In truth, there were only a handful of forces in the world worthy of being called Emperors of the Sea.
And of them all, the El Pirates remained the best choice.
While they were still debating, a lookout suddenly leaped down from the crow's nest.
"Something's wrong! There are Marine warships heading straight for us!"
"What?!"
Hancock was shocked out of her wits.
"Are you certain they're coming for us specifically?!" Sandersonia grabbed the scout by the shoulders and demanded sternly.
"Absolutely sure! They're sailing directly toward our position!"
"We purposely changed course several times, but they kept following us all the way!"
Hancock and the others turned pale.
The Marines were clearly determined to wipe them out completely!
And they were moving far too fast!
Just when everything was going wrong, disaster had struck again.
What were they to do?
"How do our speeds compare?" Hancock asked urgently.
"Their warships are slightly faster. They'll catch up to us in less than thirty minutes!" The scout replied, his face etched with worry.
Sandersonia thought quickly. "Who is leading them?"
If the commander wasn't exceptionally strong, their own best fighters might be able to drive them back.
The scout answered, "If I'm not mistaken..."
"It's Vice Admiral Candidate, Chadros Higelyges—also known as Tea Pig!"
As a candidate for Admiral, Tea Pig's strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Marine Vice Admiral.
He was widely regarded as one of the strongest men in the entire Marine hierarchy, second only to the Admirals themselves.
Upon hearing his name, Hancock scoffed dismissively. "Is that all? I'll deal with him myself."
"You have no need to panic."
Elder Nyon immediately stepped in to stop her. "You must not! It is far too risky!"
Hancock frowned at her. "What? Do you doubt my strength?"
"I would never dare!" Elder Nyon replied.
"But he is still an Admiral candidate—a man of extraordinary power."
"Even if you defeat him, it will take time—precious time you do not have."
"And in that time, the Marines will easily be able to summon reinforcements. We cannot afford to waste even a single second of our chance to escape!"
Hancock had to admit she was right.
Acting rashly now would indeed be foolish.
"Do we have a way to contact El?" Hancock asked, looking around at them.
Elder Nyon and Sandersonia exchanged glances, relieved to see she had changed her mind.
But there was an awkward truth they had to face: they simply had no means of contacting him.
Seeing their embarrassment, Hancock suddenly made a bold decision.
"Turn the ship around. We are heading back toward the El Pirates!"
Elder Nyon was stunned.
"But that is right next to Marine Headquarters! We would be running straight into the lion's den!"
Hancock replied firmly, "Not if we form an alliance with El."
"With El standing beside us, even if we park our ship right in front of the Marines, they won't dare lay a finger on us!"
Her words were arrogant, but the logic was undeniable.
Hearing her resolve, Sandersonia and Elder Nyon both became fired up.
"Yes! That is exactly what we shall do!"
Immediately, the great ship of the Kuja Pirates began to turn.
Aboard the Marine warship, Chadros Higelyges watched the distant vessel with confusion.
"Are they... changing direction?"
The helmsman reported, "It appears so! The Kuja Pirates have altered their course."
"Where on earth are they going?" Chadros wondered aloud.
The navigator studied the chart for a long moment, his expression turning strange.
"Their heading... it points straight toward Marine Headquarters?!"
Chadros blinked. "Are you looking at the map upside down? Check again!"
The navigator thought he must have made a mistake.
He double-checked carefully, then looked up with absolute certainty.
"Vice Admiral, I am not mistaken. They are definitely heading for the Headquarters!"
Chadros narrowed his eyes.
"How interesting... I wonder what they are up to?"
Not long after...
El was lounging comfortably on the deck, reading a book.
Suddenly, a swirling cloud of sand materialized beside him, forming into the shape of Crocodile.
"Boss, there's a ship heading straight for us."
El closed his book. "Whose ship?"
The Summit War had only just ended. El found it hard to believe that any pirate or Marine foolish enough to challenge him would dare come near this place.
It was common knowledge worldwide that the El Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were currently anchored together.
Any force in the sea that dared to approach them was essentially committing suicide.
Crocodile's expression was slightly odd.
"It's the ship belonging to the Kuja Pirates."
A realization dawned on him instantly.
El reached the same conclusion at the exact same moment.
"They've come to form an alliance with us?"
Now that the Seven Warlords system had just been abolished by the Marines, the motive was obvious to anyone.
The Kuja Pirates had come looking for protection.
And in this world, there was no bigger or stronger "leg" to cling to than the El Pirates.
"Boss... do we accept them?" Crocodile asked.
El thought for a second.
"Accept them! Why wouldn't we?"
"An alliance like this brings us nothing but benefits."
Slowly, the ship of the Kuja Pirates drew closer and finally dropped anchor nearby.
Far behind them, the pursuing Marine warships also came to a halt, keeping their distance.
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