"Pirates truly cannot be trusted..."
Sakazuki ended his communication with Doflamingo, his face dark as he looked toward the island.
Only two battles were happening on the island.
But now, only the mountaintop at the center of the island was still engaged in combat.
The other battle seemed to have already ended.
"Kuzan, Doberman..."
After observing for a moment, Sakazuki immediately issued orders to the entire army, calling out names one by one.
Even he had to admit that though Doflamingo disgusted him, this point was not wrong.
Apart from Crocodile, who was still fighting, the other Warlords were all slacking off.
If even Crocodile started slacking, the situation would become even more unfavorable for the Marines.
On the other warships, Kuzan and the other ten vice admirals waited silently for Sakazuki's orders.
"No more attempts to use the Warlords to exhaust the enemy. You will go and end this ridiculous war!"
With Sakazuki's command, the elite Marine forces that had withdrawn from the island began to move, ready to support the front lines at any moment.
"Ara ara, is it finally my turn?"
Kuzan stepped off the warship, glanced back at the live broadcast team following him, and walked leisurely toward the ice staircase with his hands in his pockets.
At the same time, Doberman and the other vice admirals also began landing on the island from various directions.
Behind them, the teams responsible for broadcasting the war followed closely, transmitting the live footage to the entire world without reservation.
...
Marineford Plaza.
A large screen stood here, displaying the image of Kuzan landing on the island.
"It's Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
Kuzan was a top-tier powerhouse with monstrous strength and a recognized candidate for the next Admiral position. His reputation within Marine Headquarters was immense.
His appearance immediately sparked cheers across the plaza.
With Admiral Akainu leading the operation and ten elite vice admirals like Kuzan... this war could not possibly be lost.
"Vice Admiral Doberman!"
The screen then switched to Doberman, eliciting another round of cheers from the plaza.
Doberman believed in absolute justice and had an extremely aggressive style, earning him a large following within Marine Headquarters as well.
Next, Onigumo and the other eight vice admirals appeared on the screen one after another.
Each vice admiral's appearance drew considerable cheers from the plaza.
At this time, high-ranking Marine officers like Sengoku, who remained at Marineford, were also watching the war.
Tsuru shook her head slightly when she saw the cheers caused by Kuzan and the others' appearance. "We are making a very basic mistake."
Even now, she had not given up on recruiting Reddy.
Yet the cheers on the plaza proved that most people had already labeled Reddy as a pirate... or rather, a criminal.
This undoubtedly pushed Reddy to the opposite side of the Marines.
"Why are they so excited?"
Momousagi, who shared similar thoughts with Tsuru, could not understand the excitement of the Marine soldiers in the plaza.
After all, Reddy had only taken Punk Hazard and Loguetown.
At Punk Hazard, he had only taken the research facility and over a hundred researchers. As for Loguetown... she found it hard to define the nature of that incident.
But since even the Marine hero Garp had not pursued the matter relentlessly, it suggested that Reddy's actions might not have been severely harmful.
Beyond that, she truly had not heard of Reddy committing any heinous crimes.
"Because of their stance."
Tsuru shook her head.
In Marineford, due to Admiral Akainu's influence, Absolute Justice was gradually becoming the mainstream ideology within the Marines.
Reddy had indeed not done anything particularly evil.
But he was a criminal wanted by the World Government.
Understanding this, it was easy to grasp the reason behind the cheers from the Marine soldiers in the plaza.
Momousagi also shook her head and said nothing more.
...
"MAMAMAMA... You all stay on Whole Cake Island."
Big Mom, seeing the live footage of Kuzan and the others landing on the island, grinned and stood up, instructing Katakuri and her other children to remain on Whole Cake Island to prevent the newly crowned Yonko Red-Haired Shanks or the world's strongest man, Whitebeard, from taking advantage of the situation to attack.
Even among the Yonko, there was no peace, only constant conflict.
"Mom, are you going alone?"
Perospero quickly stepped forward, hoping to bring more personnel to avoid being surrounded by the Marines or even that Dr. Reddy.
Big Mom laughed loudly. "This isn't my war. I'm just helping Kaido with a small favor. No need to bring so many people."
She was confident in her own strength.
She was only helping Kaido stall the Marines. Bringing too many people would lower her prestige.
Besides, Totto Land was very far from East Blue. With Zeus or Prometheus, she could reach the battlefield quickly.
But bringing more people was out of the question.
"Mom, I suggest taking me and Brulee at least."
Katakuri analyzed calmly. "Having an escape route is necessary to avoid being tricked by Kaido and left to face the Marines alone."
Brulee was terrified, given the number of strong fighters involved in this war, but Katakuri's words gave her courage. She quickly added, "Yes, Mom. If Kaido abandons you and runs away... with Marine Admiral Akainu and so many vice admirals, I'm worried..."
Her voice grew quieter, not daring to continue.
Because Big Mom's face had already darkened.
Katakuri, however, remained unafraid and pressed on. "Brulee's Mirror World can also get you to the battlefield faster. Brulee and I won't interfere with your actions, Mom."
Big Mom fell into thought.
Indeed.
Originally, she thought this war would last a long time, but Reddy had forced the elite Marine forces to retreat right from the start, and the Warlords were mostly slacking off.
This directly led to the Marine vice admirals attacking early.
If she didn't arrive in time, Kaido might even mock her for it.
Unacceptable!
Thinking this, Big Mom accepted Katakuri's suggestion but refused to bring any more people.
Katakuri secretly sighed in relief and gave Brulee a meaningful look.
Understanding, Brulee clasped her hands together and pulled them apart, opening the entrance to the Mirror World.
...
People all over the world were watching this war.
Not everyone with a bounty was a pirate—some were Revolutionary Army members.
Unfortunately, most civilians did not know this.
Due to the rampant piracy, they automatically saw anyone with a bounty as a pirate.
Thus, in the eyes of most civilians, Reddy was the fifth emperor of the sea, an outright and dangerous pirate.
Nearly every civilian watching the broadcast hoped the Marines would win this war and eliminate a major threat to the world.
"The Marines must win!"
Someone in the crowd clenched their fists, silently praying for the Marines.
Countless eyes were fixed on the live footage on the large screens.
Kuzan!
Doberman!
Onigumo!
The images of the ten Marine vice admirals landing on the island one after another filled the civilians with excitement.
These vice admirals were all famous powerhouses on the sea.
This war was as good as won!
...
Loguetown.
The plaza where the execution platform of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger once stood was packed with people.
Several large screens were erected around the plaza.
The residents watched the footage of the famous Marine vice admirals landing on the island with worried expressions.
The entire plaza was silent.
Everyone knew what this war represented.
If Reddy won, Loguetown's future would become even brighter.
If the Marines won, everyone would return to the way things were, constantly fearing pirate attacks.
Dragon mingled in the crowd, staring at the live footage on the screen with mixed emotions.
The former Self-Defense Army, reorganized into the Revolutionary Army, had not been without achievements.
He had successfully orchestrated uprisings in several kingdoms, but not a single liberated kingdom's people cared about this war as deeply as the residents of Loguetown, even though it should have had nothing to do with them.
Dragon was intelligent and an idealist.
He could see that the three decrees Reddy had issued were like a shot of adrenaline for the locals, filling them with hope for the future.
Low taxes!
Zero crime rate!
He knew that for civilians, these were luxuries that existed only in dreams.
Yet Reddy was turning those dreams into reality.
Thinking this, Dragon's resolve hardened. "Kuma was right. No matter what, I cannot let Dr. Reddy lose this war!"
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