One Piece: Transmigrated as Crocodile

Chapter 370 CHAPTER 370 - In the Spotlight

As the war intensified, while Marine Headquarters raised the encircling walls in the bay, they also deployed the Pacifistas—rigid but terrifyingly lethal war machines—onto the battlefield.

And there were quite a few of them.

These Pacifistas were developed specifically to capture and kill criminals with bounties exceeding one hundred million. Ignoring other aspects, their sheer destructive power and combat capability were on par with Vice Admirals.

However, in a direct fight against a Vice Admiral, they would likely fall short. Human thinking was far more flexible and dynamic—something machines could not match.

Even so, these costly weapons, of which Marine Headquarters currently had only this single unit, greatly increased their chances of victory.

Ordinary weapons could not threaten them, while their emitted laser beams were devastating. Even powerful pirates dared not take head-on lasers capable of melting steel.

For a time, pirates were brutally suppressed by these suddenly appearing man-made weapons, suffering heavy losses. Marine Headquarters had no intention of exposing these weapons to the world, so the global broadcast was cut in advance.

It was too cruel, and they could not allow other pirates to see it firsthand and develop countermeasures. Moreover, carrying out Ace's execution ahead of schedule would also be a loss of face for Marine Headquarters.

Thus, from this point on, the world only needed to know that the final victory belonged to them.

But the Whitebeard Pirates were not so easily crushed. Even at a disadvantage, they pressed forward relentlessly, and with Little Oars Jr.'s help, they broke through the iron encirclement of the bay.

At this moment, the entire battlefield was filled with smoke, the stench of scorched corpses, and other foul odors. Countless vivid lives bloomed to their fullest—heroes and warriors for a brief instant—only to become corpses the next.

"Gurararara… wipe out the Marines." Whitebeard wielded his bisento and charged into the crowd at the forefront. They were now even closer to the execution platform.

With a single sweeping strike, the air shattered. Over a thousand Marines were hurled skyward by the distorted shockwaves, falling like stars—including several Rear Admirals, who were utterly powerless to resist.

"Hmph." Seeing this, Akainu continued his relentless assault on Whitebeard. Volcanic blasts, magma fists, Haki, physical combat—he pushed everything to the extreme. Even as a top-tier Admiral, he was still far behind Whitebeard.

"Damn old monster!" Akainu's volcanic punch erupted, warping the surrounding air with scorching heat.

"Annoying little brat!" Though Whitebeard spoke with contempt, he did not relax in the slightest against Akainu.

This Marine Admiral was indeed extremely powerful. Even in his old age, few experts could fight him to this extent.

More than half of Marine Headquarters had been destroyed by the clash between the two of them.

"Damn it, there's no time! Ace, wait for me!" Luffy sprinted through the crowd. Marine Headquarters was about to carry out the execution early.

"Luffy, go ahead. I'll clear the way!" Sabo slammed the ground with a Dragon Claw Fist, instantly shattering it. The surrounding Marines fell screaming into the cracks.

"Luffy, I'll help too." Jinbe unleashed a Five Thousand Brick Fist, blasting away many Marines.

"What's wrong with that guy Kuma? Damn it, damn it—he really wants to kill me." Ivankov and the others also covered for Luffy.

"Garp, what do you think? Will Dragon of the Revolutionary Army be nearby, or hiding within the battlefield?" Sengoku asked quietly beneath the execution platform.

Although it was inappropriate to ask such a question at this moment, Sengoku had to consult Garp. He both hoped Garp would help Marine Headquarters and hoped he would not. He understood Garp's inner struggle.

"Luffy, Sabo, Ace… why, why won't you ever listen to your grandpa…" Garp watched the raging war, grief-stricken. Even if he did not act today, with the forces gathered at Marine Headquarters, it would be nearly impossible for Whitebeard to retreat unscathed.

"Sigh…" Seeing Garp give no answer, Sengoku did not press further. This was something Garp had to resolve himself.

"They've broken through, fufufufu… truly monsters worthy of the name," Doflamingo said excitedly.

"Is little sister Hathaway not here? Then I'll play with you all for a bit…" The Empress and the other Shichibukai had not encountered many truly strong opponents—only a handful at most.

Perhaps most pirates knew the Shichibukai would not fight with full strength for the Marines, so they focused their main forces on Marine Headquarters instead.

As a result, the Shichibukai appeared relatively at ease, while the Admirals and Whitebeard's core commanders fought fiercely. Even the Admirals had begun to suffer injuries.

But just as the battle grew ever more intense, the Marine Headquarters building suddenly exploded apart. A group of figures shot out like cannonballs, crashing down across various parts of the battlefield.

Rosen's landing spot was particularly awkward—right near the execution platform. Although the flames of battle had not yet reached this area, many Vice Admirals and elite troops were on standby nearby.

"Who is it?!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku was shocked. If the enemy had attacked from behind Marine Headquarters, it meant the weak defensive line there had fallen. Was this Whitebeard's doing? It didn't seem like his style—otherwise he wouldn't have committed so few troops there.

But that no longer mattered. What mattered was that among those auras were several extremely powerful ones—one in particular was overwhelmingly strong, not inferior to a Marine Admiral.

Such combat power could not be ignored, even on a battlefield like this.

"It's really lively. Looks like more uninvited guests have arrived." Powerful fighters near the area all sensed them. The destruction of the Marine Headquarters building was far too conspicuous.

"It's him. I thought he wouldn't come. Showing up at a time like this—what is he planning?" Hawkeye forced Vista back with a slash and looked toward the execution platform.

"Sand Crocodile." Luffy glanced over but paid little attention. Sabo, however, remained cautious. What was he here for? Helping Whitebeard? Unlikely. Helping the Marines? Even more impossible.

"Mmm~ what's going on here? The Dawn Pirates—Crocodile—why did they suddenly appear?" Kizaru gathered laser light at his fingertips. Among the three Admirals, he was closest to Crocodile and could see the clearest.

But what did the Dawn Pirates have to do with this war? Were they here for Whitebeard's head? If so, that would be good news for Marine Headquarters. If not, it would be troublesome.

"Crocodile and his officers!" Sengoku saw them clearly, his heart heavy.

"Ara ara… this is bad. Are they forcing me to arrest them?" Aokiji froze nearby pirates and briefly disengaged from his fierce battle with Jozu.

The timing was terrible. Responsibility for the Celestial Dragon incident had not yet been settled. Encountering the Dawn Pirates now and doing nothing would be unacceptable—he would have to at least make a show of action.

But that would leave fewer people to restrain Whitebeard's commanders. If they were allowed to reinforce Whitebeard, the pressure on Admiral Akainu would increase dramatically.

"What a pain."

"Oh? The sand-playing brat—are you here to take my head? You never learn," Whitebeard said as he fought Akainu, the two drawing ever closer to the execution platform.

"Hmph. Just another group of damn pirates." Akainu glanced over, then ignored them. At this moment, Whitebeard was the top priority. As for the Dawn Pirates, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would handle them.

Nothing was more important now than taking Whitebeard's head.

Rosen stood up from the ground. Not far away was Nico Robin.

As for the others, he did not see them yet. They must have been scattered. Although their directions were similar, the impact forces differed, so their landing points naturally varied.

"It's the Dawn Pirates—capture them!" The surrounding Marine elites reacted immediately. Under a Vice Admiral's command, numerous elite Marines closed in.

(End of Chapter)

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