"Is he dead? What a pity..."
Kaidou did nothing to the deceased Zephyr. He recognized such an opponent, but just picked up his alcohol gourd and started drinking, even crying regardless of the occasion as if mourning this opponent. But more so, he was regretful over his own battle.
Kaidou was someone prone to emotional outbursts, and neither of the battles was perfect for him. First, Blackbeard disrupted, and then Zephyr's body couldn't hold out, always giving him a sense of unfinished business.
Especially with Zephyr, judging from the results, Kaidou won. But during the fight, Zephyr's defeat couldn't be directly determined. This way of dying was something that greatly annoyed Kaidou.
At that moment, Sengoku slapped Kaidou's chest. In his emotionally unstable state, Kaidou didn't react, allowing Sengoku to land a solid hit on his chest, sending his draconic body flying.
Looking at the already deceased Zephyr, the face of Sengoku in his Great Buddha Transformation also showed a hint of sadness.
But he wasn't overwhelmed by sadness; instead, he continued to attack Kaidou. The explosion of the Explosive Rock had some effect, and if they didn't continue the fight now, Zephyr's sacrifice would be in vain.
The Great Buddha and the draconic man continued their battle, while the frontline entered a feverish pitch.
Oars used his body to create a path to the execution platform. As vast as a small mountain, he finally fell under the Navy's siege, but his body paved the way to the execution platform.
Ultimately, Garp couldn't steel his resolve and was knocked flying by a punch from Luffy across the entire Grand Line.
However, Luffy still didn't have the key to unlock the Seastone shackles, so he could only destroy the execution platform and let Ace escape with the chains first to find a locksmith.
Having completed their objective, the Whitebeard Pirates were ready to retreat, but the Navy didn't want them to leave. If they did, the war would be a failure, so the Navy began their pursuit.
Even the explosion behind Marinfanto didn't distract them. Many were already blinded by bloodlust; the only thing on their minds now was killing more enemies.
But on the battlefield, there was a peculiar group of people dressed in uniform white suits. They shuttled through the battlefield, neither treating the wounded nor attacking the pirates or navy, just reporting the situation with Radio Snails.
They were CP0 sent by the World Government, and their job was solely to report the situation from all sides.
At this moment, reports continuously emerged in front of World Government officials as CP0 relayed information.
These officials were essentially the secretaries to the Five Elders, filtering out unimportant information and presenting the more critical reports to them.
"The Navy's newly formed Flying Dragon Team suffered heavy losses. Those dragons were far inferior to the original monster. It seems investing so much isn't appropriate.
"The air force has its advantages, but overall it's somewhat lacking. The Navy's casualties are still acceptable, but Zephyr is dead..."
"If that guy is dead, so be it. He wasn't a pleasant fellow anyway, just too senior. Too many of his students are in the Navy, better off with him gone."
Regarding Zephyr's death, the people of the World Government did not mourn or feel sorrow; rather, they seemed to be applauding.
Among these people were many who disliked Zephyr, as Zephyr's actions did not align with their interests.
"Akainu and Kizaru are still fighting Whitebeard. That guy is terrifying after regaining his youth."
"The power of restored youth, that force is truly enviable. Speaking of which, Queen... this might be an opportunity. After all, we failed over in Wano Kuni. Their defenses were too strong, we gained nothing."
"This is beyond our decision-making, notify the Five Elders."
...
After some irrelevant intelligence was filtered out, other pieces of intelligence were delivered to the Five Elders, with the top ones concerning Queen.
The Five Elders didn't even look at these details; they knew enough about Queen. In a sense, Queen's name had already become known.
"This proposal is good. It's only Queen who holds the technology, and Kaidou isn't as orderly as we thought. Capturing Queen seems feasible."
Compared to Kaidou, Queen was significantly weaker. If they seized this opportunity to capture Queen, all issues would be easily resolved.
"Coercion and inducement can always get something out of him."
"The Holy Land needs protection, and right now... it's a critical time. We can't leave the Holy Land, nor do we have suitable personnel. Whitebeard, Kaidou, and Red Hair are about to arrive, ordinary people are useless."
"Judicial Island also had an incident, use that... this situation, a minor cleaning is acceptable, too many chaotic elements, it's not a good time."
"That's a decision for Lord Imu to make."
"But as servants, though we can't replace Lord Imu, we are granted partial authority. I think it's time, let's start voting."
"Approve."
"Approve."
"Disapprove."
"Approve."
"Disapprove."
The decision was finally passed. The five of them walked towards another area, discussing other matters in the process.
...
Offshore of Marinfanto, the initial bombardment hasn't stopped, but now the purpose of the battle has changed again.
"Ace has been rescued, charge in! Cover everyone's return to the New World!!"
"Stop them! Without ships, these pirates can't escape! For justice, for fallen comrades, wipe out these pirates!"
The cannon fire roared, both sides fighting for their goals, but as the battle progressed, someone noticed something unusual. On the distant sea, a new pirate ship was gradually approaching Marinfanto.
At Marinfanto's temporary command, Tsuru had taken over command, but the information wasn't promising, and the current situation wasn't favorable for the Navy.
"This is the Gate of Justice, reporting now: the Origin of the Hundred Beasts Pirates has appeared! Aim unknown, but they are approaching!"
"More of the Hundred Beasts... Who's leading them?"
"It's... it's Arceus...."
"....."
Tsuru fell silent. One Kaidou was already too much to handle, and now with a second-in-command, the situation was likely to become even more challenging.
But before Tsuru could make a decision, another piece of intelligence came in.
"Report! The Red Foss has appeared at Marinfanto! Leading is... Red Hair Shanks! The third Sea Emperor... has arrived...."