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New World, Karai Bari Island
"Buggy, you have nowhere left to run!"
The Marine fleet surrounded the island. Vice Admiral Stainless, leading the fleet, used a megaphone to shout, threatening Buggy to surrender.
But their response was a Desert Spada flying from the island!
"Clang!"
The precious sword sliced through one of the warships, cutting it in half. With a "boom," the warship exploded and burned.
"It's Crocodile!"
The Marines' faces turned pale with horror.
"Is that your answer, Buggy!"
Vice Admiral Stainless looked at the exploding and sinking warship to his side, his face full of rage. He immediately waved to the other warships, signaling, "Prepare to fire!"
"Fire!"
"Annihilate all the pirates!"
All the warships raised their muzzles and fired at the Cross Guild headquarters on the island. Just one volley, and flames erupted everywhere.
"Waaah waah waah!"
"Captain Buggy, quickly think of something!"
"We're going to die!"
The pirates were in a panic.
In terms of firepower, pirates are basically no match for the Marines. If they don't find a way to limit the warships' bombardment, the entire island will be destroyed.
"Don't panic, my subordinates!"
Buggy stood on the high platform, as steady as an old dog.
"Do you think I came unprepared?"
"Huh?"
The pirates were stunned.
Could it be!
"As expected of Captain Buggy, he already had a countermeasure ready!"
"We were too useless!"
"Brothers, show some courage and let the Marines see our strength!"
Without Buggy saying more, the pirates automatically conjured up a scene in their minds, becoming as excited as if they had been injected with stimulants.
There were also many turrets on the island; they weren't completely defenseless.
Buggy spread his arms and laughed wildly.
"Gyahahaha, annihilate the Marines!"
"Oh oh oh!!!"
But even the strongest morale couldn't compensate for the huge disadvantage in firepower. Soon, the pirates were crying out in terror.
However, a turning point quickly arrived.
The bottoms of the warships in the rear were attacked one after another, causing them to sink and throwing the Marine formation into disarray.
"Enemy attack!"
"There are enemies underwater!"
"It's the Sun Pirates!"
Naval warfare is the domain of the Fish-Men. As long as they don't foolishly come out from underwater, dealing with Fish-Man attacks is extremely difficult.
Not just the Fish-Men, the Heart Pirates also launched attacks from underwater. Hailing from Swallow Island in North Blue, they are very skilled in underwater combat.
"Boom!"
Shachi and Penguin inhaled large amounts of seawater, then spat it out with "pupu" sounds at the warships, damaging parts like the turrets.
The situation was quickly turned around.
"It's Captain Buggy's surprise force!"
"Haha, brothers, counterattack!"
The pirates' morale surged again.
The Marines lacked effective means to deal with enemies beneath the surface, so they quickly changed tactics, and all warships rushed to the shore.
The Marines quickly landed.
Hand-to-hand combat soon erupted, and the strong individuals from both sides also joined the battlefield.
"Clang!"
A golden hook and a black blade collided.
"It's been a while, Hawkeye!"
"Crocodile."
The two landed, their eyes meeting.
This scene was exactly like their confrontation during the Summit War.
However, unlike Doflamingo, who exchanged insults, Crocodile treated Hawkeye with much more politeness, and there were no direct conflicts of interest between them.
Crocodile curled his lips, not rushing to act, and proactively asked, "Hawkeye, how do you view this war?"
"I'm not interested."
Hawkeye frowned.
He was merely following a mandatory summons and had no desire to participate in the war itself, and winning or losing would not benefit him in the slightest.
It was just work.
"Your reaction is just as I expected."
Crocodile's lips curved upwards.
What he liked most about Hawkeye was that Hawkeye was a lone wolf, uninterested in most things besides swordsmanship.
Such a person is pure, and apart from their own domain, they often have no great ambition for other matters.
Therefore, Hawkeye was very suitable to become a member of Cross Guild.
Crocodile took a puff from his cigar and exhaled smoke: "Hawkeye, join my Cross Guild!"
"Is that all you wanted to say?"
Hawkeye's frown deepened.
If it was just to say some nonsense, then there was no need to reminisce.
Crocodile was full of confidence.
"You probably don't know, but the World Government is currently developing a special weapon, the purpose of which is to replace the Warlords."
"It won't be long before you lose your Warlord privileges and are hunted by the Marines, after all, your former title was the Marine Hunter!"
"Come to me. With your name and mine, plus the Pirate Empress and Jinbe, even the Marines wouldn't dare provoke us!"
Hawkeye remained unmoved.
"Crocodile, do you think I would trust you?"
"Trust? Are you mistaken?"
Crocodile burst into laughter.
"On the point of being unable to trust others, you and I are of the same kind. Our Cross Guild also doesn't need mutual trust; we gather together purely for common interests!"
"Hawkeye, the ultimate goal of our Cross Guild is to create a Utopia not controlled by any force."
Crocodile and Hawkeye talked freely about their dreams.
The others also engaged in battle.
"Jinbe, you bastard!"
When enemies meet, their eyes turn red with hatred.
Moria stared at Jinbe, a scene from the Summit War flashing in his mind, where Jinbe's punch nearly shattered him.
Now, the same situation was unfolding.
All the zombie soldiers he led were doused with seawater by Jinbe, wailing as they spat out their shadows and reverted to corpses.
He didn't have much stock left!
After his battle with Straw Hat, almost all the shadows he controlled had run away, and it would take a long time to accumulate so many shadows again.
Jinbe's expression was calm.
"Moria, relying on external power won't make you stronger. If you haven't changed, the outcome of this battle will be the same."
"Don't get carried away!"
Moria was furious, swinging his large scissors to cut down Jinbe.
Not far away, enemies also met.
Doflamingo, hands in his pockets, wore an arrogant, thuggish smile: "Fufufufu, Law, are you going to fight me?"
"Joker!"
Law drew out Kikoku, his eyes cold.
After many years, he finally stood before his opponent.
"Wait, Doffy!"
One of the five Marine Vice Admirals leading the fleet intervened in the impending battle.
Doflamingo's smile bloomed.
"Vergo."
"Leave this guy to me."
Vergo stood in front of Law, speaking in a cold tone: "He is my subordinate; it is my responsibility to deal with him."
Among the family officers, Law belonged to the Heart seat, making him Vergo's direct subordinate, and it was Vergo's duty to deal with a traitor.
"Room!"
Law, without a word, spread his Ope Ope no Mi space to cover the battlefield, looking at Vergo as if he were looking at a dying man.
Even at this moment, the Donquixote Family still couldn't let go of their arrogance, only knowing how to guard their comfort zone.
A year had passed since the Summit War, and he had experienced countless things in that year, now even being in the midst of a whirlpool.
Facing the charging Vergo, Law calmly swung his long sword!
"Puff!"
Vergo's body was split in two!
Law raised his head, a wild smile on his face.
"Joker, the era has changed!"
Doflamingo's smile vanished.