"Alright. Distance and direction are perfect."
I couldn't move a galleon-class giant ship, so I chose smaller ships that weren't burning—after checking the landing of the third and final ship, I finally felt relieved.
My experience kicking through the cave on the island came in handy. If I relied on strength to dig, the ceiling would have collapsed.
Thanks to that, I was able to kick the ships without breaking them.
Using them without Haki was a bit tough, but well, no problem.
Okay, it is a perfect triangle.
It is a layout like an equilateral triangle with open corners.
I made sure one corner is pointing towards Pangea Castle, where they are trying to rush.
"Now, the enemy is panicking too... but the flow hasn't broken."
As expected, I need one more push.
They must be moving already, but when I tried to call Spandine—Mr. Spandine—on the Den Den Mushi to confirm, it rang.
"Hmm, calling from their side... is it Mr. Spandine?"
— You idiot!!!! If you are going to do something, say so before you do it!!!!!!!!
...It was Hina.
"I am glad you are safe. How is it over there?"
"How is it!? A ship suddenly flew in so I pulled the troops back a bit!"
"Are the zombie soldiers rushing in?"
"...No, they seem a bit confused too. Thanks to that, we finished repositioning our troops."
Yeah, good. Just as I read.
"Hina, I contacted CP earlier. They should be taking action soon, so if possible, I want you to tell them the situation."
"That is fine, but what are you doing!?"
"You will see soon."
While we were doing that, I felt a presence move.
It must be a few CP agents.
Now then...
--
"Can we really stop this many with just this?"
"It is better than nothing. Let's drive them in and fix them firmly."
Three ships kicked by the pirate named Black Cat.
A few masked men and women approached the two ships closest to Pangea Castle—their bows were pointing right at the castle gate—and started working. (Note: Bow here is the forward end of the ship (the front))
"If the enemy loses their flow, they will flood into this narrow space all at once. Hurry."
What they were doing was simple. They were blocking the space between the two bows—which looked like an exit—with a massive amount of chains.
They used their specialty Six Powers (Rokushiki) techniques to drive metal stakes with chains tied to them into the ships.
"Even if we fail, the responsibility lies with the Marines and that crazy pirate named Black Cat who came up with this plan. It might be better for us later if it fails."
"Oh, never mind the Marines, but that pirate is fine. He is strong, smart enough that the Five Elders value him, and he has a handsome face... fufu, I look forward to seeing him in a few years."
"Just finish it quickly. Don't miss the timing."
"Yes, yes."
— Don't be scared! Our bodies are many times tougher than normal people!
— Take everything inside the castle!!
Many zombie soldiers roared and started marching again.
The ships were obstacles, but there was still enough space for an army to move, and the group was gaining even more momentum.
Seeing this, the two masked men snorted quietly and smashed a stone they took from their pockets against the stake.
Sparks flew vigorously, and the sparks hit the chains—heating the oil that had been thoroughly applied to the chains.
GYAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
"...I see. Zombie soldiers burn easily."
The front line of zombie soldiers pressed against the burning chains were instantly engulfed in flames, and the fire spread to the soldiers behind them.
"They are turning into fireballs one after another."
"But that is all. If they rush in, a chain blockade like this will be easily broken. At best, it will just reduce their numbers a little—"
"...What?"
"Oh my."
--
"Kuro, your fire plan stopped the enemy soldiers! Actually, many zombies are confused and trying to run back!"
Before anyone noticed, a few men and women appeared and set traps on the ships Kuro kicked.
A blockade with chains and a net of fire. They probably put oil or something on the chains.
And with just that simple work, the zombie army fell into confusion immediately.
"Ah, as I thought," Kuro's voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "I guess I don't need the backup interception plan..."
"What do you mean!? The formation collapsed with just that fire net..."
"Basically, that army is not pirates."
The surrounding marines were stunned to see the army, which they couldn't stop even after struggling and losing many men, collapse so easily with one trick.
They listened to the pirate on the other end of the Den Den Mushi to hear the answer.
"Even if they collect bodies and modify them, the problem is the shadows that move them."
"Shadows?"
"The personality base of these zombies belongs to the owners of the shadows. And if you ask how they collected that many shadows in half a year..."
"...The people kidnapped in the West Blue!" Hina realized.
"Exactly. In other words, even if they follow orders as zombie soldiers, their essence is civilians who are not used to fighting or violence."
"I repeat, they are not an army of pirates. They are more like a mob."
"...A mob."
They had the knowledge and knew what it was.
But it was rare for Marines to fight such an opponent.
A Headquarters Vice Admiral nearby groaned quietly.
"In addition to bodies that feel no pain, the group psychology of having allies around them moving in the same direction and doing the same thing is the true nature of their charging power."
The voice from the Den Den Mushi sounded more tired than usual.
"Crushing them one by one won't stop them. To stop them, fire, a primal fear, is more effective than guns or violence. After all, it is one of their greatest weaknesses. If they see many people burning and falling in front of them, they will get scared."
Hina, who was acting as his assistant, remembered that Kuro had only slept fifteen minutes in the last two days.
"Hina, please ask the officers around you to sweep up the ones outside the ship barrier. Even those far from the fear of fire should feel that something is happening on the other side of the wall of ships."
Actually, even from here, their movement has slowed down. Just as Kuro said, the soldiers fighting back seemed to have more room to breathe.
Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals turned around and went to direct the mop-up operation.
"It is okay, Headquarters officers have gone to take command."
"Good, then I leave the rest to—"
"So, what should we do next!?"
"...Hmm?"
"What?"
--
"Sengoku, Garp."
"I know, the air has changed."
After defeating about forty powerful zombie soldiers each, the three of them felt the momentum change significantly far behind them—around Pangea Castle.
It wasn't the momentum of soldiers fighting desperately.
It was the momentum of an army continuing to fight with certain rules, even while caught up in the heat of killing.
"Is it Kuro! Wahahahaha! It is truly a waste that he is a pirate!!" Garp laughed.
Three mistakes had driven the situation this far.
First, reducing the number of Marines to avoid provoking the Government during this meeting.
Second, for the same reason, leaving high-ranking Headquarters officers at Marineford.
Finally, thinking that if the enemy was only Shiki, they could join Kuro after protecting the Holy Land from the initial debris attack, so they went out to intercept the debris first.
Because of that, the command was split, and they had to leave it to the Vice Admirals guarding the rear.
"Sengoku, don't relax! A big one is coming!"
A galleon ship, which had long stopped producing modified or soldier zombies, split in two, and something slowly started to move.
It was a zombie with gorilla-like fur, as big as a giant, though it was unclear how it was made.
"...Is this one filled with gunpowder too?" Sengoku asked, his glasses flashing.
"Probably. If it is packed full, destroying it poorly will cause a lot of damage," Tsuru warned.
"But if we leave it, the front line that just recovered might collapse. We will stop it."
The two nodded at Tsuru's words.
Besides this giant soldier, there were still many troublesome enemies that couldn't be attacked carelessly, even if their numbers had decreased.
For the sake of the soldiers fighting in the rear, they had to defend this place to the death.
"Kuro... we are counting on you."
"Sengoku, Tsuru-chan, handle the medium-sized ones," Garp grinned, cracking his knuckles.
"Are you planning to take on that big guy!?"
"Don't worry, I have a plan."
"If I do it right, I can use it to support the rookies and Kuro."