Chapter 562: Cause and Effect (2)

Seeing Whitebeard injured, Marco and Ace immediately panicked. The entire Whitebeard Pirates were in chaos, rushing to assist Whitebeard and calling for doctors.

It was precisely because of this chaos that they didn’t immediately realize Teach was the culprit and failed to set sail to pursue him and his crew.

By the time they learned from Whitebeard himself that it was Teach who had injured him, the entire Whitebeard Pirates were furious!

Due to concerns about Whitebeard’s condition, Marco and the others discussed and decided to send several captains to hunt down Teach and his crew.

Yes, hunt down! Marco and the others, filled with regret, no longer intended to capture Teach but planned to directly kill him and the others.

They thought that with several captains leading hundreds of Whitebeard Pirates, there shouldn’t be any problem hunting down Teach and his crew. However, they didn’t know that Teach had reached an agreement with the Marines this time.

Teach would take the opportunity to assassinate Whitebeard himself, while Admiral Akainu would lead a fleet to assist him in the open sea.

If Teach failed in the assassination, Akainu would retreat without a second thought. But if Teach succeeded and escaped, Akainu would be responsible for rescuing him and executing the second phase of the plan.

As Teach and his group rowed their small boat, approaching the vicinity of the Edd War Sea, the captains sent by the Whitebeard Pirates to pursue them were also closing in.

The ships of the Whitebeard Pirates desperately fired at Teach and his group, cannons landing around their small boat, sending up towering splashes of water. Teach’s boat seemed on the brink of sinking at any moment.

However, at this critical moment, Admiral Akainu’s fleet suddenly appeared and launched an attack on the captains chasing Teach.

Unexpectedly, the Marines appeared here, led by Admiral Akainu himself. The captains were immediately in trouble; their ships were sunk, and most of the crew fell into the sea.

Forced to do so, they had to swim towards the location of the Edd War Island Reef Group because they knew that it was filled with reefs, making it impossible for the Marine ships to pursue them.

Their idea was correct, but it was exactly what Akainu had hoped for. Seeing the castaways swimming towards the reef group, Akainu had no intention of pursuing them. He simply rescued Teach’s group and then had the Marine fleet continue to circle around the reef group, as if intending to block the captains.

After reporting the situation here to Marine Headquarters, Sengoku made a decisive decision and recalled Kizaru and Aokiji, who were battling Ian on Sabaody Archipelago, instructing them to lead the troops to support Akainu in the New World.

Meanwhile, upon learning of the Marine’s appearance, Marco and the others were furious. They finally realized that Teach had already colluded with the Marines.

Their comrades stranded in the Edd War Island Reef needed to be rescued, but Whitebeard was still being treated. Marco ultimately decided to leave Ace behind to look after Whitebeard while he, along with the remaining captains, planned to intercept Akainu.

It must be said that this was a misstep. Perhaps it was due to Whitebeard’s injury that the captains were truly enraged, leading them to dispatch personnel in a series of attempts to rescue their comrades.

At this point, they should have pressed forward, bringing Whitebeard’s Moby Dick with them to completely confuse Akainu about Whitebeard’s condition. Seizing the opportunity while Akainu was alone to force him to retreat and rescue their stranded comrades would have been the right move, preventing them from being on the defensive again.

But at this moment, Marco and the others had no idea that this was actually a trap set by the Marines. When Marco led the charge to intercept Akainu, they fell right into Akainu’s hands.

With Whitebeard absent, it indeed seemed, as Teach had claimed, that his injuries were severe…

Thus, Akainu had no more reservations. With a move called Meteor Volcano, he caused a large number of magma fists to rain down from the sky, instantly engulfing Marco and his fleet!

The inherent dominance of the Logia type was evident here. Such a widespread attack was something Marco and the others could not withstand hastily. Despite their efforts to protect their ships, they were still destroyed by Akainu.

Now, Marco and his crew were also cast into the sea, forced to swim towards the reef group.

And this time, Akainu ordered the Navy fleet to indiscriminately bombard the reef group, as if intending to annihilate Marco and the others on the island.

Bad news came one after another, leaving the members of the Whitebeard Pirates somewhat bewildered. Ace, in a moment of impulsiveness, wanted to go to rescue Marco and the others.

However, just at that moment, Whitebeard woke up after some treatment and stopped Ace’s impulsive actions.

Whitebeard’s body was already in poor condition, and being stabbed in the chest by Teach had almost cost him his life. But who was he? He was The Whitebeard!

He struggled and stood up firmly again in front of his sons. He immediately gathered all the members of the pirate crew in the headquarters and mobilized them all, intending to confront Akainu, this rabid dog.

However, when Whitebeard stood tall on the deck of the Moby Dick, Akainu inexplicably backed down. Leading the fleet as if intending to return, he let go of the Edd War Island Reef Group.

Whitebeard didn’t think too much about it. He brought his ship as close to the reef group as possible and then sent people to find Marco and the others.

But just as they found Marco and were about to take them back to the headquarters, the fleets led by Kizaru and Aokiji suddenly appeared!

The three Navy Admirals joined forces, with a fleet numbering more than a hundred warships, and launched an attack on the Whitebeard Pirates.

It wasn’t until this moment that Whitebeard finally understood; the Navy’s actions were entirely premeditated. While the appearance of one Navy Admiral might have been a coincidence, the simultaneous arrival of three Admirals meant that the Navy intended to formally take action against the Whitebeard Pirates.

And unfortunately, the Navy’s accomplice turned out to be his own son…

It pained him deeply! At the thought of Teach, Whitebeard couldn’t suppress a sharp pain at his wound. Teach’s attack had actually damaged part of Whitebeard’s heart. Such an injury would have killed an ordinary person long ago, but Whitebeard persisted.

However, at this moment, Whitebeard truly couldn’t hold on any longer. His vision darkened, and he collapsed on the deck of the Moby Dick.

Ace and the others, seeing Whitebeard fall, were immediately alarmed. They hurried to support him, but upon realizing that he had fallen into unconsciousness, they had no choice but to retreat back to the reef group.

With this, the Navy successfully completed their trap, trapping the entire headquarters of the Whitebeard Pirates in the Edd War Island Reef Group.

Next, the Navy headquarters fleet set out in force, heading straight for the Edd War Sea Area.

The Navy’s primary objective in targeting the Whitebeard Pirates was to kill the Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, as he was incredibly famous. As long as he remained alive, even if the Whitebeard Pirates were completely destroyed, they would quickly reemerge. Initially, when Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru were surrounding the Edd War Island Reef Group, they considered ordering an attack. However, due to the multitude of reefs in the area and uncertainty about the Whitebeard Pirates’ exact location, they hesitated. To prevent the Whitebeard Pirates from slipping away during an attack, they decided not to strike immediately. Instead, they ordered their ships to patrol around the reefs until the main Navy force arrived to completely encircle the islands before preparing to strike.

This was the scene witnessed by people worldwide through live broadcasts as hundreds of warships surrounded the Edd War Island Reef Group…

However, the time it took for the Navy to gather also provided the Whitebeard Pirates with time to react. While others might not be able to escape, the captain of the Eighth Division, Namur, being a Fish-Man, could undertake long-distance underwater travel. During the time when Akainu and his men were patrolling, Namur had already escaped underwater and returned to the headquarters, where he contacted all the fleets under the Whitebeard Pirates!

The Navy likely anticipated this and made corresponding preparations, knowing that these pirate crews would likely come to rescue Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.

Shortly after the live broadcast began, people saw countless ships suddenly emerge from the thick fog on the sea.

“Hmph, they’re trying to intimidate us, but who do they think they’re fooling?” On a flagship of the Navy, Fleet Admiral Sengoku raised his telescope and, upon seeing the ships emerging from the fog, couldn’t help but snort. He immediately ordered via a Den Den Mushi, “All fleets, attention! Enemies spotted southeast! First, second, and third fleets, take position T; fourth and fifth fleets, head for the left flank; sixth and seventh fleets, head for the right flank. Adjust course and prepare to engage the enemy!”

As soon as his orders were issued, the Navy fleet sprang into action. A large number of warships left the encirclement and headed towards the attacking pirate ships. Upon reaching their designated positions, they turned their ships and promptly unveiled the black gunports on the sides, aiming towards the location of the pirate ships.

Inside the ship’s hulls, numerous Navy sailors worked tirelessly to load cannonballs into the cannons and nervously grasped the firing mechanisms, ready to unleash a barrage upon command.

However, just as the Navy was nervously preparing for battle, the pirate ships in the dense fog suddenly stopped!

They collectively furled their sails, reduced their speed, and came to a stop at a rather awkward position, just outside the firing range of the Navy’s cannons…

“What’s going on?” Sengoku frowned as he observed the scene through his telescope, puzzled. He muttered to himself, “Could it be that they’re afraid?”

Just as he was pondering this, he felt that something was amiss. He extended his hand, licked his finger, and then held it up.

This simple action caused his expression to change immediately. The wind direction seemed to have shifted…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read