It was as if he carried a strange pull all his own.
The moment Yemu rose into the air, everyone on the battlefield instinctively stopped fighting and turned their eyes toward him.
He had not even done anything yet, but the Marines still swallowed nervously without realizing it. On the Sky Pirates' side, however, morale surged.
"Is Boss Yemu finally making his move?"
At that moment, the focus of the battlefield truly became Yemu alone.
Unlike the nervous Marines, Sengoku instead let out a breath of relief.
As the Last King, Yemu choosing to step onto the battlefield meant that the Sky Pirates, just like the Marines, had no more hidden cards left.
"Garp, next, as long as we take down this brat, this war is over."
Sengoku spoke in a deep voice.
Garp clenched his fists confidently.
"Don't worry. I've been training these iron fists of mine for this fight for a long time!"
As the Marine hero, Garp had every right to say such a thing.
Having already touched the limits of power in this world, aside from Rocks and Roger, he was confident that he could defeat any enemy with those iron fists.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Marine Hero Garp against Fire Dragon Yemu. No matter how one looked at it, this was a battle they could not lose.
Unless Whitebeard also joined this war, Sengoku could not imagine anyone who could stop the Marines from winning.
Just then, Yemu, who was slowly floating in midair, finally began his final declaration for this war.
"The moment has finally come, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Yemu's voice was clear and bright, ringing in the ears of everyone at the center of the war, and in the ears of everyone watching through TV-B.
At that moment, Sengoku also slowly stepped forward. His face was cold as he said sharply, "No matter what you say, it's useless now, Fire Dragon Yemu. I already gave you a chance. Now you have no choice but to surrender."
"You're quite confident, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. If I remember correctly, didn't you lose to me not long ago?"
As soon as Yemu said that, everyone was stunned.
"Eh?"
"When did that happen...?"
"Fire Dragon Yemu actually defeated Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
Not to mention the outside world, even within the Marines, very few people knew about this.
In order to ensure Sengoku's smooth rise to Fleet Admiral, the World Government had ordered the incident of Yemu invading Impel Down to be covered up, turning that event into nothing more than Shiki's escape.
Sengoku's expression instantly stiffened. It was something he could not deny, and something he considered deeply humiliating.
For Yemu to say it now was clearly meant to strike at the Marines' morale.
Fortunately, at that moment, Garp stepped forward as his old friend. Picking his nose and looking as if he did not care about Yemu at all, he laughed and said, "Brat, aren't you looking down on people a bit too much? You only have eyes for Sengoku. What about this old man?"
With that, whether Yemu's words just now were true or not no longer seemed to matter to the Marines.
This was Garp-san, the Marine hero who had driven Pirate King Roger into desperate straits several times.
In an instant, cheers from the Marines rang out across the battlefield once more.
The pirates on the Sky Pirates' side also froze.
Unlike the fearless and disciplined Germa Corps, the ordinary pirates who had newly joined the three great fleets were just like the Marines. They had their own emotions and thoughts.
Anyone could imagine that Yemu alone could not possibly deal with Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Marine Hero Garp at the same time.
And all the other captains and commanders had their own opponents.
Only Ivankov and Kuma, who were fighting CP, were not worried.
Sure enough, under Garp's somewhat surprised gaze, Yemu spoke with the same confidence.
"Of course I wouldn't ignore you, Garp-san. In fact, in my plan, you're far more troublesome than Fleet Admiral Sengoku. But after fighting us so many times, all of you Marines, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, should know that I'm not the kind of man who fights battles without confidence. So there's no need to rush, Garp-san. I've already found you a suitable opponent."
"!"
As soon as he said that, the Marines, Garp, and Sengoku all froze.
Countless possibilities flashed through both men's minds at once.
Had Whitebeard really come? Or was it Charlotte Linlin? Or one of Roger's former crewmates?
Aside from them, the two of them truly could not think of any suitable candidates.
"No need to worry. The answer will be revealed soon, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Garp-san."
At that moment, even the previously confident Sengoku felt uneasy.
Just then, Yemu's gaze swept across every corner of the battlefield before him.
There was Enel and Borsalino in the sky, Anne and Kuzan in the distance, Tiger and Zephyr below, Erik and Sakazuki, the warriors of the Land of Women and the reinforcements from the Kamabakka Kingdom behind him, as well as the Germa Corps, pirates, and Marines locked together so chaotically that it was already difficult to tell them apart.
Then he spoke.
"The cause of this war is simple. I declared war on the Celestial Dragons and the World Government at the Holy Land Mary Geoise."
"So this war was never meant to be a war between us and all of you Marines."
"Just as you Marines carry your justice on your backs, my companions and I also have the justice we believe in. Fairness and equality."
"No oppression. No discrimination. No matter what race you are, no matter whether you are strong or weak, large or small, you can find a place that belongs to you in the Rainbow Country I built. Just like the colors of a rainbow, every one of them is indispensable. That is why I founded a new nation and declared war on the Celestial Dragons and the World Government."
"I did this not simply to destroy the order of this world. I only want to protect the people I cherish."
"As all of you can see, among my companions are humans, the most numerous race in this world, as well as rare races like fish-men, giants, and the Tontatta tribe. There are also the Lohart tribe, the Kuja, the isolated Kamabakka Kingdom, and slaves persecuted by the Celestial Dragons. But they all share one thing in common. They are all victims who have suffered under the World Government."
"As their captain, I have the duty and the responsibility to protect them."
"But I also understand that no matter how strong someone is, one day they will grow old, and even die. The identity of a pirate may protect them for a time, but it cannot protect them forever. My dream goes further than that. I want to protect not only their present, but also their future, even the future of their descendants."
"So I came to understand that only by breaking the rotten old order built by the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, and by creating a new era, can I fulfill my dream."
"Only then can every race live fairly and equally on the same land, under the same sun."
"And that is my final declaration for this war. It is also the promise I make to my companions and to the future of this world!"
When Yemu finished speaking, after a brief silence, cheers like a surging sea erupted across the entire battlefield.
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