"Rest assured, Lord Umit."
Peclo put down the telescope and walked over to sit across from Umit, his tone brimming with confidence.
"Since power is born from the shadows of schemes and deals, do you really think the World Government would fully compromise with a Navy Fleet Admiral who staged a coup?"
"In terms of individual strength, we are no match for the Four Emperors of the New World, nor can we stand against the vast war machine of the Marines. But we are not lambs waiting to be slaughtered. The Marine Admiral has sharpened his blade and sent us an invitation. We will not sit idly by, instead, we will seize this opportunity to show that young Fleet Admiral that the game of power is not for everyone to play!"
"For the World Government, chaos is the foundation of their rule."
"But for us, chaos is the ladder to rise."
"Lord Umit, I can assure you that after this incident, regardless of the final outcome between the Marine and the Beasts Pirates, that young Fleet Admiral will not dare to recklessly raise his blade against us again."
"Because even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone us, who are no rabbits."
At this point, Peclo eyes gleamed with a sharp light, his aura surged and his voice became domineering and full of authority.
"We are the Kings of the Underworld."
"Let's hope so!"
Umit raised his glass and drank it all in one go, then looked up at his two subordinates standing by the cabin door and said in a deep voice.
"Set sail!"
As the King of Shipping in the Underworld, Umit was not just involved in commercial shipping but also in many illegal smuggling operations, especially his collaborations with Kaido and the Charlotte family, which had made him immensely wealthy.
Most importantly, Umit had always maintained a cooperative relationship with the World Government.
Almost all the supplies needed by the World Goverment were transported through his merchant ships.
It was precisely because of his close ties with various factions that, even if he feared being held accountable afterward, it was merely a concern.
The Marine was currently at its peak, having just signed a treaty with the World Goverment and now sharpening their blades to march into the New World.
In such circumstances, if the Kings of the Underworld did not stand up, their ultimate fate would be inevitable—like eggs shattered under a collapsing nest.
As Umit and Peclo warship turned and left the area, other warships in the vicinity did not retreat but instead advanced, furiously bombarding the G5 base while accelerating toward it.
At the same time, the cannons of the fortress base also opened fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dense volleys of cannonballs soared into the sky, trailing blazing white arcs like a massive net descending upon the warships on the sea.
As the cannonballs roared down from above, the sea erupted in waves of explosions, sending towering columns of water into the air.
After one round of bombardment, five or six of the merchant ships converted into warships were lost.
However, the pirates on the warships did not slow down, instead, they intensified their fire concentrating their cannons on the base gates.
***
Elsewhere in the New World
The rising sun dispelled the rolling black clouds, casting the sea in a crimson glow.
The crimson sea was littered with countless corpses and the wreckage of warships.
Among the debris were two destroyed Marine ships.
On the decks of these ships lay hundreds of bodies, and the clashing of metal did not cease despite the carnage. The Marine soldiers, who had fought all night, were almost all injured, their uniforms stained with their own blood or that of the pirates.
Even so, these soldiers were as fierce as tigers, seemingly tireless and fearless, charging madly at the pirates across from them.
The pirates engaged in battle with the Marine were no better off. Not only had they suffered heavy losses, but their morale was completely crushed by the Marine.
Once notorious for their plundering and atrocities on the high seas, they were now the ones being slaughtered.
Apart from the two destroyed warships, the other vessels remained almost entirely unscathed.
This was because Sakazuki had not unleashed his Meteor Volcano to indiscriminately bombard the area.
It wasn't that he had grown soft-hearted and wanted to spare the Beasts Pirates.
Rather, it was the choice of the Marine soldiers that, for the first time in his history of never hesitating to eliminate the enemy, made him reluctant to act.
Especially when he saw the Marine officers and soldiers saluting him and shouting their loyalty, urging him to unleash the Meteor Volcano for indiscriminate bombardment, he could no longer bring himself to do it.
In the end, the Meteor Volcano that was launched into the sky did not fall indiscriminately but instead plunged into the waters surrounding the Marine warships and the Beasts Pirates' vessels.
The moment the Meteor Volcano descended from the sky and crashed into the sea, an even more brutal close-quarters battle began.
Sakazuki reasoning was simple: since all the officers and soldiers had resolved to fight to the death, they should be allowed to fight to their last breath and die a worthy death, rather than perish under his Meteor Volcano.
Most importantly, the entire Marine, including him as an admiral, were all soldiers under Fleet Admiral Orion.
When Orion had personally rushed to the East Blue immediately after Stock sacrifice, it was enough to prove the weight the Marine held in his heart.
Under such circumstances, even if Orion had told him to act without restraint, he could no longer eliminate his own people along with the enemy as he had done in the past.
Although Sakazuki did not allow the Meteor Volcano to fall into the sea where the warships were located, neither the Akainu Army nor the Momousagi Army disappointed him.
As the Meteor Volcano fell into the surrounding waters, forming a blockade line, almost all the Marines simultaneously charged toward the pirate ships, forcing the fleeing members of the Beasts Pirates to continue fighting.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With deafening collision sounds erupting from a large warship, waves of shockwaves surged out one after another, causing the surrounding space to vibrate at a low frequency.
On the deck of the warship, Kaido, wielding his spiked club, furiously smashed toward Sakazuki.
"Kaido, what else can you do besides swinging that big club and breathing fire?"
"Haven't you been searching for a place to die all over the world these years?"
"If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"
Before the words even finished, Sakazuki suddenly raised his head and his massive magma-covered fist, carrying a terrifying energy aura, shot toward Kaido at an astonishing speed.
Kaido neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he swung his spiked club, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, and slammed it hard against the oncoming fist.
"BOOM—"
The moment the two collided, a visible shockwave instantly spread out from the epicenter of their clash, and the terrifying impact directly cracked and split the warship's deck.
The next second, Kaido, who had relentlessly smashed Sakazuki with over a dozen blows without budging him, was sent flying backward by the shockwave.
He nearly fell into the sea as the warship's deck tilted and broke.
Sakazuki, having punched Kaido back, stepped forward on the tilted deck allowing the magma dripping from his arm to fall onto the deck.
"Kaido, it's over!"
"Not only will you die here today, but not a single member of the Beasts Pirates will escape!"
As soon as Sakazuki finished speaking, a loud shout suddenly came from the deck of a nearby medium-sized warship.
"Admiral Sakazuki, the G5… the G5 base is under attack by the Beasts Pirates! The situation is critical!"
Huh?
Sakazuki pupils narrowed.
"Worororo, has it finally come?"
Before Sakazuki could react, Kaido, shedding his previous disheveled appearance, said with a fanatical expression.
"Sakazuki, this is war, not a duel between the strong! A top-tier war can't be a small skirmish. Not only G5, but your first base must also bear the wrath of the Beasts Pirates!!"
"Come on, Sakazuki!"
"Let's see today whether you'll take me down or I'll uproot all the Marine bases in the New World!"
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