Ray, along with Cavendish and the female reporter Frieda, continued to watch the live stream attentively.
During the viewing, Ray repeatedly asked Frieda to adjust the video footage and angles so he could more clearly assess the battlefield situation.
Frieda naturally complied, frantically calling the main company headquarters to remotely adjust the camera angles of the live-streaming Den Den Mushi according to Ray's specific requests.
After a few minutes of careful observation, Ray had formed a solid evaluation of the battle situation on Shiki's archipelago.
The main battlefield, of course, was where Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Robin were fighting Shiki directly.
Oh, and Usopp had joined midway as an long range damage dealer, providing crucial support fire from a safe distance.
The location where Nami and Chopper were operating couldn't be captured by the cameras, so Ray was merely speculating on their activities.
Why was Ray so certain that these two were probably searching for potions or antidotes?
Because the camera angle also captured another, chaotic battlefield.
There, Ray saw Franky frantically bombing a large group of pirates in the distance with his built-in explosives.
Among the enemy ranks, there were many strong fighters with bounties of tens of millions.
It's important to note that in the Grand Line, once a pirate's bounty exceeds 100 million, they are renowned as one of the "Supernovas."
Although there were no Supernovas among the subordinates Shiki recruited this time, there were three captains with bounties over 80 million Berries.
And more than ten with bounties exceeding 50 million.
These guys had already pledged allegiance to Shiki before Luffy arrived, simply because they witnessed Shiki's absolute dominance over Buggy.
The two of them fought so fiercely that an entire island was destroyed, which naturally terrified the onlookers.
Having sailed the seas for so long, it was the first time these pirates had seen such incredible power.
Both Shiki and Buggy seemed incredibly strong in their eyes.
But when Shiki fought Buggy, he completely dominated from start to finish.
Afterward, Shiki even turned the "Clown Emperor" into a split piece of artwork for them to admire.
Thus, these guys felt that aligning with Shiki was definitely the right move for their survival and future.
Since they had already joined, naturally they had to work for their new boss to prove their loyalty.
This was the reason the Second Battlefield emerged.
If these guys broke into the main battlefield, Zoro, Sanji, and Robin would inevitably have to send two of their number to deal with them.
At that point, relying solely on Luffy and one other main fighter would make it very difficult to defeat a legend like Shiki.
So, when Franky saw those pirates charging over to interfere, he responsibly stepped up to block them.
...
Logically, when Ray saw Franky facing thousands of pirates alone—including more than a dozen captains with higher bounties than his own—he shouldn't have been so calm.
Franky hadn't undergone Ray's specialized training yet, and the system's exclusive reward for Franky hadn't been given to him.
Thus, currently, Franky could be considered one of the two weakest members of the Straw Hat Pirates in terms of raw combat potential.
This refers to close-quarters combat where all means are allowed—Usopp could likely fight evenly with Franky in a brawl.
But if Usopp created distance, Franky would undoubtedly be destroyed.
Yet, how did such a still-developing Franky manage to hold back an entire pirate army?
When Cavendish and Frieda first saw this scene on the screen, they were baffled.
Because it made no sense.
The firepower from this cyborg definitely couldn't hold back so many people, especially considering the renowned pirates who had joined Shiki's ranks—it made it even harder to understand.
Ray was initially puzzled too, mainly because the camera angles were blocked by massive rocks and debris in many shots.
At first glance, it looked like Franky was miraculously holding back the group.
But as the camera switched to a wider angle, Ray quickly noticed something interesting.
Those so-called renowned pirates were being held back.
Someone else was blocking the several thousand lesser pirates alongside Franky.
So, Franky was only really responsible for a portion of the small fry, which he could indeed block with his cannon fire and Coup de Vent.
As for who was holding back the major pirates...
...
"Go get 'em, boys!"
On the second battlefield, Bartolomeo spread his transparent green barrier and charged wildly into the center of the pirate alliance like a mad bull.
Ten minutes earlier, after delivering the injured Buggy to a seemingly safe cave, he had brought his own crew, the Barto Club, to support the battle.
As a Barrier-Barrier Fruit user, Bartolomeo's barrier was virtually indestructible.
When the previous user of this fruit deployed his barrier, he effortlessly blocked slashes from the strongest swordsman of his era, leaving the barrier completely unscathed.
Under certain conditions, this barrier is truly invincible!
Bartolomeo expanded his barrier to its maximum area and charged headfirst into the crowd, clearing out the minor pirates with bulldozer-like efficiency—absolutely overpowering them.
Any pirate struck by his charging wall suffered minor injuries like bleeding from the mouth at best, or fatal blunt force trauma at worst, with countless others sustaining fractures or cerebral hemorrhages in between.
Just then, a young girl's angry voice suddenly rang out.
"You pointy-toothed, green-haired punk! Can't you watch where you're fighting?! There are still our own men in the crowd!"
"Are you just recklessly plowing through everyone indiscriminately?!"
The speaker was none other than the former subordinate of Crocodile, Miss Goldenweek who had previously stealthily rescued Bartolomeo from prison.
Seeing that it was his savior scolding him, Bartolomeo froze for a moment before realizing his mistake.
"Those people in white clothes are your subordinates? They're also helping Luffy-senpai?"
Marianne was speechless as she grumbled.
"They're dressed in garish colors, while our people are all in pure white suits—the contrast is blindingly obvious! Even a pig-brained idiot could tell!"
"Oh right, our subordinates are still fighting others, you know! You, you, you... Ugh, you're so dumb!"
Bartolomeo's face turned red from the scolding, but he couldn't lose his temper.
It was indeed his fault for charging into battle without thinking.
His earlier barrier rampage had sent quite a few allies flying too...
If he were Marianne, he'd be angry as well!
SWISH!
Just then, a figure wielding a massive scythe swiftly appeared behind Marianne, the sharp blade poised to decapitate her.
Positioned like a mage or support fighter, Marianne naturally couldn't react in time to a speed attack.
At this critical moment—
"Barrier!"
CLANG!
With a flick of his crossed fingers, Bartolomeo instantly enveloped Marianne in a massive conical barrier.
The scythe bounced off harmlessly.
Then, Bartolomeo followed up.
"Barrier Pistol!"
He launched a punch enhanced by a barrier sphere, smashing directly into the scythe-wielding pirate's head, knocking him out cold on the spot.
After rescuing Marianne, Bartolomeo proudly lifted his chin, grinning with his sharp teeth.
"Hmph, this attack is called the Barrier Pistol. Impressive, huh, little girl?"
Marianne scoffed dismissively, painting a symbol in the air with her brush, though her anger toward Bartolomeo had lessened considerably.
"Fine. Let's fight together."
"I can handle it alone! Just stay behind me, little girl."
As the two continued bickering, a series of explosions suddenly erupted nearby.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Hundreds of pirates were blown to pieces by the precise blasts.
The culprit was the former Baroque Works agent Mr. 5, Gem, the Bomb-Bomb Fruit user.
His bomb throws were now remarkably precise.
Seemingly having learned projectile techniques from observing Usopp, with a single hand gesture, he evenly distributed ten nose-fancy cannonballs across the battlefield, detonating them simultaneously.
Just moments earlier, a pirate captain with a 70 million berry bounty, seeing Gem's appearance, assumed he was merely a long-range fighter and rushed toward him, intending to eliminate this battlefield bomber in close quarters combat.
However, Gem countered with a swift kick.
The moment they made physical contact, another explosion erupted.
Gem had already adapted his explosion ability for close combat: touch him, and you get blasted.
As a bomb human, he naturally feared nothing!
Thus, the notorious pirate with a 70 million bounty was blown to smithereens by Gem's artistic explosive brawl before he could even use his abilities.
"Yo, Gem, your close-quarters combat has improved."
The newcomer was none other than the Wax-Wax Fruit ability user, former Baroque Works agent Mr. 3, Galdino.
"Mr 3, two more down?" Gem asked, flicking soot off his coat.
"Piece of cake."
Galdino proudly pointed to his feet, where two famous pirate captains lay completely sealed in hard wax.
"They were too dumb. easily fell for my Candle Clone ambush hahaha."
"But be careful, don't melt them with your bombs. Two more minutes and they'll suffocate."
Gem smiled, assuring Mr 3 not to worry.
"By the way, Mr 3, you shouldn't waste time here. That okama seems to have taken down two more than you."
Hearing this, Galdino's mouth corner twitched uncontrollably as he glanced toward the other side of the battlefield.
Indeed, Bon Clay had just defeated an 82 million berry pirate with his powerful Okama Kenpo.
"Okama Kenpo: Memoire of That Summer's Day!"
Bon Clay spun like a top, kicking the pirate in the face and sending him flying.
"You're so weak but you're worth 82 million?!" Bon Clay shouted, striking a pose.
"Compared to my former boss Crocodile-chan, your bounty is way overrated~ How annoying!!"
For some reason, Bon Clay seemed genuinely offended by the weak enemy and kicked the unconscious pirate again for good measure, sending this 82 million berry man to the afterlife.
Observing the battlefield where their side held a slight advantage, Bon Clay felt anticipation.
"I wonder if Luffy-chan and Sanji-chan will be happy to see me later~ Unu!"
Just then, a gentle older-sister voice reached Bon Clay's ears.
Appearing beside him was a blonde beauty dressed in a full white suit.
"Oh, Mr 2, would you like to go greet Nami later?"
"Nami-chan? Let's... let's not... Ah, isn't this our Captain Mikita? How many have you taken down?"
Bon Clay didn't want to recall being dominated by Nami before, so he awkwardly changed the subject!
Mikita saw through this instantly but didn't expose him.
Instead, she smiled gently, twirling her parasol.
"Hehe, your captain has already taken down the other two 80 million berry pirates."
With that, Mikita elegantly turned and took two steps to the left, revealing two burly men behind her lying in craters, with rolled-back eyes and blood-soaked bodies.
After the brutal battle, Mikita remained spotless white from head to toe.
Only the tips of her white openwork high heels showed faint traces of crimson from stomping her enemies into the ground.
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