When Diarmuid arrived at Jam Island, the fierce sea battle hadn't even subsided yet.
The estimated distance previously was about a three-day voyage from Jam Island, but that was the time Diarmuid and his group had deliberately allowed, originally intending to let Whitebeard fight Charlotte Linlin and Kaido first.
However, Whitebeard had unexpectedly fallen into a conspiracy and was in danger of being killed.
Therefore, Diarmuid's group also accelerated.
So, when Diarmuid arrived in the Jam Island sea area, only about a day had actually passed.
The Beasts Pirates' fleet was still fiercely engaged with the combined fleets of the two Whitebeard allies, the sound of cannon fire roaring.
The situation didn't look great, but they should be able to hold on. If the allied fleets could hold out for another day and a half, Smoker's main fleet would arrive from the rear, surrounding the Beasts Pirates' fleet once more, encircling and annihilating them from front and back.
As they were approaching their destination, Smoker's ship had already begun to ascend, aided by Diarmuid's ability.
Currently, it was concealed within the clouds in the sky. Without a careful look, it was impossible to see.
On the deck, Diarmuid held a monocular telescope, peering down.
"Strange..." Diarmuid muttered with a hint of surprise while observing the situation on the island.
They had rushed here so quickly to prevent Newgate from being taken down by Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
Yet, upon observation, he found that the three of them were still fighting fiercely—no, it should be five people. Marco the Phoenix and Teach would occasionally join in to harass Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, helping Whitebeard.
This was very odd. Why hadn't Charlotte Linlin detonated the Dyna Stone to sink the island and drown Whitebeard?
He decided to disregard that question for now. In any case, Jam Island hadn't been sunk yet.
Besides that, looking at the current state of the battle, it was clearly Whitebeard who was at a disadvantage. If not for Marco and Teach covering him on the side, he would have likely been seriously injured by Kaido and Charlotte Linlin by now.
This isn't right. Where is the promised Awakening?
Diarmuid now strongly doubted Lucci's judgment. Was that kid trying to fool me?
Putting away the telescope, Diarmuid stroked the stubble on his chin and murmured, "Something's wrong..."
"Do you sense a problem? But shouldn't we still go in?" Gion asked from behind Diarmuid.
"We still have to go in, otherwise Borsalino will have a miserable time..." Diarmuid replied first, then, as if realizing something, he looked at Smoker beside him: "You go first!"
Smoker was taken aback. We have an Admiral, Diarmuid, and two Admiral candidates, Kuzan and Gion, here. Each of them looks leagues stronger than me.
But I'm the one who goes in first?
"Admiral, isn't that a bit much? While I may appear to be a pirate, I've always been loyal to the Marines!" Smoker said with some exasperation.
"Stop with the nonsense. Just go when I tell you to go. I suspect there's something amiss here, so be a guinea pig for me." Diarmuid glared at Smoker.
Without waiting for Smoker to say anything else, Diarmuid kicked Smoker in the backside, sending him flying off the ship into a high-altitude freefall.
"Gion, use your technique to create a barrier," Diarmuid instructed after kicking Smoker away.
Gion acknowledged his order. Immediately, streaks of electricity flashed around her. Then, faint electrical light flickered around the entire ship. However, it was invisible within the clouds.
This was a technique Gion had only recently developed. It was somewhat comical; because Diarmuid's Observation Haki was so strong, Gion specifically developed a technique that could effectively shield against Observation Haki.
Diarmuid wasn't clear on the exact principle, but it involved the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and using electromagnetism somehow. It was somewhat similar to Enel's Mantra from the original story.
In any case, after developing this technique, Diarmuid would indeed be easily fooled by Gion and fail to perceive their presence unless he actively used his Observation Haki to search carefully.
Meanwhile, on Jam Island, Newgate wore a look of fatigue, his brow tightly furrowed. The situation of 'Awakening' that suppressed Charlotte Linlin and Kaido didn't last even half a day before the two of them realized the truth. The position of suppressing them quickly reversed into him being suppressed by the two.
If not for his good sons, Marco and Teach, occasionally distracting Charlotte Linlin and Kaido at crucial moments, he probably would have suffered a major setback again.
But this couldn't last. It might work for a day or two, but over time, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido would become less and less affected by Marco and Teach, and might even seize their opportunities to eliminate them directly.
Compared to Newgate, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido looked more battered.
Charlotte Linlin had no surface injuries, but judging by the blood seeping from her ears, nostrils, and mouth, she had definitely sustained some internal injuries.
However, her aura suggested these internal injuries were not severe.
As for Kaido, he looked worse than Charlotte Linlin. The muscle in his right chest was concave, the muscle tissue seemingly damaged, giving it a somewhat sunken look.
His nose looked broken and smashed in, dripping blood periodically...
Clearly, he had been the focus of Whitebeard's attacks.
But in fact, Kaido's injuries looked even more severe a few hours ago. At that time, his entire chest muscle tissue appeared to have been destroyed by the tremor force. Yet, after a few hours, his injuries in that area had mostly recovered.
The Awakening of a Mythical Zoan ability was truly extraordinary.
Just as Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido were briefly confronting each other, observing the situation, and looking for the next opportunity to strike, a cloud of white smoke descended from the sky, shooting straight for Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin instinctively looked up.
The moment she looked up, Newgate roared, punching out. Tremor force instantly erupted, targeting Charlotte Linlin as well.
However, Kaido's speed was also fast. He directly stepped in front of Charlotte Linlin, bringing his kanabo down onto the tremor force. His arm went numb from the shock, and the kanabo in his hand was nearly jolted loose.
But that was merely the effect of the tremor; he ultimately blocked Whitebeard's strike with his kanabo.
On the other side, a dense white smoke had completely enveloped Charlotte Linlin's massive figure.
Newgate's eyes lit up. Without a doubt, it was Smoker!
He hadn't seen this technique, but he had heard of it. Was it called 'Smoke Suffocation'?
By releasing large amounts of thick smoke, he would envelop his enemies, preventing them from breathing effectively, causing them to quickly suffocate...
But that guy descended from the sky...
Thinking of this, Newgate subtly released his Observation Haki, scouting the clouds in the sky over a wide area, then frowned...
Nothing there?
Was I wrong?
Meanwhile, Charlotte Linlin inside the white smoke was incredibly uncomfortable. Every breath she took was thick smoke, and she genuinely felt like she was suffocating.
Smoker was cunning. He released a large area of smoke but kept his actual body far away from Charlotte Linlin. He let her swing her arms, coated in Armament Haki, wildly within the thick smoke, but she couldn't catch him.
Just as Smoker began to entertain the illusion that he might actually be able to single-handedly defeat Charlotte Linlin, that delusion was shattered.
After Charlotte Linlin flailed around a few times and found it ineffective, she stopped her futile efforts.
"WAAAAAAAH!!!"
A sharp, ear-splitting noise burst from Charlotte Linlin's throat.
In the next moment, the powerful sound wave directly scattered all the dense smoke Smoker had released. Charlotte Linlin also accurately located Smoker's figure.
With Haki-coated strength, she stomped her foot and lunged toward Smoker at great speed, throwing a fierce punch.
The powerful, strange sound had momentarily restricted Smoker's ability to move. Thankfully, when Charlotte Linlin struck, the strange sound stopped. Smoker's reaction speed wasn't slow. He drew the Seastone Jitte from behind his back, coated it with Armament Haki, and held it horizontally in front of him.
The next second, Charlotte Linlin's immensely powerful punch slammed hard onto Smoker's Jitte.
The clash between the two Armament Haki users instantly erupted, but Smoker had no intention of engaging in a power struggle with Charlotte Linlin. The moment the Haki clash began, he used the force to fly backward.
Both his legs transformed into white smoke. After spiraling once in the air, he landed not far from Whitebeard.
"Smoker!!!" Charlotte Linlin roared at him.
Smoker bit down on his three cigars, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and smiled: "Don't be so enthusiastic..."
After a slight pause, Smoker looked at Newgate: "Was I still on time?"
Newgate glanced at Smoker, then nodded and replied, "Faster than I expected..."
"Is it still not too late to retreat now?" Smoker suddenly asked.
Newgate seemed to have anticipated his question, and he shook his head: "It's too late now."
"That's a shame then... According to our intelligence, there might be Dyna Stone buried on this island..." Smoker whispered.
"I've already witnessed the Dyna Stone," Newgate stated solemnly.
This was also the reason he said it was too late to retreat. If he remained here, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin didn't seem anxious to detonate it, but if he chose to retreat, they would definitely blow up the island without a second thought.
"Speaking of which..." Newgate suddenly changed the subject, looking at Smoker.
Smoker didn't pay it much mind, instead focusing on the standoff with Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, casually replying, "What?"
"Where are the Marines?" Newgate suddenly asked.
Smoker's pupils instinctively contracted. Newgate keenly caught this change, his heart sinking. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Smoker.
Having been undercover for so many years, Smoker's reaction speed was naturally not slow. With a bang, white smoke erupted from his feet, and he tried to distance himself from Newgate.
"Hey, what are you doing..." Smoker grumbled.
Newgate's large hand was open, and tremor force radiated between his fingers, seeming to tear and shred the very air.
At the same time, Charlotte Linlin actually beckoned and lunged forward. Intense soul energy poured out. Her target was also Smoker!?
Smoker's strength was already below the level of Newgate and the others, and with Charlotte Linlin suddenly interfering, this moment was incredibly perilous. Whether he was caught by Charlotte Linlin or Newgate, he was guaranteed to be in for a bad time...
However, in this split second, a dense cloud of white smoke burst from Smoker's body. Ignoring Whitebeard, he focused the white smoke to block Charlotte Linlin's soul-infused hand.
Then, a sudden peal of thunder exploded out of nowhere. Newgate's heart lurched. He instantly pulled his large hand back. Sure enough, in the very next moment, a lightning-infused slash ripped through the air where his arm had just been.
It was Gion!
At the same time, a dark look came over Newgate's eyes. He stared intensely at Gion and Smoker, stating gravely: "So, all of this was truly a plot by you Marines?"
"A Warlord of the Sea... truly the running dog of the World Government," Charlotte Linlin said, withdrawing her soul power and giving an evil laugh.