I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Since he hasn't asked for help, it's worth considering."

Marco was slightly taken aback.

"Dad, you've got it backwards, haven't you?"

He was completely confused... Why did Sieg ask for help but then not go? Why did he not ask for help but go and help instead?

Does Whitebeard still have a tsundere personality?

Marco shook his head, quickly banishing the thought from his mind.

Whitebeard, of course, had no idea what Marco was thinking. Seeing him shake his head, he assumed Marco didn't understand, so he explained:

“I have a relationship with Sig, but he is not one of our pirate crews. Our alliance ended long ago during the Impel Down war.”

"If it's a small favor, it's fine, but our pirate crew is currently unable to extricate ourselves. If we rashly break out, we ourselves will also suffer attacks from the Navy."

People die in war.

Whitebeard's attempt to break out here, regardless of whether it will be in time, could put his own pirate crew in a weakened state, or even lead to defeat, resulting in the deaths of many members of his crew.

Whitebeard continued, "If Sig asks me for help, it's either because he's confused or he's desperate and grasping at straws."

"Since that's not the case, then it's worth a visit."

"Marco, remember this: if you ever become a captain, you must not act impulsively or let your emotions cloud your judgment."

If you replace Sieg with Roger, it becomes much easier to understand.

If Roger fell into the sea in front of Whitebeard, Whitebeard would probably have someone rescue him from the sea, mock him, then fight him and drink together.

If Roger were surrounded and trapped by Shiki's fleet, would Whitebeard abandon his predicament and break through to rescue Roger? Dream on.

Of course, Roger wouldn't ask for help, and Whitebeard wouldn't come to his aid either.

This is an unspoken rule, or rather, a tacit understanding, among great pirates.

No matter how good your personal relationship is, only those who are in the same boat are partners.

This is also why Shanks abandoned his pirate crew and went to Wano Country alone: ​​he and Kozuki Oden were former comrades, but the Red-Haired Pirates were not.

Expecting Whitebeard to abandon his sons here to take care of Sieg? That's unrealistic.

"I...I understand."

Marco nodded quickly, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to Whitebeard's right hand, which was holding the naginata.

Whitebeard gripped his naginata tightly with his right hand, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, clearly indicating that he was not calm.

"So, Dad, have you made up your mind?"

"...Don't make a sound, I'm thinking," the white-bearded man said in a low voice.

Marco took in Whitebeard's reaction and smiled slightly:

"Dad, you go ahead."

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy are not of one mind. I have a plan to deal with the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"As long as the Seven Warlords of the Sea don't make a move, the remaining Marines can maintain a defensive posture with the strength of our pirate crew."

"Hmm?" Whitebeard was slightly surprised. He had just been lecturing Marco, and now his son had surprised him.

Marco continued:

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy are not of one mind, and they have been fighting us for two days. Their patience is wearing thin..."

Just then, a commotion arose nearby. The naval fleet had arrived, and the two sides' rest was over; a new round of fighting was about to begin.

Chapter 939 Taking Down the General Amidst a Multitude of Troops (Parts 1-2)

In the waters off West Asia, warships and the Whitebeard Pirates prepare for another battle.

On the main battlefield, warships sailed in on the waves.

Between the warships, there was also a small, coffin-shaped boat that was moving at a similarly fast speed.

The three Shichibukai who arrived with Zephyr's fleet were Hawkeye Mihawk, Bartholomew Kuma, and Empress Hancock.

The others followed Garp to intercept the Red-Haired Pirates.

Aside from Hawkeye's intense fighting spirit, Boa Hancock was in a bad mood, while Bartholomew Kuma showed no obvious emotional fluctuations, simply following orders to fight the Whitebeard Pirates.

Hawkeye stood at the bow of the ship, the black sword Night slowly unsheathed from his back.

"Whitebeard, let's have another round... What, are you planning to run away?"

His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, making people subconsciously avoid his gaze and dare not meet his eyes.

But at this moment, it was not Whitebeard who spoke up to Hawkeye, but Marco.

Marco transformed his hands into wings and flew in through the air:

"Hawkeye, are you Seven Warlords of the Sea really content to be tools in the Navy's hands?"

Hawkeye glanced at Marco, said nothing, and simply slashed his sword diagonally upwards.

Clang!

A massive cyan sword light swept in, slashing straight through Marco's body and colliding with the cyan flames burning on Marco's body, sending him flying dozens of meters through the air.

The blue flames burned even more fiercely, and Marco's body quickly healed, completely unharmed, as he looked down at Eagle Eye from the air.

Hawkeye stopped, lowered the black sword he had been holding high, and slightly diminished his previous fierce killing intent.

"What are you trying to say, Marco the Phoenix? The Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy are supposed to cooperate."

"Does he have to cut me first before I'm even qualified to speak...?" Marco replied sternly.

"Oh? Is this your reason for willingly serving as lackeys of the Navy, allowing the main fleet, including three admirals, to besiege Sigurd alone?"

Hawkeye paused slightly in surprise:

"What did you say? How is this related to Sig again?"

Not only him, but on the other side, Empress Hancock, who had been quite impatient and passively resisting the enemy, also changed her expression and listened attentively.

Tyrant Bear, on the other hand, seemed much calmer. He made no extra movements, simply looking quietly at the Bible in his hand, as if he hadn't heard Marco's words.

Zefa was preparing to command the battle when his expression suddenly changed slightly.

Marco scanned the reactions of the three Shichibukai and felt slightly reassured.

Hawkeye Mihawk also had dealings with Siegfried, and the story of their sword fight in Loguetown is still circulating on the high seas.

In Marco's opinion, given Hawkeye Mihawk's mindset, he should be on the Scarborough Island battlefield right now, rather than challenging Whitebeard here.

Therefore, Marco guessed that... the Navy had not informed the Seven Warlords of the true battle plan, and now it seems that his guess was correct.

"The Navy doesn't trust you at all, and they're keeping the real operational plans from you."

"This is not the main battlefield at all. You are just tools to delay the Whitebeard Pirates... It seems you are still in the dark."

Marco began to mock the events of the Scarborough Island battle as he recounted them.

Given their strength and status as Shichibukai, it's astonishing that they couldn't even appear on the main battlefield to face Higuma; they were only relegated to menial tasks like stalling for time on the flanks...

You should know that the Seven Warlords of the Sea are all a bunch of big shots, especially Empress Hancock and Hawkeye Mihawk, who are particularly arrogant.

In Marco's view, aside from Bartholomew Kuma, Empress Hancock was already demoralized and lacked any fighting spirit after two days of fighting. Hawkeye also didn't seem like the type to obey such orders.

“Zeff,” Hawkeye turned to look at Admiral Zephyr:

Is he telling the truth?

Zefa's expression darkened slightly.

This operation was too big to be concealed from the Seven Warlords of the Sea afterward, but he didn't expect that the Whitebeard Pirates would learn of the plan at this point...

“This is part of the operational plan,” Zephyr responded.

"Hawkeye, according to the agreement, you should stay here and fight alongside us to stop Whitebeard."

"Moreover, Scarborough Island is quite far from here, and the journey takes at least a day."

As he said this, Zefa's expression turned grim.

Because he saw that Hawkeye had already sheathed his black sword and withdrawn his intense fighting spirit.

"I have accomplished my task of stopping Whitebeard, so my cooperation with you ends here."

Hawkeye, with his greatsword and golden horse, sat on the throne on the ship. The small, coffin-shaped boat then changed direction, seemingly preparing to leave.

Zephyr's heart stirred slightly, and he glanced into the distance, where he saw a small boat for one person being lowered from the Mobydi. Whitebeard stood on the boat with a sword in his hand, just like Hawkeye, far from the main battlefield.

"Sweet and refreshing!"

Empress Hancock formed a heart shape with her hands, and pink light emanated from them, but it was not aimed at the Whitebeard Pirates. Instead, it turned all the marines on the deck of the warship into stone statues.

"I'm very angry, and I'm also exhausted." Empress Hancock feigned a pitiful expression, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the navy soldiers who surrounded her.

"So, would you be willing to send me back to Amazon Lily to rest?"

"......"

"Yes...yes!" The remaining few navy men, their eyes sparkling with hearts, had already fallen at the Empress's feet.

"Admiral Zephyr! Hawkeye is trying to escape!"

"Admiral Zephyr, Empress Hancock has hijacked a warship and seems to be trying to leave."

"Even Whitebeard seems to want to leave! Admiral Zephyr, who should we stop?"

The navy personnel were somewhat bewildered.

"So that's the solution?" The white-bearded man nodded slightly.

After two days of fighting, the Whitebeard Pirates and Zephyr's fleet are still locked in a stalemate.

Now that we've removed Boa Hancock and Hawkeye, and if Whitebeard were to withdraw on his own, the Whitebeard Pirates, led by Marco, could switch to a defensive posture and continue to contend with the Navy.

Whitebeard gazed at the distant serpentine currents, his naginata, Murakumogiri, plunging into the water like an oar. With a forceful push, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit quietly activated.

Whoosh!

The great cleaver caused a wave to appear out of thin air behind the ship, and the ship shot forward like an arrow.