Shiki might have been arrogant, but he had the strength to back it up.
Even with Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, and Waldo teaming up against him, plus interference from other pirates, he held his ground with his aerial advantage.
Perhaps prolonged combat would put him at a disadvantage, but in the short term, no one could get the better of him. If he caught any openings, he might even be able to defeat them one by one.
"Quite a impressive fellow. Shouldn't we join in? The grudges from before shouldn't be settled this easily, right?"
Gallo couldn't help but say. He seemed to hold quite a grudge against the Golden Lion. Although his arm was cut off by John, in the end, Shiki was the one who started that war.
Shutenmaru glanced at him, fell silent for a moment, then said: "Let those guys wear themselves out first. We're not in a hurry."
Shutenmaru had just received a secret message from Ren. He already knew about the traps inside the cavern. Why would he waste his energy here? But with the scene becoming so chaotic, he couldn't remain completely uninvolved either.
The other pirates wouldn't just watch them preserve their forces. The flames of war kept spreading toward them.
In fact, those Ruin Guards and Ruin Graders all had special mechanisms that could be controlled. If Shutenmaru wanted, he could directly stop the autonomous machines attacking them. This was a protective measure determined during design, a contingency Inazuma had left behind.
But now wasn't the time to reveal this. Shutenmaru remained expressionless, silently directing the advance squad's subordinates to counterattack.
As for the Oniwabanshu and the samurai of the Rasetsu District, these two divisions were no longer under Shutenmaru's command. Moreover, they hadn't accompanied them this time, but were left with Yukiko to prevent any accidents.
After hearing Shutenmaru's words, Gallo didn't say anything more, but quietly exchanged a glance with the Second Advance Squad's captain and his two colleagues from the Fourth Advance Squad.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the four of them gathered in a hidden spot.
"What's up, Gallo?" Chris looked at him with an extremely irritable expression. She loved toying with her prey, and a battlefield like this was an interesting place for her, so she was somewhat annoyed at Gallo summoning her.
"Settle down, Chris." Roskar held her back, then looked around vigilantly before whispering, "Any orders from the World Government?"
Katral didn't speak, just looked at Gallo.
"This is an opportunity. So many pirates gathered on this island, and every one of them is a great pirate with a notorious reputation. The government wants to take this chance to eliminate one or two of the great pirates."
Gallo's voice didn't waver. He looked like nothing more than a machine that only knew how to execute orders.
"Eliminate great pirates...?" Roskar asked in surprise, "Doesn't that go against their interests?"
Remember, as CP0, they took orders directly from the Celestial Dragons. Theoretically, their priority was even higher than the World Government's general departments. And for most Celestial Dragons, what they cared about wasn't peace, but their own lives.
Whether pirates existed or not was unimportant to them. But whether the Heavenly Tribute existed was very important.
If pirate forces on the seas weakened, then the World Government's member nations might decrease. In that case, the annual Heavenly Tribute might be reduced.
Moreover, rampaging pirates could also divert conflicts. As long as the world's attention was focused on pirates, and the people's conflict was with pirates, then the Celestial Dragons' actions would be insignificant by comparison.
Maintaining the balance of power on the seas was what they wanted.
"The World Government does need a certain balance, but right now, the pirates' power has grown somewhat excessive."
Gallo said, "They originally thought that after Rocks fell, his remnants would completely collapse. But in reality, that never happened."
"Those Rocks executives scattered and constantly developed their own forces. Instead, each of them grew stronger. Especially the Golden Lion—this fellow's madness and ambition are no less than that Rocks guy!"
"If he's allowed to continue developing, the Battle of God Valley might repeat itself."
"That fellow certainly doesn't hide his ambition." Roskar said, but still seemed somewhat puzzled, "But specifically, how should we do it? With his ability, even if he's defeated by others, it's very difficult to keep him contained."
"Don't worry about that. According to the orders I received, as long as these people are lured into the cavern, someone will coordinate with us from the inside, and then these people will be forever buried at sea."
"Coordinate from inside? You don't mean...!"
"That's right. Captain John didn't die. You probably all guessed this. But actually, not only did he not die, he's even cooperated with the World Government."
Gallo said this, appearing completely unconcerned about John cutting off his arm.
Or rather, even if he was dissatisfied internally, it was useless. Because this was an order from the World Government.
"This fellow took out half his total treasure to make a deal with the Celestial Dragons. That miser—I'm surprised he had that kind of resolve."
Gallo mocked, then continued: "The main targets this time are the Golden Lion and Inazuma.雷电 hasn't arrived yet, so we don't know if he'll appear. But at minimum, everyone who's rushed over must be completely wiped out. This is also John's demand."
"That guy, he really holds a grudge." Roskar laughed, "You're not on his kill list too, are you?"
Gallo didn't answer, but he had already guessed that his ending might not be very good. To the Celestial Dragons, he was just a tool. For John's treasure, sacrificing him wouldn't cause them any pain.
But he had no choice.
After a brief silence, he spoke: "Regardless, once we're inside the cavern, I'll give you the signal. Then we'll strike together. Whether雷电 comes or not, we make our move. Understood?"
The three of them—Roskar, Chris, and Katral—nodded, their expressions becoming serious.
Gallo nodded in satisfaction and turned around. And on the back that he couldn't see, the three World Government agents exchanged glances with each other, then fell silent again. Only the continuous sound of artillery fire still echoed in their ears.
...
"Mochi: Mochi Cutting!"
Katakuri gritted his teeth hard. His torn mouth corners were hidden beneath a furry scarf. Though still young, his strength already surpassed many.
With one Mochi Cutting, he repelled the incoming enemies, but slowly began to show signs of exhaustion.
"Is Mama not here yet?"
If this continued, he could hold on, but the troops below couldn't withstand the attrition!
[
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