Reinforcements?
Besides Grand Admiral Kizaru, there is an even more powerful reinforcement?
No wonder Grand Admiral Kizaru is absent...
Turns out, he's been assigned to such a mission!
With that said, although some Marines are still fleeing, overall, the situation has indeed stabilized.
Many people show expressions of surprise and rekindle their fighting spirit.
After all.
As everyone can see, even the Five Elders themselves are fighting bloodily here!
With their transport capabilities, if they truly had no confidence, wouldn't they have already left first?
Hold on!
We can still fight!
As long as we hold out until Grand Admiral Kizaru and that mysterious reinforcement arrive! Victory will ultimately be theirs!
"Going for reinforcements?"
Akainu, however, was somewhat uncertain.
Several Heavenly Celestial Dragons from the World Government are here; he couldn't recall any other considerable combat force.
But Kizaru being suddenly reassigned before the battle is indeed suspicious, and Nusjuro doesn't seem to be deceiving...
Could it be that there are unfamiliar, powerful individuals in the New World that he doesn't know about who can be summoned?
...
Shano naturally heard the distant roar of Saint Nusjuro.
He paused slightly, squinting his eyes.
Something's off.
He has dealt with the Five Elders before; those old men would prioritize their own survival, discarding any concern for the face of the Heavenly Celestial Dragons.
However.
At this moment, Nusjuro continues to fight persistently, even setting an example for the Marines, which clearly shows their confidence.
Shano's mind raced, quickly trying to connect the clues.
The maddening utterances before Garling's death, the so-called "final step" mentioned by Nusjuro, Kizaru's unusual absence, and... the hurried departure of Whitebeard and Marco.
"Sphinx?"
Shano repeated this name; the news of an attack on Whitebeard's homeland was already transmitted to him by Angewomon.
But he hadn't thought much of it before.
He assumed it was just a distraction by the Marines, indifferent as his side had enough force on the frontlines.
Even without Whitebeard, he was confident he could defeat the Marines here.
But now it seems...
The plots of the Five Elders obviously don't stop there!
Why specifically Sphinx?
Why specifically Whitebeard's homeland?
Anyway, the Whitebeard Pirates have already moved out; even if Kizaru wanted to distract Whitebeard, he could directly attack the core territory of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Why specially go to such a remote place?
Homeland, homeland...
Wait!
Shano suddenly looked up, his pupils slightly shrinking.
He finally understood!
From the beginning, the World Government... no! It should be that person's purpose, which was to lure Whitebeard to his homeland!
Just like Divine Valley back in the day!
Back then, Rocks, a man from Divine Valley, was dominated by Imu in his own homeland!
This was news he learned from the latest manga he bought not long ago.
At that time, Shano was puzzled.
He couldn't understand how Rocks, with Supreme King Haki almost as strong as his own, was dominated by Imu so easily.
Even without any effective resistance, the King of the World, the strongest pirate of that era, was dominated in such a short moment!
Thinking about it now.
Apart from needing to reveal negative emotions, Imu must have another basic condition to forcibly dominate these powerhouses, which is...
It must be in their homeland!!!
There's no mistake!
It must be this way!
Didn't Imu also transform the warriors of the Giant Race into demons in Elbaf only?
The more he thought about it, the clearer it was; all the mysteries unraveled!
"Glutinous Rice Cake, the phone!"
Shano suddenly looked up, shouting harshly to Angewomon.
"Understood!"
Whoosh!
A small Radio Snail was thrown from the sky, accurately flying toward Shano on the ground.
"Broo Broo?"
The little Radio Snail felt its brain was about to be shaken to mush and in its daze, eyes spinning, it was caught precisely by Shano.
"Victor."
Shano directly dialed his intelligence chief's phone.
"My lord, do you have any instructions?"
"Order the intelligence agents scattered around the Konomi Islands not to hide anymore and immediately execute the backup plan!"
Changing the plan?
On the other end of the phone, Victor was slightly stunned upon hearing Shano's urgent tone.
The Konomi Islands happen to be where Lord Shano's home belongs, a place secured since Endgame first established a foothold in the New World.
Endgame's reach quietly extended there, deploying many operatives to monitor in secret to guard against any moves from the World Government.
This was just an extra insurance layer; the chance of Cocoyashi Village being targeted again was low, as overtly, Shano's family had long severed ties with it.
As for the backup plan, it was a second layer of insurance, to evacuate all of Lord Shano's hometown folks to the New World should there be any disturbances.
But the CP Department had shown no movements all this time; could it be...
"I understand, I will take action immediately."
Victor responded decisively; regardless of anything else, Lord Shano's instructions were always the top priority.