The battle between Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, Gion, Kuzan, and Smoker was intense.
However, Diarmuid and Newgate remained composed; neither had made a move yet.
They were observing the opposing party while also analyzing the overall situation.
After watching for a while, Newgate suddenly spoke: "It seems this was somewhat unexpected for you? Is Smoker telling the truth that you didn't calculate me as an enemy?"
Diarmuid glanced at Newgate curiously, then said: "Why would you think that?"
"There aren't enough Marines here. If you had another Sakazuki or Borsalino come, you might have been able to annihilate us here," Newgate said softly.
It appeared Newgate had truly taken Smoker's earlier words to heart.
And in reality, this was indeed a perfect opportunity to annihilate them. One more Admiral-level fighter would have been just enough.
However, Newgate was thinking too small. He was still caught in the glory of the old era, unaware that the Marines had long ceased to regard them as a serious threat.
It wasn't that they couldn't deal with them; the time was simply not right.
But Diarmuid wasn't about to expose anything. He shrugged: "You're right. Smoker just wanted to use us Marines to increase his own standing. He's nothing but a petty clown. Does he really think he can be on equal footing with us Marines just because he's a Warlord of the Sea?"
Diarmuid's tone suggested utter contempt for Smoker.
Newgate didn't doubt it. He had heard that Smoker and Diarmuid's relationship wasn't good.
Perhaps the Marines sending Diarmuid to 'help' Smoker wasn't without the intention of seizing the opportunity to deal with Smoker as well?
But Newgate wasn't going to dwell on that.
"It's a shame. You missed a good opportunity," Newgate said softly, then beckoned.
Not far away, Marco and Teach, who had been playing minor roles, were also tense and somewhat at a loss. They had just been fighting fiercely with Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, but the situation suddenly changed after Smoker arrived?
Smoker didn't feel like a genuine reinforcement... and now more Marines had shown up. What kind of chaotic situation was this?
However, seeing his Pops beckon, Teach was quick-witted. He immediately pulled the Murakumogiri that was stuck in the ground and carried it over to Newgate.
"Who is he?" Diarmuid completely ignored the weapon in Newgate's hand, instead looking at Teach curiously.
"Gurararara, he's my son, named Teach. I hope you'll take good care of him in the future," Newgate laughed heartily.
Teach put on a slightly reserved smile, seeming genuinely intimidated by Diarmuid.
However, Diarmuid saw a hint of greed in his eyes. Did this guy... set his sights on my ability?
Can't you just focus on what you have? Go and find the Dark-Dark Fruit already; I've been waiting! Lucci has been setting up his ambush for you for over ten years...
Diarmuid dismissed the thoughts in his heart, grinning: "Teach, huh? I will take good care of you..."
As his words ended, Diarmuid's hand was already resting on the hilt of Kokorowatari at his waist.
Newgate weighed the Murakumogiri in his hand, his expression also becoming serious.
A hundred meters away, the battle between the top Marine and pirate experts was fierce, but for some reason, standing here near Newgate and Diarmuid, Teach felt an oppressive silence and heaviness.
The atmosphere!?
Just as a bolt of lightning shot out between the two, striking the ground in the distance, Diarmuid moved.
Kokorowatari was instantly drawn from its sheath. Obscure, dark, and wicked cursed energy immediately enveloped Diarmuid. Cold, cursed filth emanated from his body. The long, narrow blade reflected a cold gleam. The coating of Conqueror's Haki had, at some point, fused with Kokorowatari.
"Hoooah!!!" Diarmuid roared, slashing his blade toward Newgate.
There was no Devil Fruit power in this strike!
Newgate's eyes flashed sharply. The Murakumogiri in his hand brought with it a powerful surge of momentum, also wrapped in Conqueror's Haki. Facing Diarmuid's absolute attack, he refused to back down, bringing his own blade down.
A dull thud!
The blades of the two men clashed across the air. The burst of clashing Conqueror's Haki instantly erupted, but only for a moment.
Both men took one step back simultaneously. Newgate flipped the Murakumogiri in the air, changing the cutting angle, and slashed down again from the other side.
Diarmuid's movement was just as fast. Kokorowatari traced a blooming shadow in his hand, and he likewise slashed back, meeting the Murakumogiri.
Boom!
Another dull impact.
The clash of Conqueror's Haki exploded again, yet it was only for an instant. Neither Newgate nor Diarmuid intended to enter a stalemate. After contact, they quickly disengaged, switched their stance, and re-engaged in combat.
In a brief moment, the clash of Conqueror's Haki and the rivalry between Murakumogiri and Kokorowatari had erupted thousands of times between them.
Every collision produced a muffled sound and stirred up a burst of turbulence.
"Hoooah!!!" Diarmuid roared again, his Kokorowatari striking the Murakumogiri once more.
At this moment, his eyes lit up, because during this brief collision, Newgate's Murakumogiri trembled slightly.
Sure enough, the ground beneath Newgate's feet was cracked slightly, and his footing was unsteady, causing him to take a step back.
This proved that in a pure contest of power and Haki, Diarmuid held a slight advantage!
Never letting up, Diarmuid pressed his advantage. His figure suddenly lunged forward, the blade of Kokorowatari scraping the pike-like shaft of the Murakumogiri, throwing up sparks, forcing Newgate to loosen his grip and dodge the blade.
The moment he let go, Diarmuid's slash followed the handle of the Murakumogiri and reached Newgate's chest.
"Fangs!!!" A fierce killing intent flashed in Diarmuid's eyes as he roared.
In that instant, Kokorowatari seemed to awaken a ferocious tiger, roaring as if to tear Newgate's chest open and rip out his heart!
ROAR!!!
It was the roar of a fierce tiger!
It was also at this moment that a successful gleam flashed in Newgate's eyes.
Diarmuid arrived a little late. If he had come sooner, he might have seen Newgate use the exact same move to momentarily beat down Kaido.
That's right, the step back was a feigned opening created by Newgate!
Just as Diarmuid's Kokorowatari was about to pierce Newgate's chest, a subtle, invisible, and seemingly insignificant tremor force abruptly appeared at Newgate's chest.
And this tiny, invisible, insignificant tremor force managed to forcefully block Diarmuid's certain strike!
A clang rang out. Diarmuid's slash failed to penetrate Newgate's defense, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
His surprise was not only because Newgate defended against the slash, but also because Newgate was the first to use a Devil Fruit ability!?
The last time, Kaido had launched a surprise attack, so Newgate felt no psychological pressure about using his ability. This time, he and Diarmuid had tacitly agreed not to use abilities in their exchange—this should have been a hidden consensus.
...Yet Newgate used his first!?
This also indicated that, in front of Diarmuid, Newgate had put aside his meaningless arrogance and pretense and was treating Diarmuid as an opponent he absolutely had to fight with all his strength and win, no matter what methods he used!
Indeed, in the brief exchange moments ago, Newgate had already made this judgment!
As quick as a flash, Diarmuid failed to break Newgate's defense. Newgate seized this gap, striking back. His large hand grabbed toward Diarmuid's head.
If this grab connected, without a doubt, the next moment would be a repeat of what happened to Kaido: being slammed into the ground and repeatedly shaken by that bastard Newgate.
It was also in this instant that Diarmuid, far from being angry, laughed. He slammed his foot down, instantly becoming weightless. A powerful repulsive force burst from his body. Just before the large hand could grab his head, his figure was pulled back a step, avoiding Newgate's palm.
Newgate's palm swiped past the bridge of Diarmuid's nose, just missing him.
The moment his palm missed, Newgate's transition was incredibly fast. He immediately stopped the missed momentum, clenched his hand into a fist, concentrated a dense tremor force on his knuckles, and countered with a punch toward Diarmuid's chest.
A dull thud! Newgate's tremor force slammed against Diarmuid's repulsion force. They were locked for only a moment. How could Diarmuid's hastily released repulsion force withstand Newgate's premeditated attack, planned by that old schemer?
With a crisp crack, the tremor force broke through the repulsion force and violently slammed into Diarmuid's chest, sending him flying backward.
It wasn't far, only about ten meters. Diarmuid landed on both feet, quickly taking a few steps backward to dissipate the internal force. Each step left a deep footprint in the ground.
He hadn't suffered any severe injuries. The killing blow at that moment was actually the somewhat comical head grab—capturing the head would have been truly fatal. Since he missed, the threat was greatly reduced.
However, he had been ambushed by Newgate and took a solid punch, causing a slight trickle of blood to spill from Diarmuid's mouth.
But he still didn't look angry. Instead, he casually wiped the blood away and laughed heartily: "Hahahahaha, old man, we've clashed a few times now, but this is the first time you've actively ambushed me, isn't it? What's wrong? Do you no longer need the prestige of the World's Strongest Man?"
A hint of regret flashed in Newgate's eyes. That punch was merely superficial and wouldn't affect that bastard Diarmuid at all. It was a shame he couldn't grab his head for the full combo. Having missed this opportunity to seriously injure him, it would likely be impossible to ambush him again.
Hearing Diarmuid's mockery, Newgate didn't get angry. Instead, he stated openly: "I don't need it. Facing a guy like you, if I didn't use all my strength and every method available, that would be arrogance. That would be far too conceited."
After a slight pause, Newgate looked at Diarmuid with a very serious expression: "Although when we met at St. Poplar all those years ago, I knew you would one day become an opponent that required my full effort, I still didn't expect that day to come so quickly, Rodriguez Diarmuid!"
Diarmuid brandished the Kokorowatari in his hand, his expression also becoming serious. He looked into Newgate's eyes and said softly: "That is truly a great honor..."
As his words fell, the aura between the two grew stronger and rapidly flared up.
Though there was no explicit clash of Conqueror's Haki, their mere auras were enough to change the weather and whip up raging winds.