Roger withdrew his gaze, a single thought burning in his mind now:
We can't keep fighting.
Boom!
Lloyd's battle with Whitebeard, now joined by Sengoku, raged on without pause. Despite their combined strength, Whitebeard was being pressed back step by step until Roger suddenly appeared, cleaving the battlefield with a sword strike infused with Conqueror's Haki.
Whitebeard's expression briefly brightened, believing that Roger's fighting spirit had returned. But Roger's first words cut through that hope.
"Newgate, we should withdraw."
Whitebeard looked at him incredulously, barely restraining his urge to punch Roger in the face.
"Roger, are you jesting?"
Roger turned his head, his voice firm and deep.
"The Navy reinforcements have arrived. There is no way we can win this. If we remain, more of our comrades will die."
As he spoke, Lloyd already charged again. Roger was forced to defend himself, shouting out with authority,
"All hands, retreat!"
The Roger Pirates were stunned. Buggy was the first to react, turning and sprinting toward the Jackson on the shore without hesitation.
Even in this moment, a flicker of loyalty remained in him. Running, he turned back to shout at Shanks,
"Didn't you hear, you idiot? Captain Roger ordered retreat, stop standing there!"
But Shanks did not budge. Instead, he rushed toward the Fish‑Man Sambell, who lay prone not far away.
Sambell's chest was still rising and falling faintly, so Shanks intended to carry him back to the ship.
But in focusing on saving another life, he lost the perfect moment to retreat.
Almost instantly, Navy troops surrounded them. A Vice Admiral blocked Shanks' path, launching a Tempest Kick.
Shanks raised his sword to block, but even he was no match for a Vice Admiral. Though he managed to defend his vital points, the force still sent him flying backward, slamming him hard onto the ground.
Meanwhile, ever since Roger called the retreat, his mind had drifted from the battle. As he parried Lloyd's strikes, he used his peripheral vision to track the scattered retreat of his crew.
His eyes widened when he saw Shanks knocked down.
Shanks was the one Roger valued most among his allies — otherwise he would not have entrusted him with his treasured straw hat later.
Ignoring Lloyd's next attack, Roger bore a blow and turned toward Shanks, calling his name with rising panic.
That cry halted Lloyd mid‑advance. He glanced toward Shanks, then his form rippled and he vanished into the darkness.
The Vice Admiral who had confronted Shanks raised his hand to fire a Finger Pistol, but at that moment a dark vortex spiraled into view.
The Vice Admiral froze, startled.
Lloyd materialized from the shadows. Shanks stared, startled, rooted to the ground.
Looking down at Shanks, Lloyd was silent for a moment, then spoke with his typical cold ease,
"This battlefield is still too early for you."
Behind him, Roger was rushing forward at top speed, roaring,
"Black Dragon, I'll fight you! Don't touch him!"
Roger poured every last drop of Conqueror's Haki into his roar. The Vice Admiral standing next to Lloyd instantly rolled his eyes and collapsed unconscious from the overwhelming pressure.
Lloyd didn't look at him. Instead, he lifted his foot and placed it on Shanks' abdomen. Shanks blinked, dazed and confused, before a massive force suddenly sent him flying through the air.
Buggy, who had just boarded the Jackson and breathed a temporary sigh of relief, raised his hand to wipe sweat from his brow.
"That idiot Shanks, I didn't know he had that kind of speed… I thought—"
Before Buggy could finish, something dark expanded rapidly in his vision.
Bang!
Shanks shook his head, dizzy, and muttered,
"My head feels so dizzy…"
He felt something soft beneath him. Instinctively, he reached down and touched it, finding a spherical shape. A weak voice came from beneath.
"Bastard, hurry up and get off me."
Shanks' eyes snapped open. Only then did he realize that Buggy was under him, and what he'd just squeezed was Buggy's ridiculous big red nose.
He quickly jumped up and helped Buggy to his feet.
Buggy glared at him and complained,
"All right, you. I didn't know you had that speed, I was worried about you for nothing."
"What speed? I was kicked by Black Dragon."
"Ah? He saved you again?"
Shanks said nothing.
For the first time, he genuinely felt something about Lloyd's peculiar attitude toward him.
That cold, ruthless Navy officer had spared someone like him, someone insignificant in the chaos of this war, and seemed to send him away from danger intentionally.
Shanks even half‑wondered if Lloyd had aimed his kick so he would land on Buggy as a cushion.
What puzzled him most was that, despite watching Lloyd kill Jabba with his own eyes, Shanks did not feel overwhelming hatred toward him. Instead, he felt something vaguely familiar.
In that moment, his thoughts were filled with Lloyd — so much so that he nearly forgot Roger was still engaged in battle below.
After Lloyd had kicked Shanks away, Roger arrived beside him. When Roger sensed Shanks was unharmed, he was about to breathe in relief, but Lloyd charged again, blade in hand.
Roger had no desire to continue the fight. He was preparing to head back to the Jackson once Rayleigh and the others had broken through.
Whitebeard, locked in combat with Sengoku, had also settled his resolve.
His pirate crew had suffered far heavier losses than the Roger Pirates. If the battle continued, his name would become nothing more than that of a lonely old man.
With that realization, Whitebeard sent Sengoku flying with a crushing quake punch, then inhaled deeply and commanded the retreat.
That command, carried on his voice, shattered pirate morale. Led by Marco and others, they surged toward the Moby Dick.
Whitebeard used shockwaves to safeguard his sons as they broke through the lines, but even still, many were cut down or captured by the pursuing Navy during the escape.
On the Roger Pirates' side, Rayleigh fought rearward, eventually linking up with Barrett. Together, the two pushed Akainu and the other Marines back, then hurried to Roger's side.
Lloyd had been the primary force holding the battle, his right arm still pulsing with pain. Seeing Rayleigh and Barrett arrive, he unfurled his wings, leaped into the sky, performed several aerial flips, and landed before Sengoku and the others who had now reached the field.
Kuma stepped forward immediately and used his Paw‑Paw Fruit ability to absorb Lloyd's pain, helping alleviate the strain on Lloyd's body.
Taking this opportunity, Roger and Whitebeard retreated to their respective ships.
Compared to before they arrived, both ships now held significantly fewer fighters, and all of the remaining members looked worn and dispirited.
They had been defeated.
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