"Fleet Admiral, please don't say that," Sengoku said seriously. "To the people who fear the tyranny of evildoers, Marineford is a symbol of justice! Even if all pirates on the sea are wiped out one day, other criminals will still rise. That's why Marineford must continue to exist."
Being scolded by his own subordinate made Kong Steelbone feel a bit awkward, though he didn't refute Sengoku's words.
"Is it over?"Oniguma asked, noticing the vanishing of the fading heavens and earth.
"Oi, Captain, you didn't really lose, right?" Raelmann called out worriedly.
Although he could still feel the effect of Rosinante's healing silence, Raelmann knew their captain wasn't dead. But after such a long silence, even Rosinante's awakened Devil Fruit powers had disappeared. Raelmann began to worry that, even if he survived, things might've taken a serious turn for the worse.
"The Fleet Admiral himself made a move. No pirate could possibly survive that. You should just surrender. You'll be locked up in Impel Down, but at least you'll be alive," Onigumo said with a cold grin.
"Our captain isn't someone who dies that easily!" Raelmann snapped back sharply.
"…He's coming," Steelbone Kong suddenly said, staring at the collapsed pit he had just smashed into the earth.
As everyone watched in confusion, a figure slowly rose from the rubble.
It was Rosinante.
He floated upward, his body battered and bloodied, his chest deeply dented by Steelbone's punch, and his breath labored.
"Captain, are you okay?!" Raelmann called out with concern.
Rosinante's body was still riddled with injuries, and the healing silence hadn't mended them—proof of how terrifying that punch had been. If it had hit Raelmann instead, he would've exploded on the spot.
"Heh… not dead yet," Rosinante said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
To everyone's surprise, Steelbone Kong didn't press the attack. Instead, he watched Rosinante warily.
Even wild beasts are most dangerous when wounded. And now, Kong could feel a faint but rising aura of danger radiating from Rosinante… so he chose to wait.
"Just as I thought… I still have a long way to go before reaching the level of the world's top fighters," Rosinante said softly, landing and sitting directly on the ground.
"What's this? Giving up and surrendering?" Kong asked.
"Do I look like someone who would surrender?" Rosinante chuckled. "You won't be capturing me today."
"Hmph! No matter what tricks you have left, don't think you'll leave Marineford alive!" Sengoku shouted coldly.
"I wouldn't have come here today if I hadn't planned my escape route carefully," Rosinante said with a relaxed smile, still seated. "You can't catch me."
"You're counting on that wormhole user? You think he can extract you right in front of me? No one here is escaping today," Kong growled, cold as iron.
"Indeed, with your strength, even if a wormhole opened, I wouldn't be confident in escaping… but the truth is, I won't need to. Because you will let me go. Or rather—you'll let us go."
"Delusional fool," Kong snapped.
But Sengoku's face tightened at Rosinante's words. Something wasn't right.
"Go fetch a Den Den Mushi," Rosinante said calmly.
"Yes, sir!" A Second Division crewmember dashed off to obey.
Sengoku tried to stop him, but Steelbone Kong held him back.
"Easy there, Admiral Sengoku," Rosinante said, raising his injured fist. "This wound wasn't for nothing. I guarantee, you wouldn't enjoy getting hit by this punch."
Sengoku froze and glanced toward Steelbone Kong, who was already furrowing his brows. On that clenched fist, he could see a force—dark, violent, and dangerous. A blow that could actually injure even him. He still didn't regard Rosinante as a real threat, but there was no point in eating such a hit for nothing.
"Besides," Rosinante added with a smirk, "even if you stopped me now, the plan's already underway. I'm just calling to check if the third gift has been delivered."
"Captain, the Den Den Mushi!" A Second Division soldier ran up and handed him the snail.
"Dial in to Bins," Rosinante ordered.
"Yes, sir!" The elite soldier began dialing without hesitation.
Gururururu… click!
"Hello? Your Majesty?" came Bins' voice from the other end.
"Sounds like you've had a rough time," Rosinante said, amused.
"Heh, ran into that monster Garp. Took a beating," Bins replied, half-laughing.
"Same here. Took hits from two monsters," Rosinante chuckled.
At that, Steelbone Kong glared at him—but Rosinante just grinned. He wasn't calling himself a monster; he was calling them monsters.
"The Navy really is overflowing with powerhouses," Bins sighed.
"But we made some great gains today. Bins, is my third gift ready?" Rosinante asked.
"It's ready."
"Then deliver it."
Sengoku's face darkened. "Rosinante, what exactly are you planning?!"
"You'll find out soon enough. But if you're really that impatient, we can always keep fighting," Rosinante replied with a mocking grin.
Sengoku was growing more and more anxious. From Rosinante's tone alone, he could sense that the worst was about to happen. He feared that Bins had already begun the assassination plan.
Just then, a spatial wormhole opened.
One after another, several figures stepped through.
"Is there still more fighting to be done?" Jack asked, scanning the tense atmosphere around him.
"Rahaha! Captain, you're looking pretty beat up," Burs laughed.
"Old man Ray's not looking too great either. Seems like face-to-face battles really are the bloodiest," Hemmie added.
"Yeah, this is way better than raiding an armory. Should've joined this fight instead," Jack smirked.
"You've got nerve saying that. You're the only squad that didn't complete your mission," Ryan scolded.
"What are you guys doing here?" Rosinante asked, a bit surprised.
"Bins said the gift's been delivered. We're just here to let you know… and to make an appearance," Burs said with a smile.
"To be honest, we were more worried something might happen to you," Hemmie said seriously. "The Navy won't go easy on us. At least now, we have a chance to fight our way out if it comes to that."
A chance to fight out meant Rosinante would lift the self-limiters on their bodies.
Jack and the others were already strong, and once unchained, even surrounded by Navy elites, they could blaze a bloody path to escape.
But if that moment came—they might have to abandon the Second Division soldiers still in Marineford.
That… was their worst-case scenario.