Although the Marine side was only led by one vice admiral and one admiral, the threat posed by this combination was far greater than two ordinary admirals.
As for the enemy side, the only one they truly needed to be wary of was Whitebeard. The others, in Garp and Sengoku's eyes, did not yet pose any proper threat.
At the bow of the World Government warship, a figure landed at the very front with a whoosh.
Garp's gaze passed through the layers of waves and locked onto the small black dot drawing closer.
As the distance narrowed, a smile slowly split across Garp's face. It was the excitement of a hunter finally spotting prey.
"They're here."
The distance between the two sides continued to shrink, and the sea breeze rushed toward them with the salty smell of the ocean.
Whitebeard stared at the two figures standing at the opposite bow and could not help frowning. "I told you... the Kuja Pirates' information might not be reliable."
"Newgate, complaining now is useless." Stussy swept a cold glance at the opposite side, her tone clearly irritated. "The most important thing is how we can retreat safely."
"Retreat?" Whitebeard looked at her heavily, then lowered his eyes to the deck of the speedboat beneath their feet. "Look at our 'equipment,' then think about how naive that idea is."
That was right.
Their ship was called a speedboat. Its only advantage was speed.
Other than that, it had no defensive foundation, no cannons, and no sail-adjusting system.
And the World Government warship?
It was a military warship. It was fast, could fight, and could defend. In terms of performance, it completely left the speedboat far behind.
Not to mention an even more fatal problem: seawater's effect on Devil Fruit users.
On this battlefield surrounded by sea on every side, Whitebeard's ability was restricted. It was simply adding frost to snow.
"Bastard!" Stussy finally could not suppress her anger. "Didn't they say our route would be the weakest one? Why are Garp and Sengoku both here?! The Kuja Pirates' information is so wrong it's ridiculous!"
No one answered her.
Because Garp on the opposite side had already spoken.
"Hey... Newgate." The sea wind blew against him, and the cloak behind Garp bearing the word "Justice" snapped loudly. He knocked his fists together, producing a dull impact, and wore a smile of barely concealed excitement. "Ready to greet my fists?"
"Bastard, you're getting smug a little too early." Whitebeard snapped back irritably. Then he instructed Ron's group, "Stussy, you steer the speedboat. We'll fight while retreating. Kaido, Ron, Ochoku, the three of you assist me."
Ron and Kaido nodded at the same time.
Ochoku, however, snorted unhappily. "What the hell, Newgate? Are you treating me like your subordinate?"
"Hmph, idiot." Whitebeard replied coldly. "If you don't want to get caught, shut up."
Ochoku opened his mouth, but in the end did not retort. His face merely looked unpleasant.
Then Whitebeard set Murakumogiri down on the deck, reached both hands into the air, and suddenly grabbed. The moment his ten fingers dug into the air, it was as if he had caught something tangible. Then he pulled hard.
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound exploded beside everyone's ears.
In an instant, the air barrier seemed to become broken glass. With Whitebeard's hands at the center, countless cracks visible to the naked eye spread in every direction.
Immediately after, the sea surface churned violently. Giant waves rose from beneath the ships, and the entire ocean seemed to tremble.
The World Government warship began shaking violently, its hull swaying left and right. Marine soldiers on the deck staggered and grabbed the railings.
"Damn." Sengoku's gaze sank. "The Tremor-Tremor Fruit is still too troublesome. Even though we're on the sea and hold all kinds of advantages... he can shift the situation with this alone."
"Hahahaha." Garp laughed. "For us, it is a little troublesome. But right now, we're on the ocean. This is a double-edged sword!"
As he spoke, Garp raised his arm and waved forward. "Charge! Catch up to them, and the threat disappears!"
Sengoku agreed. As long as they stuck close, Whitebeard would not dare use power on that scale again. Otherwise, his own boat would capsize too.
"Listen to my command!" Sengoku ordered. "All cannons, fire! Raise speed to maximum and catch them!"
At the same time, the World Government warship was pushed up by the wave. Its bow rose, exposing the wet underside of the hull.
Boom!
With a deafening burst of propulsion, the warship dove from the top of the wave.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bang, bang, bang!
Black cannonballs shot from the barrels one after another, dragging trails of fire across the sky.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The shells drew arcs through the air and rained down toward the speedboat.
Whether they hit was secondary. Sengoku's true intention was to use the shockwaves and spray from the explosions to disrupt the speedboat's course, forcing it to slow down or even change direction.
"Ron, Kaido, Ochoku." Whitebeard reminded them in a low voice. "You three handle it as you see fit."
Cannonballs of this level were something the three of them could handle.
Whitebeard himself needed to conserve strength for whatever crisis came next.
"Leave it to me!"
As Kaido responded, Armament Haki had already wrapped around the kanabo in his hands. Then he swung fiercely.
Whoosh.
A shockwave burst from the tip of the club and shot into the sky.
Boom!
A batch of incoming shells was swept by the shockwave in midair and instantly exploded.
Black smoke bloomed in clumps across the air, leaving ugly stains against the blue sky.
Ochoku did not slack off either. He launched attacks and struck the shells Kaido missed.
"Hey, Ron, what are you doing?" Kaido was startled. When he came back to his senses, he saw Ron jump directly into the sea. For a Devil Fruit user, how was that any different from suicide?
The instant Ron left the speedboat-no, the instant he leaped-his body began to change violently.
Dark red chakra surged out of his body like flame, wrapping around him. Four dark red tails unfolded behind him, drawing four arcs through the air.
In the blink of an eye, a huge dark red monster with four tails crashed onto the sea surface.
"He didn't sink?" Kaido's eyes widened until they were round. His mouth opened, and for a long while, no words came out. A Devil Fruit user was standing directly on the sea, treating it like flat ground. Was that reasonable?
"What are you trying to do, Ron?" Stussy was also stunned.
"Don't worry about me." Ron's voice came from beneath that ferocious tailed-beast cloak. "Keep moving. I won't drag you down."
As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his mouth.
A dark red energy sphere rapidly gathered and expanded in his mouth.
Hitting targets in the sky was much easier from the sea than from the boat.
"Not good."
Sengoku's pupils suddenly shrank. He had no time to be shocked by what that thing was, transforming from human to monster.
"Garp, with me!"
"Got it!"