The sudden appearance of a group of people shifted the focus on the battlefield.
If it were just nobodies, it wouldn't matter, but two of them were Warlords of the Sea.
A single Warlord has roughly the combat power of a core officer under an Emperor, capable of altering the battlefield dynamics.
If a Marine Admiral is equivalent to a Yonko, then a Vice Admiral matches a Yonko's officer, though Vice Admiral is just a rank, and their actual strength varies.
It appears the Emperors are not the ceiling of this world. Not even Whitebeard or Roger at their peak ever reached it.
There is only one true ceiling in this world:
Only those with the courage to defy the impossible could stand at the top.
The arrival of two Warlords broke the stalemate. No one expected Jinbe and Crocodile to show up.
The Whitebeard Pirates were naturally glad to see Jinbe; after all, he was a brother to them.
Especially Ace, who had been worried about Jinbe and was relieved to see him.
Ace shouted excitedly.
Seeing Ace unharmed, Jinbe's fierce expression softened with joy.
"Thank goodness you're okay."
"How did you get out, Jinbe?" Ace asked.
"I escaped with Luffy," Jinbe replied.
"Where is Luffy?" Ace asked nervously.
"He's fine. He was sent to a safe place. He actually wanted to come here," Jinbe said with a smile.
"That's good. I'm relieved," Ace sighed.
"How did you all get here?"
Suddenly, they sensed something flying past them, and a cloud of sand was flying toward Roy.
"Big Bro!" Ace and the others cried out in alarm.
Jinbe instantly prepared to act, water droplets forming on his palms.
Crocodile appeared behind Roy, his golden hook ready to strike.
"What's that guy Crocodile doing?" Buggy exclaimed.
"That guy… isn't he—"
Buggy stared at Roy, who was about to be attacked by Crocodile. He recognized him from 36 years ago.
No doubt about it, it was Roy.
Crocodile appeared behind Roy. In Alabasta, he had been knocked unconscious by Roy in a single hit.
He felt that he hadn't lost to Straw Hat Kid; he'd been humiliated by Roy.
So when he saw Whitebeard and Roy on the battlefield, his rage reignited, and he rushed towards Roy without hesitation.
He accepted his defeat to Whitebeard. But losing to Roy still burned.
"Trying to settle scores now? With your current strength?" Roy didn't move as Crocodile's hook hovered in front of him, unable to strike.
"Knight of the Sea Jinbe… Desert King Crocodile… where did these two come from?" Charlotte Linlin looked dumbfounded.
"How would I know?" Whitebeard glanced over. Seeing Jinbe had escaped from Impel Down, he felt some relief.
It also reminded him of Teach—Teach had invaded Impel Down. What had happened to him?
"I thought with the Marines here, I'd take the chance to claim your heads. Where are they?" Crocodile scanned the area but only saw the Big Mom Pirates.
"They lost. They're gone," Roy replied.
"The Marines lost?" Crocodile froze.
"Is that true? Ace, did the Marines lose?"
Jinbe thought maybe there had been a deal, not a full-blown fight. He didn't expect the Marines to actually be defeated.
"Not exactly 'lost.' The fight wasn't worth continuing, so they ended it early. Both sides suffered casualties," Ace said.
"Then the Big Mom Pirates are…"
"No idea. But since they're here, we'll just fight them," Ace grinned.
"I will join you guys," Jinbe said.
"Mmm. Family doesn't need thanks."
Meanwhile, Buggy and his crew quietly retreated behind a large boulder.
"What do we do now? The Marines are gone. Now it's a battle between two Emperors, we'll die for sure if we stay," said Mr. 3.
"No way! Captain Buggy will defeat them all and become the Pirate King!" Thıs content belongs to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
"Yeah! We came here to take Whitebeard's head. Now Charlotte Linlin is here too—let's take hers as well!"
"Captain Buggy, let's make our move and take them down!"
"You guys are insane!" Mr. 3 roared.
"Shh… The Marines are probably still around, lurking in the shadows, waiting to pick off the winners. We just need to wait for them to appear—then we'll strike. Heh heh heh…" Buggy said smugly.
"Have you also gone crazy, too?!" Mr. 3 felt like he was the only sane person left.
"Oh god… why did I even say that…" Buggy was actually terrified, sweating profusely.
At this point, it seemed their arrival wouldn't change the battle. Jinbe joined the fight, and Whitebeard's clash with Charlotte Linlin continued.
Roy, however, simply sat there. Crocodile didn't attack him again.
"Twenty years ago, you failed to defeat Newgate and left, becoming what you are now," Roy said, sighing as he looked at Crocodile.
That girl from back then… had become this.
After losing to Whitebeard and being humiliated by him, Crocodile had changed.
It all stemmed from his defeat.
Whitebeard's crew, when they went to battle, always did one thing:
There were very few female combatants in the Whitebeard Pirates.
That's why Whitey Bay stood out so much, female members were rare.
On this battlefield, there were no female pirates from their crew at all.
Before the battle, the women had been sent to safe places.
Did people really think the Whitebeard Pirates were all bachelors?
Many of them had families—they just kept it quiet, not wanting incidents like Zephyr's to happen again.
Their enemies were far more numerous than Zephyr's.
Back then, when Crocodile was defeated, Whitebeard's macho pride flared up.
Roy had actually tried to recruit Crocodile then, offering her the position of Second Division Commander.
Unfortunately, Whitebeard rejected the idea.
If Whitebeard had treated Crocodile like he treated Ace, Crocodile would have absolutely been the Second Division Commander.
Very few knew of this old story, and even fewer knew Crocodile had once been a woman.
"I wanted you to join our crew and become the Second Division Commander," Roy said.
"You think I would've agreed?" Crocodile said coldly.
"Maybe you would've. But Newgate's macho pride was too much."
"He looked down on you back then, and now he's getting his ass kicked by Charlotte Linlin.
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu