After receiving the firm confirmation, Jozu let go of the man's collar, his brow furrowed as he stared into the distance where the two titans had disappeared.
A knot of worry tightened in his stomach.
"Pops won't be in danger, will he?" he muttered to himself. "That direction… it leads straight to Marineford. Straight into the lion's den."
He knew Whitebeard was the strongest man alive, but the Marines didn't play fair.
Who knew what kind of dirty tricks or ambushes they had lay?
Thinking this, Jozu touched the Castle Ring on his finger.
Instantly, streams of golden light poured from the ring, solidifying into the figures of his crewmates.
"Commander, we were just cheering Ace on! Why'd you pull us out?" one of them asked, puzzled.
Another chimed in, still buzzing with excitement.
"Yeah, that was an amazing bare-knuckle brawl! They were beating the hell out of each other, hahaha!"
"That's Haki for you… Man, I wish I was that strong. I'm saving up my hundred billion Belly for top-tier Armament Haki just like Pops!"
Hearing their casual chatter, the nearby Marines couldn't help but shrink back.
'From the sound of it', they thought with dawning horror.
'Vice Admiral Momonga really is trapped in the pirates' den!'
Jozu ignored the murmurs, his gaze still locked on the horizon as he offered a silent prayer for his captain's safety.
He raised a hand, cutting off his crew's laughter.
"Enough. Listen up. You lot strip these dozen warships clean. I'm going after Pops."
At this, everyone's eyes lit up.
They scanned the surrounding fleet, their expressions turning from confusion to pure, predatory greed.
"Leave it to us, Commander! We won't leave 'em a single scrap!"
"Hahaha, finally! The Plunder Squad gets to shine! I'm taking everything that isn't nailed down!"
"This is what we do best! You don't get to be the fastest men in the world by leaving treasure behind!"
"Don't you worry about a thing, Commander Jozu! We've got this!"
Jozu nodded, then his body dissolved into a streak of golden light, vanishing into the sky as he raced toward the Navy Headquarters.
After he left, the atmosphere on the deck grew even more chaotic.
The pirates eyed the remaining Marine ships, their arrogance swelling.
Despite facing fully armed soldiers, they showed no fear—only a brazen hunger for loot.
Yet, amidst the chaos, a few bold soldiers attempted to resist.
They raised their rifles, aimed at the nearest pirates, and opened fire.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunshots ripped through the air.
To the Marines' shock, the bullets passed straight through the pirates' bodies, leaving behind not blood, but gaping holes shimmering with golden light.
Before they could even fire again, the wounds had already healed, as if they'd never been there at all.
"Damn it! How are there so many Logia users?!" a soldier screamed, his voice cracking with despair.
"Our bullets are useless against them!"
"So we're just supposed to stand here and let them take everything?! No way!" another growled, his eyes burning with defiance.
They kept firing, a futile gesture against an unstoppable tide.
The Glint-Glint users paid the relentless gunfire no mind.
They were far too busy looting, scattering across the ships like a plague.
With so many of them working at once, their plundering speed was phenomenal.
In less than ten minutes, half of the warship's supplies had been stripped clean.
But even the most focused pirate would get annoyed by mosquitoes buzzing in their ear.
One of the Plunder Squad members stopped in his tracks, a deep frown on his face as he glared at the desperate Marines.
"If you're so desperate to die," he muttered, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Who am I to stop you?"
He raised his hand, and countless beams of golden light began to gather in his palm, coalescing into a shimmering, cross-shaped symbol of absolute destruction.
The very air grew thick and heavy.
"Ron once said: Art is an explosion!"
With those words, a blinding flash erupted from his palm.
The Laser Cannon shot forth like a bolt of lightning, striking its target in the blink of an eye.
The Marine warship disintegrated in a deafening, apocalyptic blast.
Flames roared into the sky, illuminating the entire night sky in a grim, spectacular display.
The marines aboard never even had time to scream.
The ocean was now littered with flaming wreckage and debris.
"We might be a looting crew, but we're no pushovers!" one of the pirates yelled from another deck.
"Strip these ships clean, then blow them all to hell!"
"They're not worth anything to sell anyway. Might as well sink 'em!"
"Exactly! Let's hurry! Loot everything, sink everything, then go find Commander Jozu and Pops!"
They shouted their plans openly, their voices full of arrogant bravado.
The surviving Navy soldiers listened in silence, their hearts filling with cold, numbing despair.
"Damn these pirates!" a young soldier cursed under his breath. "They stole our supplies, and now they're going to destroy our ships too!"
An older soldier clenched his fists, his eyes burning with helpless anger.
"We can't stay here. We have to escape. Now."
A desperate idea started to spread through their ranks.
"Forget fighting! Why are we still here?!"
"Run!"
"Everyone, get to the shore! They're going to blow up the whole fleet!"
"Report to HQ! We need reinforcements!"
"We already did! They're not coming in time!"
"..."