"There's no need for that. Once everything is settled, it won't be too late to call them back…"
Kizaru leaned lazily against the sofa, glancing at the fully-absorbed Vegapunk.
Even if the robotic army Vegapunk was building ended up being useless at that time, he still had the Revolutionary Army as backup.
Not to mention Boros—whose mere existence was overwhelming for the pirate world that ignored Kizaru. Even if Imu, who had ruled the world from the shadows for eight hundred years, truly had some game-breaking trump card, it wasn't certain that it could get past Boros.
Of course, the strongest trump card was Kizaru himself entering the battlefield. With his power enhanced to a degree even he could no longer grasp, once he made his move it would undoubtedly be a one-sided, destructive sweep.
For a brief moment, Kizaru even found himself hoping Imu would survive Boros' onslaught. Otherwise, all the surprises he had prepared would go to waste—wouldn't that be a shame?
"Zephyr should've taught you not to underestimate any opponent, right? And our opponent is the World Government!"
Chief Inspector Sengoku frowned deeply, clearly displeased by what he saw as Kizaru's overconfidence.
This was the decisive battle concerning not just the Marines, but the future of the entire world. If Kizaru hadn't repeatedly insisted it wasn't yet time for the Marines to take the stage, Sengoku would've already led the Headquarters fleet straight to Mary Geoise.
Even if he had to pinch his nose and fight side-by-side with pirates, the World Government had to be nailed shut in its coffin.
Seeing Kizaru acting so confident—borderline careless—Sengoku felt obligated to deliver a harsh reprimand, at least enough to make Kizaru recognize the gravity of the situation.
"Relax. There won't be any problems…"
Kizaru said casually. But before he finished speaking, his eyebrows lifted slightly, and he showed a curious expression.
"What is it?"
Sengoku asked instinctively.
Even for someone as battle-hardened as he was, an operation targeting the World Government was nerve-wracking.
The moment Kizaru's expression changed, Sengoku's heart grew uneasy.
"Heh… Mary Geoise has already started fighting. What an impatient bunch…"
Kizaru shrugged. Random Guy from the chat group was preparing to livestream Esdeath and the First Division's pirate fleet attacking Red Port.
"It's started already?!"
Sengoku didn't even bother asking how Kizaru knew. He hurried out of the office to arrange the deployment of the Headquarters fleet.
Regardless of how the battle turned out, the Marines would appear at the final moment to wipe out both the remnants of the World Government and the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirate Crew.
For that, Marineford had to be fully prepared. If not for Kizaru's firm insistence, Sengoku would have already recalled all the Marine high-command—including Garp—to ensure absolute superiority in military force.
[Ding! The bystander who wants to cling to Luo Feng has opened a livestream room and invited @everyone to watch. Accept?]
[Accept / Decline]
Sengoku had barely left when Kizaru immediately got a ping from the dimensional chat group.
Glancing at Vegapunk—who was nervously biting his nails while trying to simplify a robot design—Kizaru shrugged, returned to the rest area attached to his office, and opened the chat.
[Kobayashi: Huh? Why did you suddenly go live?]
[RandomFanClinger: Have you got melon seeds, soda and a bench ready? I picked the best angle—streaming Esdeath slamming the Celestial Dragons live!]
[Haibara Ai: So you're just going to hide behind the women the whole time, huh, K-9?]
[RandomFanClinger: Don't be so harsh, Ms. Sharp Tongue—those guys are dangerous; you want to go up front?]
[Kamado Tanjiro: Um… bro in the chat, watch your safety.]
[Orochimaru: If you encounter Devil Fruit users, try to keep them alive. My experiments could really use the specimens…]
[Tony Stark: Need me to privately sponsor you guys with a batch of weapons? Top-grade stuff—so good even the Pentagon idiots couldn't find fault!]
[RandomFanClinger: Hahaha, don't worry Tanjiro, I value my safety above all—I'm not going to die on the front lines!]
[RandomFanClinger: Orochimaru's overrating me—this is Esdeath's show; I'm just background filler…]
[Kizaru: I'll have Boros distribute the scrolls I gave him. If things get dangerous, unleash the Edo Tensei ninjas sealed in the scrolls.]
[Orochimaru: Heh. Generous, as always—Kizaru for the win.]
[RandomFanClinger: Love it, love it—thanks, Admiral Kizaru!]
[Zhang Sanfeng: People's lives are hard…]
[Tony Stark: It's starting, it's starting!]
…
At the same time the group chatted, the first squadron of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirate Fleet—led by Esdeath—rolled out and appeared in the outer waters off Red Port.
Although the squadron didn't fly the Beasts' or Big Mom's flags, those near a thousand pirate vessels of various sizes and over a hundred thousand men still dealt a heavy psychological blow to the Holy Land garrison guarding Red Port.
"Open fire!"
Before the first squadron's ships could close in, the coastal defenses unleashed a series of ear-shattering booms.
Boom boom boom boom…
A dense fire net from hundreds of cannons overlapped, and a single broadside shredded the pirate vessels at the front; several of the targeted ships were blown apart and sank on the spot.
Seeing this, the defenders' morale surged. After all, these were elite troops selected by the allied governments, and with such concentrated artillery support they might, theoretically, blunt the massed rabble of the Cosmic Dark Matter pirates.
"Lady Esdeath! Their firepower is too fierce—our fleet can't break through!"
Esdeath's senior fighters felt their scalps tingle. They weren't afraid to die to cannon fire at that level, but with such heavy bombardment, even a full-force boarding would be beaten back by the defenders' prepared positions.
Even the Navy HQ had rarely mustered such firepower. Red Port's current defenses were possible only because the World Government had thrown money at the problem and because tens of thousands of able-bodied soldiers were forced into labor—allowing them to build fortifications at that scale.
°°°
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