The battle on the island was still ongoing, and it had gradually started to become unbridled.
The dog-head warship brought by Garp had already been pushed far away by the shockwaves formed by the fighting of several people.
On the deck, Perospero was clutching a Marine's neck with one hand.
With a crisp crack, he flung his hands, and two Marines smashed through the cabin wall, falling silent.
Not far away, Vergo leaned against the doorframe, gasping for breath, looking extremely exhausted.
His appearance was seventy percent genuine fatigue, thirty percent slacking off, and the remaining ninety percent was pure acting, all to ensure that his image as a "desperately struggling loyal Vice Admiral" was deeply rooted in people's hearts.
He was neither fighting with all his might nor collapsing to fake death; instead, he maintained a standoff with Perospero in the posture of a wolf king who was fighting while retreating.
At this moment, the sky was gradually darkening, and the Moonlight rose from the sea, which meant the battle on the island had lasted for nearly a day and a night.
Vergo felt that as a Vice Admiral, being able to persist for so long was enough; acting any further wouldn't be appropriate.
He still had to save his strength to see if there was an opportunity to help Doflamingo obtain the Ope-Ope no Mi.
On the other side, on Charlotte Linlin's queen mama chanter, the situation here was even more tragic.
Bogard leaned against the mast, barely supporting his body.
His right sleeve was missing from below the elbow, and on his exposed forearm, scorched marks from Haki burns were intertwined with wounds left by resisting sharp blades, with blood dripping onto the deck from his fingertips.
One leg was clearly limping, which made his posture look somewhat awkward.
His Marine cloak was also long gone, and a wound slashed by a trident ran from his left shoulder straight down, cutting through his suit vest and shirt, with bone visible beneath the rolled-back flesh.
Facing the siege of Katakuri and Cracker, after a day, Bogard could no longer hold on.
However, on the deck nearby, that sword that had never been unsheathed still lay quietly in its scabbard.
Bogard seemed to intend to prove with his strength—what it meant to not draw his sword even in death!
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Steady footsteps approached, and Katakuri stood still in front of him, his tone as calm as ever:
"I already told you, your defeat is destined."
"Is that so? I don't think so."
As soon as Bogard spoke, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, but he was still stubborn.
Katakuri shook his head, slowly raised the trident in his hand, and the sharp tip aimed at Bogard.
Swoosh!
The trident thrust out like a sharp sword.
Just at this moment, Katakuri's expression changed, his movement paused slightly, and the direction of the trident also changed; the strike that was originally aimed at the heart turned toward Bogard's head.
Suddenly, a figure appeared silently between the two like a ghost.
The newcomer raised a hand, steadily grasping Katakuri's trident.
"You children really don't make people worry."
A voice rang out, gentle yet carrying an unquestionable power, as if disciplining a junior who had gone astray.
Katakuri's expression was solemn, and he slowly withdrew the trident; the other party did not stop him:
"So it was Vice Admiral Tsuru..."
He said in a deep voice:
"I didn't expect the Marine reinforcements to arrive so quickly."
Vice Admiral Tsuru was still in the guise of that kind old lady, smiling:
"This old woman just happened to be in the North Blue."
She gestured toward the direction of Minion Island:
"Not only you children, but even that old guy isn't making people worry."
Katakuri did not answer but stepped back a few paces, standing with Cracker, expressionless.
He knew very well that the old lady in front of him was not an easy character to deal with.
As a Marine from almost the same era as Sengoku and Garp, although Vice Admiral Tsuru's strength was not comparable to those two, it was definitely not bad.
However, no matter what, Katakuri was a silver-medal competitor who possessed Conqueror's Haki, and he was confident that he would not be worse than the other party in a one-on-one situation.
Of course, given the general overconfidence of people in this world, it would be hard to say if they actually started fighting.
However, the current situation was not a one-on-one.
Although Bogard looked miserable, he had not completely lost his combat capability.
Of course, looking at the opponent's current state, Cracker was more than enough to deal with him.
But the problem was, Vice Admiral Tsuru did not come alone.
Clang!
On Garp's dog-head warship, just as Perospero was preparing to return to the queen mama chanter to join forces with Katakuri against Vice Admiral Tsuru, a slash cut across the night sky and hacked towards him.
"Candy Armor!"
Facing this sudden attack, Perospero did not panic at all and immediately used candy to create armor for defense.
The slash collided with the armor, the ship roared, the deck shattered, the stern lifted high, and then slammed back into the sea.
Although Perospero blocked this slash, he was smashed into the lower deck by its force.
"Bastard!"
After he jumped up, he saw a woman holding a long sword, standing in front of Vergo.
The Moonlight was like water, outlining her tall and graceful figure.
A cascading head of Blake hair was combed into a simple bun at the back of her head, with a few strands hanging down her temples.
Her face was clear and beautiful, with a hint of sharpness unique to a master swordsman.
Her skin glowed white in the clear, cold Moonlight, and her large, slightly upturned eyes contained a bit of lazy amusement.
She wore a Marine justice cloak, with a light pink tight-fitting suit on her upper body, perfectly outlining her ample curves and slender waist.
On her lower body, she wore super short shorts, revealing a pair of long legs that were over two meters long.
Most eye-catching was the bizarre and exquisite Blake spider tattoo at the root of her left thigh.
Before Perospero could finish speaking, his face had already turned solemn.
The Marines would investigate intelligence on various forces on the sea; similarly, major forces like the BIG MOM Pirates, even if they didn't directly send undercover agents like Doflamingo, would also know some information about the Marines.
Especially Perospero, who had always been by Charlotte Linlin's side, was well versed in this information.
The person who arrived was none other than a master among the Marines—Vice Admiral Gion.
The rank of Vice Admiral in the Marine is a very broad spectrum of strength, with huge gaps between them.
And Gion happened to be among the very top tier.
"This is troublesome!"
Glancing at the direction of other battlefields, Perospero's heart sank.
Not to mention the chaotic battle on Minion Island with an uncertain outcome, with the arrival of Vice Admiral Tsuru's warship, the Marines now had the advantage.
"Huh?"
Blake in the different space also noticed the movement here, and his gaze instantly landed on Gion.
To be honest, Gion's appearance was not top-tier.
But there was a kind of both alluring and gallant temperament about her, which Blake liked very much.
If he hadn't decided to keep a low profile in Mary Geoise, he would have already asked for Gion from the Marines.
However... at this moment, it was not just Vice Admiral Tsuru's warship that had arrived on the battlefield.
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