Chapter 394: Scavengers
What was happening at the bottom of Marineford clearly went unnoticed by anyone at this time.
Because in just this brief period, the battle situation in Marineford had already entered a white-hot stage.
East side of the harbor.
BOOM!
"Akainu" Sakazuki's magma giant fist collided with Shanks's "Griffon", which was wrapped in pitch-black Haki.
A rain of fire and Haki burst forth in the sky, and the earth instantly cracked under the impact.
"Red Hair, you and that Straw Hat will both be buried here."
"This sea, this world will be purged, and the world will return to the way it should be."
Akainu's voice was calm yet cold.
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Shanks chuckled softly: "I don't think Luffy and I will die here."
"However... Marines—on the matter regarding the world, I actually agree with your view."
His expression was focused, and with a swing of the blade in his hand, he sent Akainu flying.
"This world indeed should return to the way it should be."
And on the other side.
"Gurararara, glint brat, freezing brat... are you wavering?"
Whitebeard swung the Murakumogiri in his hand, and massive fissures spread from beneath his feet, shattering the Marine formations attempting to approach along with a part of the entire Marine Headquarters before dragging them into the deep sea.
And in front of him, Kizaru and Aokiji were looking at this legendary pirate with solemn expressions.
"Ah, it's hard not to waver—truly terrifying~ Whitebeard..."
Kizaru grinned, his words glib as always: "Please, could you let me off?"
And beside Kizaru, Aokiji stood within an expanse of glaciers.
As the freezing air was shattered by the vibrations, this Admiral looked silently at the surrounding battlefield.
In the distance, Ace's flames and Yamato's frost intertwined, continuously assaulting the defense line of Marine Headquarters. Arrayed against them were the two "Admiral Candidates", Momousagi and Tokikake.
And besides that, the various Commanders of Whitebeard and the executives of the Red Hair Pirates had also fought their way onto the island, and were currently engaging in fierce battles with the Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters.
But...
"We won't be able to hold out for long."
The whisper in Aokiji's heart sounded almost simultaneously with Sengoku's whisper on the execution platform right now.
The Marine Fleet Admiral's golden Buddha body emanated an imposing light, and intense waves blasted away some pirates who attempted to approach relying on flying abilities.
But deep in his eyes, hidden was an irresolvable anxiety and solemnity.
Clearly, the development of the battle situation far exceeded his worst estimates.
Under the hints from the World Government, he actually knew this war would be extremely fierce, and the number of participants would also be large.
But the problem was...
"There's no reason for them to appear together."
The two Four Emperors and the entire Revolutionary Army—this was already a force sufficient to resist the World Government, and was the World Government's greatest enemy in recent years.
And crucially, they also showed a very obvious inclination to cooperate.
"Wano Country's Seastone processing technology—just as the Government hinted before, Wano Country has already opened its borders, and under the control of 'Fire Fist' Ace and Kaido's daughter, has become an enemy of the Government."
"They helped the Revolutionary Army process the Seastone. And Red Hair and Whitebeard, to conduct a coated deep-sea voyage at such a close distance from each other, they must have definitely planned and communicated in advance."
The difference here was massive.
The two Four Emperors and the Revolutionary Army should originally be independent of each other.
But now, they were clearly linked together by some kind of power.
And one had to know.
The Revolutionary Army possessed technological and weapon power, while the Four Emperors controlled many strong individuals and the vast majority of resources in the entire New World.
This directly led to the development of the battle situation being countless times faster than Sengoku originally estimated—the defense system the Marines built relying on geographical advantage and fortifications was smashed to pieces in this short amount of time.
The war of attrition originally expected to hold out for several hours already showed signs of collapse less than half an hour after the war started.
The casualty figures of Marine soldiers were climbing at an astonishing speed. Combat forces at the Vice Admiral and Admiral levels were firmly pinned down and even suppressed by the opponent's core executives, and the entire situation was still undoubtedly a tough battle.
If there was a single exception, it would be on the Revolutionary Army's side.
"Fortunately, we have Roy..."
Sengoku's gaze looked far away towards the battlefield belonging to the Revolutionary Army.
Right now, that was also the only battlefield in the entire battle situation that hadn't landed yet.
The four Army Commanders of the Revolutionary Army were currently launching attacks centering around Roy.
And whether it was the fierce assault launched by the pitch-black crows under the swaying of the banners, or the intense rocket launchers and the attacks from Morley's massive body, none of it had any meaning in front of Roy.
That golden light of waves was like the Wall of Sighs, blocking most of the attacks from the entire Revolutionary Army, presenting a stalemate situation.
But...
"Dragon hasn't made a move yet, that ability of his..."
Sengoku couldn't set his mind at ease.
Because he knew Dragon's action habits very well—since he was still a Marine, the other party was a person who planned before acting, and wouldn't easily launch a general offensive.
Roy could hold off the Revolutionary Army now, but once Dragon went all out, that ability of his might not be able to defeat Roy, but it was sufficient to destroy "Marineford"!
And this still wasn't all.
The problem that truly gave Sengoku a headache was...
"There can be no mistake, the only ones who can link these four factions together are those guys..."
"The Zodiac hasn't made a move yet."
This was exactly what Sengoku dreaded the most in his heart.
Whether it was the intelligence provided by the World Government, his own guesses, or the Aster that had recently vanished without a trace on the sea—everything told Sengoku that the shadow of The Zodiac must definitely be behind this matter.
But up until now, they still hadn't shown themselves—not a single one.
And under the circumstances that that organization hadn't even struck yet, the battle situation had already reached this point.
And what made Sengoku even more helpless was, he knew he had no choice.
"We can't wait any longer."
He let out a deep breath, seemingly somewhat hesitant.
But after a moment of hesitation, he made up his mind, turned his head slightly, and made a gesture to the rear.
Thus...
An order that had long been prepared was instantly conveyed to the edge of the battlefield through the actions of the signal corpsman behind him.
Then...
Rumble!
At a position close to the inner bay within Marineford, everyone could clearly see at this moment.
That originally solid ground suddenly cracked open several massive square fissures at this time.
Passageways that had been carved out at some unknown time appeared accompanied by the opening of sluice gates.
Subsequently...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heavy footsteps sounded like muffled thunder.
Subsequently, countless figures walked out from the passageways.
They were densely packed in number, each with empty eyes.
And in terms of their attire, they were wearing prison uniforms.
That was a group of prisoners.
And beside those countless prisoners, there were also Impel Down's iconic Jailer Beasts, a woman holding a leather whip, and monsters resembling lions, penguins, giant wolves, or giant birds.
"It's... it's the prisoners and Jailer Beasts of Impel Down, and the Jailers!"
"What's going on!? Why would they appear here?"
"No, on their bodies... quick, dodge!"
And the Marines and pirates originally engaging in fierce battles nearby were also momentarily stunned.
But quickly, the pirates noticed the abnormalities on these prisoners.
Their joints flashed with the metallic gleam of hydraulic devices.
And on their bodies, there was even a metallic-like luster, and many of them even had some weapons embedded in them that looked very dangerous at a glance.
And the most crucial part was...
At the very rear of those countless prisoners.
Existences with astonishingly powerful auras were currently slowly walking out.
On their backs, massive demonic bat wings and pitch-black arrow tails were flapping.
Their bodies were pitch-black, as if they were monsters.
Those were strikingly exactly—the legendary criminals from the deepest part of Impel Down LV6, those who made the world tremble.
And at the very rear of these figures.
Thud!
A robust figure was walking out from the largest passageway opening.
"So many guys to cut."
He wore an iconic uniform, held an odachi in his hand, and a cigar dangled from his mouth as he grinned in an excited smile.
Intense killing intent boiled.
That was clearly exactly...
Impel Down Head Jailer—Shiryu of the Rain!
And while speaking, the odachi in his hand was already drawn.
Squelch!
He casually slashed out, cutting down a Marine and a pirate in front of him together.
Blood spilled on his body, and he excitedly raised his hand, feeling that warmth on his body.
"Truly not bad."
He nodded in satisfaction: "The feeling of not having to suppress it."
"Then, World Government specially approved—'Scavengers'."
"Kill everyone here... oh, all the enemies... kill them all."