At Marine Headquarters G1, Akainu suppressed his impatience as he listened to CP0's report, having already cursed Saint Roswald's ancestors eighteen generations back.
The entire Marine Headquarters was operating at full capacity to prepare for the upcoming largest war in history.
Whether it was him, the Marine Fleet Admiral, or the four Marine Admirals, along with the various officers at headquarters, all were racing against time to deploy every available weapon of war.
This time, the pressure brought by the Beast God Pirates upon the Marines had far surpassed that of the Whitebeard Pirates, reaching an unprecedented level!
The excessive number of top-tier fighters under Caesar's command, the fledgling pirate fleet, and the recently incorporated Giant Legion—all of it meant that Akainu was now bearing pressure far greater than what Sengoku had ever endured!
This could be said to be the greatest challenge Akainu had faced since becoming Fleet Admiral!
If he failed to withstand this challenge, he would become a disgrace among all past Marine Fleet Admirals, permanently nailed to the pillar of shame and forever spurned by justice!
But just at this critical moment, those damned, shameless Celestial Dragon fools were buzzing around like disgusting flies, causing trouble again.
Which Admiral could possibly be spared now?
Who knew when that bastard Caesar would show up?
What if that lunatic went crazy, ignored the ten-day deadline, and attacked tomorrow?
Immediately, Akainu said in a deep voice, "You must first understand the specific situation. Only then can I decide which Admiral to send. You know, each of them has their own areas of expertise. As the overall head of the Marines, I must know exactly what's happening over there!"
Akainu's words were firm and resolute, leaving no room for CP0 to refuse.
On the Golden Ship, the masked CP0 leader gritted his teeth, stepped into the air, and swiftly disappeared into the distance.
He dashed rapidly across several collapsed structures, scanning the area with his eyes while releasing his not-too-weak Observation Haki.
"Huh? What's this?"
The masked man's Moon Step faltered.
In his Observation Haki perception, an indescribably immense life force had appeared.
It was as if an unimaginably colossal sea king was standing nearby.
He instinctively looked in that direction.
Through the hazy mist, a towering figure loomed faintly, like an ancient stone statue standing unchanged since time immemorial.
As a wisp of fog dissipated, the masked man caught a clear glimpse of the person's face.
The next moment, as if he had seen a ghost, the masked man immediately retreated without hesitation, fleeing in the opposite direction.
Caesar turned his head and cast a cold glance at the fleeing CP0 agent before paying him no further mind.
Behind a building, the fleeing masked CP0 agent pressed tightly against the wall.
Beneath his expressionless mask, his face was drenched in cold sweat from sheer terror.
"Barbarossa Caesar! Barbarossa Caesar! Damn it! How is this possible? Why would that monster appear on the Golden Ship? That bastard Tesoro! What was he thinking? Does he want to get the World Nobles killed?"
The masked man was utterly consumed by shock and panic.
As the most professional lackeys, no one understood the information about the most dangerous criminals on the seas better than CP0 members.
Every day, they had to receive and memorize all potential threats to the safety of the Celestial Dragons.
And Barbarossa Caesar was now the foremost madman on the seas.
For the safety of the Celestial Dragons, it was best to stay hundreds of thousands of miles away from such an unreasonable monster.
While CP0 was still recovering from the shock, violent booms echoed from the sky above, as if someone was fiercely clashing.
He looked up.
High in the sky, amidst the churning, chaotic clouds, two towering and robust figures were violently colliding in mid-air!
The ferocity of their power was nothing short of terrifying!
Each collision caused the surrounding mist to surge and compress, accompanied by countless bolts of lightning crackling and bursting with explosive sounds.
Above the two, circular white shockwaves appeared in the sky, like massive rings embedded in the heavens.
"Gyahahaha! Douglas Bullett! Your strength is impressive! I saw you in Impel Down, remember?"
Shiki crossed his swords, blocking Bullett's heavy punch, and grinned widely, revealing his stark white teeth.
Bullett laughed maniacally as well, his body enveloped in boundless Armament Haki, turning his already formidable frame into a bluish-black color, like a true demon!
"Hahaha, of course! I truly admire your act of breaking your own legs! Golden Lion! You truly live up to being a great pirate on par with Captain Roger—your audacity is extraordinary! However, today I will knock you down from the clouds and then challenge Caesar!"
"Defeat me? You're ten thousand years too early! Lion's Might—Thousand Cut Valley!!"
Shiki roared, unleashing immense force from his swords to repel Bullett.
Then, the muscles on his arms bulged massively as surging power, infused with Haki, slashed outward.
With his arms flailing wildly, brilliant sword beams shot toward Bullett one after another.
The sword energy was razor-sharp, emitting piercing whistles that made one's scalp tingle.
"Devil Bullet! Number Nine Heavy Cannon!"
Bullett's eyes flashed with intensity as his right arm, wrapped in incredibly dense Armament Haki, transformed into a massive armored construct over ten meters long.
He launched it like a giant cannonball, smashing toward the dozens of incoming sword beams.
BOOM!
In an earth-shattering explosion, the dozens of sword beams unleashed by Shiki were shattered by Bullett's detached Haki, stirring up a massive storm.
But more sword energy continued to slash relentlessly, cutting fiercely into Bullett's robust body and sending him plummeting from the sky.
Whoosh—
A figure as large as a small mountain crashed to the ground, creating a deep crater and cracking the earth with enormous fissures.
"Gigantic Bullet Form!!"
From within the fissures, Bullett's deep roar echoed.
Immediately after, the ground began to undulate like waves, surging upward into the sky and rapidly forming a towering, bluish-black giant that reached thousands of meters high, connecting heaven and earth.
Before this colossal bluish-black giant, Shiki appeared as insignificant as an ant.
CP0 stood frozen like a wooden stake, staring up at this sky-piercing giant whose head touched the clouds and body resembled a massive mountain range, almost kneeling on the spot.
"Hey, hey! Why is it so noisy over there? Have you figured out the situation?"
From the Den Den Mushi, Akainu's voice came through.
CP0 struggled to steady his nearly shattered mind and replied hoarsely.
"It's clear. Barbarossa Caesar, Golden Lion Shiki, and Douglas Bullett are fighting on the Golden Ship..."
As soon as CP0 finished speaking, intermittent sounds came from the Den Den Mushi.
"You... what did... you say? The signal... is... bad."
Click.
The Den Den Mushi hung up...
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