Sengoku saw it clearly. The people Tesoro's men were contacting and trying to recruit were all individuals with some strength and potential. Rhett hadn't sent a single soldier. He had just thrown out five billion and a chaotic battle. He had easily completed his selection and recruitment. And those who died or were eliminated were either his future enemies or useless.
And these people with strength and potential, having just witnessed top-level combat, were shaken in their convictions. Offering them an olive branch at this moment was definitely the right move. It was much easier than usual.
"Do we... need to stop this?" Tsuru asked quietly. But her voice was full of helplessness. How could they stop it? On what grounds? They were holding a banquet and a "game" on their own turf. Others were participating voluntarily. Now some wanted to withdraw, and the other side was engaging in "friendly" diplomacy and recruitment. The Navy had no excuse to interfere. Could they say, "You're not allowed to establish relations with Rhett?"
Sengoku slumped back into his chair, rubbing his aching forehead. He couldn't stop it. He could only watch as Rhett's forces grew bigger and bigger, like a snowball rolling downhill. In this absurd and efficient way.
"This damn 'Mist Lord'... He's turned the entire sea into his chessboard!" Sengoku squeezed the words out through his teeth. Helpless and angry.
"Akainu, send the Marines we brought out. Try to recruit anyone willing to join the Navy. For justice."
This was the only thing Sengoku could do. At least for now, the World Government and the Navy were still the largest violent institution on the surface.
---
The man responsible for all of this, Rhett, yawned. The blood mist formed a blanket and covered the children who had fallen asleep on the table. He yawned again and muttered at the screen. "They've been fighting for three days and still aren't done... how boring... zzz..." As if everything happening had nothing to do with him. And it really didn't. This was Tesoro's daughter's hundred-day celebration. Whether he was there or not didn't make much of a difference. Tesoro was the one keeping the mood of the banquet going.
Just him sitting there was enough.
---
The chaos on the island had been going on for days. Everyone was exhausted. Their attacks were still fierce, but they had lost their initial sharpness. The treasure chest still sat in the center, keeping everyone's fighting spirit alive.
Just when the stalemate was at its breaking point, and everyone was stretched to their last nerve—
The sky suddenly darkened.
It wasn't a cloud. It was an incredibly heavy, wild Conqueror's Haki pressing down like a solid dome.
"!" Everyone fighting—Buggy, Shanks, Marco, Doflamingo, Katakuri—all paused, their movements momentarily halted. They looked up in shock.
A tall, powerful figure fell from the sky like a meteor, crashing into the center of the battlefield, right next to the treasure chest. The ground cracked, and dust filled the air.
The dust slowly cleared, revealing Douglas Barrett's weathered but even more fierce face.
He was shirtless, showing off his steel-like muscles. He wore armor. Not the bulky "Gundam" armor from before, but a very form-fitting, sharp-lined armor that seemed designed for killing. It perfectly outlined his explosive muscles.
Ever since he was young, when he was crushed by Rhett's absolute power, that giant mech had been useless against Rhett. He had learned his lesson. Even in Impel Down, bound by Seastone, he had constantly simulated how to defeat Rhett, how to surpass Rhett. Rhett was his lifelong rival.
Rhett: So cool???
"Hmph. A bunch of useless trash. Fighting for days and you still can't grab a single box?" Barrett looked around, his voice full of contempt. He didn't bother to look at anyone. He bent down and reached for the treasure chest with his armored hand.
"Bastard! Put it down!" / "That's my five billion!" / "Don't you dare!"
Several angry shouts erupted at once.
Barrett's action was an open provocation to all the fighters on the field.
The moment his hand touched the treasure chest, four completely different but equally powerful waves of Conqueror's Haki attacked him from four directions.
"Hmph! Who's this stray dog?! Trying to take my treasure?! Huh? Barrett? Whatever! Put it down!" Buggy roared. His usual silly, sleazy demeanor was gone. His purple Haki had a sharpness that seemed to deconstruct and tear everything apart.
"Can't let you just take it like that!" Shanks held his straw hat. His red Conqueror's Haki rushed toward Barrett.
"Hey, hey, this is something the Whitebeard Pirates have their eyes on." Marco's dead fish eyes showed a hint of helplessness. But his blue-green Conqueror's Haki already surged out.
"I foresaw... your arrogance!" Katakuri's dark red Conqueror's Haki twisted the air around him.
Why wasn't Perospero here? Because Perospero didn't have Conqueror's Haki. There were already enough heavy hitters on Big Mom's crew. He didn't get upgraded. This time, Perospero suffered from having too many siblings.
Four streams of top-tier Conqueror's Haki, from four directions, carrying their owners' wills and power, slammed into Barrett in the center.
For a moment, the sky seemed to really collapse. Dark clouds gathered madly. Lightning danced like snakes. But it wasn't natural lightning. It was the black-red lightning of pure Haki collision. The air groaned. The ground cracked under the pressure of the four Hakis. The small-time pirates who had been barely holding on didn't even have time to scream. They were like they had been hit by an invisible hammer. They fell unconscious.
As was said, top-level battlefields aren't for low-level soldiers. Don't think everyone at Marineford was ordinary. They were elites.
"CRAAACK—!!!"
The collision of Conqueror's Haki produced a sound like shattering glass and collapsing space. A ring of ferocious shockwaves exploded outward, pushing back the sea around the island, creating a huge depression.
But in the center of the storm, Barrett only let out an even more excited and wild roar.
"BRING IT ON!!!"
His Conqueror's Haki — a fifth wave — exploded!