However, although the Sun Knight Corps was cutting down enemies left and right,
Gawain's expression remained unusually grave.
"Gawain."
Standing beside him with her arms crossed, Bors asked,
"Do you think the real enemy still hasn't shown up?"
Gawain replied seriously,
"It's not that I think so. I'm certain of it. A stronger enemy absolutely hasn't arrived yet. The problem is—I can't tell who it is. That's the troublesome part. A situation beyond my grasp is always a headache."
"Hahaha!"
Bors laughed carelessly.
"Gawain, don't get so tense. No one can ever keep everything completely under control. That's nothing unusual. Relax a little. Things are always like this."
"Mm."
Hearing Bors's advice, Gawain nodded. She was right—if he stayed wound this tight, his nerves would collapse before the battle did.
To be honest, Gawain truly felt an immense pressure now. He had no choice. All of Fish-Man Island was under his protection. If anything went wrong, how could he ever face the King? Even death wouldn't be enough to atone for it.
"They're here!"
At that moment, Gawain sensed an overwhelming presence sweeping in—from the direction of Fish-Man Island's outer perimeter.
Whoosh!
He leaped into the air and vanished instantly.
Bors shrugged helplessly and followed after him, grinning as she went.
"A strong one, huh? I really am curious who it is!"
Gawain and Bors moved to intercept the enemy, while the Sun Knight Corps continued clearing out the battlefield at a rapid pace.
In barely any time at all, large numbers of pirates had already been crushed and slaughtered. They were simply no match for the Sun Knight Corps.
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"You idiots, stop fighting on your own!"
"Work together!"
"That's right!"
As someone started shouting orders, the scattered pirate crews finally realized they could not keep going like this. If they continued to fight individually, no matter what they did, they would never defeat these monsters.
They had to unite.
More precisely—
they had to form an alliance on the spot if they wanted any chance of resisting these monsters.
Gradually, the pirates who had been fighting in a purely defensive, fragmented manner began to coordinate with one another.
After all, hidden among the enormous number of pirates were more than a few capable men. The problem was that when they fought separately, they were hopeless against the Sun Knight Corps. But once they began cooperating, they were finally able to bring out their full strength.
Because of that—
their combat power rose dramatically.
By working together, they stabilized their side of the battlefield, regained their footing, and finally managed to withstand the Sun Knight Corps' assault.
Boom!
Boom!
Even so, the sounds of battle still echoed throughout all of Fish-Man Island, making everyone tremble. How long would this war last?
But this time was different.
The people of Ryugu Kingdom, everyone on Fish-Man Island—were filled with unshakable conviction.
As long as Lord Gawain was here, as long as the Sun Knight Corps remained—
they would never lose.
No matter what happened, they would not be defeated.
That confidence came from the changes of the past year.
The fish-men of the past had always looked down on humans, but the truth was more complicated than that. Deep down, they had never truly been confident. They hated humanity, yes—but they also knew they themselves were weak.
Now, however, everything was different.
Now the fish-men possessed confidence from the bottom of their hearts.
Only a single year had passed, yet the change wrought in that year had been visible to all. They had become truly confident. They believed that their future would only grow brighter.
And that—
was exactly the result Arthur wanted.
And Gawain would protect that result no matter what.
This was the King's command. This was the King's expectation.
As one of the King's knights, as the Round Table Knight who held the Second Seat, Gawain would never retreat even a single step.
Even if—
should he die, his place as the Second Seat of the Round Table would pass on to another.
Even so, right now, Gawain was the Second Seat.
And he would not yield.
Splash—
Splash—
The sea parted.
A massive pirate ship, accompanied by four escort vessels, slowly entered Fish-Man Island.
"..."
"They're here."
Gawain's gaze sharpened. Looking at the whale-like pirate vessel before him, he said gravely,
"The Whitebeard Pirates. I didn't expect a monster like this to be the one arriving here."
Bors folded her arms and nodded seriously.
"Yeah. I really didn't expect the Whitebeard Pirates to enter this battlefield. This changes things..."
Honestly—
just how much of the New World had this war dragged in?
No one knew.
Because the current situation was already incredibly awkward. Anyone with a brain could tell that this war had spread far and wide.
Arthur had left Britannia.
Shiki had launched an attack on the Vimas Region.
And Roger was now holding the line there.
That alone already proved the scale of this war: among the three great pirate crews, two were already involved in the fighting.
And this—
was only the beginning.
Naturally, the war in Fish-Man Island also began to shift. With the pirate masses gradually banding together, they had finally reached the point where they could at least contend with the Sun Knight Corps. Even if the Sun Knight Corps could still wipe them out, it would take time.
But—
at this very moment, the Whitebeard Pirates had arrived.
That was what truly no one had expected.
Tap.
Tap.
"Gurararara!"
With those booming footsteps and that bold, carefree laugh, Edward Newgate strode down from the deck in great strides.
"Fish-Man Island!"
"Gawain, lad!"
"Long time no see!"
That booming laugh rang out as Newgate advanced.
To be honest, had the two of them ever really met? Only once—briefly, in passing.
It could only be said that Gawain's name already carried enough weight on the seas for Whitebeard to remember him.
"Whitebeard, Edward Newgate."
Gawain stared at him sharply.
"I didn't think someone like you would choose to join the pirate alliance. It's hard to imagine a man like you making that choice."
"Gurararara!"
Newgate laughed boldly.
"What's so strange about that? I need money too! They offered enough gold and treasure to satisfy me, so of course there was no problem."
Hearing Whitebeard state it so bluntly, Gawain understood immediately.
Money.
The people backing this alliance truly had a wealthy sponsor behind them, enough to throw enormous sums around with ease.
Whitebeard himself wasn't poor—but that didn't mean money wasn't a concern.
"Poor scholars, rich warriors."
That saying was no joke.
For a man to grow stronger, he needed resources. The path of strength was never cheap.
True, Newgate himself had already reached the point where further training no longer required such expenditure.
But he had many sons under him.
Those children all needed to grow stronger too.
And that meant spending money.
So if someone was willing to bring riches right to his doorstep, the matter became very simple.
"So this is Whitebeard, huh?"
"As expected..."
Bors sized Newgate up from head to toe.
"He's practically like a giant. The people in this world really are interesting."
Whitebeard looked at Bors and laughed.
"Hey, want to join my crew?"
"..."
"Uh..."
Bors froze for a second, mouth twitching.
"Whitebeard, you really shouldn't say things like that. No matter what, I'm still one of the King's knights. Trying to recruit me like that? Honestly..."
Bors immediately declined the kind offer.
Though Bors was called the Secular Knight, the truth was that every single Round Table Knight held the King in the highest regard. That would never change.
So far—
Arthur had summoned eight Round Table Knights:
Gawain.
Agravain.
Gaheris.
Gareth.
Bors.
Kay.
Lamorak.
Galahad.
Among them—
Kay, Gaheris, and Bors had all been summoned within the past half year.
Over those six months, Arthur had spent 200 energy on four summons.
And apart from those three Round Table Knights, the remaining one was...
"Whitebeard."
Gawain fixed Newgate with a steady stare and said seriously,
"You should understand very well what attacking Fish-Man Island with your strength would mean for the world."
To tell the truth—
if he could avoid fighting him, Gawain truly would have preferred it.
The reason was simple.
Fish-Man Island lay ten thousand meters beneath the sea.
If a battle broke out down here and got out of hand, if Fish-Man Island itself were destroyed—
that would be a disaster.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard laughed loudly.
"Of course I know."
"But that doesn't matter to me."
His grin twisted into something savage and self-assured.
"I'm a pirate. A pirate lives however he pleases. Since I've come here, I won't be leaving empty-handed."
"Lad, you don't actually think a few words like that are enough to make me back down, do you?"
A cruel smile spread across his face.
To the world, Whitebeard often seemed like the embodiment of grandeur.
One phrase to protect Fish-Man Island.
A war against Marineford for the sake of his sons.
Standing at the rear to let his sons retreat first.
Pouring all his treasure back into his homeland.
That was the image everyone held of him.
But do not forget—
Whitebeard was a pirate.
A world-shaking pirate.
Aside from a certain Straw Hat crew who were more like adventurers than actual pirates, even Roger himself was the sort of man who would attack a nation without hesitation if there was enough money involved.
So did anyone truly think the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, a great pirate of the New World, one of the Four Emperors—was some gentle and compassionate man?
Don't be ridiculous.
Remember this:
A pirate is still a pirate.
The reason pirates are feared across the world is because they act without restraint.
Every one of them is a madman.
And what makes them terrifying—
is that those madmen possess overwhelming power.
That is the real reason they are feared.
Without that power, no one would care about a bunch of lunatics.
That was the root of it all.
And Whitebeard was no exception.
No matter how grand his reputation, he was still a pirate.
And on this sea, that meant he stood among those whom the world feared most.
That—
was the truth of the world.
Pirates stood on the opposite side of civilization itself.
That was beyond doubt.
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