Garp threw a punch at the pirates chasing Koby and once again stood in their way.
“Doesn’t he feel even a little afraid, facing so many of us by himself?”
“Don’t overestimate yourselves. In front of a monster like this, numbers mean nothing. Your strength isn’t even worthy of his attention.”
“L-Lord Who’s-Who…”
“I’m stating facts. Don’t waste your lives here. That idiot Fourtricks actually tried to take Garp’s punch head-on. His hardened shell’s already been shattered. Who knows when he’ll wake up.
Stop getting in the way. Go deal with those Marines trying to run. If even a single one escapes from here, you can all wait for Governor-General Kaido’s extra training together.”
After driving off a few onlooking pirates, Who’s-Who grabbed Dobon, who was about to join the battle on the other side.
“Hey, you hippo. Hold it right there!”
“Hippo? My name is Dobon! I’m a Number, at least. Is it that hard to remember my name?!”
“I remember it now. I just never had much impression of you.”
Dobon usually worked prison duty, while Who’s-Who was mostly out on assignments aboard Tesoro’s ship. Though they belonged to the same pirate crew, they moved in entirely different circles. They might not even cross paths at banquets. If not for this coincidence, they probably wouldn’t have met.
“What do you want?”
Who’s-Who’s number was higher, so Dobon didn’t have much to say.
“I’ve got a plan. Want to pull off something big? Whether it’s you or me, we’re no match for Garp. If I’d ran into him at sea, I’d have retreated already. But this is different.
This guy’s a major achievement delivered right to our doorstep.”
“My strength… doesn’t seem worthy of being involved in this.”
Watching Queen get knocked back once again, Dobon felt a chill run down his spine. The senior officers had already arrived. No matter how he looked at it, there was no need for him to go against that old monster.
“I’m not asking you to attack him head-on. Holding him back and helping in the takedown, doesn’t that count as a contribution too? And weren’t you here for the social gathering? If you don’t show off now, how do you plan to stand out?
I’ve got a plan. As long as you cooperate with me—”
Who’s-Who whispered into Dobon’s ear. This was never a fair arena to begin with. Since Garp had made his choice, he’d better be prepared for one-versus-many.
That included underhanded tactics. Who’s-Who didn’t care about such things. Coming from CP9, he only considered one question: could the mission be completed? And in the process, how could he increase his own contributions?
Amid the chaotic battlefield, the two of them slipping away didn’t draw much attention, and they began plotting their own move.
“Muhahaha! Garp, do you really think they can leave? Don’t dream!”
“I trust them. The future of the Marines won’t be broken by something like this. As long as I hold you all back, that’s enough.”
There weren’t that many people on the island right now. Aside from those who had come for the social gathering, only some officers had just arrived. If Garp could hold off most of the officers, then the rest might still manage to break out of gere.
“You naive old man. You don’t actually think this is all we’ve got, do you? This is only the beginning! Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon.”
As soon as the words fell, small black dots appeared on the horizon, and they kept increasing, eventually forming a dark mass across the sky.
“Behold, our aerial unit!”
Queen raised his hand and fired two signal flares into the air in succession. Compared to complicated transmissions, a fixed signal frequency conveyed his meaning far more directly.
“Orders from Lord Queen, brothers! Prepare for a hard landing!”
The leading pirate took out a whistle from his pocket after seeing the signal. As the sharp whistle echoed through the air at a set frequency, the Millennial Dragons understood their partners’ intent.
They were top-tier among the ordinary pirates. Compared to Corviknight, which handled passenger transport, Millennial Dragons were even faster. Upon receiving the order, they dove toward the island below in a V formation.
When they were about twenty meters above the ground, the Millennial Dragons slowed their descent and shifted into level flight. The pirates on their backs began jumping off one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Without any auxiliary equipment, these pirates relied purely on their physique to land directly into the Marine formation that was attempting to break through the weak points.
“Since you’re here, don’t even think about leaving! Let us give you a proper welcome!”
With pursuers behind them, and interceptors ahead, and even more reinforcements in the sky, the situation for the Marines only grew worse.
“Queen, trust me. These people are worth more alive than dead. If you don’t believe me, then at least give me some face.”
“Muhahaha! Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll definitely give you that face. You lot! Make sure you capture them alive!”
Aside from Garp, everyone else was nothing more than background characters in Queen’s eyes. Whether they lived or died made no difference. Killing or capturing them was merely a matter of a single thought.
Kuzan didn’t have the authority to command these pirates yet. His prestige within the Beasts Pirates wasn’t high enough. But Queen saw another angle.
If they wanted to take down Garp here, Kuzan would inevitably be a main combat force. Once this was over, Kuzan’s status within the Beasts Pirates would be firmly established. No matter what, he would at least be at the level of a senior officer.
The current senior officers could be divided into three factions. King and Shayna were openly unfriendly toward him. If they found an excuse, they would definitely make a move.
Zeraora and Olga were the indifferent type, but the two of them were easily influenced by external factors. For example, a few whispered words from Setsuna might temporarily shift Zeraora’s attitude.
That left Jack, whom Queen classified into the friendly faction. If Kuzan advanced to senior officer as part of the friendly faction, Queen could achieve a particular dynamic balance.
But whether Kuzan could grasp that point was another matter.
“These pirates… they really don’t take us seriously.”
“They have the qualifications to. Stay close and don’t look back. This is our last chance to break out.”
As their numbers grew, the Beasts Pirates’ flag was raised. To pirates, that was their battle standard. After the aerial troops made their hard landing, new members continued to arrive.
Butterflies, golden eagles, hornets, bald eagles—one after another, pirates with flight abilities appeared on the island. They were beneficiaries of artificial Devil Fruits, and their ability to fly allowed them to follow closely behind the Millennial Dragons.
There were even some rather peculiar abilities. Like Octopus Balloon Ability User from Sky Island, who had effectively turned into transportation for his companions and was slowly drifting over.
Once these pirates landed, they joined the battle one after another. For the Marines, the number of enemies only kept increasing, growing with every passing minute.
The situation on the ground was equally dire. A red flash streaked across the battlefield, and with each swing of a massive hammer at its forefront, one Marine after another fell.
“No.8, huh… Single-digit pirates are never easy to deal with.”
Bogard sheathed his weapon and took up an iaijutsu stance. Though he held the same rank of Vice Admiral, he was a backbone of the Marines.
While they shared the same rank, there was no rule forbidding someone of equal rank from serving as a right hand man. Garp could have long since been promoted to Admiral, but he had always refused. Bogard, for personal reasons, had simply chosen to stay by Garp’s side.
Shing!
The blade left its sheath, a streak of white light flashing forth, only to be firmly clamped by black-and-red pincers. The serrated edges between Scizor’s pincers locked onto Bogard’s blade, preventing him from pulling it free.
As Isuka twisted her arm, Bogard could even hear his weapon wail in protest. Without that layer of Haki, the blade would likely have already been crushed by her pincers.
In a sense, Queen’s order suited Isuka’s preferences quite well. She didn’t like killing people; in battle, she mostly knocked her opponents unconscious.
With one claw clamping Bogard’s weapon, the two closed the distance. Their free hands weren’t idle either, each repeatedly striking toward the other’s face.
The wings on Isuka’s back flapped continuously, heat accumulated within her body radiating outward.
The members of SWORD were already overwhelmed by the swarm of pirates and had no time to assist Bogard. But the pirates were a different story.
“Isuka! Move!”
Hearing this, two points of light flickered within Isuka’s pincers before bursting forth. Without charging up, the Hyper Beam failed to fully fire, but it provided a powerful shockwave.
Using the recoil from that force, Isuka instantly widened the distance between herself and Bogard. A silver-white figure replaced her position.
“Steel Dragon Charge!”
A face like a massive shield blocked the light from above, and thick, heavy arms pinned Bogard in place. The current No.7, Sasaki, had also successfully arrived at the battlefield.
Due to his massive tonnage, he had arrived alongside transport Pokémon like giant Corviknight and Altaria, which slowed him down somewhat.
Three batches of air units had arrived in succession, and the number of figures in the sky had diminished. Yet out on the distant sea, countless pirate ships were sailing toward the island.
And even farther in the sky, three figures were already locked in battle. After the reinforcements arrived, Setsuna left her original position and moved to where Zeraora and Kizaru were fighting.
She had already entered her Sulong state. Aura arrows infused with lightning shot out from time to time, providing support to Zeraora from afar.
“This time… I don’t want to waste time with you.”
“What a coincidence. I have the exact same thought.”
White hair covered his original coat. Facing this old opponent, Zeraora had already entered his unique Outrage state.
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