"Damn it!"
Complete chaos erupted on the ice below. Sengoku shouted furiously, snapping his gaze forward. After Newgate kicked things off with the colossal waves, the frontline infantry instantly fell into disarray. Even though Kuzan had stepped in and neutralized the tsunamis, it was impossible to stop the momentum. Every single crew member of the allied pirate forces took advantage of the frozen bay to charge the shore. They launched a brutal, coordinated offensive toward the scaffold, ready to carve a bloody path to rescue Teach.
And the captain of the armada truly lived up to his legendary title. Swinging his Supreme Grade blade, he combined his earthquake powers with devastating physical strength and masterful swordsmanship, no officer could even get close. Add overwhelming Conqueror's Haki to the mix, and entire battalions of infantry were wiped out by the shockwaves alone.
Seeing this terrifying display, Sengoku's eyes widened in shock. He stared intently at the sweeping giant as if he had witnessed a ghost. "Your chronic illness... you're fully healed?"
"Gurararara, you noticed?" Hearing the Fleet Admiral's shocked gasp, Newgate let out a hearty laugh. "It was just a minor ache. A little rest and I'm perfectly fine. I appreciate the concern from an old friend."
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible." Sengoku glared, gritting his teeth as he spoke with a heavy, fearful tone. "That was definitely no minor injury."
Although the Government wouldn't declare open war against the Yonkos under normal circumstances, their intelligence network had never stopped tracking them. Whitebeard's deteriorating health was a well-documented fact. If he could have been cured, it would have happened a decade ago. Why would it drag out until the eve of this war?
But now... the brutal reality exceeded his worst expectations. The Yonko's vitality appeared entirely restored. Furthermore, the pirates had bypassed the outer defenses completely, plunging directly into the heart of the fortress. Following the tsunamis, they successfully landed on the plaza, instantly shattering the orderly defensive lines. Coupled with the division commanders, each a renowned powerhouse in the New World, ordinary soldiers were being slaughtered.
Letting this massacre drag on was absolutely not an option. And Mock still hadn't shown up.
"When is that bastard going to finally make his move?" Sengoku scoffed in deep frustration.
His eyes suddenly narrowed as a tactical thought struck him. "What about the Shichibukai? Get them into the fray immediately. We didn't pardon them just to watch a show."
As he spoke, he swept his commanding gaze down to the front lines. He felt a brief wave of relief seeing the warlords enter the chaotic fray, but his eyes caught something bizarre, and froze in sheer confusion.
"What is Mihawk doing? Does he actually know that brat?"
Watching the swordsman casually chat with Dante on the sidelines, Sengoku frowned again. But a moment later, he spotted something else entirely, his face filling with even more strong bewilderment.
"What the hell is that boy doing?"
There, amidst the screaming and the cannon fire.
Rebel leader, Dante, seemed to have pulled a stack of papers from his coat and handed them directly to the fishman Jinbe and the pirate empress Boa Hancock.
As Sengoku's confused mutter fell, a communications officer hurried onto the platform, saluting frantically. "Fleet Admiral, we've confirmed the anomaly. Reports from the sector state the rebel captain is handing out flyers to Jinbe and Hancock. He appears to be recruiting from both Fish-Man Island and Amazon Lily. He's even running commercial advertisements. Oh, right."
The sweating officer pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his coat and handed it over. "The sniper in charge of that sector specifically shot this out of the air."
The heavy, suffocating silence settled over the platform.
Teach, Garp, and Sengoku stared at the colorful paper in absolute, mind-numbing disbelief.
Utterly bewildered, Sengoku looked down at the print. Drawn on it was a familiar, grinning figure extending his right hand. Beside it ran a bold line of text: [I'm waiting for you to join!]
The front was indeed a blatant recruitment notice, and the listed compensation looked absurdly generous. The back... was genuinely a catalog of advertisements. It featured all sorts of local East Blue businesses, ranging from shipbuilding to footbaths, even including a highly famous cosmetic product that had taken the seas by storm recently.
Sengoku scowled as he read it. What was that punk doing? Actually running onto an apocalyptic battlefield to solicit business?
He glanced downward at the plaza. Seeing Admiral Borsalino holding an identical flyer and tracing his fingers softly at the spa discounts amidst a firefight, Sengoku face turned red.
"Stop him immediately." he hissed. "This is a battlefield. A battlefield, do you hear me? And tell Borsalino to take this seriously, or he can forget about his annual bonus! Also, order all the warlords to attack right now. Stop the pirates from advancing."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Receiving the furious command, the officer found the entire situation bizarre but rushed off to relay the orders anyway.
Watching him leave, Sengoku let out a dismissive scoff and spoke furiously. "I never should have let him dock here. What does he take this war for?"
He could not bear to watch the circus any longer. His eyes hardened as he turned back to face the advancing Yonko. Looking at the man sweeping aside all opposition, utterly unmatched, Sengoku began to truly fear that the legend's strength was fully restored.
"Huh? Isn't that the new Shichibukai, Edward Weevil?"
Noticing a massive, stitched figure drop into the fray, Sengoku blinked in surprise. A relieved look appeared on his face as he watched the brute stand before Whitebeard. "Looks like the warlords aren't entirely useless."
"Edward Weevil? The brute who cut off Zephyr's arm?" Garp leaned over, peering down with curiosity. "There are rumors he's Newgate's biological son. Wonder if it's true."
"Pops's son?" Teach looked up in confusion, glancing down at the plaza. "That's impossible."
However, Garp's voice rang out again. "Huh, Whitebeard stopped? Could the rumor actually be true?"
Teach and Garp blinked in absolute bewilderment.
Before either could voice their confusion, they looked back down. They watched Newgate, who had briefly paused, suddenly raise Murakumogiri and mercilessly swat Buckingham Stussy and Edward Weevil completely out of sight like annoying flies.
The three men on the platform fell into a dead, speechless silence.
"Bwahaha!" Garp scratched the back of his head in awkward embarrassment. "Guess not."
"Is this really the time to worry about pirate family drama?" Sengoku pulled his gaze back and rounded on Garp with a furious shout. This was a war. And the old fool was gossiping?
"Take this seriously. Also..." He looked at the guards nearby, his voice hardening. "Get all the warlords moving, we didn't invite them here for posing. If they slack off for another minute, strip every single one of them of their titles."
"Is it truly impossible to get the cosmetics for free?"
"Of course..."
As Dante approached, deep disdain flickered in Hancock's eyes, though her arrogant smile never wavered. Just as she expected, absolutely no man could resist her charm. Not even this rogue who betrayed the Government. She had wondered what sort of powerful figure knew Mihawk, but he seemed utterly ordinary and easily manipulated.
Nearby, Mihawk watched Dante approach the empress. He frowned briefly, then lost interest. 'Is he falling for a pretty face? You've got to be kidding me.' While Hancock's legendary arrogance kept most men at bay, who knew who would end up playing whom in this scenario.
Sure enough, events unfolded exactly as the swordsman predicted.
Dante walked right up to the tall woman. Before the frowning empress could even open her mouth to make a demand, he shook his head apologetically.
"No way. It's a small business back home. I'm really sorry, but..." Dante stopped in front of her, hesitating with a conflicted, businesslike expression. "I can personally give you a five percent discount. You know, ordinary people don't get deals like this. I'm only doing it because you're so pretty."
The proud, manipulative smile froze entirely on Hancock's face. A five percent discount? A man actually offered her a mere coupon?
Before she could scowl and summon her petrifying powers, Dante leaned in closely.
"Of course, we can give you the premium spa package for free." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Not only will it smooth your skin and make you even more radiant, but our new formula can completely remove old tattoos and deep burns."
At the mention of removing burns, Hancock's entire body tensed. She had been ready to make Dante turn to stone, but those words stopped her cold. Before she could demand an explanation, Mihawk's flat voice cut through the tension.
"Let's leave the jokes. Sengoku has given the order, it's time to actually fight. If we don't act now, our immunity will be revoked."
With that, he ignored the others and prepared to find a quiet corner of the battlefield to slack off.
As for Jinbe, he quietly tucked away the recruitment flyers. His heavy gaze paused briefly on the execution scaffold behind him before he slowly moved closer to the fighting.
As for Hancock, she also folded her flyer away. She shot Dante a piercing, guarded look, maintaining her aloof demeanor. "I will go try it out after this. I want to see exactly how you plan to make me even more beautiful."
"You're always welcome."
Once the warlords dispersed, the small viewing area quieted down.
"She truly deserves to be called the pirate empress. So pretty. And..." Viola's voice took on a sultry, teasing tone as she smiled at him. "Boss, she's exactly your type."
"She really is quite striking. When she comes in for the treatment, remember to charge her double for the creams."
Viola blinked. "Wasn't it free?"
"The service is free, but the miracle cosmetics cost a fortune. What? Do you take me for a simp who would lose out on money for a pretty face?"
Viola stared flatly at her captain, shaking her head before remembering her actual duty. "By the way, Boss, I just received a covert signal from Mock. It seems he's finally arrived."
"He's here?"
At Viola's words, the lazy amusement vanished from Dante's expression. He looked out at the apocalyptic, blood-soaked battlefield ahead.
"Looks like it's about time."
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