"Alright, let the war officially begin. Find your own opponent according to your wishes!"
Adrian explained his plan in precise manner. "Today, let's use this war with the Red Hair Pirates as a celebration for all our members gathering!"
"Then...kill them all!!"
"Gyahahaha, as expected of the captain! Now that guy standing next to Red Hair is mine!!" Bullet cackled, his figure bursting forth in a sudden rush.
His target was none other than Benn Beckman, known as the New World's strongest first mate.
Shiryu, Death Song, and the Empress also charged out at almost the same time.[1]
"Everyone, prepare to engage the enemy!!" Benn Beckman pulled his flintlock rifle and moved forward first.
"A mere Warlord dares to challenge an Emperor crew. Are all the rookies this brave these days?!" Yasopp sneered, then snapped his fingers. Three bullets shot at Adrian's head, neck, and mouth from three different directions in a tricky manner.
"Dare to attack the captain? Your fate is sealed!" Van Augur once again showed his quick-draw ability, accurately shooting down the three bullets while launching a fatal counterattack against Yasopp.
"Hey, fatty, can you give me your head? I just joined the crew and I want to bring a gift for the new captain!" The sword in Shiryu's hand cut out a blue, lightning-like slash that collided heavily with the meat in the hand of the opposing Lucky Roux.
"Shiryu of the Rain, why didn't you stay in Impel Down? You came out just to join the fun, and now you changed Captains so quickly. I think no one will believe you!" Lucky Roux joked without fear.
His round, fat body deceived everyone; his movements were unimaginably fast and sensitive, contrary to his weight. If anyone was fooled by his appearance, they would be moments away from death.
"Hey, someone like you won't understand. Captain Adrian is the man I've been looking for. I think if I follow him, I'll be soon able to stand on top of the world!!" Shiryu said, his eyes shining.
At the same time, Death Song and the Empress also clashed with four other crew members of the Red Hair Pirates.
With the powerful Armament Haki he obtained from Garp, Death Song was like a human tank, rampaging wantonly among the enemies. He single-handedly took on three fighters.
The Empress effortlessly took on the last one.
Originally, Betty wanted to join in, but Adrian stopped her with his hand. Her role was never about personal fight. In this level of combat, the only way she would contribute was by getting herself killed. He needed her to play her proper role.
"Betty, your battlefield isn't here. Go over there and help the members of the Whitebeard Pirates; their morale seems to be a bit low, doesn't it?" Adrian said with a smirk.
"Help them?" Betty was taken aback for a moment, but then a look of understanding appeared on her pretty face. Her beautiful eyes were filled with admiration and adoration for her Lord.
"Lord Adrian , you're so wicked... but I like you so much!!"
"Where the hell are you going, you scumbags?" Betty jumped to a high point, her battle flag hitting the ground violently. Pointing her finger down, she scolded the members of the Whitebeard Pirates who were already tired of all this fight.
"Do you want to die? Or do you want to keep fighting?!"
"Choose your own destiny! Does someone else have to be the hero who saves the day? Maybe you are that hero yourself!!"
Whoosh—!!
Whoosh—!!
The invisible fluctuations that could awaken the potential power in people's hearts, with the continuous waving of the battle flag, swept across the entire battlefield.
"This feeling is... my power seems to be pouring out continuously?!"
"She's right! We are the Whitebeard Pirates! How can we give up so easily?!"
"We can't let the Marines succeed, for the sake of Pops..."
"That's right! For our father's honor, even if it costs us our lives..."
"Fight the Marines!!"
The pirates, who were scared to death just moments ago, rekindled their unyielding fighting spirit in the blink of an eye. The exciting scene simply gave the illusion as if Whitebeard had been resurrected.
"You bastards, don't be fooled by that woman! We are no match for the Marines, so run away quickly!!" The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were not affected by the Pump-Pump Fruit. Seeing their crew now fighting with the Marine soldiers without fear of death, they didn't have a happy look on their faces. Instead, their faces turned ashen.
Adrian, you are so damn devious.
Are you trying to kill them all?
Pops and Marco were both killed by you, and we haven't even settled the score with you yet! Why are you doing this again?
Is this something a person would do?
"I'll handle that woman! You guys cover everyone's retreat!!" Haruta, the captain of the 12th division, roared. He then raised his sword and rushed toward the high ground where Betty was. With the strength of his swordsmanship, he was confident he could easily crush Betty.
However, a tall figure that surprised everyone stood in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going, little man?!" Akainu said with a grim look.
"Damn it! Get out of my way! Even if it kills me, I can't let everyone be fooled by that woman!!" A look of determination was on Haruta's face. The sword in his hand came down, and he actually launched an attack on Akainu first.
"You're truly overestimating yourself!" Facing the attack, Akainu didn't even bother to dodge, allowing the opponent's sword wrapped in Armament Haki to slash at him.
Thorn!
From Akainu's shoulder to his chest, a huge cut was made diagonally. But not a single drop of blood flowed out. All that came out was hot, unstoppable, tumbling lava. He had used his elementalization ability in advance, and the strength of Haruta's Armament Haki was not enough to suppress Akainu's Devil Fruit ability at all.
Even the combined attack from Marco and Vista couldn't cause any substantial damage to Akainu's body.
The commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were just too weak.
Boom!!
The lava dog's head that his right arm had transformed into bit directly onto Haruta's sword-holding arm. The intense heat instantly melted his sword and arm. The smell of burning flesh and a painful wail sounded instantly. Akainu raised his foot with disdain and, in the astonished eyes of the crowd, stomped directly on Harta's head.
"Tch!" Akainu snorted disdainfully. This level of fighting was unable to arouse any interest in him at all.
However...
It seemed that he had been outplayed by that Adrian kid again!
Akainu turned his face away unhappily, then looked at Betty. After a moment of hesitation, he chose to let it go. Right now, he needed to rely on Adrian to keep the Red Hair Pirates in check; there was no need to bring more fights to the Marines.
Besides, he would rather see the Whitebeard Pirates launch a suicide attack.
Today, none of them would be leaving.
"The fellow actually knows how to compromise!"
Adrian had also been keeping an eye on Betty's movements. Akainu's performance was exactly what he had expected. Otherwise, how could he have let such an important subordinate put herself in danger? Betty's ability was surprisingly easy to use at this time. He felt more and more that his original choice was absolutely correct.
This girl was truly useful!
His eyes then slowly turned to Red Hair. The other party's sinister eyes happened to be looking at him the whole time. Adrian's lips curved slightly as he stretched out his fingers and gently beckoned to the other side.
"Come on, it's time for the king to face the king!!"
At the same time his voice fell, a sword slash shot to him from the opposite side.
Adrian's hands were already pressed to the ground.
"Lion Menace: Earth Coiling!!"
Roar--!!
A low growl sounded as several gigantic lion heads made of mud protruded from the ground. As soon as the huge lion's head took shape, it rushed directly towards Red Hair.
"It's a pity I don't have a sword in my hand. I can't experience your swordsmanship, which should be comparable to the world's number one swordsman."
The sudden battle between the Adrian's Group and the Red Hair Pirates simply left audiences all over the world dumbfounded. Wasn't this supposed to be the Marines' war to kill the Whitebeard Pirates? Why did it suddenly turn into Adrian vs. Red Hair?
And this new Warlord seemed to have no problem fighting a Four Emperors crew. How this war would end, no one had any answers at all.
[1] Death Song is Ace's new name, if you guys had forgot.