Chapter 754: 754 "Acquaintances"
"What do you say?"
Sherwin looked at Whitebeard and Dragon.
According to the original plan, they had intended to bypass the Marine defensive circle from underwater just like in the original story and enter Marineford directly. For this reason, Sherwin had even specially asked Purah Meow to upgrade the Moby Dick.
But now, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference whether they went underwater or not.
"Gurararara! Since the other side took the initiative to invite us, then of course we accept it gladly!"
Whitebeard thoughts perfectly matched his personality. As the "World Strongest Man," he had absolutely no fear of any conspiracies or tricks. No matter what the World Government had prepared, he would just push straight through.
And Dragon shared the same sentiment.
"Let just go straight in and adapt to the situation as it changes."
With the strength of their team, even if there was some trap in the middle, it wouldn’t be much of a problem, not to mention they still had the spatial teleportation device as a fallback option.
Since the two leaders had spoken, the others naturally had no objections either. Thus, the Moby Dick sailed blatantly from the front right into the crescent-shaped opening of Marineford.
The battleships guarding both sides didn’t make any move either, allowing the Moby Dick to approach Marineford.
On the execution platform, Garp, dressed in a prison uniform, was already kneeling there. Standing beside him were his two close friends and comrades-in-arms, Sengoku and Zephyr.
In front of the execution platform stood a crowd of Sherwin old acquaintances—Boa Hancock, Dracule Mihawk, Gecko Moria, and Cavendish.
Except for Jinbe, the other "Seven Warlords of the Sea" had all arrived.
However, Sherwin had already known about their arrival long ago. After all, Jinbe, Hancock, and Hawkeye all had pretty good relations with him and had informed him well in advance.
And besides these four established Warlords, there were two new faces next to them. Sherwin had absolutely no impression of the one wrapped in chains, but the other one...
If Sherwin remembered correctly, he was originally supposed to be Teach future crew member? As for the name, Sherwin couldn’t remember it.
But it didn’t matter if he couldn’t remember, as plenty of people would recognize a notorious pirate/criminal with such distinct characteristics.
"It ’Avalo Pizarro, the Corrupt King’. He was captured by the Navy more than ten years ago and imprisoned in Impel Down. It looks like he has been recruited by the Navy to become a new Warlord of the Sea."
Marco said quickly, "The other one is Mad Treasure, a very famous treasure hunter in the underworld."
A treasure hunter? Is there any difference between that and a pirate? "Peace main" pirates like Shanks don’t usually harass civilians either.
Sherwin scratched his head in confusion.
However, he quickly gave up on overthinking this matter and turned his gaze to the other side...
On the Navy side, Fleet Admiral "Aokiji" Kuzan, Admirals "Ryokugyu" Aramaki and "Kizaru" Borsalino, as well as a crowd of Vice Admirals from Navy Headquarters were all present. Among them were also quite a few CP agents wearing black and white suits the World Government really seemed to have recalled all of Egghead defensive forces.
In addition to that...
"Hmm? Isn’t that the warden of Impel Down? What was his name again?"
Sherwin looked at the tall figure standing next to the Admiral, whose appearance somewhat resembled a demon, and couldn’t help but daze for a moment.
"His name is Magellan. He is the Chief Warden of Impel Down, and also a user of the Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit. He is a terrifying man!"
Ivankov, who had stayed in Impel Down for several years, answered with a heavy expression, even forgetting to use that "hee-haw" catchphrase.
"The one standing next to him is Shiryu of the Rain, the former Head Jailer of Impel Down. He was previously locked away in LEVEL 6 by Magellan for slaughtering prisoners just for fun... I didn’t expect him to be released now as well."
Only then did Sherwin notice that there was another "acquaintance" like Shiryu beside Magellan.
It looks like the Marines are truly short-staffed, but...
Shiryu of the Rain and Avalo Pizarro—aren’t these both future members of the Blackbeard Pirates? Add in Kuzan, the tenth ship captain of the Blackbeard Pirates...
The true Blackbeard Pirates are actually in the Marines!
Sherwin subconsciously glanced at Teach, the playfulness in his eyes leaving the latter completely baffled.
"Zehahahahaha! What wrong, Brother Sherwin? Is there something wrong with me?"
"No, it nothing. I just feel like that Avalo Pizarro and Shiryu of the Rain might get along really well with you."
Sherwin brushed it off with a casual excuse, then ignored the even more confused Teach, turning his attention back to Magellan.
After all, the guy devil-like appearance made it hard for him not to associate it with Imu devil form.
Considering that this was a public execution with journalists live-streaming the entire event, could another reason for Magellan presence here be to obscure Imu existence?
Although the World Economic Journal reports did mention a mysterious, devil-like silhouette, the name "Imu" had already clearly appeared in the rumors circulating in the shadows. Who exactly was this ostrich-like behavior meant for?
But it was hard to say for sure. After all, that guy Imu seemed to be a staunch mystic. In the original manga, just to ensure their secret wouldn’t be discovered, an entire nation along with its island was wiped out just like that...
Someone like that is just a psychopath!
Heaven only knows what they are actually thinking.
And among that crowd of black-and-white-suited CP agents, Sherwin also spotted a few familiar faces...
The CP9 group that had previously gone undercover in Water 7 had clearly clashed with Luffy and his crew according to the original plot line, and unsurprisingly, they were defeated by Luffy "once again." However, because the World Government was currently extremely short-staffed, Spandam didn’t shift the blame and frame them like he originally did. Instead, they were recalled directly to keep risking their lives for the Celestial Dragons.
As for why their operations moved up ahead of schedule, it wasn’t actually hard to guess.
Whether it was because Uranus was damaged, or because the Marines and the Celestial Dragons took heavy blows one after another, the World Government would desperately need a new Ancient Weapon to replenish their strength. Therefore, the blueprints for Pluto, whose whereabouts were already basically confirmed, were currently their best option...
As a result, they ran into the Straw Hat crew, whom they were destined to meet, and who had also set sail early because of Sherwin.
Although they saw many familiar and unfamiliar "new characters," the ones Sherwin and the others cared about most—the Five Elders and Imu—were nowhere to be seen. The Holy Knights were completely absent as well, and even Shermie Meow Observation Haki couldn’t detect any trace of them.
However, considering the Five Elder ability to teleport at any moment, the combat power of those five still had to be factored in.
"Gurararara! You look quite pathetic, Garp!"
As the Moby Dick approached Marineford, Whitebeard walked to the bow of the ship and called out loudly to Garp on the execution platform.
Beside him, Ace also stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Grandpa! I’m here to save you!!!"
Dragon, who was not used to openly showing too much emotion, remained silent but walked to the bow to stand alongside Whitebeard and Ace.
Garp raised his head, sweeping his gaze across everyone on the Moby Dick. After his expression changed a few times, he said nothing and let his head slump back down.
"Monkey D. Garp, father of the ’World Most Dangerous Criminal’ Monkey D. Dragon. As a Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, you intentionally lost in battle against Dragon, causing the World Government to suffer incalculable losses... Do you plead guilty?"
Sengoku, standing next to Garp, ignored Whitebeard and Ace who were right before his eyes. Instead, following the established procedure, he began to read out Garp crimes at an unhurried pace, while Zephyr on the other side looked entirely absent-minded, his mind wandering elsewhere.
Sherwin and the others naturally wouldn’t let such a perfect opportunity slip by. Ace and Dragon lunged toward the execution platform almost at the same time.
Whitebeard let out a loud laugh, clenched his fists tightly, and slammed them fiercely into the air on both sides...
"Sea Quake!"
Sherwin also drew the Longsword, swinging it forcefully at the Marines on the shore.
Monster Hunter Style: Cataclysmic Ruin!
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