94 Chapter 93: Snake Pit (4)

G-1. As of the current time, its glorious features were no more. Ruined and shattered from the intense battle against the Beast pirates, the Marine's infamous base was rendered into a disastrous mess that without a doubt, will take a long period of time to restore.

"...You've given us quite a ruckus, Kaidou."

And in this state, Sakazuki coldly stated with sharp eyes, uncaring of the blood that flowed down from his forehead.

"Ha..." Gritting his teeth, Sakazuki adjusted his still-intact cap. He then muttered, "But so what? So what if there's been quite a good deal of losses for us? What we started here, we will complete—thoroughly."

Hanazumi, a fellow Admiral, was found standing aside from Sakazuki, with evident signs of injuries throughout his body. He repeatedly bumped his arched back as he held his sword—embedded on the ground—like a cane, "Hng... I've grown far too old for this. Kaidou, can't you go a little easier here?"

In the surrounding sea, corpses, ruins of ships, and more—all of them were scattered around. Many were in need of help, and if they were taken to care just in time, recovery would be possible. However, the two Admirals firmly held onto the belief that 'all is for the greater good,' and that their 'sacrifices' will be worthwhile in capturing one of the three Catastrophes of the New World.

But, the one standing in front of them was none other than Kaidou of the 'Beast' himself. There was no guarantee that this monster will fall by the hands of Sakazuki and Hanazumi, for the title of 'Strongest Creature in the World' wasn't for nothing.

"WORORORO!" With a burst of boisterous laughter, Kaidou, uncaring of numerous gashes, bruises, burns, and all sorts of damages present on him, grinned in pure excitement. He barked at the two, "Now this is getting fun!!!"

Swinging his spikey club, Hassaikai, Kaidou's body slowly inflated into an even bigger form, along with the appearance of azure-coloured scales all over his skin. His teeth sharpened, and now standing in the 'hybrid form' of Fish Fish fruit, model: Azure Dragon, Kaidou readied for yet another clash against two Admirals of Marine.

Noticing Kaidou's upcoming attack, two Admirals raised their caution—

"K-Kaidou-san!!!"

—until one of his own called him from the back with a sense of urgency.

"...?"

Kaidou, whose grin died down in annoyance, turned his head around with a murderous gaze in his eyes. They seemed to be speaking, that if the reason he's been called isn't plausible enough, there will be consequences for interrupting his fun.

"We got a contact from King-san!! Onigashima... it's currently under attack!!"

"...And?"

Unfazed by the news, Kaidou growled in a rage, "What's the need for us to be worried when King himself is defending it?!"

"They aren't just one!! Big Mom and Golden Lion... they've invaded us simultaneously!!"

Kaidou's eyes widened in shock. Simultaneously, Sakazuki and Hanazumi too flinched, having eavesdropped the information that appeared detrimental for the Beast pirates.

"WHAT?!!!!"

Watching Kaidou's outburst from far back,

"Zehahaha... it seems that they've finally begun."

Teach laughed as he sat on a ruined section of G-1, enjoying a bottle of rum in the middle of the battlefield. The cannonballs endlessly flew back and forth, the cries and roars from marines and pirates relentlessly boomed forth, and the induced destructions generated dark smoke that levitated up high and covered up the sun. To Teach, such a scenery was akin to a side dish that added a flavour his alcohol.

"...Begun?" Mihawk, who was sitting nearby Teach with his legs and arms crossed, raised his eyebrow. He casually lifted up an empty stone cup—supposedly carved by his skilled swordsmanship—and Teach, chuckling in amusement, poured some of the rum into it.

"Why, are you interested in joining me, Hawk Eye?" Chugging down the rum, Teach subsequently turned to look at the Queen, the obese man with a huge bleeding gash across his chest.

Currently, said man, having a huge gash across his chest, was being carried by the goons of Beast pirates.

"You seem to have gotten bored of your toy quite quickly. Who knows? Zehahaha, perhaps I can provide you a fun more intense than this."

"Hmph," Mihawk snorted, "Keep your schemes to yourself. The only idea that I once has been interested in was to fight Golden Lion, but a man without three limbs is akin to a lion who's lost its fangs."

"Zehahaha! Come whenever you feel like! There's always a spot for strong ones like you!"

'...A chance.'

Meanwhile, Sakazuki locked his eyes on the distracted Kaidou who was in a deep frown, seemingly in contemplation. Briefly shifting his gaze to the right, he saw Hanazumi nodding slightly.

Tsss…

Sakazuki's right fist emanated a scorching-hot magma that bubbled in a dangerous manner. Just by the existence of it, the nearby surrounding rapidly heated up—causing many marines and pirates nearby to move away from the scorching air.

Hanazumi, took in a deep breath of said hot air and held his sword horizontally. With his eyes closed, he encased the blade in a fine Armament Haki: Emission, ready to resume the battle against Kaidou. Kaidou's goon, witnessing the Admirals' sudden burst of strength, opened his mouth, trying to warn Kaidou—

BOOOM!

—However, it was far too late by then. The magma splattered all around, boiling up the ocean and melting down the solid objects it landed onto. Sakazuki's fist was found struck right onto Kaidou's scale-covered chest, and Hanazumi's blade also, was embedded right by Kaidou's side.

"K-KAIDOU-SAN!!!!!" The goon screamed in horror, completely overwhelmed by the sheer pressure generated by the Admirals' attacks.

"...Damn it." And surprisingly, Kaidou didn't even express an ounce of pain. Still engaged in a thought, he cursed, "Fucking old bastards... so you want my Road Poneglyph, don't you?!!"

Then, raising his hand up and swatting away the handful of blood that fell from his lips, Kaidou sighed in genuine disappointment before saying in a low tone, disregarding the attacks done onto him, "...We're retreating."

"Hm...?!"

Hanazumi and Sakazuki attempted to pull their sword and fist back out, but to no avail. Kaidou's bleeding and wounded body had a hard grip over them, and in this point-blank distance, Kaidou raised his Hassaikai up.

PAZZZ!!!

The terrifying jolt of electrical Conqueror' Haki: Infusion—one that sent shivers down into the spines of two Admirals—burst into existence.

"My apologies," Growled Kaidou, "Unfortunately, there is no more time for me to enjoy the fight against you two."

Unconsciously, Sakazuki and Hanazumi gazed at the Hassaikai above them with shaky eyes and cold sweat, knowing full well that it was too late to dodge. Sakazuki, instinctively, tried to blast the magma out throughout his entire body, however,

"Conquered Three Worlds,"

Hassaikai was faster.

"Ragnaraku!!!"

BOOOOOOM!

__________

"CHASE AFTER THEM!!! DON'T LET A SINGLE ONE ESCAPE!!!" One Vice Admiral, named Lacroix, yelled at his lungs, engulfed by the complacency—that the Marine 'successfully' drove away the Whitebeard pirates.

Out in the sea, the suddenly-sick Whitebeard was found in his Moby Dick along with the rest of his crew. Moby Dick itself was followed by multiple pirate ships, belonging to the subordinate crews of the Whitebeard pirates. Marine Warships, the ones that have been surrounding the Marineford, immediately sailed forth, chasing after the pirates and bombarding cannons one after the other.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

In the plaza, quite a few Government-affiliated soldiers were found celebrating, laughing in a crazed manner as one among them held onto the decapitated head of the supposed 'Whitey Bay.'

"HAHAHA! REWARD!!! WHERE'S MY REWARD, MARINE?!!"

From one Warship that remained instead of chasing—one where Zephyr and his trainees boarded—stared at the speaker of vulgar words in dislike, especially Robin.

"...Something feels off. There simply was no way that Whitebeard would've thrown away his crew member like that." Robin, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, whispered, "But his demeanour back then, he seemed confident. Whitey Bay... previously locked up in the Impel Down..."

Robin quickly ran her brain. And the only conclusion she could reach was,

'...She's alive?'

Marines shivered as they cautiously stared at the retreating Whitebeard fleet, unable to let their guards down after witnessing Whitebeard at his full might. In this situation, Tsuru turned at Sengoku, seemingly with a stern expression. Sengoku, in a seriousness of his own, turned to Garp who stood by his side.

"…"

Garp, in a stern expression that's unlike his usual grinning self, looked at the horizon where the Whitebeard pirates were sailing away.

"Sengoku," He then chuckled slightly, "What we are about to do now... it will change the world."

"...Indeed." Sengoku found a weak smile on his own face also. Turning to look at where Garp's eyes were headed at, he whispered, "Perhaps, I was aware of the World Government's true self from the start. But for the sake of peace, I turned a blind eye to their acts..."

He raised up his trembling hand. Letting out a breath, Sengoku stared at it, being reminded of what it meant to be nervous.

"Is this the right time to act?"

"...It isn't a matter of time, Sengoku." Garp replied. In his view, there stood the white-haired teenager, one who taught him what the Marine is truly capable of.

"We'll never find the 'right time.' We'll never be ready. From the start, it was the question of... whether we can muster enough courage or not."

"...Courage it is, huh." Closing his eyes, Sengoku erased all thoughts that brought him to nervousness. For a brief moment, he stood still like this, no longer speaking anything.

Subsequently, one by one, people began to turn and look at him. It was the Conqueror's Haki, revealing itself from the depth of Sengoku's heart; yes, he too had the quality of a Supreme King after all.

"I have something to say… to all of you. Halt the chase."

Slowly, Sengoku lifted up the Baby Den Den Mushi, one that served as a voice-amplifying speaker.

"Now isn't the time to chase after the Whitebeard pirates!"

The marines murmured among themselves, confused by the serious demeanour of Sengoku—

"Approximately two hours ago, in the midst of war, I received a signal from Rear Admiral Gion—who was given a top-secret mission on the lowest floor of the Impel Down!"

"...Mission?" One marine let out a dumbfounded remark, supposedly filled with exhaustion.

Proko—a variant of Den Den Mushi that projects signals from Cameko. Just now, Tsuru handed it to Sengoku, and Sengoku placed it atop one broken piece of stone. Upon pressing a button on it, the viewable screen sprang forth, displaying the ongoing battle between... Smoker, the former Vice Admiral, and Blaise, the former Admiral—somewhere in the Impel Down that the majority didn't recognize.

"...W-what is this?" Kujaku, standing nearby Robin, widened her eyes in shock.

"Currently, this scenery is being broadcasted live in Sabaody Archipelago! From that place, the Camekos held by many individuals are indirectly streaming this situation throughout the entire world!" Sengoku stated solemnly, "Former Admiral Blaise was revealed to be the Chief of CP0, Pierro! He secretly infiltrated the hidden level of the Impel Down, the place where the former Vice Admiral Smoker was locked up—for the supposed sin of defeating pirates!"

"...'Supposed?'" Vice Admiral Yamakaji narrowed his eyes at this, finding Sengoku's wordings irking. And then, Sengoku dropped a bomb,

"Said pirate, 'Martini' Hook, was revealed to be a slave, branded with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon long before his rise to the title of 'Warlord!' His path supposedly overlapped with former Vice Admiral Smoker during his sail to the Flevance... who's in the wrong here?!"

"...Oi," Zephyr, taking his sunglasses off, said with a cold sweat, "Are you for real, Sengoku? Fleet Admiral himself, siding with one whom the Government branded as a criminal?"

"What is justice?! For whom does the Marine exist?!" Sengoku cried, letting everything out of his mind, "Is it to protect the suffering innocents from the pirates who trample upon their daily lives, or is it to serve as the mundane workers hired by the Government and engage ourselves in a hypocritic notion—that we're in the right simply because our name is 'Marine?!!'"

The outsiders—T Bone, Igaram, Chaka, and more—they watched this sudden development with a rising nervousness, feeling that the situation was taking a strange turn.

Among Marine, few nodded, fully agreeing with the Sengoku's words. Some grimaced, feeling conflicted. Many expressed fear—afraid of earning the World Government's hostility; they glared at Sengoku, wondering if he's gone insane.

"DECIDE FOR YOURSELF, OF WHAT TRULY IS JUSTICE!!!"

On Sengoku's right and left stood Garp and Tsuru. Though they didn't speak a word, everyone recognized that they were with Sengoku... the legendary trio of Marine decided to oppose the World Government.

"...Smoker is fighting that man, the same one who locked him up in that prison. Without a doubt, he was sent by the Government to assassinate Smoker while the attention was diverted to the war against Whitebeard." Robin said in a shaky tone, having finally reached the truth, "So that's why they decided to take Whitey Bay in...!"

As Kujaku stood still, dazed, Robin quickly turned and looked at everyone on the ship. The trainees—they all gulped as they looked back at her, but eventually gave a firm nod.

"...Vice Admiral Smoker is in the right," Muttered Kujaku.

Ain, in nervousness, asked Zephyr, "What do you think of this, Zephyr-sensei?"

"...Brazen. Reckless. Headstrong." Zephyr commented, "There's no way the idea came from Sengoku alone."

He then paused. In his mind, the images of his passed-away family came up. His wife used to say,

<Be the man who can proudly say, 'I never strayed from the right!'>

"...Heh," Zephyr found himself grinning, "That slithery white snake... how did he even manage to coax that uptight Sengoku?"

Then, turning and facing the trainees who were staring at him, Zephyr ordered, "Turn the ship around! We're going to head to the Impel Down and rescue Smoker!"

Robin found herself unable to conceal her rising smile. Zephyr crossed his arms and said,

"Any objections?"

"""No, sir!"""

__________

BOOOM!

Left and right, along with the wisps of white smoke, Blaise was being bombarded by the consecutive repeats of punches, kicks, and a variety of techniques of Smoker—all enhanced by the application of the Armament Haki: Internal Destruction.

"Tch...!"

And it was evident that Blaise was struggling against Smoker, much to many's shock.

"Huff... huff..."

Smoker's breathing, however, was notably heavy, and his lungs were burning from the piling-up exhaustion. It was evident, that he was on his last strand of stamina.

BOOOOM!

Will Blaise go down before Smoker runs out of energy, or will the former persist until the latter's fall? Such was the world's question, spoken in a mix of curiosity and anticipation.

But regardless of the result, one thing was clear: the end of this battle was near.