"Gurararara! Sengoku, what do you think of the strength of our 7th Division Commander?"
"Now, let me be your opponent!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily as he looked at Sengoku, currently being harassed by two flying swords.
"Humph! The 7th Division Commander, is it? You two aren't leaving here today. To Impel Down with both of you! And soon, the rest of the Rocks captains will join you!"
"Gurararara! Then let's see what you've got. Show me if you've made any progress since last time!"
Whitebeard charged in, his weapon Totsuka-no-Tsurugi glowing with Armament and Conqueror's Haki, unleashing a powerful strike toward Sengoku.
Sengoku didn't back down—he coated his hands in both types of Haki as well and met Whitebeard's attack head-on.
As their attacks collided from a distance, arcs of lightning crackled in the air, and the sky above them split open!
"T-the sky's torn apart!"
One of the lower-ranking pirates trembled as he spoke, stunned.
Even Lind, who had mentally prepared himself, was shaken by the sheer power of the spectacle.
"So strong…" he muttered, awe in his voice.
"I need to master Conqueror's infusion soon—it's the signature move of true top-tier fighters."
Ultimately, Whitebeard gained the upper hand in the clash. Although Sengoku, while still a Vice Admiral, already had Admiral-level strength, his aura still lagged what he would eventually possess as Admiral and Fleet Admiral.
Whitebeard, on the other hand, was already the top figure beneath Rocks as First Division Commander — essentially the No. 2 pirate of the era.
Seeing that he was losing in the clash of infused Haki, Sengoku didn't waste time worrying. After all, the Navy wasn't known for its use of Conqueror's Haki.
The two quickly descended onto the island Lind had preselected, and a brutal, close-quarters brawl began.
This time, Sengoku was going all-out, unlike his earlier fight with Lind. Every blow between him and Whitebeard shook the island, launching shockwaves that blasted the terrain apart.
"Sea Quake!"
"Great Buddha Shockwave!"
Another massive collision split the island in half with a massive chasm forming down the middle.
"So, this is Admiral-level combat… terrifying!"
Lind's eyes sparkled as he watched. But then, a thought crept into his mind.
"Sengoku's warship… shouldn't have any other elites on board, right?"
"Should I…?"
A dangerous idea came to him.
"It might not be honorable, but I'm a pirate now. The Navy is the enemy!"
"I just hope this won't interfere with Whitebeard's fight."
After weighing the options, Lind made up his mind.
"Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to yourself."
He shot toward the Navy warship.
No swords were needed—he simply used his overwhelming telekinetic power to lift the entire ship, immobilizing every Marine onboard.
The Marines, unable to resist, were instantly overwhelmed.
"Lind!"
Sengoku roared in fury as he saw the scene unfold, his eyes going bloodshot.
"Gurararara! Beautiful work, Lind!"
"Sengoku, you'd better prepare a nice fat ransom to buy back your men!"
Whitebeard, unsurprised, chuckled. After all, pirates didn't care about honor or fairness—and Lind hadn't even killed anyone. Just capturing them was relatively merciful by pirate standards.
Lind began dragging the captured warship toward the pirate fleet.
Sengoku panicked. Losing his ship in the middle of the sea was a nightmare for a Zoan user—no ship meant real danger. He attempted to break away from Whitebeard, even risking injury to do so.
Taking a direct hit from Whitebeard, Sengoku launched a massive Buddha Shockwave to knock his opponent back and rushed toward Linde.
But Lind and Whitebeard had anticipated this, and the two launched a coordinated attack, forcing Sengoku back into the fight.
Meanwhile, Lind continued multitasking with his telekinesis. While fighting alongside Whitebeard, he also transferred all the captured Marines from the warship onto the pirate ship.
"Tie them up and knock them out! These guys are our future booze money!"
The pirates were ecstatic. These weren't just any Marines—they were Sengoku's troops, top-tier Navy elites. Scoring a win like this against the Navy was rare for the Rocks Pirates.
"Woohoo! Long live Lord Lind!"
"Lord Lind is unbeatable!"
For the sake of their wallets, the pirates began chanting his name in adoration.
"Gurararara! Sengoku, looks like the Navy's going to have to open their wallets for real this time!"
"Hahaha! Mr. Sengoku, no one knows when Kong, Garp, or Zephyr will show up—you sure you want to get captured too?"
Lind and Whitebeard jeered at Sengoku, whose face was now darker than the depths of the sea.
"Humph. Pirates will always be pirates. But let's see who has the last laugh!"
Despite his expression, Sengoku felt relieved. He could tell that Whitebeard and Lind weren't looking to kill or utterly crush the Navy—they didn't want to escalate things to an irreversible level.
"Looks like I still have some deterrent power left…"
"At least those two don't want to provoke the Navy too hard—otherwise, Admiral Kong would be losing his mind right now."
And so, both sides understood each other and continued the battle for another entire day, almost as if it were a gentleman's agreement.
Thanks to the fact that he no longer had to constantly dodge Sengoku's every move, Lind managed to keep his telekinetic stamina under control.
Now it was just a matter of who would be the first to call it off.
Sengoku and Whitebeard were both prideful men—Sengoku couldn't bring himself to plead for a retreat, and Whitebeard wouldn't suggest releasing him either.
In the end, it was Lind who broke the silence:
"Brother Newgate, it's been over a day. Navy reinforcements are probably on the way."
"We're not gonna take down Sengoku anytime soon. It's time to go. I'll hold him off—once you're clear, I'll catch up quickly using telekinesis."
"Gurararara! Sounds good to me. Brother Lind, this is a major blow to the Navy!"
"Your bounty's going up. From 300 million to 600 million at the very least!"
Whitebeard slammed Sengoku back with a quake punch and jumped back to his ship.
"Gurararara! Let's move out, boys!"
With Whitebeard gone, Lind reengaged Sengoku.
Thanks to his mostly hit-and-run fighting style, Lind's physical stamina remained near peak—while Sengoku, after a day of heavy fighting, was noticeably drained.
Using this advantage, Lind resumed close combat, and Sengoku—not eager to continue—shifted to sparring-level engagement.
The two "fought" for another hour or so, exchanging harmless blows.
"Alright, that's enough."
"Hahaha! Sengoku, you stay put on this island and wait for rescue!"
"Your warship? I'll be taking that. Oh, and make sure my bounty is set to 666,666,666!"
"Sengoku, I'm out! Don't miss me! Hahahahaha!"
Laughing wildly, Lind flew up to Sengoku's warship and telekinetically lifted the entire thing into the air, flying off into the sky.
Sengoku watched with gritted teeth, furious as Linde flew away with his ship—but in the end, he didn't chase.
He simply clenched his jaw and walked back onto the ruined island to await rescue, face black with anger.