One Piece: Transmigrated as Crocodile

Chapter 372 CHAPTER 372 - Strategizing from Behind the Scenes

"Kizaru, you're the closest to Crocodile. Suppress Crocodile immediately. Dead or alive, do not let them disrupt our deployment and rhythm." Sengoku did not act right away. Instead, he picked up a Den Den Mushi and contacted Kizaru first.

Even in the midst of fierce combat, Kizaru was always attentive to communications from Fleet Admiral Sengoku. After all, Sengoku was the chess master of this entire war.

Perhaps Sengoku's raw combat power did not surpass all the Admirals, but his thinking, control, and analytical ability were truly terrifying.

Even Kizaru deeply admired Sengoku the Buddha's talent for overall strategy. The title of "strategist" was not given lightly.

"Received." Upon hearing the Den Den Mushi on his chest, Kizaru instantly abandoned his ongoing battle with Marco.

"What's going on? Kizaru is leaving? Did something change? No, I can't let him leave." Although he did not know what Marine Headquarters was planning, Marco knew they could not allow it to succeed. After a brief moment of thought, he continued his pursuit.

"How troublesome," Kizaru said, glancing back. Although he still wanted to continue fighting, orders had to be followed. On a battlefield like this, one could not act purely on personal preference.

"Bartholomew Kuma, abandon pursuit of the Revolutionary Army. Accept new orders. Capture Marco, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division."

"Order received. Executing order. Target search… Target acquired!" Bartholomew Kuma scanned with his gaze and quickly spotted Marco flying in the sky. Marco was in pursuit of Kizaru, but halfway there, he was intercepted by a beam of laser light.

In the next instant, Kuma's figure appeared before Marco as if teleporting, blocking his path.

"A Shichibukai," Marco frowned as he looked at Kuma. Although this Shichibukai was not as powerful as Admiral Kizaru, he clearly would not be easy to deal with.

"Vice Admirals Gurmier and Momonga, lead the Marine elites and block Straw Hat and Shichibukai Jinbe's advance. Do not let them get any closer to the execution platform," Sengoku said, glancing at the highly active Straw Hat group on the battlefield.

These people could not be left unchecked. With a moment's inattention, they had already pushed into this range. And with Revolutionary Army Sabo present, it was clearly a formidable force.

"Understood."

"Rufus, I'll have to trouble you to find an opportunity to capture the Revolutionary Army's chief of staff. That would be an extremely valuable bargaining chip for the World Government. Don't worry about the Revolutionary Army's movements. In the short term, there's no way they can attack Marine Headquarters," Fleet Admiral Sengoku said coldly.

Judging from their recent activity, aside from the few Revolutionary officers already present, Sengoku did not see additional Revolutionary forces, which was why he made this decision.

Light distorted, and a figure emerged beside Fleet Admiral Sengoku. It was Rufus. "No problem. Normally, I'm only responsible for observation and handling emergencies, but since it's the Revolutionary Army, I can't just stand by and watch."

"Thank you," Sengoku said calmly.

"Also, execute Portgas D. Ace immediately. Do not let that Straw Hat brat interfere any further!" The earlier attempt at early execution had coincidentally been stopped by Straw Hat Luffy's awakened Conqueror's Haki. It was unexpected, but inconsequential. The initiative was still in their hands.

Moreover, Akainu was waiting for this opportunity to kill Whitebeard. Although Whitebeard was already heavily injured, the timing was not right yet. Sengoku needed to continue creating opportunities.

Sengoku did not dare to remind Akainu through the Den Den Mushi either. Only a few people knew how much pressure Akainu was under while directly clashing with Whitebeard. He could not afford even a moment of distraction.

Fighting Whitebeard, Akainu was already inferior in strength. If he lost focus, he could be killed by Whitebeard at any moment. Admiral Akainu was indeed powerful, but Whitebeard was a monster—the strongest monster.

"Damn it! Stop them!" Marco shouted anxiously when he saw the executioners on the platform raise their long blades again. If Ace died, the war they had launched would be meaningless.

"Ace!" Luffy instantly burst forward at astonishing speed.

"Damn it, Dragon Claw Fist: Quaking Ground Flying Dragon!" Sabo's expression darkened. The person about to be executed was his brother.

He would never allow such a thing to happen. Sabo slammed his palm into the ground and launched himself forward in a diving charge toward the execution platform at incredible speed. If he continued like this, he might reach the platform directly.

"Everyone, give everything you've got to cover Ace's brother and rescue Ace!" Seeing this, Whitebeard also gave the order. Such a command would greatly reduce the forces around him that could withstand the Marines, putting himself in danger.

But if he did not do this now, Ace would be in mortal peril. This was exactly what Sengoku wanted to see.

"Yes!" The pirates began to gather and launch a frenzied assault on the execution platform, clearing a path for Straw Hat Luffy, Jinbe, and the others.

"Stop them!" The Marines also rose up in fierce resistance.

Garp stood beneath the execution platform, his emotions extremely heavy. His eyes were filled with struggle, his fists trembling. Should he act? Or not?

"Distortion Trap! Fist Wind!" Sabo showed a hint of joy, because Ace was now right in front of him. But at that moment, the space around him suddenly rippled like waves, and Rufus appeared out of thin air before him.

Sabo was startled, but with no turning back, he struck out with Dragon Claw Fist at the enemy. Yet the moment the attack was launched, he discovered that the surrounding space seemed to erupt simultaneously, as if countless fists struck his body at the same instant.

"There's no attack trajectory. What is this? What kind of ability?!" Sabo was horrified. His body was hit by at least a dozen powerful blows in an instant, sending him crashing from midair into the ground.

If not for his Observation Haki sensing danger in advance and activating Armament Haki at the critical moment, those dozen strikes alone would have been enough to cripple his combat ability.

"Sabo." Luffy looked over with concern.

"Straw Hat brat, you'd better worry about yourself. Zombies, bite him to death. Our business isn't finished yet." Luffy's advance was not going smoothly either. A Shichibukai with a grudge against him had already blocked his path.

"I'm fine." Sabo looked at the man before him as if facing a great enemy. It was him—Rufus, the public-facing deputy commander of CP0. He had clashed with the Revolutionary Army more than once.

But this was the first time Sabo had faced him head-on.

While intense fighting erupted near the execution platform, battles in other areas also grew increasingly fierce. However, executing Ace would not be easy. At the very least, dealing with a few executioners and delaying time was not a problem.

For the Marines to successfully carry out the execution, they had to suppress the unrest beneath the platform, because the flames of war had already spread there.

"Akainu…" Hathaway was cutting through Marines and pirates alike, though mostly Marines. Since she was not wearing a Marine uniform, pirates instinctively assumed she was one of their own.

And even pirates who recognized Hathaway would not start any conflict with her at this moment.

Hathaway had fallen into the same area as Mr. 5. Countless Marines surrounded them, but Marine Headquarters currently lacked spare high-end combat power to suppress Hathaway. Every elite Marine who rushed forward fell one after another.

"That's a Dawn Pirates crew member. I heard she killed a Celestial Dragon and has a bounty of 790 million Belli. Didn't expect her to be this strong. He just easily defeated several Marine Rear Admirals," a pirate captain recognized Hathaway and the others among the enemy forces.

"With her strength, safety won't be an issue. But Robin's grudge cannot go unanswered. You go regroup with the captain. I'll go kill Akainu," Hathaway said. Her hatred for the Marines was irreconcilable, and now was a perfect opportunity.

"Be careful." If it were anyone else, Mr. 5 would not have said another word. But that was a Marine Headquarters Admiral.

(End of Chapter)

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