Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

"Hey, hey, hey, have you heard? Lieutenant General Sakazuki and Lieutenant General Borsalino have been fighting Whitebeard for a day now."

"Of course I've heard about it. As expected of Lieutenant General Sakazuki and Lieutenant General Borsalino, their strength is truly monstrous."

However, I heard that Lieutenant General Borsalino's brother, Lieutenant General Raleigh, is also there.

On the Marineford warship heading towards the G5 branch, the naval officers were quietly discussing the situation of the G5 branch.

What interests them is naturally a duel between the strong.

Especially in the Navy, there was the battle between three vice admirals, who were hailed as monsters, and Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world.

"Whitebeard truly lives up to his reputation as the world's strongest man; even when surrounded by three elite lieutenant generals approaching the rank of general..."

He held his own against three opponents.

"It was said by a naval vice admiral with a large beard."

Although they had never met Whitebeard, judging from his record of being able to fight three opponents at once, Whitebeard truly lived up to his name.

"Rayle, how are you now?"

Gion gripped the gold belt around her waist tightly, her mind filled with thoughts of Raleigh, who was currently battling Whitebeard. It had been a long time since she had spent time with Raleigh since he was promoted to lieutenant general at headquarters.

During this period, following the method taught to her by Raleigh, Gion worked tirelessly to improve her strength.

Now that she has officially reached the rank of Major General, when we arrive at the G5 branch, you must remember to stay behind me.

Behind me, neither Whitebeard nor any other pirates will allow them to harm you in the slightest.

Jiaji stepped forward again.

Originally, under Raleigh's tutelage, Kaji had already given up his pursuit of Gion.

However, since Raleigh had been on the Grand Line for too long, Kake started to have second thoughts.

Gion glanced at Kakei indifferently and spoke;

"Jiaji, we're good friends and good partners, but I hope you'll reconsider."

Kaji seemed immune to the unfavorable words in the garden's speech.

Seeing Kakei's silly look, Gion couldn't help but feel a few black lines appear on her forehead. She moved her feet and shuffled to the other side of the deck.

"I really hope we can get involved in this battle soon."

More than one naval commander thought so.

They were also afraid of dying, and afraid that they would never be able to return to Marineford when they went on a mission.

But they still chose to set off without hesitation.

Besides the unforgiving nature of military orders, what they least wanted was to go against the justice in their hearts.

It is this hard-won justice that has made the navy one of the most powerful forces on the high seas.

The scene changes.

The island where the G5 branch is located has completely changed its appearance.

Even someone who visited the G5 branch island three days ago would absolutely not recognize the island as the location of the G5 branch.

The entire land was transformed into magma, and layer upon layer of magma, solidified by seawater, floated on the surface of the ocean.

This is the result of their battle after a day and a half.

With their full effort, the island was completely destroyed. If it weren't for the unique nature of the Sakazuki Fruit's power, they would have already fallen into the sea.

"Lava Mountain!"

Sakazuki roared and drew upon the underground magma layer once more, gurgling and popping!

Suddenly, a lot of foam appeared at the bottom of the sea, and at the same time, small fish and shrimp that had been scalded by the high temperature also floated to the surface.

There were no sea kings present, because the sea kings ran away without looking back as soon as they sensed the terror.

With a thunderous roar, a giant volcano emerged from the seabed.

It far surpasses the various magma columns or magma flows that Sakazuki had previously created.

From the moment it appeared, Whitebeard's expression became much more serious.

Faced with Sakazuki's all-out attack, Whitebeard did not intend to meet it head-on.

"The sea trembled!"

The white-bearded man in the air bent his knees slightly, and simultaneously drew his fists with both hands, his fists covered with translucent vibrating membranes slamming into the air.

Click.

The crisp popping sound rang out again.

The shattering of space triggered violent tremors, and the already turbulent sea surface surged once again.

Waves, carried by this powerful force, surged toward the active volcano created by Sakazuki.

This is what it means!

The seawater was immediately evaporated by the high temperature of the lava upon contact with the active volcano, turning into thick water vapor that filled everyone's vision.

"The wind sighs!"

Raleigh, standing beside Sakazuki, launched a sudden attack on the position previously occupied by Whitebeard.

boom!

This move, unsurprisingly, struck the spot where Whitebeard had been standing.

"That's strange, I clearly saw him there using my Observation Haki."

Raleigh's attack just now was not an intentional mistake; he only launched the attack because he genuinely sensed Whitebeard's presence.

Theoretically, at the speed of the wind, even a white-bearded man could catch a glimpse of him while dodging.

"You brat, your wind is weaker than a fan's."

Suddenly, the white mist in front of Raleigh writhed, and a strong figure flew out from it.

Holding the Murakumogiri sword, he slashed at Raleigh with unwavering determination.

"When?!"

Raleigh's pupils suddenly dilated.

His Observation Haki made a mistake when searching for Whitebeard.

Not only did they misjudge the Whitebeard's location, but they also lost the most basic judgment about the impending attack.

clang!

Whitebeard's sneak attack didn't achieve much, because Borsalino, who possessed the speed of light, intercepted it.

"Wow, as expected of Whitebeard, you found the flaw so quickly."

Borsalino looked at Edward the Whitebeard with great curiosity.

After a day and a half of intense fighting, even the world's strongest pirate was starting to feel breathless.

On the naval side, because of the three of them, one of them can always take a break.

They immediately changed to their current plan after their first joint battle against Whitebeard.

Since we can't kill you by joining forces, we'll wear you down by joining forces.

In any case, the navy already has enough leverage.

Those were the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates that Raleigh and Sengoku had captured.

This includes Marco, who is still a child.

"Damn it, Dad, forget about us, you should just get out of here!"

Yes, Dad, you should leave here first and then think of a way to save us.

"Dad, stop risking your life for us."

The members of the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't help but shed tears as they saw Whitebeard still fighting desperately for them.

Hearing the pirates' shouts, Whitebeard paused his attack, looked at Marco and his group with a relieved smile.

"Sons, wait for me, your old man will definitely bring you home."

After saying that, the white-bearded man disappeared back into the white mist.

This time, the speed was so fast that even Borsalino's Yasakani no Magatama couldn't leave any mark on the hem of Whitebeard's clothes.

"Something's not right, Raleigh."

The fog is getting thicker and thicker, and it's also very hot; it doesn't seem like fog anymore.

At that moment, after hearing Sakazuki's words, a very eerie voice echoed in the air:

"You're only realizing it now? It's too late, isn't it?"

Steam pressure cooker!

Instantly, the white mist that had been surrounding Raleigh and his companions began to release its heat.

The temperature where the three were located instantly reached several thousand degrees Celsius, almost the same as the temperature of magma.

Rumble!

A series of explosions occurred in this small area.

The shockwave from the explosion instantly dispersed the high-temperature mist without a trace.

Only two equally tall figures remained in the arena.

One was Edward Newgate, a white-bearded man with a bare upper body.

The other was a man wearing a white shirt with cloud patterns and dark blue trousers, and sunglasses.

I didn't expect you to be the first to arrive and help me.

"Thanks.""

Whitebeard spoke to the pirates on his body.

I'm not doing this to help you, but to help myself. If you die, life will be tough for pirates.

The man wearing sunglasses pushed them up and then spoke.

Even as they were exchanging words, their eyes remained fixed on the area where the explosion had just occurred.

Soon, the scene after the explosion appeared before them.

A black magma shell appeared on the spot.

A scalded hand shattered the magma shell, and three people emerged from it.

It was Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Raleigh, the three people who had just been ambushed.

Sakazuki suffered the least damage. He immediately put his body into an elemental state, and thanks to the magma's resistance to high temperatures, he had the fewest burns.

Next is Raleigh. In the instant of the sneak attack, he surrounded himself with the wind from his Devil Fruit, blowing away the steam around him.

He only suffered burns to his left arm and right leg.

The most serious case was Borsalino. In the first instant after being ambushed, he tried to escape at the speed of light, but instead crashed into more steam blocks with his own abilities.

If he hadn't reacted quickly and run back, Borsalino might have perished at his own hands.

Therefore, he had extensive burns on his chest and limbs.

Raleigh narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man who had suddenly appeared.

Wendell Wycliffe, the captain of the Steam Pirates, is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user and currently has a bounty of 960 million Berries.

Wendell Wycliffe was delighted to hear Raleigh recite his information.

"Navy, I didn't expect you to know about me."

"Not bad, not bad. It seems that everyone in the new world already knows my identity."

The pirates, whose identities had been exposed, felt no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, they were overjoyed.

In the world of pirates, the greater a person's fame and the higher their bounty, the stronger they are. Pirates with high bounties who haven't been captured by the Navy are all powerful figures in the New World.

Wendell Wycliffe, the captain of the Steam Pirates, has always wanted to be a ruler, but he has no chance to become one. He needs not only strength and territory, but also to do something that will shake the world.

Wendell Wycliffe, regardless of the Ningri District

TRBF72-

Any major event that affects him is a big event.

He received the news of the major battle between Whitebeard and the Navy in the waters off the G5 branch immediately.

After a brief analysis, he concluded that this was an event big enough to cause a global sensation.

If he helps Whitebeard defeat the Marines, his reputation among pirates will soar, making it easier for him to recruit crew members later.

Just like the Golden Lion, it can attract countless people to join its ranks simply by virtue of its name.

Although Shiki died at the hands of the Marines, who in the New World wouldn't envy the 100,000 men he commanded before his death? Wendell Wycliffe's Steam Pirates were also the pirate crew that reaped the largest share after Shiki's demise.

That's what gives him the confidence to participate in the free-for-all.

Besides, even if he joined forces with Whitebeard, they still couldn't defeat the Navy, so he would run away without looking back at the first opportunity.

In terms of escape ability, the Logia-type Steam-Steam Fruit is in no way inferior to other Logia-type fruits.

"Whether you are steam or water vapor, you are destined to die here today."

After activating their abilities, the wounds on the three people began to heal.

After being ambushed, Sakazuki's face turned unusually gloomy; he rarely suffered such a great loss in battles against pirates.

"Meteor Volcano!"

"The Eight-Span Jewel!"

"A whirlwind of ten thousand blades!"

The three elite naval vice admirals attacked simultaneously, each unleashing their most powerful area-of-effect attack skills without prior arrangement.

In an instant, countless blazing fireballs tore through the clouds from high above, hurtling towards Whitebeard and Wendell Wycliffe.

At the same time, Borsalino's beam locked onto all the two's dodging space, and beams of laser light shot from Borsalino's hand toward the location of the two figures. Raleigh's attack was even more terrifying; he even turned the entire area where the two were located into a domain filled with gale-force winds.

Once the two figures appear in this area, there is no way to avoid the attack unless one uses Armament Haki to withstand it.

Even Whitebeard dared not take the combined attack of the three people head-on.

He spoke to Wendell Wycliffe with a grave expression;

"Wycliffe, these three are too strong when they team up. Follow me, I'll break through their blockade."

"Speak," Whitebeard said, not caring whether Wycliffe understood him or not. Holding the Murakumogiri sword, he charged in the direction he had chosen.

boom!

Whitebeard cleaved a lava meteor falling from the sky in two with a single stroke, the intense flames burning half of his clothes.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

Whitebeard spun the Murakumogiri, cleaving through all the laser beams fired by Borsalino.

However, due to Borsalino's sheer number of lasers, Whitebeard eventually suffered a bloody hole in his thigh from one of them.

However, this also means that Whitebeard has successfully passed two attacks.

Whitebeard took a deep breath; he needed to break through all three attacks in one go to be safe.

clang clang clang!

Raleigh's attack was not as powerful as Sakazuki's or Borsalino's.

Only the exploding blood on Whitebeard and Wendell Wycliffe proved the horror of Raleigh's attack.

"Hiss, you wretched little brat."

Wendell Wycliffe behind him was also cursing angrily.

He came here to show off, not to get beaten up because he's too comfortable.