Recruit Luffy at the start and build the strongest navy.

I don't know how much time passed.

As the commotion gradually subsided, it became clear that the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet had lost more than half of its ships on the sea.

The sea was littered with the wreckage of pirate ships, and countless pirates floated on the surface. Some had already lost their breath, while others still had breath, but it was extremely faint.

After some time, countless figures emerged from beneath the sea.

Some swam alone, while others carried their unconscious companions, all heading towards the ships that hadn't yet been destroyed.

On the Moby Dick, one by one, the captains returned to this place.

But unlike before, less than half of the dozen or so team leaders were still conscious.

They all share a common characteristic: they are all charred black and emit a faint meaty aroma.

However, none of these captains have died yet; at least they are all still alive, although some of them are barely breathing.

All the other captains were seriously injured without exception.

boom--

Suddenly, a phoenix flame, interwoven with blue and yellow, ignited on one of the charred figures, and then the charred parts of his body began to slowly peel off like dead skin.

Before long, all the charred parts on his body fell off, restoring his original appearance.

He is, of course, Marco.

Under the healing power of the Phoenix Flame, Marco's injuries have largely recovered, but the price to pay is that it has consumed a large portion of his stamina, leaving him slightly out of breath.

Marco then went to the side of the captains who were unconscious and most seriously injured, and covered their bodies with Phoenix Flame.

As the flames burned, their breathing gradually stabilized, but their injuries did not show any significant improvement.

This is because while Marco's Regenerative Flame can heal others, its healing effect is far less efficient than healing himself.

For others, Marco's flames can accelerate wound regeneration, promote healing, and quickly stabilize injuries, buying time for subsequent treatment.

That's what he's doing now; he just needs to stabilize their injuries for the time being.

Before long, the flames of regeneration covering them disappeared, and they barely managed to restore a balance between exhaling and inhaling.

Immediately afterwards, Marco shouted to those around him:

"Quickly, a few people, carry them back to the cabin and treat their injuries!"

"Yes, Captain Marco!!"

Several people immediately came out and carried all the unconscious captains into the cabin.

Marco then took the time to stabilize the injuries of his other teammates who were still conscious.

After he finished doing all this, Marco was covered in sweat, panting, and pale.

Healing himself while also healing so many others must have taken a toll on him.

After a while, the captains also managed to recover and their combat strength was restored somewhat. Then, they all turned their gaze to the distant sky.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the nine purple 'suns' had disappeared.

"Why was that lightning bolt so powerful?"

Bista couldn't help but speak up.

They really didn't expect that their captains, each trying to block a lightning bolt, would fail to block one of them.

"Is this Kyle's strength? That's terrifying!!"

"but……"

"To unleash two attacks of such immense power simultaneously, even against Kyle, the strain on him would be considerable!"

Diamond Joz spoke with certainty.

Among the captains who are still conscious, besides Marco who is recovering from his injuries, his injuries are the least severe, but this is only relatively speaking.

If we only consider his own case, the injuries he suffered were quite severe.

Keep in mind that he is a user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, and his diamond defense has been virtually invincible in his battles against enemies, with very few people able to break through it.

This is the first time that such a devastating defeat has ever occurred.

After all, he had never fought against a powerhouse of this caliber before.

But Diamond Jozu was confident in himself. After all, he was the third division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and his strength was definitely among the top five in the Whitebeard Pirates.

This level of strength would barely rank among the top in the entire world.

Even someone who barely made it into the top ranks was blasted down by Kyle's lightning bolt, and the worst part was that he wasn't the only one who tried to stop it.

Another very important point is that Kyle's move knocked down not only him, but also Marco and the others.

It can be said that Kyle took down the main core members of the Whitebeard Pirates with a single move.

Speaking of this, Joz couldn't help but look at the white-bearded man who had somehow ended up standing on the bow of the whale ship.

Looking at his father's imposing figure, Joz's lingering fear from Kyle's attack vanished instantly.

Even if Kyle is incredibly strong, so what?

They have their father, the world's strongest man, Whitebeard!

As long as their father is around, they fear no one. Didn't you see how difficult it was for them to withstand even one lightning bolt? Yet Whitebeard managed to block five by himself.

The white-bearded man was unlike them; he completely blocked all the lightning bolts he was responsible for.

Otherwise, the losses of their fleet would never have been only half.

But Jozu only saw the white-bearded man's tall, upright back, holding a naginata in one hand; what he didn't see was...

The white-bearded man was trying his best to suppress the heaving of his chest, his mouth slightly open, and he was exhaling breaths one after another, which seemed a little rapid.

The white-bearded man stared intently ahead. Although he couldn't see Kyle, his fear of Kyle had reached its peak.

His initial two punches were not enough to stop Kyle's five lightning pillars; in fact, they were no match for him at all.

So when he gathered all his strength and unleashed two more punches, the resulting shockwaves barely managed to match Kyle's lightning pillar, before both dissipating.

The forceful strike he delivered has resulted in his slightly rapid breathing.

The white-bearded man's eyes were deep and unfathomable.

"Kyle..."

On the other side, Kyle, who had returned to the Canglan warship, was also breathing a little rapidly, but after taking several deep breaths, he calmed down a bit.

Just as Diamond Jozu had thought, the two consecutive attacks of nine lightning pillars had taken a toll on him.

But it's harmless; that was just an appetizer!

He shouldn't need to take action for the foreseeable future; this period has given him time to regroup.

Kyle then took out a megaphone Den Den Mushi from his pocket. This Den Den Mushi could broadcast to all the Canglan warships.

Kyle, his gaze fixed on the approaching Whitebeard Pirates fleet, spoke calmly:

"All warships, adjust course! Target the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"fire!!!"

……