"What!?"
"The Pirate King's right-hand man, Dark King… Rayleigh???"
The moment Rayleigh appeared, both the Marines and the pirates were left speechless.
Sengoku, Garp, Whitebeard—none of them had expected Rayleigh to show up at this public execution.
This made Sengoku take the situation much more seriously. After all, aside from Roger himself, every member of the Roger Pirates was still alive!
"They got here so fast?" Nojiko was surprised as she observed from another space.
"With two strategists on their side, they avoided wasting a lot of time along the way," Ryuen said softly.
"In that case… do you think Whitebeard and the Straw Hats can really rescue Ace?" Daisy asked curiously.
"I think… their success depends on whether Garp decides to step in and stop Rayleigh," Kuina said with a knowing look.
"Knowing Garp, he will definitely make a move against Rayleigh. After all, he still wears the Marine cape," Ryuen said calmly.
"Garp, the Vice Admiral… what a conflicted man," Hogg muttered with a strange expression.
~~~~~~
With the addition of the prison escapees, the rescue side gained a slight advantage.
But then, the Marines revealed an even more terrifying weapon—
The Pacifistas!
"What's going on!?"
"Why are there so many Kuma clones?!" Ivankov was both shocked and horrified.
"Ivan!"
"These are the World Government's cyborg weapons. They were made using Kuma's body, but they're not him!" Sabo shouted to Ivankov.
As the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, Sabo knew the secrets of the World Government better than anyone.
"What?!"
"What the hell is going on, Sabo?" Ivankov's fury erupted instantly.
"This isn't something I can explain in a few words. First, we need to get Ace out of here. As for Kuma, we'll ask him ourselves once we're back!" Sabo said, destroying one of the cyborgs before turning to Ivankov.
"I got it!" Ivankov understood immediately.
The war between both sides had reached its peak.
Even with the addition of the escaped prisoners, they were still up against the Marines' human weapons and the Logia powers of the three Admirals. Ordinary fighters could only serve as extra numbers, but they didn't make much difference in the big picture.
"How scary~"
"Dark King Rayleigh, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Hehehe~"
"I can't just stand by and watch my old friend's son get taken down by the Marines."
*Clang!*
*Clang clang clang!!*
Kizaru gripped his Ama-no-Murakumo sword, while Rayleigh wielded his dual blades. The two clashed fiercely on the icy battlefield.
…
No one expected Kizaru to actually take this fight seriously. Maybe it was because he was up against Rayleigh, or maybe he just thought it would make his performance look more convincing.
Either way, his fight with Rayleigh was intense.
~~~~~~
"Look over there!" Kuina suddenly pointed in a direction.
Ryuen followed her gaze.
"That guy… isn't he Squard, the Great Whirlpool Spider? Why is he with Akainu?" Anya asked in surprise.
"There's definitely something fishy going on," Nojiko said.
"He went back to Whitebeard's ship. Is this some kind of move against Whitebeard?" Leah couldn't quite figure it out.
…
"He… he stabbed him!"
"Whitebeard actually got stabbed!" Daisy was in total shock.
Ryuen didn't react.
But in his mind, he couldn't help but think—this Squard guy reminded him of a certain someone. Always stabbing their foster father?
"Wait, they made up already?"
"Huh? And now they're hugging? Whitebeard's really got a big heart," Anya said in disbelief.
"To be fair, Whitebeard does treat his 'sons' well. No wonder his crew values family above all else," Hog agreed, impressed by Whitebeard's character.
Ryuen wasn't paying attention to Whitebeard—he was looking at Garp.
He watched as Garp stepped onto the execution platform.
Sengoku only glanced at him but didn't say anything. As long as Garp stayed neutral in this war, that was good enough.
He wasn't going to ask Garp to fight.
"Vice Admiral Garp must be in so much pain right now," Nami said sympathetically. "Both of his grandsons are on the enemy's side, and he might have to watch one of them get executed."
"He underestimated the burden Ace had to carry… no, actually, it's more like… Ace grew up without a real father," Ryuen said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Without a father?"
"Is that some new way of putting it?" Leah looked confused.
"Simply put, he lacked fatherly love. So when he met someone like Whitebeard, who was a real father figure, he was deeply moved," Ryuen explained softly.
"You… actually have a point," Nojiko admitted.
No one could argue with that.
"Huh?"
"Look over there! Isn't that Captain Hobart?" Nami pointed at the battlefield, where the Marines' defensive line had been breached by the pirates.
"It really is him~~~"
"Not bad! He's a Rear Admiral now, and Lieutenant Commander Lami is with him too," Anya said, suddenly feeling a bit excited.
Among all the Marines, Captain Hobart was the one Nami had interacted with the most.
Back in Loguetown, he would sometimes stop by her family's restaurant for a meal.
"I wonder if he ever found that masked guy, hehe~" Nami giggled, remembering how she and Ryuen had taken Hobart's training manual.
"Masked guy?"
"What masked guy?" Leah asked, confused.
"Oh, I remember now! There was a time when the Marines in Loguetown were searching for a masked man, and it was Captain Hobart who gave the order. Nami, is that the same masked guy you're talking about?" Anya suddenly realized.
"Hehe~"
"Yep! That was me and Ryuen," Nami said with a grin.
"Speaking of which, Captain Hobart actually helped us a lot. His training manual was really useful," Ryuen said softly.
"Wait, this is bad!"
"Nami!" Nojiko suddenly shouted.
Nami reacted immediately. With a quick push of her right hand, a portal opened.
"Clang!"
Ryuen dashed out in an instant, kicking Squard away just before his sword could strike Hobart!
"Hey!"
"Captain Hobart, stay focused!" Ryuen shouted.
Right after Ryuen appeared, the rest of the Dream Exploration Team followed.
Everyone on the battlefield who saw them was completely stunned!
"Ryuen!"
Boa Hancock rushed over in a flash.
"Hey!"
"Lady, what do you think you're doing?" Nami quickly stepped in front of Ryuen, eyeing Boa Hancock warily.
"The Dream Exploration Team!"
"What are they doing here?"
"Are they here to help the Marines?"
The people in the rescue group were clearly surprised and confused by the sudden appearance of the Dream Exploration Team.
"Ryuen, my boy!"
"We finally meet! I've heard a lot about you at headquarters!" Captain Hobart was shocked to see Ryuen here, but after a moment, he smiled happily.
After all, Ryuen was someone he had admired for a long time.
---
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