Thump!
Koby's headless body fell heavily to the ground, and blood instantly stained the ice. Except for his good friend Helmeppo, no one paid any attention to his life or death. All eyes were on Adrian, who was walking slowly, as this sudden scene exceeded everyone's expectations.
The red-haired man's face instantly became extremely gloomy. Adrian's public murder of Koby was undoubtedly a direct challenge to his authority. The entire Marineford still had around 70,000 Marines and pirates, and no one dared to defy him. Yet Adrian had just stepped up and slapped him in the face. If he didn't teach him a lesson, who would give him face in the future?
"Little shit!"
Yasopp, standing behind Shanks, was the first to react, a look of anger on his face. As the Red Hair Pirates' chief sniper, he hadn't reacted in time to stop Adrian's blow; he hadn't even clearly seen the projectile.
Click!
Yasopp immediately pointed his gun at Adrian's head, his finger resting on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.
Almost at the same time, Van Augur, standing behind Adrian, made the same motion, but his target was Yasopp.
Death Song's eyes were locked directly on Benn Beckman beside the red-haired man. He instinctively felt that this gray-haired man was strong.
Shiryu sneered, his hand on the hilt of his sword, Raiu. His sinister eyes moved back and forth over the several cadres behind the red-haired man, as if he wanted to pick out the strongest to be his opponent.
The Empress, on the other hand, didn't care about the Red Hair Pirates at all. It wasn't because of how strong she was, but because as long as anyone dared to be Adrian's enemy, she would risk her life to attack them, even if it were the world's strongest man, Whitebeard. So it didn't matter to her who the enemy was, as long as the man in front of her was happy.
In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere on the battlefield became extremely oppressive. The two groups hadn't formally fought, but the air was already thick with the smell of gunpowder.
"That kind of trash, even if you hadn't done it, I would have killed him!" Akainu's cold voice suddenly came from the side. Koby's stupid move, though lasting only a few seconds, had greatly disturbed the fighting spirit of the Marine soldiers. If the pirates used this to their advantage, the situation could be reversed in an instant. Annihilation of the entire army wasn't out of the question.
So, Akainu had no objection to Adrian killing Koby.
Only…
"Although I don't know what method you used to revive [Fire Fist] Ace, but this kind of guy with evil blood, no matter how many times you revive him, I will kill him again!!"
As the voice fell, Akainu's figure rushed fiercely toward Ace, his right arm, rolling with hot lava, mercilessly smashing toward his head. I want to see, after blowing his head off, if you can bring him back to life again.
"Let me!" Shiryu of the Rain grabbed Death Song, who was about to strike, pulled out Raiu, and went up to him. Although he knew he couldn't beat Akainu, he still had the strength to exchange a few blows. He had just joined the new crew, and he couldn't wait to show his strength to his new boss. After all, after the Summit War ended, the people under Adrian were destined to rise. If he didn't show what he was capable of now, wouldn't he have to bow down to others later?
However, just as the figures of the two were about to collide, a black shadow crashed down from a thousand meters above the sky.
Boom!
Huge cracks suddenly appeared on the thick ice, which was crumbling as if it might collapse at any time.
"Jie ha ha ha, Captain, if I make a move now, it shouldn't be against your will, right?!" Bullet grinned, his black giant fist wrapped in Armament Haki as he blocked the attacks of Akainu and Shiryu.
Fighting. That's what I'm best at!
Swish!
A light figure jumped off Bullet's back and rushed toward Adrian's direction.
"Lord Adrian, you—"
Belo Betty, who was holding a huge banner, was about to throw herself into Adrian's arms, but she suddenly felt a killing intent that chilled her to the bone. She turned around and saw the Empress's cold eyes, sharp as a knife's edge.
Betty's body subconsciously trembled. Just like a mistress meeting the Queen, she was immediately overwhelmed by the noble and arrogant aura of the Empress. Without any explanation or clarification, she obediently walked behind Adrian like a well-behaved little maid. She consciously stood in the last row behind the Empress.
Know your own position. That is the rule to survive in capital.
Empress: Well, you are wise, I will spare you from death!
"Hey, those two people are…"
"The former crew member of the Pirate King Roger, the person with the Clank-Clank fruit, [the Demon Heir] Douglas Bullet…"
"The East commander of the Revolutionary Army, with the Pump-Pump fruit, Belo Betty…"
"How could these two people appear together…"
"Also, how did that guy gather all these powerful people who have no connection at all?!"
With the appearance of Bullet and Betty, everyone was dumbfounded. The members surrounding Adrian, no matter which one you took out, were all famous people. Now they had all become the crew of that black-haired boy who didn't even look 20 years old.
This is unscientific!
Such a lineup was not inferior to any of the Four Emperors. Was this really a proper setup for a Warlord? When did the Warlords grow to such a size?
"Hey, Akainu, the previous Ace is dead, and the current one is called Death Song… he's my subordinate!"
Adrian looked directly at Akainu, and the meaning in his words couldn't be clearer. If you continue to entangle, I will never stand by and watch.
Akainu looked at the bloody hole in front of Ace with ferocious eyes, but in the end, he chose to stop. He had noticed that although Ace's physical appearance hadn't changed, the momentum and behavior of his body had become a completely different person. He didn't know why, but the first thing Akainu thought of was that old guy, Garp.
"Akainu, if you don't do anything, the Straw Hat Luffy and remaining Whitebeard crew will run away!" Adrian smirked, pointed at the Red Hair Pirates, and said, "Although we are no longer allies, I just can't stand this nosy guy, so… leave them to me!!"
Akainu, however, did not move. Instead, he watched Adrian and the red-haired crew vigilantly.
Shanks is up to not good, and neither are you, Adrian. I don't believe anyone. When you two start, I'll grab the Straw Hat.
"Bullet, I really didn't expect a person like you to serve under others. It seems that these years of imprisonment have changed your personality a lot!" The red-haired man looked at Bullet solemnly, his eyes full of fear.
Both were former crew members of Pirate King Roger. So they weren't strangers. It was just that the red-haired man knew more about Bullet than he did about Shanks. After all, Bullet at that time only knew about fighting and was wild by nature; he didn't pay much attention to the 9-year-old kid.
"So it's you, the red-haired brat. I haven't seen you for more than 20 years. You've become very strong!" Bullet tilted his head and nodded in the direction of Adrian, grinning. "My current captain is not comparable to Roger's kind of trash who surrendered to Marine!"
Bullet held a deep resentment for Roger's behavior of turning himself in to the Marines at the end of his life. Even though he later found out that Roger wanted to start the era of great pirates, he still couldn't let go and understand.
"Fart, Captain Roger's contribution to this era is unmatched!"
The red-haired man's eyes narrowed slightly, and he tried to suppress the anger rising from the depths of his pupils. He turned to Adrian in the distance and said, "If this war continues, the balance of this era will inevitably be broken. Have you thought about the consequences of doing so?!"
"Isn't that something the World Government should consider? If you're such worried about the world, why don't you become a Marine?" Adrian sneered with disdain, raising his eyebrows and asking back. "And I'm really curious, what exactly do you mean by Roger's contribution to this era?"
"Could it be the era of great pirates he created, and how many innocent people have been killed after that?!"
"Damn it, you dare to slander Captain Roger's reputation, you are… despicable!!"
The red-haired man's pupils shrank sharply, and the aura on his body suddenly rose. Roger was his guide and his great mentor. The red-haired man didn't allow anyone to insult his reputation.
Zheng!
The terrifying Conqueror's Haki burst out from his body like a scourge. A huge, conical impact, like an arrow, formed in the turbulent air, swept across the sky toward Adrian's direction.
"Since you don't want to stop, then… let me be your opponent!"