"Betting hope on the future?"
After ending the call, Ash fell silent for a while.
Beyond feeling moved, the phrase sounded strangely familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
After thinking carefully, his expression suddenly stiffened.
"Wait a second... isn't that Shanks' line? Damn it, have I turned into Luffy now?"
Although he was somewhat touched by the actions of the Marine veterans, Ash never feared any so called siege.
With the Dawn Faction's current strength, anyone who dared come after them would be buried at sea.
Not only would they handle the killing, they would handle the cleanup too.
Still, considering the attitude shown by Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, and Zephyr, Ash naturally had to respect the feelings of the older generation.
Hope?
That was something he could give them.
But retirement? Absolutely not.
People in their sixties and seventies were still in their prime for causing trouble.
Retrieving the Den Den Mushi connected to the New Beast Pirates, Ash asked calmly:
"What's the situation now?"
"Chief, the fleet belongs to the G-2 Marine Branch under Sakazuki. They attempted to ask about our intentions, but we ignored them. Right now, Kaido is circling overhead in dragon form to pressure them. Judging from their movements, they seem to be preparing to split their fleet and bypass us."
Ash narrowed his eyes slightly.
If Sakazuki were commanding alone, cooperation might even have been possible under certain circumstances.
But according to the intelligence reports, high-ranking World Government officials were also aboard the warships.
Once the fleet reached Beehive Island, Sakazuki would have no choice but to obey orders from above.
At that point, the conflict would likely escalate into the first large-scale confrontation between the Dawn Faction and the Marines.
Under normal circumstances, Ash would not have cared.
A fight was a fight.
The Dawn Faction feared nobody.
But now, four Marine legends were risking everything to come help him. Naturally, he had to take their position into consideration.
After a brief pause, Ash gave his orders.
"Tell Kaido to stall Sakazuki's fleet for now. If they try to split up, use Boro Breath to block their route."
"However, make sure none of the ordinary Marines are harmed."
"Understood, Chief!"
After ending the call, Ash immediately contacted the New Red Hair Pirates and the New Whitebeard Pirates.
Following a quick exchange, he learned that the New Whitebeard Pirates were still two or three days away from Beehive Island under normal sailing conditions.
The New Red Hair Pirates, however, were absurdly close.
Those bastards had secretly tailed the Giant Warrior Pirates all the way here.
Using the powers of the Clone-Clone Fruit possessed by the fake Lucky Roux, they had disguised the entire fleet as massive sea beasts.
Without a top-tier Observation Haki user standing guard, the giants had no chance of noticing they were being followed.
"Good."
Ash leaned back slightly.
"Have the red force turn around immediately and coordinate with the New Beast Pirates. Maintain a standoff with the Marines. As long as the enemy doesn't move, hold your position."
"As for the Moby Dick, two or three days is too slow. Gather every Wind-type and Water-type ability user you can find and push the ship to maximum speed."
"I want the New Whitebeard Pirates to rendezvous with the others before nightfall and form a pincer formation against Sakazuki's fleet."
"Remember this carefully, no reckless actions. Pressure them, nothing more."
Once the arrangements were complete, Ash slowly raised his head toward the yellow streak of light growing brighter on the horizon.
A short while later, Marine Admiral Kizaru, Borsalino, arrived at the edge of Beehive Island.
Floating in midair, Kizaru scanned the battlefield below.
The coastal warzone was in complete chaos.
Then his gaze shifted toward the high ground in the distance, where Ash and the others were casually drinking afternoon tea beneath a parasol.
Even behind his sunglasses, Kizaru's usually lazy eyes showed obvious surprise.
According to his expectations, the Dawn Faction should have been caught in a brutal pincer attack from Wang Zhi and the Big Mom Pirates.
Even if they managed to hold the line, they should have looked battered and exhausted.
But reality completely differed from his assumptions.
Big Mom herself was nowhere to be seen, though the constant tremors and terrifying screams erupting from deeper within Beehive Island made it obvious she had likely been dragged into an isolated battle.
Meanwhile, along the coast, only four members of the Dawn Faction had pinned down the entire Big Mom Pirates crew.
More accurately, the Big Mom Pirates were being beaten badly.
Only three Sweet Commanders remained standing, and every single one of them looked miserable.
As for the other Charlotte Family members and officers, they clearly wanted to help but were too terrified to interfere.
The entire scene looked absurdly entertaining.
Kizaru even felt the urge to laugh.
Still, several things stood out to him immediately.
First, where had Wang Zhi disappeared to?
Second, why was Dracule Mihawk here on Beehive Island?
And finally...
Who exactly was the masked swordsman fighting Mihawk evenly?
Was Mihawk assisting Ash?
If so, then the masked man might belong to Wang Zhi or Big Mom.
Or perhaps Mihawk had come to challenge the Dawn Faction, while the masked fighter was one of the mysterious Ten Demon Saints hidden aboard the Dawn.
No matter the answer, the masked man's strength was monstrous.
After observing the battlefield for a while, Kizaru's gaze eventually settled back on Ash and the others beneath the parasol.
A flash of golden light crossed the sky.
In the next instant, Kizaru landed nearby.
"Cough, cough."
He adjusted his sunglasses lazily.
"Shichibukai Heavenly Emperor Ash, I am Marine Admiral Kizaru. Under the direct authority of the World Government, I am here to issue an order."
"The Dawn Pirate Hunters are required to immediately cease hostilities against the Big Mom Pirates and await further instructions. Cough, cough, over."
The moment Kirk saw Kizaru's lazy expression, he suddenly remembered one of Ash's old jokes.
A mischievous grin spread across his face as he immediately pulled out a flintlock pistol and pointed it directly at Kizaru.
"Kizaru, don't move!"
Kizaru instantly raised both hands obediently.
Still, his mouth never stopped moving.
"Oh my, so this is the Dawn ship's chef, Kirk. Young people nowadays are truly terrifying."
"That thing is very dangerous. Be careful not to let it go off accidentally."
Ash nearly laughed out loud watching the two of them act.
Patting the table lightly, he smiled.
"Well, the order's already been delivered, and now you're being held at gunpoint, so there's no rush to leave."
"Sit down and have some tea first. Our head chef specially roasted these tea leaves. You won't find them anywhere else."
Kizaru showed no hesitation at all and casually sat down at the table.
Saff smiled gently and poured him a cup of black tea.
Before the cup even reached his mouth, the rich fragrance made Kizaru's nose twitch instinctively.
The moment Saff finished pouring, Kizaru immediately reached for the cup with incredible speed.
But just before he could take a sip, the sound of a Den Den Mushi suddenly rang out from his coat.
Purururu... Purururu...
===
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