Chapter 526: The Turning Tide at Navy Headquarters

“Dad, this…”

“Say no more. My mind’s made up.”

Marco couldn’t understand why Whitebeard was being so stubborn. The situation was finally turning in their favor. The escape route was wide open, so why insist on staying?

Was there something he hadn’t taken into account?

Or did Whitebeard have a reason he absolutely had to stay behind? If so, what could it be?

Whitebeard spoke with a hint of mystery. “Some battles aren’t so easy to escape from, but others… you can walk away. Go on.”

Lost in confusion, Marco was caught by Whitebeard’s left hand and thrown down toward the Whitebeard Pirates below.

“Whitebeard, what exactly are you waiting for?”

In a flash, Sengoku appeared in front of Whitebeard with a Shockwave in hand.

Whitebeard flung Marco aside precisely for this reason.

Sengoku had noticed something was off too. The Whitebeard Pirates were in a strong position right now.

Those two members of the Holy Knights hadn’t even joined the attack yet, but at this rate, Whitebeard’s men really could make a clean getaway.

So why was Whitebeard determined to stay? Was he planning to hold off the entire Navy Headquarters by himself for some bigger purpose?

“Gurararara! Who knows?”

He spun Cloud Cutter in his right hand through the air, then brought it crashing down on Sengoku’s right hand.

Bang!

Voom!!!

As their blows collided, a thunderous bell rang out across the sky.

Meanwhile in Mary Geoise, the last golden giant lay dismembered by the Celestial Dragons in the heart of the plaza.

Thick smoke hung over the devastated ruins. Hundreds of Celestial Dragons littered the ground—countless Vice Admirals and even Admiral-level warriors had fallen. Eight hundred years of the World Government’s legacy on full display.

Even after such brutal fighting, nearly a hundred Admiral-level warriors were still standing. Covered in wounds but still a mighty force.

“Urorororo! Time’s up, boys—charge!”

“From here on out, I control the battlefield.”

That resonant voice signaled the assault—it was the moment when all the golden giants had been finished off.

Hidden on the Navy’s flank, Kaido heard the signal and instantly ordered his pirate ships toward Navy Headquarters.

On the outskirts of Mary Geoise, the Red-Haired Pirates kept their eyes fixed on the sudden surge of Revolutionary Army fighters around the city.

“Captain, are you really decided?”

“Yeah. Sometimes the world pushes you, like it or not. This may not be the finale, but against overwhelming power, time is just a number.”

Shanks still found it hard to believe. If he hadn’t seen Roger return from the dead with his own eyes, he would’ve never gotten involved in this war.

The true ‘Chosen One’ was far from ready. The final battle wasn’t supposed to be now.

Ben Beckman didn’t know exactly what Roger had said to Shanks that day, but whatever it was had changed their captain’s mind entirely. It must’ve been something earth-shattering.

“Hahaha. Well, since you’ve decided, Captain, we’ll just have to give it our all.” Lucky Roux grinned, gnawing on a massive animal drumstick.

“But it’s still not our turn to take the stage.”

Meanwhile, the Five Elders were in secret talks, deploying every available ground force across the Red Line. Millions of soldiers were sent out—many of them with slave collars locked around their necks. Their enemies? The endless waves of the Revolutionary Army.

Far above in the sky, a massive metal disc began to rotate, lights flickering one after another.

As it lit up, the surroundings grew brighter, revealing two identical discs slowly turning as well. It was—the Heavenly King Uranus!

Three Heavenly Kings had now assembled, Im’s trump card. At the same time, countless twisted Celestial Dragons suffered as their blood was gathered and poured into a mysterious altar.

“Karl, you wanted war—so here I am!”

…

Back at Navy Headquarters, Whitebeard had been steadily losing ground after that gunshot. Wounds now covered his body, and Kong’s ferocious punch sent him smashing straight into the left wall of the harbor.

Meanwhile, Marco was only able to lead the crew toward the harbor, ready to retreat at any moment. Deep down, he still hoped Whitebeard would escape with them.

Little did he know, that was exactly what the Navy wanted.

“I now order all gates of Navy Headquarters to be sealed!”

Seeing Marco and the others still refusing to run, Sengoku issued the final order.

Beneath the surface at the harbor, a massive iron gate began to rise with a grinding screech. Sailors stood watch—this time there was no Oars to block the gate with his blood.

Once that gate closed, not even Oars could break through it quickly.

That meant Marco and the others would be trapped inside Navy Headquarters, facing the Navy’s most ruthless artillery strike.

“There! There’s something over there!”

“Behind the main fortress… Is that something?”

“We’ve been spotted.”

The massive head of the warship Sanjuan Wolf appeared through a crack in the wall.

“That’s Blackbeard!”

“Zehehehe!”

“Shiryu, you bastard! What happened to Magellan? How’s Impel Down?”

“How the hell did you get here?”

It was the one thing that enraged Sengoku most—Blackbeard and Shiryu’s appearance meant Impel Down had likely already fallen.

“Us standing here already answers that, doesn’t it?”

Shiryu took the cigar from his mouth and lazily exhaled a ring of smoke.

“Zehehehe!”

“If you want details, go check for yourselves later.”

“In short, I’m teaming up with these guys. Let’s get along from now on.” Shiryu shot Sengoku a cocky look—he’d had enough of being on the Navy’s side.

“Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I haven’t had a chance to report until now.”

“Just received word—Gate of Justice has reopened. An unregistered warship forced its way inside.”

A Navy officer rushed up, dropped to both knees and reported urgently to Sengoku.

Sengoku had been fighting Whitebeard in midair this whole time and hadn’t had a chance to receive a face-to-face report.

“So, that would be these guys?”

“But only Navy soldiers are supposed to be in the engine room, and we never received a single abnormal report from inside.”

“So how did they get here?”

Sengoku raised his voice, but his eyes remained fixed on Blackbeard and his crew.

One Whitebeard was already more than enough, and now Blackbeard’s crew suddenly showed up too.

“Forgive us.”

Lafitte stepped forward.

“Hmm?”

“It’s simple. Before our Blackbeard Pirates left for Impel Down, I hypnotized the sailors in the engine room.”

“Seems I did others a favor too.”