"Those puppies from the Garfield Pirates are very troublesome, especially their first mate, 'Speedster' Elroy. It's embarrassing to say this, but if we can't defeat him, we won't be able to win this war, G!" Lao G's words started out normally, but he ended it by making his 'G' hand sign.
Lao G was right. When facing 'Speedster' Elroy, only Pica, in his rock giant form, could barely hold him off with a tricky fighting style. Everyone else was completely outmatched. The Garfield Pirates were wary of Pica's Devil Fruit ability on the battlefield, while the Donquixote Family was wary of Elroy's astonishing personal strength, which was why both sides had been so restrained.
Now, with the support of the Chris Pirates, as long as they could hold off Elroy, the Garfield Pirates' forces on Aznat Island would be defeated. This was why Gladius had wanted Oliver and Arlan to step in, at least to hold off Elroy.
"Don't worry, the current objective isn't to defeat them."
Dimitri waved his hand, a cold smirk on his face. "The goal is to tie them down here, the longer the better. We'll drag them to their deaths, dragging the entire Garfield Pirates into the abyss with them."
....
Marine Calendar 1518, July 20.
Clifford Kingdom, Nakor Palace Entertainment City.
"What?! The Tesoro auction is coming up in a few days?!"
Aeridar, sitting on a sofa, spat out the red wine in his mouth. Luckily, Oliver, who was sitting across from him, moved quickly, or he would have been covered in it.
"You bastard! Are you looking for a fight?!" Oliver growled at Aeridar.
"That's right. It's in the New World, but from our current location, it will take at least six to seven days to get there at full speed," Mina said, handing Aeridar a golden invitation.
"Oh, no! I've been looking forward to this auction! I can't be late!" Aeridar jumped to his feet, yelling impatiently. "Get the ship ready! I want to leave right now!"
"Captain, the ship has been ready for a while, but there's one more thing," Mina said, glancing at Aeridar before continuing. "That woman, Betilla, has been locked up for months. What are we going to do with her?"
"Betilla?" Aeridar raised an eyebrow, suddenly remembering. "Oh, the woman from my generation? I almost forgot about her."
"Yes, what should we do with her?" Mina asked, rolling her eyes.
Aeridar thought for a moment before asking, "That woman... she's not a Devil Fruit user, right?"
Mina shook her head. "Arlan said she's not a Devil Fruit user, but a skilled swordswoman."
"A swordswoman!"
Upon hearing that the woman was a swordswoman, Oliver's eyes lit up. He quickly said, "I think I heard about a very strong female pirate who broke into Totto Land and fought with one of the Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Smoothie, for a day and a night without a clear winner. It was only after another Sweet Commander, Charlotte Cracker, joined forces that they were able to drive her away. That must be her, right?"
"That's right. Cracker couldn't take her down, and she tried to run when the odds turned against her. In the end, it took Vito, Marcus, and Cracker to team up to capture her. Cracker was furious about it," Mina explained to Oliver.
"Tch, that guy. He's not that strong, but he has a huge temper," Aeridar complained. It wasn't a noble duel or a one-on-one fight. If he couldn't defeat her, he shouldn't blame others for intervening.
Of course, Aeridar knew of "Thousand Arms" Cracker's reputation, which meant that Betilla's strength was not to be underestimated. She was at least on par with the Big Mom Pirates' Commanders.
"Hmm..."
Aeridar thought for a while before saying, "Since she's not a Devil Fruit user, sending her to Switch won't do much good. Bring her to me. I'll talk to her myself."
....
The first half of the Grand Line, Lecar Island, Magranchi Kingdom.
Night had fallen, and the entire kingdom seemed to be asleep. Aside from the kingdom's soldiers patrolling the streets, there was no other movement.
In the night sky, a strange black bird flew silently over the city, heading towards a magnificent palace. A man with an ordinary face and three parallel scars on his left cheek sat on the bird, frowning at the palace below. His black clothes and cape perfectly concealed his body.
"How troublesome. With this kind of terrain, it looks like I'll have to sneak in."
Seeing the palace with all its hiding spots and open areas filled with guards, the man muttered to himself before checking the black sniper rifle with a scope in his arms. Soon, he reached the top of a tower and put on a black mask—half dog, half raven. He jumped off the large bird he was riding.
It was Death Gun, a killer from the underworld. It seemed he had accepted an assassination contract.
Death Gun got off the top of the tower and sneaked into a window. There were a few muffled sounds, and then all was quiet.
After some time...
Boom!
A sudden, violent explosion shook the palace. The building in the center of the palace suddenly exploded, sending bricks and stones flying everywhere as smoke filled the air.
Whoop! Whoop!
Like a hornet's nest, a piercing alarm sounded immediately. The entire palace was instantly lit up, and a large number of armored soldiers rushed out from who knows where like a flood. They were joined by dozens of people in black suits.
"Gah... where did it go wrong?"
A black figure rushed out of the smoke, adjusting the damaged half-dog, half-raven black mask on his face. Death Gun hugged a black sniper rifle and ran across the rooftops, his black cape now torn in half.
Then, several other black figures emerged from the smoke. They were four stern men in black suits and hats, chasing after Death Gun.
"Surrender, Death Gun. You can't escape."
"If you surrender, we might go easy on you."
"If you insist on running, we'll break your arms and legs!"
"To be honest, this area has been sealed off. If your little pet dares to come down, it will be shot."
While chasing Death Gun, the four men also tried to get inside his head.
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