There have only ever been three serving Marine Admirals at a time. It was a rule that had remained unchanged for many years. The Marines could possess more than three combatants of Admiral-level strength, but officially, there would never be more than three holding the rank.
At present, including Fleet Admiral Akainu, all three of the Marines’ top combatants—Kizaru and Fujitora among them—had already been accounted for. Even that Celestial Dragon from God Valley had engaged Red Hair.
Veteran Vice Admirals such as Tsuru, Onigumo, and Yamakaji had also all appeared on the battlefield. It could be said that aside from Ryokugyu, roughly eighty percent of the Marines’ current top-tier combatants had already shown itself.
The scale of this war had undoubtedly surpassed even the Summit War, but unless the Marines had all gone insane, there was no way they would completely transfer all their forces from across the world. At this moment, Marine Headquarters was bound to be weaker than ever before.
Yet this place was the face of the Marines. Both the World Government and the Marines had to consider whether someone might take advantage of the emptiness in their rear defenses to launch a surprise attack on Marine Headquarters. Kaido had come precisely to test who had been left behind to guard the rear.
As far as his objective was concerned, Kaido was extremely excited. After all, there was practically no one on the seas who had ever been able to single-handedly invade Marine Headquarters. The last person to do so, Golden Lion, had already been defeated by his daughter.
But judging by the result, Kaido was disappointed.
“What? You’re the only one guarding this place? That’s way too boring.”
Seeing that Sengoku was the only person to charge out from the Marine Headquarters building, the interest on Kaido’s face visibly began to fade. He even sat directly down in the plaza of Marine Headquarters and started yawning.
One Sengoku didn’t feel like enough of a fight.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But before Sengoku could even approach, a dense barrage of cannon fire erupted from within Marine Headquarters. After moving Marine Headquarters to the New World, Akainu had placed special emphasis on strengthening the firepower of the new headquarters.
Although its foundation could not compare to Marineford’s, the new Marine Headquarters, rebuilt from the former G-1 Base, possessed even greater firepower.
“Fire! Fire!”
Inside one of the Marine gun emplacements, Kamlai mechanically repeated the motions in his hands according to his superior’s orders. He was a Marine with less than two years of service, having enlisted during the World Military Draft held in the same year Akainu became Fleet Admiral.
Having originally served in his kingdom’s military, he was highly proficient in artillery firing techniques. Through his own efforts and achievements, he had become an artilleryman stationed at Marine Headquarters.
During the war over the past few days, he had already fired many shells. The sea never lacked people who overestimated themselves. Before this, scattered groups of pirates had tried to attack Marine Headquarters during this period, hoping to make a name for themselves and let the world hear their names.
In a certain sense, they succeeded. Whenever the Marines issued their battle reports, those pirates successfully found their names listed among the Marines’ confirmed victories.
But today, Kamlai had encountered the most terrifying opponent imaginable—the Emperor of the Sea himself.
“He should be… dead, right…?”
“Maybe. There’s no movement anymore. Who could possibly take that many artillery shells? That was a full standard load of ammunition…”
The gun emplacements with a clear firing arc had frantically poured out firepower for several minutes straight, only stopping after exhausting all the ammunition at hand. In the past, they had encountered plenty of pirates as well, but under the Marines’ heavy firepower, those ships had been nothing more than targets.
“Don’t just stand there like idiots! Get out and take cover immediately!!”
Just as Kamlai was observing the situation through the firing slit, the superior who was always extraordinarily strict during daily training suddenly began issuing orders in an anxious voice.
The soldiers didn’t understand why, but the habits drilled into them through training made them obey instinctively.
The other gun emplacements were in more or less the same situation. All the artillerymen began running toward other areas.
“Sir, why are we running away?”
“This is a tactical retreat. You rookies don’t understand. That enemy is different from the ones we’ve faced before. No… rather, he isn’t even human in the first place. Names might sometimes be given incorrectly, but epithets are never handed out for no reason.
Kaido’s epithet is… the Strongest Creature.”
“So—”
Boom!
Before Kamlai could even finish asking his question, the gun emplacement they had just occupied was blasted into the sky. Looking back, the steel-reinforced emplacement had already been reduced to molten metal. A single Blast Breath had carved an irreparable scar through the structure as easily as a hot knife slicing through butter.
“There are only three possible outcomes to a bombardment.
First, that guy is dead. If he’s dead, then there’s no need to keep shelling him, and there’s no reason for us to remain in the same place.
Second, he’s injured. Even an ordinary beast will retaliate when hurt. We couldn’t survive the counterattack of a monster like that, so we have to relocate immediately.
Third, the bombardment did absolutely nothing. In his eyes, we’re nothing more than ants. But he won’t care whether a few ants live or die. If you don’t want to throw your life away for nothing, then you need to find somewhere safe.
No matter which case it is, retreating is always the optimal choice.”
This officer was a veteran who had survived the Summit War. He had witnessed what those Emperors of the Sea looked like when they truly unleashed their power. Although he had listed every possibility, even he himself did not believe the first one.
If artillery shells were enough to kill monsters like these, there would be no need for the Marines to train their physical skills.
That was merely something he had said to reassure the soldiers.
The gun emplacements might look safe, but in front of monsters like these, they were nothing more than cast-iron coffins.
“Ah…”
As the smoke cleared, Kaido shifted into a new position, even brazenly lying on his side in the middle of the plaza. Aside from being covered in dust, there was not a single visible injury on his body. Only his mouth, which had just unleashed the Blast Breath, was still giving off a trace of heat.
“Sengoku, there’s no need to continue with this boring probing. I’ve already given you enough time, haven’t I? Are your reinforcements still not here?”
“Kaido, don’t get too arrogant. This is Marine Headquarters, not a place for you to run wild!”
Sengoku’s body began to expand, and the golden Buddha appeared in the plaza of Marine Headquarters. Golden light spilled from the Buddha onto the ground, dispelling some of the unease among the surrounding soldiers.
“I haven’t gone senile yet. It’s precisely because I know this is Marine Headquarters that I came here. Back then, it took two of you to take down Golden Lion, but now you come to face me all by yourself. Looks like Marine Headquarters really is empty.”
“Even so, this place is still a graveyard for pirates like you! Any pirate who breaks into Marine Headquarters will eventually pay the price! Buddha’s Impact!”
Even though Sengoku had already entered a stage of simply going through the motions, Kaido’s tone and contempt still ignited his anger. The figure of the giant Buddha leaped into the sky, the halo behind his back seeming to merge with the blazing sun overhead.
With a trace of resolve, Sengoku brought his palm down toward Kaido below. Kaido remained where he was without making a single move, as though he intended to take Sengoku’s attack head-on with his own body.
However, that palm never ended up reaching Kaido. Before Sengoku could land, a black figure flew in from afar.
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