Chapter 362: Pre-Battle Meeting, Beating Up Blackbeard!

Gao Wen continued:

"Aladdin, Zoro, Sanji, you three lead the remaining people to guard the headquarters,"

"Xiang Keluo, Bevil, Van Augur, Law, you few, using the ability of the Door-Door Fruit, infiltrate Impel Down and, amidst the chaos, locate Barrett and War Taowan."

"Yes!"

The crowd responded.

Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Gao Wen's arms rang. A message suppressed for two months entered Gao Wen's ears through Zhikou:

"A few days ago, the Drum Kingdom was attacked, with heavy casualties. King Dalton lost an arm, and Dr. Kureha was also slightly injured."

Chopper's face beside him changed abruptly:

"How is Dr. Kureha?!"

Robin on the other end of the phone comforted him:

"Chopper? Do not worry. Dr. Kureha has passed the danger and is currently recovering."

Chopper sighed in relief, yet his eyes were entirely crimson.

Gao Wen said coldly:

"Who did it?!"

"They call themselves the Blackbeard Pirates and have now become one of the Seven Warlords."

"Perfect. I will personally settle this score!"

Gao Wen's expression turned cold. His crimson wings unfolded. He leaped, whistling as he rushed toward the direction of Marine Headquarters, vanishing into the end of the sky in the blink of an eye.

Several days later.

Marine Headquarters, Mariejois.

A bright moon hung high.

Warships gathered here from all over the world, carrying elites from the Grand Line and branch bases from the four seas.

Clearly, to deal with the possible, no, the inevitable war, the Marines had mobilized all available forces.

Even Admiral Akainu, who had been responsible for pursuing Zephyr, temporarily set aside his mission and returned to Marineford.

Facing the strongest man in the world, even the mighty Marines had to exercise the utmost caution.

Only those who existed in the same era as Whitebeard would understand just how powerful he truly was.

The ultimate Conqueror's Haki, a physique tempered to the extreme, and the Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit developed to its limit—combined, these created the supreme power that had dominated the seas for twenty years since Roger!

A monster whose mere name was enough to make the Marines retreat!

Clomp!

Clomp!

Clomp!

Amidst the heavy footsteps, Akainu, tall and with a cold, hard face, pushed open the conference room on the top floor of Marineford like a statue cast from fine steel.

Creak—!

The door-opening sound was grating. Various gazes—fierce, sinister, or reverent—fell upon Akainu, yet no one dared to speak.

In this turbulent era where Garp and Sengoku inevitably declined from their peaks, and Zephyr led countless new generations to establish the Neo Marines, Akainu had already quietly earned the title of the number one man in the Marines.

Even though Sengoku was worried about Akainu's overly iron-blooded and radical personality and could not feel at ease handing the Marines over to him in the future, he had to admit that by now, he no longer had the confidence to suppress Akainu.

Above the conference table.

Sengoku nodded to Akainu. Seeing the latter casually find a seat and close his eyes to feign sleep, Sengoku's eyes held a few more complex emotions.

Since the great battle in Water 7 ended, perhaps due to the shock of Gao Wen's group fighting Kaido to the death, or perhaps due to the questioning of his close friend T-Bone before his death, Akainu had changed greatly.

His former sharp edge gradually faded; his aura became more steady and even stronger, and at the same time, his actions were no longer as merciless as before.

Otherwise, given Akainu's nature, if the war between Marine Headquarters and the Neo Marines had continued for over a year, even with Zephyr and Fujitora joining forces, the situation would not be as deadlocked as it is now.

But there is no doubt that Akainu is stronger than he was two years ago.

This could be seen from the Solemn expressions of everyone in the conference room.

A volcano ready to erupt is dangerous, but far less awe-inspiring than a sea of lava that has settled and flows in the dark.

Sengoku withdrew his gaze and swept his eyes over those present.

Excluding Jinbe, whose Warlord status had been revoked, the Seven Warlords, including Empress Hancock, Doflamingo, Blackbeard, and Mihawk the Hawk-Eyes, had all arrived.

Immediately, Sengoku's brows furrowed slightly. He turned to look at Kizaru present there:

"That fellow Knight Gao Wen really didn't come?!"

"Hey hey hey~~~"

Kizaru rubbed his head with considerable headache, his tone somewhat helpless:

"For me to leave Britannia safely is already considered good luck."

"Although saying this boosts the enemy's morale, that monster is now undoubtedly a regional overlord. If we truly go to war with the Emperors, who wins and who loses is hard to say."

"The fact that he is not causing trouble at this moment is already helping us."

Sengoku was speechless, his face heavy and Solemn:

"Has that fellow really become that strong?!"

"Isn't that clearer to you than to me? Over a year ago, in Britannia,..."

"Enough, I know."

Sengoku cut off Kizaru's words with a cold face, but the conference room became noisy at that very moment.

"Zehahahaahaha—!"

"Even the big shots of Marine Headquarters are so wary of that monster?!"

"Should I say he truly deserves to be called the greatest dark horse born since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era?!"

Blackbeard grinned broadly, his laughter unrestrained and arrogant, brimming with an indescribable confidence.

With the Dark-Dark Fruit now in hand, he possessed the qualification to challenge the Four Emperors; indeed, to ascend to the pinnacle, all he lacked was the other powerful ability planned.

Once the plan was fulfilled as intended, even Whitebeard, the world's strongest, he was confident he could fight!

As for Gao Wen...

He would certainly take his place!

"En-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh—!"

Sitting nearby, Doflamingo propped his legs on the table, the corners of his mouth splitting into a ferocious grin:

"If that monster also chooses to make a move, there won't be much suspense left in this war, after all..."

Doflamingo raised his eyes to look at Hawkeye sitting opposite him, licking his lips:

"The title of the World's Greatest Swordsman, snatched from Hawkeye's hands, carries a terrifying amount of worth, don't you agree?!"

"Hawkeye!"

Hawkeye raised his hand to straighten his hat, yet he did not look at Doflamingo; instead, at this very moment...

Buzz—!

Suddenly, a buzzing roar erupted within the conference room—piercing, restless, excited, uneasy...

Everyone turned their heads one after another, looking at Hawkeye with faces full of vigilance.

The man sitting quietly in his seat, one hand gripping the black blade behind him, though he had lost the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman, exerted a sense of oppression upon everyone that was even stronger than before!

"You..."

Sengoku frowned tightly; just as he was puzzling over this, Hawkeye's voice, suppressed with excitement, reached his ears.

"It's coming!"

"What's coming?!"

Blackbeard was somewhat confused, yet he had already instinctively risen to his feet.

It was solely because, within the perception returned by his Observation Haki, something hair-raising was approaching.

Boom—!

A deafening sonic boom rang out.

Invisible Haki gathered in the air; fine cracks appeared on the office desks within the conference room, and many soldiers in the port had already lost consciousness.

The extraordinarily powerful Conqueror's Haki caused everyone present to change color.

Though the newcomer had not yet appeared, the omnipresent Conqueror's Haki had already proclaimed an presence so intense it could not be ignored!

Even many of the powerhouses present felt their hair stand on end!

"Hey, hey, hey... Conqueror's Haki of this intensity?!"