66 66. Kong, Blackbeard, And The Intensified War
Zephyr felt deeply embarrassed.
He was certain of one thing, no matter the circumstances.
Unfortunately, after today's events, he's now with the Marines.
He was the former Admiral defeated by the Fifty Bailey Pirates.
"I've got to increase Tony Tony Chopper's bounty when I get back. The higher, the better," Zephyr thought to himself, taking a sharp breath.
Chopper observed the former Admiral, now kneeling weakly before him, struggling to catch his breath.
The signs of illness were evident in his opponent.
But it was a condition that couldn't be cured, only managed.
It was hard to believe.
The seasoned Marine who had just moments ago stood toe-to-toe with him now struggled with asthma.
Despite his age and ailment, he still wielded formidable strength.
Zephyr was indeed a formidable opponent, akin to a monster.
Little did Chopper know, he was seen as a monster in Zephyr's eyes as well.
Chopper faced the ailing Zephyr but refrained from attacking.
As a doctor, it went against his principles to harm a patient in distress.
Yet, he had no means to treat him either.
With no medication at hand for asthma, Chopper could only hope for the Marine doctors to provide aid.
"Back to the New World, everyone," Whitebeard commanded.
Under the leadership of their Captain and Vice Captain, the Whitebeard Pirates commenced an orderly evacuation.
The weaker members boarded the ships first, while the stronger captains remained behind.
Thanks to Luffy's earlier intervention, a large portion of the Marine soldiers on the protective wall were incapacitated by Conqueror's Haki.
As a result, the coastal artillery remained inactive, allowing the pirate ships to approach unhindered.
"Fire Punch!" Ace leapt into the air and unleashed a blazing punch.
A massive flame tornado engulfed the sea, vaporizing the ice remnants left by Whitebeard's tsunami and clearing the way for the pirate evacuation.
The Whitebeard Pirates swiftly retreated, encountering feeble resistance from the Marines.
The sudden influx of Admiral-level adversaries caught everyone off guard.
With so many powerful opponents, the elite Marine soldiers, numbering only 26, found themselves largely ineffective.
Recruited from Marine Bases worldwide, they played a minimal role in the conflict.
Engaging in direct combat was out of the question, given the overwhelming presence of Admiral-level adversaries.
Even the mid-level Marine fighters struggled to make an impact, finding themselves at a significant disadvantage.
The elite Vice Admirals stationed at headquarters battled fiercely against the captains of Whitebeard's pirate crew, struggling even more against the stronger ones.
The top-tier fighters of the Marines were tied down, unable to provide support to their comrades.
The middle ranks of the Marines found themselves overwhelmed by the seasoned cadre of the Whitebeard Pirates.
And now, with Sengoku being attacked by three assailants simultaneously, his fate unknown, the Marines' top fighters were at a disadvantage.
The chances of turning the tide were slim.
"Let them retreat," Tsuru said calmly. "Continuing this battle will only lead to more losses. We must accept defeat if it comes to that."
Vice Admiral Kizaru's expression shifted, but he remained silent in response to Tsuru's command.
"This is my decision, and I'll take full responsibility," Tsuru declared with unwavering determination.
With no outside intervention, the current state of the Marines made it difficult to fend off Whitebeard and his crew, let alone other threats.
Despite Whitebeard's apprehension towards Mariejois' support and the Marines' concerns about the Red Hair Pirates, the power of the World Government struggled to match the revolutionary army and the formidable Red Hair Pirates.
Tsuru's words left the other Marines with nothing to rebut.
While Tsuru's rank was only Vice Admiral, akin to Garp, he was a respected figure within the older generation of the Marines, holding sway even over the current Admirals.
With Garp inactive and Sengoku's fate uncertain, Tsuru wielded significant authority.
"It seems this war has come to an end," Marco sighed in relief as the cyan flame wings in his hands dissipated, his arms returning to normal.
Both sides felt the tension ease, hoping for a safe evacuation, particularly for Ace.
However, the wounded pirates could only be salvaged to the best of their abilities.
"Is it finally over?" Nami asked aboard the Moby Dick, breathing a sigh of relief.
This level of warfare was beyond the capacity of small-time pirates like them.
To be blunt, Nami's abilities were insufficient to take on the multitude of soldiers and pirates on the battlefield, so she remained aboard the Moby Dick.
With Usopp on guard, she felt assured that nothing would go wrong.
However, her peace was short-lived.
Boom!
An explosion rocked the area around the Moby Dick.
"What? What's happening now?" Nami exclaimed, panic evident in her expression.
Usopp's attention quickly shifted towards the distant sea behind them.
In the distance, emerging from the fog, were three imposing warships.
Standing proudly at the helm of the central warship was a majestic, towering old man.
Though older in appearance than Rayleigh, his muscular physique defied his age.
Beside him stood a tall figure who was shrouded in a massive white cloak and wearing a mask.
"It's that troublemaker again, Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru," the old man's laughter echoed from the approaching warship, reaching the ears of those at Marineford.
"Here comes trouble," Whitebeard muttered, unleashing a shockwave that forced a group of Marines to retreat. His expression grew solemn as he observed the approaching warship.
"This voice... could it be?" Rayleigh's demeanour shifted slightly, hinting at a realization of who was approaching.
"Brother Kong!" Garp exclaimed sharply, recognizing the familiar voice.
Kong, the former Marine Fleet Admiral, is now the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government.
It seemed that Mariejois, the seat of the World Government, had received word from Marineford.
After all, this was a war being broadcast worldwide, and Mariejois and its Western Army were at a disadvantage.
The arrival of Kong brought cheers from the Marines at Marineford, even eliciting a sigh of relief from Tsuru.
She could see that the figure standing beside Kong was likely a high-ranking member of the Cipher Pol Organization, sent to support Marineford. The probability of them being an Admiral-level powerhouse was high.
With Kong and this unknown figure joining forces, there was a real chance they could halt the Whitebeard Pirates' retreat.
It was evident that, at this moment, the Marines' top fighters were only slightly inferior to those of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Pirates, have you underestimated us?"
Kong's laughter echoed as his body vanished from the warship.
In the blink of an eye, several white sonic booms appeared in the sky, heralding Kong's instantaneous appearance before Whitebeard.
His muscular frame filled the air, invisible Haki enveloping his fists as he delivered a powerful punch straight to Whitebeard's face.
Boom!
The clash between Kong's fist and Whitebeard's vibrating blade sent shockwaves rippling across the port.
Fortunately, Whitebeard had positioned himself at the forefront of the evacuation route, minimizing the risk of collateral damage to his own crew.
However, Whitebeard staggered slightly from the impact, while Kong remained steadfast as a rainbow.
Kong's strength wasn't necessarily greater than Garp's despite his advanced age and declining abilities.
Yet, Whitebeard's current condition was dire.
Since stepping onto the battlefield, he had been pushing his broken and ailing body to its limits.
His fight had taken its toll, leaving him weakened and struggling to keep up.
Marco, intimately familiar with Whitebeard's condition, felt a surge of anxiety, knowing his captain was nearing his limits.
Regrettably, Marco couldn't intervene at that moment.
Meanwhile, Zoro, his body surging with turbulent ghostly energy, unleashed his Nine Sword Style technique, aiming nine slashes at Luffy in an instant.
But in an empty spot, a figure clad in a white cloak and mask suddenly appeared.
With a swift stab, Zoro's attack tore through the cloak, clanging against the man's armoured body.
Despite the forceful strike, the thick Armament Haki and resilient armour absorbed most of the impact, preventing immediate injury.
"Marines? Since when did they resort to such underhanded tactics?" Zoro questioned calmly, his grip tightening on his renowned blade. "Attempting to ambush our captain?"
"It's a member of the Cipher Pol Organization," he added, recognizing the opponent's affiliation.
Rayleigh, with his extensive experience dealing with the World Government, immediately recognized the man's identity.
However, he found it puzzling.
Under normal circumstances, members of the Cipher Pol Organization were rarely dispatched, as they served as a crucial force in safeguarding Mariejois.
Moreover, the man before him appeared to be of Admiral-level strength, indicating he was among the top operatives of the CPO.
Typically, if they were to intervene, it would likely be to apprehend Fire Fist Ace, not target Luffy specifically.
This focused attention on Luffy and raised questions for Rayleigh.
"Why exactly? Is there something about Luffy that concerns the Five Elders?" he pondered.
Rayleigh suspected it might be due to the Straw Hat Pirates' formidable strength, which instilled deep fear in the Five Elders, prompting them to target Luffy.
However, Rayleigh's keen intuition suggested there might be more to it.
Clang!
Zoro swung his sword fiercely, prompting Rayleigh to rush forward, blade drawn.
Seeing the failed assassination attempt, the masked CPO operative wisely retreated, disappearing before Zoro's eyes and reappearing by Kong's side like a shadow.
Meanwhile, as Whitebeard faced off against the Marines led by Sora, the attention of everyone present was drawn towards the rear of the Naval Headquarters.
"What's that?" exclaimed some of the Marine soldiers.
A colossal shadow loomed over the entirety of the Naval Headquarters—an unimaginable giant.
Even Luffy couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size of the figure, dwarfing even the towering structures of the headquarters.
Compared to the Oars they encountered at Thriller Bark, this giant, named Sanjuan Wolf, was on a whole other scale.
Standing at a staggering 150 meters tall, he made even the largest members of the Whitebeard Pirates seem minuscule in comparison.
"It's Sanjuan Wolf," a Marine Vice Admiral recognized the colossal figure.
Once notorious pirates, these individuals had committed crimes so heinous that they were consigned to Eternal Hell, the sixth floor of the Impel Down prison, destined to be erased from history by the World Government.
"And there's Catarina Devon, Vasco Shot, and Avaro Pizarro," Kong remarked grimly. Each of them was a notorious pirate imprisoned for life in Impel Down.
Their sudden appearance raised eyebrows.
"Why are criminals from the sixth level of Impel Down here?" Kong's expression soured at the sight of these escapees, some of whom he had personally apprehended.
But the appearance of these criminals wasn't the most concerning aspect.
Their presence signalled the breach of Impel Down's supposedly impenetrable defences.
How many Level 6 prisoners had escaped?
Notably absent were the most formidable of the Level 6 pirates, those on par with the Four Emperors Admirals.
"It's Blackbeard," a familiar voice reverberated among the Marines.
Sengoku, battered and bloody, approached, his expression grim.
Upon his arrival at Marineford, he had received reports of Blackbeard's audacious assault on a warship and his subsequent march towards Impel Down.
The initial belief had been that Impel Down, with Magellan and Shiryu guarding it, was impregnable to Blackbeard's onslaught.
Now, it was evident that the situation was dire.
"As expected of The Resourceful General Sengoku, I really can't hide anything from you, old thief, hahaha," Blackbeard's booming laughter echoed from atop the colossal San Juan Wolf battleship.
With an entourage in tow, Blackbeard descended from the ship's head.
"Teach," Whitebeard muttered, a silver-white glint flickering in his eyes.
His grip tightened around his long sword, his aura transcending its limits, causing Kong to tremble nearby.
"Teach," Ace growled, eyeing Blackbeard with determination yet refraining from rash action.
His time in prison had tempered his impulsiveness, and he understood the gravity of the situation.
"Let's deal with Whitebeard together, Admiral Sengoku, old thief, hahaha," Blackbeard proclaimed, locking eyes with Sengoku.
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