"Borsalino-sama～"
Just then, Boa Hancock, who had been dominating her section of the battlefield, finally noticed Borsalino's presence.
Without a second thought, she leaped across the war-torn battlefield—ignoring the ongoing chaos—and threw herself into his arms.
"Who are you?"
Esdeath was immediately displeased.
She didn't care about "small pets" like Nami and Baby-5, who posed no threat.
But Boa Hancock?
This woman had the looks and body to rival her—and even the strength to be considered a real competitor. That was something Esdeath could not ignore.
"Borsalino-sama, who is this woman?"
Hancock frowned, giving Esdeath a sharp once-over.
Her instincts as a woman screamed at her that this blue-haired general was a dangerous rival.
"She's Esdeath, a general from an empire…"
Borsalino scratched his head. Thankfully, Gion had gone off to hunt down the escaped prisoners. Otherwise, if these three women gathered in one place and actually started fighting, they might reduce Marineford to rubble.
Even someone as legendary as Golden Lion Shiki, who once stormed Marineford, would probably get ground into the dirt if he faced this terrifying lineup—Gion, Esdeath, and Hancock.
"I am my dear's personal slave!"
Without hesitation, Esdeath wrapped herself around Borsalino's arm. After reading the romance novels her subordinate had found for her, this ice queen was convinced she had mastered the art of love.
"What?! No way! I want to be Borsalino-sama's personal slave too!"
Hancock latched onto Borsalino's other arm, glaring at Esdeath with undisguised hostility.
"Actually… I'm already Borsalino-sama's personal maid…"
Baby-5 muttered under her breath but immediately shrank behind Nami when the two "big sisters" turned their terrifying gazes on her. She didn't even dare lift her head.
As Borsalino found himself caught in a rather complicated situation, Marco had already carried Ace and Luffy to safety.
"Gu-la-la-la! Sengoku, your execution plan has failed!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily, eager to take Ace and the others and leave Marineford.
But he knew Sengoku wouldn't let him go so easily. Taking his sons and retreating would be just as difficult as rescuing Ace in the first place.
"Try escaping from Marine Headquarters first! Shockwave!"
Sengoku grunted as he unleashed a golden shockwave. While the execution had failed, the Marines had still obtained the Pure Gold, meaning they weren't leaving empty-handed. At least Borsalino now had something valuable to present to the Five Elders.
But Sengoku wasn't one to accept failure lightly. The Revolutionary Army hadn't cut off the live broadcast yet, meaning the whole world was still watching.
If Whitebeard successfully rescued Ace and escaped without consequences, it would be a humiliating blow—not just to him but to the entire Marine force.
A single shockwave from Sengoku carried enough power to sink a massive warship. Even Whitebeard found it difficult to counter.
Compared to the Whitebeard who was riddled with illness, Sengoku—who had no such hindrances—was in much better shape. As their battle progressed, Sengoku actually began to gain the upper hand.
This was almost unheard of.
Edward Newgate, the strongest man in the world, had never truly lost in a one-on-one battle.
Realizing this, Sengoku felt a surge of excitement. He didn't care about titles like "the strongest," but if he could take Whitebeard down right before his retirement, wouldn't that be the perfect conclusion to his career?
Unfortunately, an advantage wasn't the same as victory.
And Whitebeard was no amateur—he had decades of battlefield experience.
The moment he sensed Sengoku's thoughts, he deliberately exposed a weak point, baiting Sengoku into making a mistake. In the blink of an eye, Whitebeard turned the tide, seizing the initiative once more.
"Gu-la-la-la! Is that all you've got, Sengoku?!"
Whitebeard's booming laughter echoed through Marineford.
He was actually enjoying this fight.
For the first time in years, he felt alive—like he had returned to his prime.
And his opponent was no pushover either. Sengoku, a man who stood at the pinnacle of the Marines, was the perfect opponent for one last grand battle.
His Bisento, Murakumogiri, swung through the air with terrifying force.
Sengoku, who had only just begun gaining the advantage, suddenly found himself being pushed back by the rampaging Whitebeard.
The power of the Gura Gura no Mi was truly unmatched.
Even Sengoku, who had fought countless battles, had no intention of testing what would happen if he took a direct hit from an earthquake-infused slash.
"Old man! Let us help you!"
As Sengoku grew increasingly wary, Ace and Marco suddenly charged back toward Whitebeard's side.
Seeing this, Sengoku almost swore out loud.
A one-on-one fight against Whitebeard was already dicey.
Now, with Ace and Marco joining in, even he might not be able to hold out.
"Get lost! I'm not so old that I need my sons to fight for me!"
Luckily, Whitebeard wasted no time in blasting those two little brats away. He was Edward Newgate, the world's strongest man—if he had to rely on numbers to win, what right did he have to bear that title?
With Ace and Marco forced to find other targets, the battlefield remained chaotic.
The strongest pirate crew in the world, led by Whitebeard, was proving its reputation.
Add to that the Revolutionary Army's main forces and hundreds of escaped convicts from Impel Down, and even the Marine Headquarters' 100,000 elite troops were beginning to feel the pressure.
To make matters worse, most of the Seven Warlords of the Sea weren't exactly giving their full effort.
Even Moriah, who was usually eager to harvest corpses for shadows, realized that waiting for others to do the work was much easier than creating corpses himself.
After all, both the Marines and the pirates were fighting with everything they had, eager to send their enemies straight to hell. As long as Moriah avoided the stronger commanders, he could collect corpses without lifting a finger.
The battle was growing bloodier by the minute.
Casualty numbers were skyrocketing.
Even Marine Vice Admirals and Whitebeard's subordinate captains weren't immune—many had already fallen in battle.
The Marine Giant Vice Admirals, in particular, stood out just like Little Oars Jr. had earlier, making them easy targets for concentrated attacks.
Before long, only Vivian, the female Giant Vice Admiral, remained standing. The rest of the Giant Vice Admirals had all collapsed, severely wounded.
But it wasn't just the Marines suffering.
The Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army's coalition were taking heavy losses too.
More than sixteen of Whitebeard's allied captains had already died in battle.
The Southern Army Commander of the Revolutionary Army, Lindbergh, and two of his vice commanders were critically injured and forced to retreat.
As Marineford continued to descend into total carnage, with over a hundred thousand warriors locked in a blood-soaked war, a new presence arrived off the coast.
A ship known throughout the New World had appeared.
The Red Force!
The flagship of the Red Hair Pirates.
And its presence meant only one thing—Emperor Red-Haired Shanks and his entire crew had arrived.
"Hmm… looks like things are getting pretty intense…"
Standing at the bow, Shanks gazed toward Marineford's battlefield.
It hadn't quite reached the level of corpses littering the ground and rivers of blood, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time before that became the reality.
It was just that people in this world were absurdly tough.
Unless they were facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy or struck in a fatal spot, most of them could take three to five sword strikes and keep fighting like nothing happened.
Watching this from the live broadcast, Orochimaru was practically drooling.
This was the perfect material for human experiments.
Their insane durability made them ideal test subjects. If he played his cards right, he could reuse them multiple times.
Unfortunately, the Dimensional Chat Group's trading system didn't allow for living beings to be exchanged.
Besides group members themselves, only certain creatures like summoned beasts could be transferred between worlds.
As a result, when Esdeath traded Delocas—who had been clinging to life—to Orochimaru, what arrived on the other side was a very dead corpse.
Under normal circumstances, a top-tier warrior should have been able to survive even severe injuries for much longer.
But the Dimensional Chat Group's system didn't allow loopholes.
If it did, Borsalino could have pulled off an infinite number of ridiculous stunts.
Now the question was…
Should they step in and stop the battle?
Lucky Roux chomped down on a huge piece of roasted meat, chewing happily.
By all logic, the war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates had nothing to do with the Red-Haired Pirates.
But unfortunately for them, their captain, Shanks, was infamous throughout the New World for sticking his nose into every major conflict.
Wherever there was trouble, the Red-Haired Pirates were never far behind.
It was almost as if Shanks had set sail just to play peacemaker.
It wasn't just Kaido or Big Mom—both obsessed with ruling the seas—who found him annoying. Even Whitebeard himself had been bothered by Shanks' constant meddling more than once.
"Of course we're stepping in. Otherwise, why did we even bother coming here?"
Shanks spoke without hesitation.
For someone as annoyingly persistent as him, the fact that he was still alive and thriving in the cutthroat world of pirates proved just how strong the Red-Haired Pirates truly were.
"This won't be easy. The Marines and the Revolutionary Army are sworn enemies…"
Benn Beckman took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling a long stream of smoke.
Normally, breaking up a fight was just a matter of physically stopping both sides and talking some sense into them.
But this time, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army were only temporary allies.
To stop the war, they would have to convince all three major factions to agree to a ceasefire at the same time.
"That doesn't matter. We have to make them stop."
Shanks' expression grew serious.
"Teach still hasn't shown up. No one knows what he's planning."
His fingers instinctively brushed against the scar across his left eye—the mark Blackbeard had given him years ago.
Ever since then, Shanks had been deeply wary of Teach.
And now, that wariness was proving justified.
For decades, Teach had hidden in Whitebeard's shadow, never drawing attention to himself.
But now?
The time had come for him to reveal his true nature.
"I just hope we don't end up fighting."
Yasopp carefully polished his beloved rifle, using a clean cloth to wipe every inch.
For a top-class sniper, his gun was more important than his own life.
"Heh, we might end up getting attacked by both sides instead."
Lucky Roux grinned, still munching on his meat.
Neither the Marines nor the Whitebeard Pirates were known for their patience or diplomacy.
And right now?
Both sides were already seeing red.
°°°
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