Chapter 379: Straw Hat Appears, Fire Fist Escapes!

When this title surfaced in Hawkins' mind, the fingers he used for divination began to tremble uncontrollably.

He began to divine once more.

Very quickly.

The result of the divination appeared.

The instant Hawkins saw the result, he felt the hair on his entire body stand on end.

"Britannias: victory rate zero, escape probability zero, capture probability thirty-three percent, death rate sixty-seven percent!"

Ever since obtaining the Straw-Straw Fruit, Hawkins had relied on the precise divination ability it granted to dodge countless dangerous battles and fight his way into the Sabaody Archipelago.

During that time, he had faced innumerable dangers, yet never once had the odds been like those against Britannias, where not even the victory rate, let alone the escape probability, was anything other than zero.

Keep in mind that even during that incident at the Sabaody Archipelago, when Warlord of the Sea Bartholomew Kuma joined forces with Navy Admiral Kizaru to act, the escape probability had still reached as high as seventy percent.

Such odds were hardly different from jumping straight into volcanic magma.

Hawkins turned pale with shock:

"Has Britannias become dangerous to this degree? What exactly does that country possess?!"

While Hawkins was puzzled, a crew member rushed over in a daze, trembling as he stammered:

"Captain!"

"Whitebeard has forcibly breached Marineford and has already begun war with the Navy Headquarters!"

Hawkins took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart, and resumed his usual calm demeanor:

"This was within our expectations; the probability of the Whitebeard Pirates attacking the Navy Headquarters is nearly one hundred percent."

"Get to the point."

The man swallowed hard, his voice trembling:

"Whitebeard is currently engaged in battle with Knight Gao Wen, and... he is being completely suppressed by the latter!"

"Completely suppressed?!"

Hawkins assumed Whitebeard was suppressing Gao Wen and responded indifferently:

"This aligns with our expectations; after all, the opponent is an existence who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Pirate King, so even if Knight Gao Wen is suppressed, it is only reasonable—!"

"No!"

"The one being suppressed is Whitebeard, and prior to this, Whitebeard repelled Navy Admiral Akainu with just two punches!"

Hawkins shot to his feet, ignoring the subordinates beside him, and rushed toward the projection Den Den Mushi, where his eyes immediately fell upon two figures locked in mortal combat!

Whitebeard launched charge after charge, the blade of his spear imbued with the power of vibrations, where even the aftershocks possessed world-destroying might!

Yet it remained impossible to shake the figure clad in silver armor!

"This monster!"

Hawkins' voice was hoarse.

That was a legend!

The strongest man in the world, who had once rivaled Luo Jie and dominated the New World for decades, was actually... actually being suppressed so miserably?!

"This..."

A pirate couldn't help but speak up:

"Captain, are we still going to Britannias? After all, you previously said there was a secret treasure there that could grant immortality, so we..."

Hawkins' eyelid twitched; he glanced sideways at the man and said:

"Then you go ahead."

"Defeat the Gao Wen Pirates and capture Knight Gao Wen alive."

The man's expression froze:

"Captain, you're truly humorous."

Hawkins sneered:

"I never joke!"

But at that moment, a startled cry interrupted the increasingly oppressive atmosphere:

"The execution... has begun!"

Ding—!

Marineford, on the execution platform.

Two executioners raised the long swords in their hands, crossed them in mid-air, and traced an arc.

This was the execution ritual established by the World Government; once completed, it meant the prisoner could be executed at any moment.

Sengoku stood silently to one side, his gaze coldly fixed on the distant battlefield.

At this moment, Whitebeard had been blocked by Gao Wen.

Even having regained the strength of his youth, when facing the strongest monster bred by the era, he still showed an undeniable decline.

With Sengoku's discerning eye, how could he fail to see that Gao Wen had no intent to kill?!

But regardless of Gao Wen's motives, his willingness to step forward and block Whitebeard was enough to leave the World Government with no room for criticism.

In fact, compared to the likes of Katakuri and Hancock who were merely going through the motions, Gao Wen was actually the most diligent among the Seven Warlords of the Sea!

Has it reached the point where Sengoku is becoming suspicious?!

Is this fellow hiding something he's done behind my back to be working this hard?!

Meanwhile, on the other side, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates were being suppressed by the combined efforts of Akainu and Aokiji.

After several charges, aside from leaving behind countless corpses, the distance to the execution platform had only grown greater; even powerhouses like Marco and Jozu could only gaze at the execution platform and sigh in helplessness.

Whitebeard remained unable to break through Gao Wen's defense, truly beyond his reach!

"The tide has turned."

Sengoku shook his head; while his heart settled with great relief, he could not help but feel regret for his old rival.

The so-called Four Emperors of the past were able to run rampant in the New World, and even divide the world with the World Government to some extent, solely because the Marines had to face the entire sea rather than a single pirate crew.

Once the Marines concentrate their firepower in one place, no one in this world will be able to stop them!

Even as powerful as the Whitebeard Pirates, when faced with the Marines pouring out nearly en masse, they still possessed no power to resist.

Once this execution succeeds and the Whitebeard Pirates are crushed, the Marines' prestige across the entire world will return to its peak.

Those common people who were wavering about setting sail will now have an additional concern.

Next year, the number of pirates will inevitably shrink significantly, and the entire world will become much more stable.

This is the grand strategy sufficient to bring peace to the world!

"It is time..."

"Execute!"

At Sengoku's command, the two executioners immediately raised their long swords and thrust heavily toward Ace, yet their movements froze in the next instant!

Gulp—!

A layer of gray-black light curtain suddenly pressed down from the sky, sweeping across the entire battlefield; countless Marines with weak wills lost consciousness on the spot.

The two executioners standing on the execution platform were utterly wretched, foaming at the mouth as they collapsed.

"This is... Conqueror's Haki?!"

Sengoku looked up at the sky, only to see countless figures falling from the glaciers surrounding Marineford like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

The leader wore a straw hat, and his features bore a thirty percent resemblance to Garp; before he even arrived, his voice had already reached them:

"Ace!"

"I've come to save you!"

It was none other than the Straw Hat crew, who had rushed over from Impel Down!

Garp watched the Straw Hat descending from the sky; a trace of hope flashed involuntarily in his eyes, only to be ruthlessly suppressed in the next instant by another, even more formidable will.

Merely upon clearly seeing the three figures behind the Straw Hat, both Sengoku and Garp felt an inexplicable panic surge in their hearts.

"Dark King Lei Li, Mountain-Eater Gaban... remnants of the Luo Jie Pirates?!"

"These two are one thing, but what is the story with that monster Byrnndi World? He should not be appearing at Marineford right now; he..."

"Impel Down!"