"You see?"
At that moment, Marco looked at Renji with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
His expression practically screamed:
"See? I told you that you love joining the excitement."
"If you want to go, then go."
"You won't be much help to Pops right now anyway. The Beasts Pirates have already been crippled, and neither Big Mom nor Shanks will launch an attack so easily."
"For the time being, there aren't any security concerns at home."
The current Renji was a man who had defeated Kaido.
Marco had no worries about Renji sneaking into the heavily guarded Punk Hazard.
If anything, after all the battles they had been through recently, Marco was more worried that Renji had been under too much pressure and might end up developing some psychological issues.
"Hmm..."
Renji thought for a moment.
Anticipation gradually appeared on his face.
Training the Whitebeard Pirates' twenty-six hundred crew members did provide a decent stream of attribute gains thanks to their sheer numbers.
However, an entire day's worth of attributes still might not equal what a single Admiral could drop.
The growth in his strength had given Renji a tremendous sense of excitement.
More importantly watching a battle between Marine Admirals really did sound interesting.
"Alright then."
After replying to Marco, Renji couldn't help but smile.
Marco was right.
He really was the kind of person who enjoyed joining the excitement.
Even without his cheat, if he had the opportunity to witness Akainu and Aokiji's battle, there was no way he would miss it.
"Then I'm off. I'll leave everything on the ship to you."
"Don't worry about it."
Marco waved casually.
At this stage, while Whitebeard focused on recovering from his injuries and Marco concentrated on helping him recuperate, much of the Whitebeard Pirates' affairs had effectively been managed by Renji.
"Ace and Jozu can handle things just fine."
"Good."
Renji nodded.
By then, he was already rising into the air.
"Wait!"
Just as Renji was about to leave, Marco's voice called out.
Renji turned back in confusion.
A pointer sailed through the air and landed in his hand.
"A permanent Log Pose for Punk Hazard."
"If you're heading out, you should at least bring a map."
"Thanks."
After thanking him, Renji transformed into a streak of golden light and disappeared from the vicinity of the Moby Dick.
Punk Hazard.
A massive island with a considerable landmass.
At this moment, the surrounding seas were completely encircled by Marine warships.
A patrol vessel could be found roughly every five nautical miles.
Layer upon layer of warships had established a security perimeter extending over one hundred nautical miles from Punk Hazard itself.
It was more than enough to show just how determined the Marines were to prevent outsiders from witnessing the battle between Akainu and Aokiji.
"Interesting."
A faint smile appeared on Renji's face.
Hovering high in the sky, Renji looked down at the Marines' defensive network and fell into thought.
Of course, he could force his way through it.
The countless naval cannons could certainly hurt him.
That was assuming they could hit him.
At this point, his speed had likely already surpassed Kizaru's.
For the Marines to catch up to Renji was essentially impossible.
"I'll go through underwater."
After a moment's consideration, Renji circled around the Marines' detection range.
Then he plunged directly into the sea.
The Devil Fruit weakness that turned users into helpless swimmers had long since been neutralized by his cheat.
Activating the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit beneath the waves, Renji became a streak of light racing through the ocean depths.
Before long, he had arrived beneath Punk Hazard itself.
The sea defenses were airtight.
The island, however, was another story.
Since the Marines' attention was focused almost entirely on the surrounding waters, security and surveillance on Punk Hazard itself were relatively lax.
As a result, Renji's landing went far more smoothly than expected.
"Hey, brother."
After reaching shore, Renji found a lone Marine.
"Hm? What is it?"
"No, wait. Who are you? How did you get up he—"
Before the Marine could finish speaking, Renji killed him.
After changing into the Marine's uniform, Renji easily blended into the forces stationed on Punk Hazard.
"All personnel, assemble!"
Not long after Renji had infiltrated the island, an alarm echoed throughout Punk Hazard.
"Everyone move to the front-line defense positions!"
"You must ensure that Admiral Akainu and Admiral Aokiji's battle proceeds without interference!"
What perfect timing.
Renji had barely made it onto Punk Hazard when the duel between Aokiji and Akainu was about to begin.
At this moment, the two Admirals had already reached the brink of battle.
Squad after squad of Marines poured into the area, taking over defensive positions to guarantee that no one would interfere.
To ensure absolute security, the Marines had even assigned several elite Vice Admirals to guard duty.
The commander directly above Renji was none other than the famous Vice Admiral Onigumo, one of the elite Vice Admirals who had completely mastered the Six Powers and even Life Return.
The eastern, western, and southern sectors were guarded respectively by Vice Admiral Momonga, Vice Admiral Dalmatian no, Fire Fist Mountain Vice Admiral Yamakaji, and Vice Admiral Strawberry.
Combined with the naval forces surrounding the island and the presence of Admirals Akainu and Aokiji themselves...
This lineup was so overwhelming that nobody would question it if someone claimed they were preparing to fight a Yonko.
"Aokiji, if you're smart, just surrender."
"The Fleet Admiral position is mine!"
Akainu stared at Aokiji.
His entire body radiated an overwhelming desire for battle.
He had coveted the position of Fleet Admiral for a very long time.
This was the position that would allow him to truly implement his ideals and decisions.
As long as he became Fleet Admiral his vision had a real chance of becoming reality.
For that goal he would never allow anyone to stand in his way.
"You've already lost yourself, Akainu."
Aokiji frowned as he looked at him.
The current Akainu could hardly even be considered a normal person anymore.
Much less a proper Marine.
He had become completely consumed by a demon called stubbornness.
"If the Marines are handed over to someone like you in your current state, I absolutely cannot accept it."
Aokiji's brows knitted together.
As someone who preferred a laid-back lifestyle, he had never been particularly interested in the position of Fleet Admiral.
After all, becoming an Admiral had already forced him to take on countless responsibilities he had no desire to handle.
If he became Fleet Admiral, there would only be more work.
At that point, even getting a good night's sleep would become a luxury.
Sengoku was the perfect example.
However, Sengoku had placed his trust in him.
Because of that, Aokiji could not afford to disappoint him.
That was why he stood here today.
For himself.
For Sengoku.
And for the future of the Marines.
Looking at Akainu, Aokiji's expression gradually hardened with resolve.
"I don't trust the Marines in the hands of the person you've become."
"Heh."
Akainu let out a cold laugh as he stared at Aokiji.
"And I don't trust the Marines in yours either."
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