"You bastard!"
Sengoku glared at Crocodile, who had appeared in the Marine formation at some unknown point, and shouted angrily.
"You, who have an old grudge against Whitebeard, why would you step in?"
Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, looked at Sengoku with cold arrogance. "That old man who's about to die, I'll naturally deal with him later."
Then he looked at Taro. "Before that, I don't want to see this guy's happy face!"
Holy crap, what the hell? What does this have to do with me!
And where the hell do you see me looking happy?
Taro was puzzled by the strange weather, but who would have thought Crocodile's intervention was actually related to him!
Sengoku also looked at Taro with a grim expression.
Taro was dumbfounded. He looked at Sengoku blankly and then turned his head to look at Crocodile.
"The humiliation you put me through in Impel Down is something I'll remember for a lifetime."
Crocodile said coldly.
Taro: "..."
Damn it, what's going on? Why am I inexplicably offending more and more people?
Also, Sand Crocodile, before you talk tough, can you throw away the cigar in your mouth first? Wasn't that a gift from me?
You're the literal definition of biting the hand that feeds you!
Taro was even more bewildered, completely failing to understand why the vibe had suddenly turned so strange.
A thin thread flashed by, and Crocodile's head was directly severed. Donquixote Doflamingo slowly walked out.
"Hey, Sand Crocodile, are you planning to join forces with Whitebeard?"
Yellow sand gathered, and Crocodile's head reappeared as the two nation-stealing pirates began to catch up.
On the execution platform, Taro also began to reflect.
He clearly just wanted to save Sherman and Mike, and incidentally reduced the severity of the wound Whitebeard received from the 'filial' son's stabbing, yet the Whitebeard Pirates thought he was providing cover for Squard.
He clearly just wanted to pass a bit of information to Ace in prison to spark his will to live, yet Crocodile ended up holding a grudge.
For crying out loud, being a double agent is just too agonizing!
At this moment, Taro really wanted to cry. He had sacrificed so much in silence, and yet not a single person was grateful!
Garp saw that Taro was very depressed and slapped him hard on the shoulder.
"Brat, cheer up. It's just a former Warlord of the Sea, what's there to be afraid of?"
Taro had bitterness in his heart but couldn't speak out. He could only nod helplessly and give a soft "Mhm."
Then his gaze sharpened as he looked toward the seabed within the bay.
Garp and Sengoku also noticed the anomaly immediately and followed his gaze.
At the same time, Whitebeard ordered the pirates to approach Little Oars Jr.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Bubbles rose from the surface of the bay as a paddle ship emerged from the seabed.
The Whitebeard Pirates actually had a hidden coated ship!
That paddle ship sped toward the gap in the encircling wall where Little Oars Jr. was located.
Sengoku's face instantly turned ashen.
Little Oars Jr. picked up the ship, along with the countless pirates on it, and dragged them into the Marineford plaza.
The only gap had become the Marines' greatest weakness.
Whitebeard leaped down from the bow, his naginata held high. A cluster of white energy gathered on the blade, and with a full-force swing, the energy ball shot out, instantly shattering the air.
Then, a powerful vibration hit, stirring up a howling gale that knocked the Marines within a hundred-meter radius flying.
Only strong Marines like the Admirals and Vice Admirals still stood firm in the field.
[Naginata: God of War learned successfully]
Taro was dumbstruck. This move was simply a god-tier skill for clearing mobs.
"Lads, rescue Ace and annihilate the Marines!"
Whitebeard raised his arms and shouted.
"Aooooh!"
The pirates responded in unison, their morale instantly soaring.
"Garp, Taro!" Sengoku rolled up his sleeves. "Now, we can't just stand by and watch either!"
Garp lowered his head with a conflicted expression. Taro also remained silent, and only after a long while did he respond on Garp's behalf.
"Ice Ball."
Aokiji leaped into the air, crossing his hands. Several streams of cold air erupted from his body, quickly wrapping around Whitebeard. The cold air condensed, forming a massive block of ice that froze Whitebeard solid.
However, in the next second, Whitebeard moved slightly, shattering the thick ice, and stabbed his blade into Aokiji's body.
Aokiji, fully elementalized, grabbed the naginata's handle with his backhand. Frost emitting a chilling mist began to spread along the handle toward Whitebeard.
"Ice Block: Partisan."
Aokiji crossed his hands, and on either side of him, two ice-blade spears appeared, seemingly about to pierce Whitebeard.
Suddenly, the hardest and most expensive man in the world—"Diamond" Jozu—appeared, smashing the ice spears and Aokiji's frozen body at the same time.
[Ice Ball learned successfully]
[Ice Block: Partisan learned successfully]
Taro observed the battlefield with a studious mindset, thinking he should learn everything regardless of whether it would be useful.
He saw Luffy rushing forward again nearby, fighting against Vice Admirals Momonga and Yamakaji. However, having severely overextended his stamina and being badly injured, he was being beaten quite miserably by the two Vice Admirals.
Seeing Luffy in danger, our Old Man Kizaru couldn't sit still. He extended his index finger, and this time, without much charging, he directly fired a laser.
Pew.
The shockwave from the massive explosion instantly sent Luffy flying. He crashed to the ground, unable to crawl back up.
Seeing this, Garp grit his teeth, his breathing heavy, and veins popped on his tightly clenched fists.
Sengoku noticed Garp's change, glanced at him sideways, and said in a low voice, "Garp, be clear about your own position!"
Garp's eyes widened for a moment before he finally turned his head away, no longer looking.
Taro wasn't worried. If Momonga were allowed to keep attacking, Luffy might be in real danger.
But seeing Kizaru step in, Taro knew it was fine—this situation was stable.
Sure enough, as the dust cleared, Kizaru slowly walked up to the limp Luffy and said in an arrogant tone:
"Straw Hat Luffy, disappear for me!"
Then he raised his leg for a "Flash Kick" and sent Luffy flying. The direction he kicked him in was exactly toward Whitebeard, who caught Luffy with one hand.
Taro's eyes twitched violently, and he almost couldn't stop himself from laughing. He had to bury his head deep, trying hard to restrain himself.
Damn it, when you said 'disappear,' you meant sending the person to the safest place, into the hands of the strongest man?
This method of 'disappearing' has the same subtle brilliance as when Kuma slapped the Straw Hat Pirates crew away at Sabaody Archipelago!
"Ugh~ oh, Whitebeard, you must be getting senile too, letting such trash lead the charge."
Perhaps sensing that his acting this time was too flamboyant, Kizaru spat some harsh words at Whitebeard, trying to compensate.
Then he extended his index finger again and began to charge.
Taro had to admire the acting skills of these big shots. His own two failed performances had offended a whole bunch of pirates.
Old Man Kizaru's relaxed and easy kicks, paired with a few harsh words, left no room for anyone to find fault.
A giant "RESPECT" slowly floated above Taro's forehead!
The dark clouds drew closer, but the wind... had stopped!
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