"Who else?!"
That tall, large-bodied pirate laughed arrogantly, swinging his large machete like a devil descending to earth. Marine soldiers around him retreated in fear, not daring to approach at all.
"That's 'The Butcher' Antony!"
A pirate recognized him and exclaimed with a pale face: "He's a famous pirate from the West Blue, his bounty reaches 72 million Belly! He's very cruel—when he goes crazy, he even kills his own crew!"
His words weren't wrong; around Antony lay several pirate corpses whose bodies were no longer intact.
"Damn pirate!"
On the battlefield not far from there, a silver-haired man wearing a military uniform, goggles around his neck, and biting a cigar turned to see the incident. He was furious. Suddenly, both his legs turned to smoke and he shot quickly toward Antony.
"Devil Fruit user!"
Antony was startled, his red eyes regained some calm, but he soon laughed wildly again. "So what if you're a Devil Fruit user? It's not like I've never killed them!"
After speaking, he swung his sword, stomping the ice until it shattered, and took large steps attacking his opponent. Both his arms turned pitch black, even his large machete was colored the same black.
"Hmm? Busoshoku Haki!"
The smoke man was slightly surprised, but he soon snorted coldly. His speed didn't decrease, and the Seastone Jutte weapon in his hand reflected a cold light.
"He's the Smoke-Smoke Fruit (Moku Moku no Mi) user, Marine Colonel Smoker!"
Smoker's name was very famous in the East Blue region. This man was very strong, a Logia-type user, and had his own way of working. He often defied his superiors' orders but greatly hated evil, earning him the nickname Mad Dog.
As a student of former Marine Admiral Zephyr, Smoker's strength certainly needed no doubt. He had broad insight, though slightly surprised seeing Antony could use Busoshoku Haki quite proficiently.
Considering Haki was a high-level fighting technique, this was very rare in the ordinary four seas and generally only found much in the Grand Line and required certain talent to learn.
However in the pirate world, some special races with naturally strong physiques, or those talented in fighting, or those with special experiences, it wasn't strange if they could awaken Haki earlier.
For example, Enel's subordinates in Skypiea who were proficient in using Mantra, which was actually the basic form of Kenbunshoku Haki.
"White Snake!"
Smoker's arm suddenly turned to smoke and shot out to capture Antony.
"OOHHHH!"
Antony roared, swinging his machete wildly trying to cut that smoke arm. However, although he had used Haki, he failed to injure that smoke arm. Instead, his hand was hit hard until his sword nearly slipped away.
"How is this possible!" Antony was very shocked.
Smoker sneered: "Fool!"
It was true Busoshoku Haki could capture and injure Logia users in elemental form, but each person's strength was different. Smoker had developed his fruit ability to quite a high level, while the Haki Antony understood was just its outer shell. Their powers weren't equal.
That smoke arm took advantage of this opportunity, suddenly transforming to resemble a white snake, coiling up and strangling Antony's neck. Smoker's real body followed, his Jutte stabbing upward, knocking down his opponent's sword, and directly piercing Antony's solar plexus.
Blood spurted, the large pirate from the West Blue, "The Butcher" Antony, died instantly.
Smoker just threw Antony's corpse onto the ice floor with a loud thud. His face remained cold. He wasn't someone who liked killing, but this bloodthirsty pirate would cause great losses to ordinary soldiers if left alive. Pirates this cruel had to be eliminated.
Actually with Smoker's strength, he was already worthy of entering Vice Admiral ranks, but his personal nature kept his rank held back.
Similar scenes occurred throughout the wide ice surface battlefield. Not every Marine soldier was lucky enough to have a superior like Smoker to help. The majority of them continued to let out painful screams and died on the spot.
The number of pirates was too many, several times or even dozens of times more than ordinary soldiers. Often dozens of pirates ganged up on one Marine. How could such a war be won?
Moreover, many pirates had special abilities. Mid-ranking Marine officers were already held back by other strong pirates, so they had no time to provide assistance.
"Damn it!" A Marine Vice Admiral struck his chair's armrest angrily, he stood intending to jump into the battlefield.
The current situation was really one-sided; the pirate side was conducting a massacre. If it continued like this, the Marine side would only have their Vice Admirals left.
"Don't be rash!" A Vice Admiral beside him immediately held his arm, signaling toward the distance and sighing: "Before the Fleet Admiral gives orders, we cannot enter the battlefield. On the pirate side, there are still many strong people who haven't moved..."
The man earlier was stunned, his expression turbulent, he shook his head painfully and slowly sat back down. His knuckles turned white from clenching too hard.
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On the Moby Dick, Ace chuckled: "Some of them are starting to get impatient."
Marco smiled faintly and said: "They don't dare move carelessly. In a war between two armies, once high-level combat forces interfere in the slaughter of ordinary soldiers, it will surely trigger the opponent to play their ace cards. Their number of strong people isn't as many as ours, so as long as we don't move, they certainly don't dare move. If not, that's the same as forcing us to take action."
Hearing that, the other Division Commanders laughed.
The fact was indeed so. On the Marine side, the number of high-ranking officers from Marineford and branches was already counted, and those with extraordinary strength were very few. However on the pirate side, Whitebeard's group alone had 16 Division Commanders at Vice Admiral level.
Not to mention the three Calamities from Kaido's group, three Sweet Commanders from Big Mom; each was a terrifying figure with bounties of hundreds of millions. Plus the Red-Haired group which although smallest in number, every member wasn't ordinary.
Once they moved, the Marine side would fall to inferior position faster.
Roger furrowed his brow: "The current situation is very clear. I don't believe the Marines' strength is only this far. What are they waiting for?"
Kaido's voice echoed loudly like a great bell: "Waiting for what? Waiting to die! In my opinion, they're already at their limit, they're just delaying their own death."
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In the leadership chairs, the Admirals were also becoming restless. Akainu raged: "Fleet Admiral, I request permission to fight! Don't you see those cursed pirate hordes slaughtering our soldiers?!"
Aokiji also showed a sour face, but he remained silent.
Kizaru leaned back in his chair, propping his chin with his elbow while saying in a strange tone: "The Fleet Admiral isn't in a hurry, why are you the one fussing? He surely has his own considerations. Is he the Fleet Admiral, or are you the Fleet Admiral?"