"Mamamamama..."
Charlotte Linlin laughed again, and then a fierce look flashed in her eyes.
"At this point, we don't need any more nonsense, do we? Challenging me? I'm going to kill you today, you old geezer!"
The moment she finished speaking, Charlotte Linlin exerted force in her hand, squeezing fiercely, and directly crushed Marco.
Then, she threw Marco's body onto the ground, smashing it at Newgate's feet.
Flames flickered in Newgate's eyes, but he neither spoke nor moved.
A normal person subjected to this treatment by Charlotte Linlin would be utterly dead, like the likes of Buffalo Atmos.
But Marco is the user of the Phoenix Devil Fruit, and soon, blue flames burned on his body, restoring him to his original state. He stood up, looking somewhat unwilling: "I apologize, Pops."
Newgate knew how formidable Charlotte Linlin was and never expected Marco to win, so he didn't mind at all. He waved his hand and said: "It's good that you're fine. Where are their people?"
"After your Moby Dick appeared on the horizon, the Big Mom Pirates started to withdraw. I was chasing Katakuri when Charlotte Linlin caught me," Marco quickly explained.
"Withdraw?" Newgate frowned, finding it strange.
Why would they withdraw? Wasn't this the designated battlefield they had set up?
But then he thought, as long as Charlotte Linlin was still here, that was enough.
In reality, the major pirate crews today are all maintained with the captain as the core.
Just as Charlotte Linlin and Kaido believe that if they kill Whitebeard, the Whitebeard Pirates will quickly collapse.
Newgate also didn't take "small fries" like Katakuri seriously. In his view, it was the same: as long as he killed Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates would both go bankrupt.
So, as long as Charlotte Linlin was present, that was all that mattered!
Perhaps Charlotte Linlin thought that having the others here would just get in the way?
So she sent them away ahead of time?
That was highly possible!
However, Newgate still felt there might be a conspiracy here—no, he was certain there was a conspiracy, and Marco and the others genuinely couldn't help him much, at most, they could deal with people like Katakuri.
If all those people have withdrawn...
Thinking of this, Newgate said in a low voice: "Marco, you take the men and pull back too."
"Pops!?" Marco exclaimed in surprise.
"I'll see what kind of trick they're trying to pull!" Newgate snorted coldly, holding his Murakumogiri horizontally, stirring up a burst of invisible tremor power.
Charlotte Linlin's mouth curved into a cruel and savage smile. With a boom, one of her arms was instantly wrapped in flames, and the other gathered the power of lightning.
Seeing this, Marco no longer hesitated and quickly retreated.
The next second, Newgate stomped his foot, and his burly figure charged directly toward Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin also roared, beckoning with the arm engulfed in flames. Napoleon, transformed into the Cognac, instantly fell into her hand, and she slashed out toward Newgate.
"Hah! Hahaba!!!" Charlotte Linlin yelled.
Newgate didn't have any overly elaborate attack names; he usually stuck to things like 'Quake Shock,' 'Sea Shock,' 'Earthquake,' which were simple and direct, yet incredibly violent and immensely powerful.
Facing Charlotte Linlin's slash, Newgate didn't think twice and brought his own weapon down.
The powerful offensive instantly overwhelmed Charlotte Linlin's strength. The invisible tremor power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit shattered the space around the point of contact with the Hahaba.
Next, the tremor power quickly eroded into Charlotte Linlin's arm, traveling up the Cognac's blade.
Despite Charlotte Linlin's extremely powerful physique, she was still suppressed by Newgate's single strike.
In a short moment, Newgate's Murakumogiri pushed Charlotte Linlin back relentlessly. With every step she retreated, she left a deep, pit-like footprint in the ground.
But even while being suppressed by Newgate, a manic smile appeared on Charlotte Linlin's face.
"Mamamamama..." Charlotte Linlin laughed loudly. "Old man, you really are getting old! No wonder you're willing to fight us to the death. Compared to the you of a few years ago, your strength has dropped significantly!"
A flicker of anger crossed Newgate's eyes, but he spoke calmly: "Perhaps..."
The instant his voice fell, he stomped his foot fiercely and twisted his body. Powerful tremor energy erupted from the tip of the Murakumogiri, directly blasting Charlotte Linlin away.
After delivering this blow, Newgate said in a deep voice: "Who do you think I am? I am Whitebeard! Perhaps my strength has declined, but dealing with you is still more than enough!"
As he finished speaking, Newgate struck out an air-shattering punch over the distance. The devastating power instantly spread out.
Charlotte Linlin was only repelled; she showed no signs of weakness. With a sneer, she met the shockwave with a punch of her own, without dodging.
The dense power of fire instantly erupted from her arm, extinguishing the tremor force.
…
Meanwhile, Marco had not yet retreated to the port when he saw Teach rushing toward him in a hurry.
"Teach!?" Marco exclaimed in surprise, calling out to him.
When Teach saw Marco, his expression brightened: "I finally found you, Marco!"
"Looking for me?" Marco was puzzled. Why would he be looking for him?
"Where's Pops?" Teach asked urgently.
Before Marco could answer, the residual shockwaves from the battle between Newgate and Charlotte Linlin stirred up smoke and impact force, sweeping past Teach and Marco as an air current.
"Up ahead," Marco replied.
"Hurry and come with me, get Pops out of here! It's a trap!" Teach grabbed Marco.
In Teach's mind, Marco was the best meat shield to protect their old man!
After running a few steps while being dragged by Teach, Marco regained his senses and quickly asked: "What kind of trap?"
"Dyna Stones. Do you know about Dyna Stones?" Teach explained.
"I don't..." Marco replied, confused.
Teach explained the situation with the Dyna Stones while pulling Marco back.
Marco quickly realized the truth. No wonder the Big Mom Pirates began a rapid retreat as soon as their old man arrived, leaving only a large number of Homies and Charlotte Linlin to hold the rear.
Holding the rear?
Thinking of this, Marco was even more surprised, saying in disbelief: "Why is Charlotte Linlin still there?"
Teach, being cunning and shrewd, immediately stated: "Iron Balloon! She must have conducted an experiment. Those Dyna Stones are useless against her! She wants to use the power of the Dyna Stones to catch Pops off guard, and maybe even sink the entire island and kill Pops right here! And those who retreated are probably making follow-up preparations..."
It must be said that Teach the old schemer was truly remarkable.
He actually guessed correctly. Charlotte Linlin had indeed experimented with the Dyna Stones, personally enduring a wave of the explosion, and the result... she was completely unharmed.
That's right, it was that exaggerated!
That's why she was so reckless, daring to set this trap here. She was betting that Whitebeard's defense could not compare to hers. She was betting that the moment the Dyna Stones exploded, Newgate would be at an extreme disadvantage, and that would be her chance to 'slay' Newgate!
This was just the first stage of the plan.
If Newgate was not severely wounded by the Dyna Stones, Charlotte Linlin would immediately detonate the entire island, completely sinking Jam Island and taking the old man, Whitebeard, with her.
Of course, this would only be a superficial mutual destruction. Charlotte Linlin had already arranged a contingency.
Just then, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly pressed down. Marco and Teach looked up simultaneously...
The head of a giant dragon slowly emerged from the clouds—it was unmistakably Kaido...
"Whitebeard!!!" Kaido sneered, and powerful Boro Breath began to brew in his mouth...
"Go save Pops!" Teach pushed Marco away.
Marco's reaction speed was also extremely fast at this moment. He spread his arms, transforming into his Phoenix form, and flew directly into the air.
The next second, the Bolo Breath from Kaido's mouth descended instantly.
However, Newgate didn't care about the Bolo Breath at all. He struck out a Quake Punch behind him, shattering the space directly and blowing up the Bolo Breath in the air.
It was in this precise moment that Newgate suddenly noticed some jars and bottles erupting from the ground around him. They all looked identical, with eyes and noses—they were definitely Homies.
But they were more than just Homies. These jars and bottles, filled with a pink liquid, actually gave him a strong, instinctual sense of danger.
"This is..." Newgate wondered in surprise.
Then, Charlotte Linlin sneered: "Die, Whitebeard!!!"
Charlotte Linlin slammed her arm, which was gathering the power of lightning, onto the ground. A massive amount of electrical power instantly burst from her arm, shattering the 'Dyna Stone Homies' around Newgate in the blink of an eye!
The Dyna Stones, which had been immersed in a special liquid, were instantly exposed to the air.
In Newgate's astonished eyes, one Dyna Stone detonated first, triggering a violent impact and explosion.
"Pops!!!" Marco roared at this moment.
His figure, like a streak of blue flame, quickly streaked across the sky, instantly enveloping Newgate.
Then, a chain of explosions quickly swallowed Charlotte Linlin, Newgate, and Marco.
In the sky, Kaido was continuously blasting down thunder, gales, and Bolo Breath.
The center of the entire Jam Island instantly transformed into a vicious inferno. Flames and explosions consumed everything, with lightning, heatwaves, and gales roaring.
The shockwave from the explosion instantly swept across the island. To be honest, if Charlotte Linlin hadn't turned all the Dyna Stones into Homies, the impact alone would have been enough to trigger more Dyna Stones buried on the island and sink the entire landmass!
"Wororororororo!!!" Kaido laughed wildly in the clouds, then roared: "Attack! Surround the Whitebeard Pirates in this sea region! Don't let them escape!"
At this moment, the tide of the battle had turned!
A large number of Beasts Pirates warships, controlled by Kaido's Flame Clouds, descended from the sky, quickly surrounding the entire Jam Island. Cannon fire boomed for a while, and the fierce sea battle erupted once again!
But just then, a fierce tremor force quickly spread out from the center of the explosion. Subsequently, Charlotte Linlin's tall figure seemed to have been struck by someone. She shot out like a cannonball, hitting the massive cliff wall.
"Gah..." Charlotte Linlin spat out a mouthful of blood.
She was currently covered in dust and looked quite disheveled, but only superficially so.
"Mamamamama..."
Despite her disheveled state, Charlotte Linlin laughed loudly instead.
Looking back, Newgate's figure was faintly visible in the smoke of the explosion.
The power of the Dyna Stones was indeed extremely strong, but it wasn't enough to severely harm Newgate. Marco had blocked one wave for him, and Newgate, reacting extremely quickly, used Haki and his tremor powers to block most of the remaining shockwaves from the explosions.
However, there was no doubt that this sudden, immense burst of power had caught him off guard.
With a premeditated attack against an unsuspecting target...
At this moment, Charlotte Linlin's Cognac was plunged directly into his chest!