Chapter 223: Exchange Two Navy Branch Bases

Marine Admiral captured!

The horrific news spread throughout the Navy.

Already low on morale from being battered by the Scarlet Legion, upon hearing this news, some soldiers actually turned and fled.

"I still have family, I can't die!"

"Great Eruption!"

Before the deserter had taken two steps, Akainu, face dark, punched straight through his chest.

"Anyone who collapses morale on the battlefield can only die!"

Like an iron-blooded general, Akainu had always been absolutely zero-tolerance toward deserters.

The other Navy soldiers who had thoughts of fleeing were intimidated by Akainu's ruthless methods, and all gritted their teeth and continued to throw themselves into the battlefield.

The slaughter continued,

The crack of flintlock bullets leaving the barrel, the clash of blades, the wails of the Navy.

As long as the Scarlet Energy in Whitebeard's chest core wasn't exhausted, activating his talent skill meant the Whitebeard Pirates suffered zero casualties.

"Monster!"

"Someone come save me!"

After a period of time, even with the iron law that deserters must die, the Navy still collapsed.

They were trained Elite Navy, having hunted down countless Pirates.

But Pirates who couldn't be killed, having their limbs severed only to regenerate in an instant, their bodies glowing red.

A Pirate crew like this was like evil ghosts crawling out of Hell!

"Still too green, Sakazuki brat!"

Whitebeard exerted force with both arms, sweeping his broad Blade horizontally,

Bringing gusts of fierce wind, a white spherical shield clung to the Blade, shattering the space it cut through.

"Hellhound!"

Akainu swung his arm,

Magma dripped down, melting the ice, his entire magma arm lunging like a hunting dog, attacking straight at Whitebeard's face.

"Pheasant Beak!"

Aokiji struck at the same time,

A bird like an exquisite ice sculpture rippled out rings of freezing cold in the air, charging toward Whitebeard.

Boom—

The collision of Blade, ice, and magma erupted into a massive shockwave.

The surrounding ice was shattered,

The earth shook and mountains swayed, some Pirates and Navy closer to the center were instantly sent flying by the shockwave.

Black smoke enveloped the center of the battlefield.

After a long while the smoke dispersed,

Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri, standing immovable,

A body of red light, offsetting most of the two Marine Admirals' attacks, with the entire crew bearing the rest.

On the other side,

Aokiji dragged the already immobile Akainu, fleeing to the Safe Area.

"You okay, Sakazuki?"

"Still alive…"

Akainu said with difficulty,

The left half of his body was severely damaged, his skin completely shattered, exposing muscle and bone, looking like a fierce ghost.

The worst was his left leg, already completely severed, he could only temporarily use magma to form a prosthetic limb, constantly emitting scorching black smoke.

"To defeat Whitebeard, we have to first wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates."

"But without killing Whitebeard, those Pirates can keep reviving—what an extremely troublesome Weirdness ability!"

Aokiji shook his head helplessly,

The Scarlet Demon's Weirdness talent was too thorny, there was simply no weak point to be found.

I'm afraid only Garp and Smoker, who also possess Samsara Game abilities, can use their game abilities to counter it.

"Ceasefire!"

In this state they could no longer continue fighting, let alone rescue Kizaru—if they kept fighting Akainu would die too.

"Whitebeard at his peak really is terrifying!"

"Aokiji, don't say things that feed Pirate arrogance, it has nothing to do with Whitebeard, it's just that the Samsara Game exchanges are too strong, otherwise…"

Sakazuki hadn't yet adapted to his prosthetic leg, walking with a pronounced limp.

Hearing Aokiji's words, his face exceptionally ugly, he stubbornly retorted.

"Long live Daddy!"

The Whitebeard Pirates erupted in cheers.

The Navy retreated in disarray, returning to Haijun Benbu Jidi, Aokiji and Sakazuki needing to recover from their wounds and stamina.

Vice Admiral Tsuru reported the situation to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, then sighed,

Finally, boarding Moby Dick in a posture of peaceful negotiation.

"Newgate, could you return Borsalino?"

"Coming alone onto a Pirate's ship, aren't you afraid of being captured like Kizaru brat, Tsuru?"

Whitebeard looked at the visitor with cold eyes,

his aura erupting suddenly, causing the entire Moby Dick to tremble.

"If it were that kind of thing, then you wouldn't be the Four Emperor Whitebeard who could compete with Roger for the Dabibao. I trust you wouldn't do something like that."

Vice Admiral Tsuru's expression remained unchanged, unaffected by the aura.

Her strength was extremely formidable within the entire Marine Headquarters, but there was still a gap compared to Whitebeard. The reason she dared to board the Moby Dick without any defense was because she knew Whitebeard's character.

"Gurarararara…"

Whitebeard withdrew his aura, no longer continuing to probe,

He and Tsuru, as well as Garp, were old acquaintances. It was best to speak plainly. He said: "Five hundred billion in ransom, and you can take the Kizaru brat away."

"Impossible!"

Vice Admiral Tsuru refused outright, saying: "Even if we emptied out Marine Headquarters, we couldn't come up with five hundred billion in assets."

"Just sell off the Navy bases and islands."

"Impossible!"

Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head, saying coldly: "Five hundred billion in assets is enough for the Samsara Game to cultivate a new Marine Admiral. It's not fair!"

Five hundred billion in assets would mean selling off at least five Navy branches. Each branch was a military base built up over decades of accumulated assets—how could they possibly just be sold off like that?

Marco chimed in from the side: "Now this isn't just about fairness. The Kizaru brat is the face of Marine Headquarters…"

The Navy's prestige relied on its Headquarters Admirals to hold it up.

If Kizaru remained aboard the Moby Dick, Marine Headquarters would have lost all face completely.

"One hundred billion in assets is the absolute limit of Marine Headquarters!"

"Three hundred and fifty billion in assets, not a single Berry lower!"

"……"

In the end,

Marine Headquarters spent two hundred billion in assets to bring back the captured Borsalino, losing one Navy base in the process.

Both sides tacitly refrained from continuing to fight,

Although the Navy had a martial advantage, they not only had to guard against the Pirate Four Emperors, but also fight against the Leader of the Revolutionary Army. Overall, they didn't hold the advantage either.

At the center of Death Island,

a grand palace rose from the ground, black clouds coiling above like wandering dragons.

Creak…

The palace doors, concealed by thick black fog, suddenly opened, and waves of deathly aura from the netherworld spread outward.

In an instant, the entire Death Island was swallowed by the thick black fog.

Yin souls even more powerful than before surged out of the palace like a tide, until finally, a tall, gaunt figure stood at the doorway.

A pair of icy eyes swept over the players who had landed on the island, as if looking at corpses.

"Welcome to Soul Hook Hall!"

After breaking free of his restraints, although several chains still remained within his body, the Soul Hook Envoy's strength had improved tremendously compared to the beginning.

Even the strongest among the players, the Leader of the Revolutionary Army, could be killed by him with ease.

Just the Fear Aura he emitted alone

was enough to intimidate those humans who didn't know the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth.

Suddenly,

The Soul Hook Envoy felt something was off, a trace of doubt appearing in his cold gaze.

Those humans, weak as ants, showed not the slightest retreat under the Fear Aura he had unleashed.

On the contrary,

some were狂热 and drooling, as if treating him as prey they wanted to hunt down?

What was going on?

(End of this chapter)