"Is it those Sea King Type abilities? Pirates these days are getting scarier..."
The flash in his hand was still gathering. He wouldn't retreat just because of a minor setback. Although Olga's illusions had concealed Lapras, the sea area was only so big; they couldn't possibly appear somewhere else in the blink of an eye.
Using Observation Haki to locate the opponent was too energy-consuming. Instead of releasing it over a wide area, Borsalino made another choice.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Compared to single laser shots, Yasakani no Magatama was a large-scale AOE attack. The Navy was far from his location, perfect for him to use a larger indiscriminate attack.
This move had a drawback; among Borsalino's numerous attacks, Yasakani no Magatama had the longest wind-up time.
Before he could release Yasakani no Magatama, Olga's Night Daze and Shaina's Red Chain had already attacked.
Ever since obtaining the Red Lock, Shaina had grown fonder of this weapon. As her understanding of the Red Chain deepened, she realized it was not just an ordinary weapon but one with its own will.
The swing of the arm was to make it more powerful; in fact, this chain was partially controlled by her own Spiritual Power, and the spearhead shaped like the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet was exceptionally sharp.
She wouldn't use the Red Chain against ordinary opponents; only when facing tricky ones would she bring it out.
Faced with the incoming attack, Borsalino chose not to take it head-on. The Hundred Beasts were currently the largest Seastone suppliers, and they had many Seastone Weapons, so his Yasakani no Magatama was interrupted.
But an accident occurred: his cuff shattered, and a wound appeared on his arm.
For Logia-type users, there were generally two choices when facing attacks: resist with Armament Haki or predict with Observation Haki and detach to dodge.
Borsalino chose the latter. Blocking might not work, but as long as he dodged, no attack could cause him harm.
"I clearly dodged... what kind of strange weapon is this..."
He had that judgment; Shaina's chain-spear blade definitely didn't hit his body, yet it left such a wound.
Even high-purity Seastone Weapons couldn't injure a Logia-type from a distance.
"Ama no Murakumo."
A long sword made entirely of light appeared in his hand. The opponent's weapon was peculiar, and in such a situation, it was better not to come into physical contact, at least until he understood what abilities the opponent had.
After that, Borsalino did his best to avoid physical contact. The two sides were momentarily locked in a stalemate. If Zeraora were here, it would be easier to handle; his speed could match the opponent.
The speed brought by the Glint-Glint Fruit was too fast; although not true lightspeed, the initiative remained with the opponent. The acceleration for Shaina still couldn't catch up with Borsalino.
Furthermore, after the battle had gone on for a while, Borsalino saw Kaidou's figure appear in the distance. Without any major advantage, he immediately chose to retreat.
The return of Kaidou meant his actions could no longer achieve anything significant, and thus there was no point in lingering further.
As Borsalino left and Kaidou returned, Olga naturally dispelled the illusion, and the pirates on the ship cheered and welcomed Kaidou's complete return.
"Governor Kaido, was it you who won?"
"What nonsense, of course, it was Brother Kaido who won. Brother Kaido, didn't you bring back Whitebeard's head?"
The cries from below were varied, and various questions reached his ears.
"Shut up! You're all so noisy, it's driving me crazy!"
Looking at the noisy subordinates, Kaidou first gave a shout, but then he laughed again the next moment.
"Prepare for a banquet, let's drink to our heart's content this time!"
"Oh!!!"
After a moment of silence, a thunderous cheer erupted from the pirate ship. Although he didn't answer directly, there was no such thing as holding a banquet after a defeat, so to them, it was undoubtedly a sign of victory.
Whitebeard was a symbol of an era. By defeating Whitebeard, it meant their pirate crew had truly become the strongest.
"Mr. Kaido, don't you care about the Navy?"
Zeraora asked about Kaidou's plans, but Kaidou at that moment seemed uninterested in continuing.
"Let them be. I've fought enough. Going back for a big drink is the right thing to do. Men, set sail!"
The pirates of the Hundred Beasts began to head back, and Morgans passed out directly on Kaidou's ship. Although as the president of the news agency he often stayed up late editing newspapers, maintaining it for so many days was still challenging.
The Albatross Fruit helped him a lot in this regard; otherwise, he might not have been able to watch the entire battle. Now, his beak bore a big smile, and this experience was enough for him to headline the front page again.
If split into parts, he could even write a continuous series. The only drawback was that it would likely lead to a chase by the World Government; once in a while might be okay, but if he kept spreading pirate stories, they wouldn't let him go.
As for Whitebeard's side, things weren't as smooth. They didn't have massive floes to hinder the Navy's fleet, and at this point, the Whitebeard Pirates were not as strong as they were 11 years later during the Paramount War.
Many captains still had room to grow, which also meant the defense on their ship was severely lacking when Whitebeard and Marco left simultaneously.
The Moby Dick was a fine ship, but under Sakazuki's attacks, the stern had caught fire. However, when he planned to expand his achievements, Whitebeard returned.
Even though Kaidou had worn him down considerably and left him with significant injuries, he was still in his peak period, and at The Sea, Sakazuki hadn't reached his prime and was not his opponent.
Under the massive tsunami Whitebeard conjured, he had no chance of pursuing. Seeing the casualties on board, Whitebeard wanted to continue fighting, but Garp's approach made him abandon that thought, realizing that in his current state, fighting Garp wouldn't be favorable.
He had to consider his sons who were still alive, which was always his consideration. For the sake of his living family, he could endure heavy casualties, but not for the dead.
Under Whitebeard's cover, the Moby Dick began to retreat. Due to the World Government's orders, Sakazuki also stopped his pursuit. This battle, which had drawn in multiple forces, temporarily came to a close.