When Finn arrived at Jam Island's waters, the fierce naval battle hadn't yet ended.
When calculating the distance previously, it had been about three days' sailing distance from Jam Island. But that had been time Finn and the others deliberately reserved, originally wanting Whitebeard to fight Charlotte Linlin and Kaido first.
But unexpectedly, Whitebeard had been caught in a conspiracy and was very likely to be killed.
Therefore, Finn and the others had begun accelerating.
So when Finn arrived at Jam Island's waters, only one day had actually passed.
The Beast Pirates' fleet was still fighting the Double White Alliance's fleet at sea, artillery fire roaring across the waves.
Judging from the situation, it wasn't too favorable, but they should be able to hold on. If the Double White Alliance fleet could hold for another day or so, Smoker's main fleet would arrive from the rear and surround the Beast Pirates' fleet again. Both sides would encircle and annihilate them from front and back.
As they approached the destination, Smoker's Smokey began ascending with the help of Finn's power.
Now it was hiding in the clouds above, invisible unless you looked carefully.
On the deck, Finn held a monocular telescope in his hand, looking down.
"Strange..." Finn murmured in surprise as he observed the island's situation.
They'd rushed to Jam Island so quickly because they'd been worried Newgate would be killed by Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
But now, after observing, he'd found the three were still fighting fiercely. No, it should be said there were five. Phoenix Marco and that Teach would occasionally intervene to help Whitebeard harass Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
This was very strange. Why hadn't Charlotte Linlin detonated the Dyna Stone and directly sunk the island to drown Whitebeard?
Setting that issue aside for now—anyway, Jam Island hadn't been sunk yet.
Besides, looking at the current battle situation, it was obvious Whitebeard was at a disadvantage. If it weren't for Marco and Teach's support, he would have been seriously injured by Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, right?
This wasn't right. Where was the awakening?
Finn now doubted Lucci's judgment. Was that guy fooling him?
Putting away the telescope, Finn stroked his chin and murmured, "There's a problem..."
"It feels like there's a problem, but shouldn't we intervene?" Gion asked, standing behind Finn.
"We have to intervene. Otherwise, Borsalino will be in trouble..." Finn responded first. Then, seeming to have thought of something, he looked at Smoker beside him. "You go first!"
Smoker???
They had an Admiral like Finn here, and two Admiral candidates, Kuzan and Gion. Both looked much stronger than him!
In the end, he was the one going first?
"Admiral, aren't you being excessive? Although I'm a pirate on the surface, I've always been loyal to our Marines!" Smoker said helplessly.
"Stop talking nonsense. Just go ahead. I suspect there's something wrong here. Be careful of Whitebeard," Finn glared at Smoker.
After saying this, without caring whether Smoker wanted to speak again, Finn kicked Smoker's rear, launching him directly off the ship into free fall from high altitude.
"Gion, use your shield technique," Finn ordered after kicking Smoker away.
Gion responded immediately. Lightning flashed across her body. Then the entire area around the ship filled with faint electrical discharges, but nothing could be seen within the clouds.
This was an ability Gion had developed not long ago. It was somewhat amusing to explain. Because Finn's Observation Haki was exceptionally strong, Gion had specially developed a technique that could effectively block Finn's Observation Haki to specifically target him.
Finn didn't know the specific principle, but it was related to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, using electromagnetic interference. It was probably similar to Enel's original Mantra network.
In short, after developing this technique, unless Finn used his Observation Haki to carefully investigate, it was easy for Gion to avoid detection and conceal her presence.
Meanwhile, on Jam Island, Newgate, with a tired expression and furrowed brow, had initially suppressed Charlotte Linlin and Kaido in his so-called "awakening" state. But it hadn't been long before they'd reacted, and the situation that had originally suppressed them quickly reversed into them being suppressed.
If it weren't for his two good sons, Marco and Teach, who helped involve Charlotte Linlin and Kaido at critical moments, he would have suffered another great loss.
But this wasn't a sustainable solution. It might work for one or two days, but over time, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido would be less affected by Marco and Teach. Their influence would inevitably decrease. They might even seize the opportunity to kill them directly.
Compared to Newgate, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido looked more disheveled.
Charlotte Linlin didn't appear injured externally, but judging by the blood stains on her ears, nostrils, and corners of her mouth, she must have suffered internal injuries.
But looking at her breathing, it seemed the internal injuries weren't serious.
As for Kaido, he was in worse condition than Charlotte Linlin. The pectoral muscles on the right side of his chest had collapsed. It seemed the muscle tissue was damaged, giving a deflated appearance.
The bridge of his nose seemed broken, collapsed, blood dripping periodically...
Obviously, he'd received special attention from Whitebeard.
But in fact, a few hours ago, Kaido's injuries had looked even more severe. At that time, the muscle tissue in his entire chest had seemed destroyed by tremor force. But a few hours later, his injuries in this regard had mostly recovered.
The awakening of Mythical Zoan abilities was indeed extraordinary.
Just as Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido were briefly confronting each other, observing the situation and looking for the next opportunity to act.
A puff of white smoke descended from the sky, heading straight for Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin looked up instinctively.
The moment she looked up, Newgate roared and punched out. The shocking power exploded on the spot, also targeting Charlotte Linlin!
However, Kaido's speed wasn't slow either. He blocked directly in front of Charlotte Linlin. Facing the tremor force, he swung his kanabo down. His arm went numb from the shock. The weapon in his hand nearly fell.
But that was just the vibration's effect. In the end, he'd blocked Whitebeard's attack with his strike.
On the other side, thick white smoke had completely enveloped Charlotte Linlin's massive figure.
Newgate's eyes lit up. There was no doubt—that was Smoker!
He'd never seen that move before, but he'd heard of it. It seemed to be called "smoke suffocation"?
By enveloping enemies with thick smoke, he prevented effective breathing and rapidly suffocated them to death. But that guy had fallen from the sky...
Thinking of this, Newgate calmly released his Observation Haki, scanning the clouds above over a large area. Then he frowned... nothing?
Had he guessed wrong?
Simultaneously, Charlotte Linlin was extremely uncomfortable in the white smoke. Every time she breathed, she was filled with thick smoke. She felt like she was suffocating.
Smoker was cunning, releasing smoke over a large area without even approaching Charlotte Linlin directly. Wrapped in Armament Haki, she clawed through the thick smoke but couldn't catch him.
Just when Smoker was wondering if he could genuinely fight Charlotte Linlin alone and win.
This illusion was broken.
Charlotte Linlin grabbed randomly a few times. When she realized it had no effect, she stopped trying.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
A sharp, piercing noise erupted from Charlotte Linlin's throat.
The next moment, a powerful sound wave directly dispersed the thick smoke Smoker had released. Charlotte Linlin also accurately located Smoker's position.
With Haki coating her hands, she stomped the ground and pounced toward Smoker at tremendous speed, punching hard.
The powerful strange sound had even suppressed Smoker's ability to move at that moment. But fortunately, when Charlotte Linlin took action, the strange sound also stopped. Smoker reacted quickly, pulling out the seastone-tipped jitte from behind his back, wrapping it with Armament Haki, and blocking it before him.
The next second, Charlotte Linlin's powerful punch struck Smoker's jitte hard.
The two Armament Haki forces clashed instantly. But Smoker had no intention of wrestling with Charlotte Linlin. As soon as the Haki clash erupted, he let himself be sent flying backward by the force.
His legs had transformed into white smoke. After circling in the air, he landed not far from Whitebeard.
"Smoker!" Charlotte Linlin yelled at Smoker.
Smoker was chewing three cigars. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he smiled. "Don't be so enthusiastic..."
After a slight pause, Smoker looked at Whitebeard. "Is the timing still good?"
Newgate glanced at Smoker, then nodded. "Faster than I expected..."
"Is it too late to retreat now?" Smoker suddenly asked.
Newgate seemed to have anticipated his question and shook his head. "Too late."
"That's unfortunate. According to our intelligence investigation, there's a high possibility something's buried on this island..." Smoker said softly.
"Dyna Stone. I've seen it before," Newgate said seriously.
This was also why he'd said it was too late to evacuate. If he fought here, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin didn't seem in a hurry to detonate. But if he chose to evacuate, they'd definitely blow up the island without hesitation.
"Speaking of which..." Newgate suddenly changed the subject and looked at Smoker.
Smoker didn't care, instead staring at Charlotte Linlin and Kaido while casually responding, "What?"
"Where are the Marines?" Newgate asked suddenly.
Smoker's pupils contracted instinctively. Newgate keenly caught this change. His heart sank, and he grabbed at Smoker without hesitation.
Smoker had been undercover for so many years, so his reaction speed was naturally quick. With a burst of power, white smoke erupted from his feet. He attempted to distance himself from Newgate.
"Hey, you bastard..." Smoker said with displeasure.
Newgate opened his large hand. Trembling force gathered between his five fingers, as if to tear the air apart.
Simultaneously, Charlotte Linlin also waved her hand and grabbed. Rich soul power emanated from her. Her target was also Smoker!
Smoker's strength wasn't even close to Newgate's level, and Charlotte Linlin had suddenly intervened. At this moment, things were extremely dangerous. Whether he was caught by Charlotte Linlin or Newgate, he'd definitely suffer...
However, at this critical moment, thick white smoke burst from Smoker's body. Without even looking at Whitebeard, he blocked Charlotte Linlin's soul hand with the smoke.
Then a loud thunderclap exploded out of nowhere. Newgate was startled and pulled his hand back. Sure enough, the next moment, a slash infused with lightning broke through the air and passed by where his arm had just been.
Simultaneously, Newgate stared at Gion and Smoker with grim eyes. He said seriously, "Sure enough. Is all this a conspiracy by your Marines?"
"The Seven Warlords truly are the World Government's running dogs," Charlotte Linlin also withdrew her soul power and said with a wicked smile.
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