Sengoku's words indeed gave the Marines another perspective, and they began to consider other methods.
Although Sengoku didn't reveal the true identity of their helpers, those present understood boundaries.
Since Sengoku didn't say, he must have his reasons, and no one pressed further.
Each person was lost in their own thoughts.
Meanwhile, the sky screen video shifted away from Luffy's perspective to focus on Buggy.
〖Whitebeard stood at the ship's bow, calling out to Buggy.
"Hey, Red Nose."
"Who are you calling 'Red Nose'?! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
Buggy responded angrily upon hearing Whitebeard's address.
After cursing, he remembered who was calling him and broke out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, Whitebeard didn't mind and said with a laugh,
"I remember now. Weren't you that little brat on Roger's ship? I never expected you to still be alive. Brings back memories."
The prisoners who had escaped from Impel Down with Buggy, hearing Whitebeard speak so familiarly to him, admired Buggy even more.
"As expected of Captain Buggy! To be actively spoken to by Whitebeard himself!"
"After all, Captain Buggy was also once on the Pirate King's ship!"
"Captain Buggy is truly the world's most deeply hidden figure! He must have another purpose for leading us here!"
Facing the flattery from the numerous prisoners, Buggy was already struggling to maintain composure. Then Whitebeard added fuel to the fire,
"Did you bring all these prisoners here to take my head?"
"That's right!"
Before Buggy could speak, the prisoners answered for him. After speaking, they looked innocently at Buggy.
"Sorry, Captain Buggy! These should be your lines, but we said them first. But Captain Buggy, you must be thinking the same thing, right?"
Facing the expectant eyes of the prisoners, Buggy was now like an arrow on the bowstring he had to let it fly.
He mustered up a burst of bravado and shouted at Whitebeard,
"That's right! I came to take your head! Prepare yourself, Whitebeard!"
After speaking, Buggy waited tearfully for Whitebeard's response.
Whitebeard's subsequent reply, however, was unexpected.
"You wanting to take my head... I don't really care about that. But after you take my head, what then? There are so many Marines here. You can't escape alone, can you? Actually, I also find these Marines a bit troublesome. How about we join forces first to defeat these Marines? After that, you can do whatever you want. What do you say?"
Whitebeard looked at Buggy, waiting for his answer.
Buggy, who had been terrified moments before, now felt revived upon hearing Whitebeard propose an alliance to fight together.
After all, if he teamed up with Whitebeard, maybe they really could defeat those Marines?
Harboring such thoughts, Buggy agreed to Whitebeard's proposal and decided to form an alliance with him.〗
[Roger Pirates Lieutenant Commander Mulligan: Hahahaha! Little Buggy, it seems you've finally become a big shot!]
[Impel Down Prisoner 1: Hmph! That goes without saying! Our Captain Buggy is someone who can deal with Whitebeard as an equal! He's already a big shot!]
[Pirate 1: Come on! You're blowing this way out of proportion! And since when can that Red Nose be considered equal to Whitebeard? Just because their epithets rhyme?]
[Buggy the Clown: Don't call me Red Nose!]
[Impel Down Prisoner 2: Who's blowing it out of proportion? Captain Buggy was actively invited to form an alliance by Whitebeard himself! Name another pirate who has that kind of prestige! And when Whitebeard invited Captain Buggy, it wasn't to join as a subordinate, but as an ally! Doesn't that exactly prove that Captain Buggy and Whitebeard are equals?]
[Pirate 2: That alone isn't convincing at all! Maybe Whitebeard was just being polite? In my opinion, you're overthinking it. That Jester Buggy's performance was so poor before. Why would Whitebeard possibly form an alliance with him?]
[Impel Down Prisoner 3: Hmph! Whether it's an alliance or not, just keep watching! I just hope you won't make any more sour grapes comments later!]
[Pirate 3: Fine! Then I'll wait and see! I want to see exactly what's so great about this Buggy!]
The pirates extensively discussed Buggy's situation.
But just as they were about to verify Buggy's prowess, the sky screen camera shifted back to Luffy.
〖By now, Luffy, Ivankov, and Jinbe were coordinating their attacks, carving a path through the Marines.
Just then, Gecko Moria once again blocked Luffy's path.
"Shishishishi! Straw Hat kid! Unfortunately, you absolutely will not pass here today!"
As he spoke, he charged towards Luffy.
Jinbe chose to stay behind to confront Moria, allowing Luffy to continue forward.
Seeing Luffy run off, Moria felt somewhat displeased. "Jinbe! Do you really think you alone can defeat me? Don't forget, this is on land!"
Saying this, he laughingly activated his Devil Fruit power, stealing the shadows of dozens of Marines nearby.
With the supplement of Marine strength, Moria's size suddenly increased significantly.
"Shishishishi! Now I can enhance my strength by absorbing others' shadows! But you can only rely on yourself, Jinbe! Give up! You have no hope of beating me!"
Hearing Moria's words, Jinbe refused. Afterwards, the two began fighting in earnest.
Although Moria could utilize the power of shadows, he was ultimately defeated by Jinbe's "Fishman Karate, Shark Brick Fist".〗
[Fishman 1: Boss Jinbe is too amazing! As expected of you!]
[Fishman 2: Even on land, it can't limit Boss Jinbe's strength! He's given us fishmen a huge boost in prestige!]
[Pirate 4: But this Moria is too weak, right? He's a Warlord like Jinbe, yet he was defeated so easily!]
[Pirate 5: Right! And Jinbe is a fishman fighting on land, which is his disadvantage, yet Moria still lost so easily! It really makes one question how he even got the Warlord position!]
[Gecko Moria: You bastards, shut up! That's just what happened on the sky screen! In the upcoming Summit War, I will definitely show you my true strength!]
[Perona: Lord Moria, I believe in you! In my heart, you are the strongest!]