Iron Dragon Gajeel, "How many of those stones in the sky can you handle?"

Upon hearing this, Gajeel raised his metallic head, and instead of fear, his dragon eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit.

He grinned widely, revealing a wild smile, his voice ringing out like steel scraping together: "How will you know if you don't try it yourself?"

For a battle maniac like Gajeel who reveres the ultimate physical confrontation, a head-on clash is far more satisfying than dealing with a slippery opponent like Kizaru who can only dodge and weave.

This challenging task suited him perfectly!

"Then it's up to you," Whitebeard nodded. This kind of task was perfect for him.

The next moment, Gajeel suddenly looked up at the sky and let out a roar like a dragon's cry, and all the muscles in his body swelled up instantly.

The dark gray dragon scales on the surface of the skin became thicker and denser at a speed visible to the naked eye, shimmering with a cold, metallic luster.

Sharp bone spurs have grown on his forehead, elbows, knees, and other joints.

A pair of enormous black dragon wings, made of hard bones and skin, suddenly unfolded from his back, and the strong airflow blew the pirates on the ship off course.

In his half-dragon form, Gajeel's feet slammed off the deck, propelling him into the sky like a black cannonball.

With a single powerful flap of its enormous dragon wings, it unleashed astonishing thrust, propelling its speed to new heights.

Transforming into a black streak of light that tore through the night sky, it resolutely faced the first and largest meteorite falling from the heavens.

Without any fancy techniques or roundabout plans, Gajeel's fighting style is always direct and savage.

Under the gaze of countless eyes below, filled with fear, anticipation, or disbelief, Gajeel actually aimed his head, covered in thick dragon scales, at the meteorite, which was several kilometers in diameter, its surface ablaze with flames, and contained terrifying kinetic energy.

Is he going to headbutt it?!

"Has he gone mad?!" This thought crossed the minds of countless people.

boom--!

A deafening roar, as deep as the sound of two stars colliding, suddenly exploded in the sky, so loud that it temporarily drowned out the shouts of battle on the battlefield.

At the epicenter of the impact, a visible white shockwave, like ripples, spread wildly outwards.

The massive meteorite, upon contact with Gajeel's head, exploded from its very center like a watermelon struck by a hammer.

At the center, countless fragments of stones of varying sizes burst forth, interspersed with burning flames, like a grand fireworks display, shooting in all directions.

However, its main impact and destructive power had been completely dismantled by Gajeel's earth-shattering headbutt.

The smaller fragments, upon impact with the air, quickly burned up, turning into sparks that scattered across the sea and the edges of the islands, causing only minor fires and posing no further fatal threat to the people below.

Gajeel himself was only thrown backward by the recoil in mid-air, shook his unharmed dragon head, and then regained his balance.

His dragon eyes gleamed with excitement and satisfaction, as if the impact that had just razed a city to the ground was nothing more than a thoroughly enjoyable warm-up exercise for him.

When Whitebeard saw this scene on the Moby Dick, he couldn't help but shout, "What an iron head! Gajeel, the hardness of your Iron Dragon Fruit is really domineering!"

This exclamation of praise acted like a shot of adrenaline, injecting new life into the hearts of all the pirates. As they gazed at the black dragon shadow in the sky, which resembled a god of war, the pirates' morale soared.

"Long live Lord Iron Dragon!"

"Destroy those meteorites!"

After easily smashing the first meteorite, Gajeel didn't pause at all. With another flap of his huge dragon wings and an excited dragon roar, he charged towards the second meteorite like a black lightning bolt.

Boom boom boom! ! !

The continuous crashing sounds, like the beating of war drums, echoed over Marineford.

One deadly meteor after another was transformed into a dazzling yet harmless shower of fireballs under Gajeel's monstrous iron dragon hammer.

Iron Dragon Gajeel single-handedly created a relatively safe haven for the pirate alliance below.