"Uh!"
The two subordinates looked at the circle of Marines surrounding the beach, and quickly slammed on the brakes, stopping their steps. Their eyes were full of vigilance as they looked ahead.
Just then, the space in front of them rippled like water, and a figure appeared without a sound.
Upon seeing the figure's appearance, their eyes lit up, and they shouted, "Silver-Haired Big Brother, we've rescued the people from the mine."
"Oh!"
Kong Tai took a drink of wine, looking at the several tall mountains behind the pile of rocks, lost in thought for a moment.
"Mine."
It seemed this was a mining site for the World Government. He wondered how important it was to them.
If it was very important...
Thinking of this, he looked down at Bada's two subordinates and asked, "Since you've rescued them, why didn't you come to meet up?"
"Need a ship."
"Need a ship?"
"Yeah!"
One of the subordinates quickly explained, "We've rescued no less than ten thousand people from the mine, plus the slaves we freed. Conservatively, that's twenty thousand people."
"So many?"
Kong Tai paused his drinking and then asked, "There should be a dock on the island. Are there no ships at the dock?"
"Yes!"
Another subordinate replied, "The boss snatched all the Navy's warships, but it's still not enough. The island didn't have many ships to begin with. Even with the Navy's warships, it can only carry a little over ten thousand people. So, to rescue everyone on the island, we'd need to add the ships we arrived on, and it would *barely* be enough."
"Oh!"
Kong Tai nodded. "So you're here to get the ships!"
"Yes."
Kong Tai turned to look at the Marines approaching them. A red light flashed in his eyes, and he took in all the auras on the beach.
Gu Yina was fine; with Rōberu's help, her aura was stable. However, the auras of Ah Hua and the other two were quite chaotic.
He figured the fight with the CP organization members wasn't easy!
"Let's go! We'll take a boat."
Saying this, he took the lead and walked towards the beach. The Marines saw Kong Tai approaching, their footsteps halted in unison, and they parted to the sides, creating a path.
Merlussen, however, didn't even glance at Kong Tai, walking straight past him, heading resolutely forward.
He wanted to see for himself what secrets this island held.
"Hm!"
At that moment, his movements and Kong Tai's movements paused simultaneously. Then, their gazes turned to the open sea.
On the golden sea horizon under the setting sun, a fleet of masts bearing the Navy flag was gradually rising.
In the blink of an eye, the masts ascended, revealing ten giant warships beneath them.
Kong Tai looked at the distant warships and turned to Merlussen, teasing, "Well! I didn't expect your Navy's reinforcements to arrive so quickly. I wonder who's leading this time!"
Merlussen ignored Kong Tai, his gaze fixed on the distant sea horizon. As the warships approached, his pupils gradually contracted, his face filled with disbelief.
"Buster Call."
"Buster Call?"
Kong Tai was stunned, then his expression changed drastically. He glanced at the distant warships and then roared at Merlussen, "Old man, clarify this! Is it really a Buster Call?"
Merlussen's face showed a grave expression. He looked at Kong Tai and nodded.
"Yes! With this configuration, it can only be a Buster Call."
"Are you Navy people crazy?"
"There are no less than twenty thousand unarmed civilians on the island right now!"
Anger surged within Kong Tai, and his aura couldn't help but erupt.
"Do you not value life this much?"
"Or have you, the Navy, truly reached the point where you'd slaughter civilians for the sake of the World Government's reputation."
"What did you say?"
Merlussen looked at Kong Tai, his eyes wide open. "Why are there so many people on the island?"
"And you're asking me why?"
Kong Tai looked at Merlussen, his expression gloomy. "Isn't this the island you've been guarding?"
"Weren't the more than ten thousand civilians from the Bass Kingdom brought here by your Navy?"
"More than ten thousand civilians?"
Merlussen's eyes widened, a look of recollection flashing through them.
He remembered. Three years ago, the World Government's CP0 organization had used their base's warships to transport something.
Now that he thought about it, they were transporting the civilians of the Bass Kingdom back then!
He had always thought the civilians of the Bass Kingdom were dead, only to find out they had been brought here by the World Government.
This was originally a mining island.
Then the reason why the Navy and the World Government had him, a high-ranking Navy general from the same era as Garp, to hold down the G10 branch for decades, became clear.
They wanted him to ensure the peace of the surrounding waters, so that this small island would be undisturbed.
Now that the World Government had issued a Buster Call, the real target was probably not Silver-Haired's group, but this island, or rather, the people and slaves on this island.
The World Government wouldn't let the scandal here be leaked.
Thinking of this, his gaze gradually firmed. He looked at Kong Tai and said, "You're going to stop the Buster Call, aren't you? Let me go with you. Although this old man is old, I still have some standing within the Navy."
"Just you?"
Kong Tai looked at Merlussen, tilted his head back, and took a drink of wine. "Better not. With a Buster Call issued by the World Government, let alone you, even an Admiral couldn't stop it."
"If you truly have justice in your heart, then tell me where your ships are!"
"You've brought so many people this time, you can't possibly only have one warship at the dock, right?"
If there were multiple warships, they could safely rescue everyone on the island at once.
After all, their ships were small. If they carried too many people, navigating in the dark, especially with bad weather, might lead to capsizing.
"Ships?"
Merlussen looked at Kong Tai. He didn't insist. He knew going would be futile, just as Kong Tai said, once a Buster Call was issued, it couldn't be stopped unless the person who issued the order personally called it off.
The order was issued by Fleet Admiral Sengoku at the behest of the World Government, and was to be executed by Admiral Kizaru and five Vice Admirals. Stopping it was simply impossible.
"There's definitely more than one."
He thought for a moment, his gaze gradually firming. "I can give you the ships, but you have to promise me that you will stop the Buster Call."
"At least wait until we pick up the civilians and leave the island's vicinity."
"Because the Buster Call's bombardment range is enough to completely cover this island."
"Stop it?"
Kong Tai put down his gourd and hung it at his waist.
"Let's go! You take our small boats and hurry over. As for stopping the Buster Call, leave it to me. Rest assured."
Saying this, he turned and walked towards the beach, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. He hoped the Vice Admirals who had come this time were all seasoned ones like Merlussen!
For him now, an ordinary Vice Admiral, if he willed it, would only be seconds away from being annihilated.
As for an Admiral...
He had already detected a familiar aura on the leading warship's bow.
This guy was specifically called by the Navy to tie him down, wasn't he?
He hadn't had a proper fight with this guy last time because his Armament Haki couldn't effectively strike his true form.
But this time was different.
He hoped to truly see the true strength of this guy who always liked to put on a show.
Merlussen watched Kong Tai's retreating back, his heart easing slightly, but then an unbearable sense of sadness welled up.
He couldn't believe he would one day have to cooperate with pirates to stop the Navy.
This made his sense of justice tremble slightly.
Decades of Navy career, even though he had long known the World Government's modus operandi, he had witnessed it firsthand three years ago.
But still! His justice had never wavered!
At this moment, he remembered Sengoku's words, "Whether it's the World Government, the Celestial Dragons, or even Marine Headquarters, you don't need to pay attention. As long as you stand on the side of justice, I will support any decision you make."
Sengoku must have been helpless too!
That's why he had said those words to him.
It was true, after all. They only needed to uphold their own justice.
They didn't need to pay too much attention to other matters, even if the other party was the World Government or the Celestial Dragons.
Sometimes, you couldn't resist.
At worst...
At worst, he would just retire early.
He was old anyway.