Diarmuid and Sakazuki were behind Kaido's massive body, so Newgate and the others didn't see them.
But from his position up high, Diarmuid was able to gradually get a clear view of the situation on the island.
Suddenly seeing the Whitebeard Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates fighting below, Diarmuid was a little dumbfounded. He never expected to stumble upon this scene here.
"What the hell! Sakazuki, this is bad!" Diarmuid yelled.
Sakazuki had also noticed the situation below. He was equally taken aback. What a coincidence!
However, before the two of them could think any further, the three of them—Diarmuid, Sakazuki, and Kaido—crashed violently onto the island. The powerful impact instantly sent the surrounding pirates flying.
Diarmuid, Sakazuki, and Kaido all smashed deep into the ground, their figures completely out of sight.
Newgate vaguely sensed that something was off, as if he had misunderstood something.
But then he reconsidered: Back on the Rocks Pirates' ship, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido had a very good relationship. He heard that when the crew disbanded, Charlotte Linlin even gave Kaido a powerful Devil Fruit—the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, which Kaido now has.
So, regardless of whether it was a misunderstanding or if Kaido's arrival was a coincidence, given the current situation, there was a high probability that she and Charlotte Linlin would join forces to deal with him.
What's more, he and Kaido had often fought in the past, and there was a great deal of animosity between them.
So even if something felt off, Newgate didn't stop. In fact, he ramped up his offensive.
Deep in the crater, a dizzy Diarmuid got up from on top of Kaido. He propped himself up against the side of the pit with one hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the other. He felt a slight concussion in his internal organs, but it was nothing serious.
After all, Kaido had acted as a cushion during the fall. At the same time, Diarmuid had used every defensive technique he had, including Haki and Tekkai, and at the last moment, he nullified a large portion of the impact by creating a state of weightlessness around himself.
Therefore, he only suffered a minor shock and no serious injuries.
Not far away, the wall of the deep pit began to melt, and Sakazuki's figure emerged. As a Logia user, as long as he wasn't hit by a counteracting ability or Haki, he wouldn't be injured even if he fell from twice the height of ten thousand meters.
As such, Sakazuki also appeared completely fine.
Kaido, on the other hand, was already seriously injured. Having been crushed by Diarmuid's gravity and accelerated by a fall from ten thousand meters, he was slammed into the crater and couldn't bear it.
A large amount of blood spilled from his mouth, and the wound on his chest was pressed against the ground, with blood visibly seeping into the soil. If it weren't for the fact that his life force was still faintly present, Diarmuid would have thought the guy was dead from the fall.
Although Kaido wasn't dead, he had completely lost the ability to move. His eyes had rolled back into his head, and he was unconscious. Even with his physical fortitude, it would take several days, or even longer, of recuperation for him to be able to move again after waking up.
He likely had countless broken bones inside his body.
Diarmuid didn't know that this was the first time Kaido had been so severely injured since his "divine technique had reached perfection." He was truly only one step away from death.
Seeing that Kaido was unresponsive and that he and Sakazuki were at least a hundred meters deep in the crater, they could vaguely feel the chaotic battlefield above.
Diarmuid didn't rush out immediately. Instead, he sat down on Kaido's back, wiped the blood from his mouth, and calmed himself down. "This is so damn awkward, Sakazuki."
Sakazuki also sat down, catching his breath. He looked at the half-dead Kaido and said, "I never expected to run into this situation."
Charlotte Linlin and Newgate were putting on quite a show up top. His and Diarmuid's descent was too fast, and with Kaido as a distraction, no one probably noticed them at first.
But if they were to go up there, as two Marines in a chaotic pirate brawl, it was easy to imagine the sudden change in the situation.
Although Newgate and Charlotte Linlin didn't get along, they were still pirates. When they met two Marines, would they continue to fight each other? No, that was impossible. They would inevitably join forces to take out Diarmuid and Sakazuki first before settling their own score.
If it were any other pirates, Diarmuid and Sakazuki wouldn't have thought twice. They would just go up and fight. But neither Charlotte Linlin nor Whitebeard were easy to deal with, especially Whitebeard. Diarmuid and Sakazuki, even working together, might only be able to have a 50-50 fight with Whitebeard, who was basically invincible at this point.
And so, the two of them sat in the deep crater, feeling a bit trapped and extremely awkward.
"Let's wait," Diarmuid said. "Although Charlotte Linlin is strong, she's definitely not Whitebeard's opponent. I don't know why she's so brave, daring to challenge Newgate to a face-to-face duel."
It was a good thing Charlotte Linlin didn't know Diarmuid was there, or she would have vomited stomach acid on his face.
Sakazuki also said, with a hint of strangeness in his voice, "This is indeed very unusual. Although the Big Mom Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates have been fighting in the New World for the past two years, the scale of the conflicts has been kept relatively low. Charlotte Linlin and Newgate have never met face to face... Given the current state of the New World, with us Marines preparing for a major offensive and countless new pirates pouring in to fight for territory, it doesn't seem like the right time for them to have a decisive battle. Why would they fight?"
Diarmuid nodded. "We discussed these exact things back at Marine Headquarters. We thought the Big Mom Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates would quickly call a truce within the next year or two. But instead, they've started a decisive battle?"
"Who knows what these pirates are thinking? What kind of logic is that?"
Just then, a powerful tremor erupted, and the entire island tilted. The crater containing Diarmuid, Sakazuki, and Kaido began to show signs of collapsing.
"This is bad now," Diarmuid's expression changed.
On any other day, a collapsing pit wouldn't pose a threat to them. But right now, they were hiding here and dared not make a scene. If they used their abilities, there was a high chance the people above would notice.
Then they would be completely exposed!
As if to add insult to injury, Charlotte Linlin's powerful lightning attack pierced the ground, shattering the wall of the crater and sending a huge burst of lightning power toward the three of them.
"Damn it!" Diarmuid cursed. He couldn't care less now. He raised a hand and unleashed an invisible gravity field, instantly extinguishing the force of the lightning.
As expected, the fighting on the surface of the island seemed to pause for a moment. Without hesitation, Diarmuid grabbed Kaido by the horns on his head, pushed off with his foot, and shot out of the crater.
Without a doubt, someone must have used Observation Haki to sense what was going on in that moment of stillness. He couldn't hide anymore!
At the same time, Charlotte Linlin and Newgate also stopped fighting. They warily put some distance between them, just as Diarmuid emerged from the crater, pulling Kaido by the head and throwing his heavy body onto the ground.
The sudden change in the situation was so abrupt that it left both Charlotte Linlin and Whitebeard dumbfounded. The other crew members all looked on in surprise.
"Diarmuid?" Newgate said in surprise. He truly didn't expect to meet Diarmuid here. Even more surprisingly, it seemed that Diarmuid had taken down the formidable Kaido?
Was that the reason for the sudden fall from the sky?
"It's you!" Charlotte Linlin's eyes also widened in astonishment.
When she fought Diarmuid last time, although she didn't get the better of him, she could feel that his strength was still a bit behind hers. Now that they'd met again, had Diarmuid already dealt with Kaido?
What was wrong with Kaido? Was he that pathetic?
They didn't know the circumstances Kaido had faced, nor how miserable his group beating was.
They simply assumed that Diarmuid had single-handedly beaten Kaido into this half-dead state. Furthermore, it looked like Diarmuid was perfectly fine, without a single wound on his body, just a few wiped-away bloodstains at the corner of his mouth.
Diarmuid scratched his head helplessly and said, "My apologies. You two can continue. Just pretend I was never here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Diarmuid, holding Kaido's head—or rather, dragging him by the head since he was too short to lift him—began to walk away.
This very sight intimidated the pirates around him. As Diarmuid passed, the pirate underlings fearfully made way for him.
But it wasn't that simple. Diarmuid had only walked a few steps when Jozu blocked his path, looking extremely cautious.
Meanwhile, Newgate burst into laughter. "Gurara-ra-ra! Diarmuid, what kind of explanation is that, just leaving like this?"
Diarmuid sighed, turning to Newgate. "I told you, it's a misunderstanding. Can't we just pretend I coincidentally passed by, and we never saw each other?"
"I don't think the fight at St. Poplar is over yet," Newgate said, a smile on his lips as he looked at Diarmuid.
Diarmuid had tricked him back on St. Poplar. Now that they had met unexpectedly, how could Newgate just let him leave so easily?
Seeing this, Charlotte Linlin didn't give Newgate a hard time. Instead, she gave a sinister grin, looking at Diarmuid. "I still haven't settled the score with you for Vegapunk, Diarmuid."
Diarmuid's guard went up slightly, but he maintained a relaxed demeanor. "Don't tell me you two are going to team up against me instead of settling your decades-old feud here?"
"Hmph, you're a Marine Admiral!" Charlotte Linlin scoffed.
Newgate didn't say a word. He disdained the idea of teaming up with others, but it was always the right choice to deal with Diarmuid first.
The scene fell silent for a moment as Diarmuid slowly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, Kokorowatari.
Just then, Charlotte Linlin made her move. Her Emperor Sword blazed with a scorching flame, and she lunged at Diarmuid, slashing down with her blade!
"Cognac: Mama-Mash!" Charlotte Linlin roared.
Newgate, who was farther away, did not move and simply watched.
Diarmuid felt a little relieved. If Newgate had also made a move, there was no one in this world who could withstand such an assault!
His cursed sword, Kokorowatari, was unsheathed. He no longer cared about Kaido, tossing the guy's head onto the ground. A powerful gravitational force instantly erupted from Diarmuid.
Kokorowatari clashed with the Emperor Sword. The immense gravitational pressure was released, instantly extinguishing the flames on Charlotte Linlin's blade.
A look of surprise appeared in Charlotte Linlin's eyes. Sure enough, compared to last time, this guy had become much, much stronger!
"Hell's Rite!!!" While blocking Charlotte Linlin's attack, Diarmuid's other hand glowed with a faint violet energy. He swung his palm through the air toward Charlotte Linlin.
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