The next day, Kalifa accompanied Senga as they strolled around Marineford.
On the way, many navy personnel were initially taken aback when they saw Senga, but then they became extremely excited. Fortunately, most of them were military personnel, so there was no situation of them frantically "chasing stars".
Senga asked Kalifa about the current situation at sea.
On the high seas today, the Navy is undoubtedly the number one power, practically in a league of its own, with the remaining forces being the pirates, whose power has diminished considerably.
Senga was quite surprised by this. In his opinion, with the Navy so powerful, how many pirates would dare to cause trouble?
Even the Four Emperors' crews were defeated by the Navy during the Marineford War. Don't these guys have any self-awareness?
Kalifa's explanation for this is,
"Boss, Blackbeard has reappeared less than a year after you left. He calls himself Rocks and is incredibly powerful. We've sent people to hunt him down several times, but we haven't been able to capture him. Instead, he's used the opportunity to increase his influence and attract a large number of pirates to follow him."
Senga frowned. He was absolutely certain that Blackbeard was dead and that he had even absorbed the Dark-Dark Fruit.
He pressed on,
"Blackbeard? You mean the Blackbeard who defected from the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Yes, he no longer uses that title; he now calls himself Black Emperor."
"Black Emperor... heh."
Senga's eyes shone even brighter, and he narrowed them.
He never expected that after he left, one fish would slip through the net and cause trouble on his turf.
Senga didn't care whether this guy was called Teach or Rocks; if he could kill him once, he could kill him a second time. His fate was only one: death.
Kalifa was arguably one of the people who knew Senga best. From Senga's actions and words, she gleaned one piece of information: Rocks was already dead.
She then described the information she had gathered about Rocks to Senga.
"Boss, this Rocks, like you, can possess the abilities of multiple Devil Fruit. According to intelligence analysis, this is likely related to the Paramecia Munch-Munch Fruit he demonstrated!"
Senga nodded. He knew about the Munch-Munch Fruit; it did indeed have that function. Wapol had once eaten a Devil Fruit User the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit and actually used its power.
As expected of someone who has thoroughly studied the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, finding such a substitute fruit after losing the Dark-Dark Fruit is quite impressive.
Moreover, he must have gained quite a few good fruits afterward, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to escape from the navy's encirclements every time.
Kalifa said that Rocks had a teleportation ability, and the range of his teleportation was quite wide. Once, Kizaru searched the entire surrounding sea area but still couldn't find the vanished Rocks.
In addition, Rocks has another confirmed ability: the Logia Swamp-Swamp Fruit. The power he wielded with this fruit was astonishing, bordering on catastrophic.
Putting everything else aside, these three abilities alone allowed Rocks to thrive in the absence of Senga. Coupled with the decline of the Four Emperors' crews, he naturally became the only emperor among pirates.
But now that Senga is back, it means his good days are over.
Alabasta
Crocodile led a group of Baroque Works members to stand outside the country's borders, their gazes fixed solemnly on the group opposite them.
The leader was a tall man wearing a black overcoat, and behind him were people carrying a skull and crossbones pirate flag with a huge skull on it.
Crocodile took a deep drag on his cigar and said in a deep voice,
"Rocks Pirates- Captain, Forest Aramaki."
Aramaki grinned, waved to Crocodile, and said,
"So you're Crocodile, aren't you? I didn't realize you were so loyal. But you don't think you and your bunch of useless guys can stop me, do you?"
Aramaki's tone was clearly disdainful, and Crocodile's forehead bulged with veins, but he still held back.
He knew that the person in front of him truly had the ability to do so. He had heard of Aramaki's power; he was someone who could go toe-to-toe with Marine Admiral.
Crocodile can do now is stall until the Navy's reinforcements arrive. Until then, he will avoid taking any action if possible.
Inside the city,
Cobra stood on the balcony, anxiously looking out towards the city gate.
"Thump thump!"
A series of hurried footsteps sounded from behind Cobra; it was his daughter, Vivi.
Vivi had grown into a graceful young woman. She ran to Cobra's side and, before she could even catch her breath, called out...
"Dad! I've contacted Marine Headquarters. Robin answered the phone and told me that Lord Senga is back!"
Over the past few years, Vivi has often accompanied Cobra to headquarters for meetings. Because of their "connections" in Alabasta, she has become acquainted with Robin over time.
Upon hearing that Senga had returned, Cobra's face immediately lit up with ecstasy. In the Pirate World, the name Senga symbolized absolute power, and for Cobra, nothing was more reassuring than hearing that Senga was back.
Before he could even feel happy for a moment, a loud bang suddenly came from outside.
The father and daughter quickly leaned onto the windowsill and peered out of the city gate.
Upon seeing the scene outside the city gate, the two were completely stunned.
Countless enormous trees emerged from the sand and transformed into fists that slammed into the city wall.
Aramaki still made his move, and without any warning.
Crocodile's expression changed, his arm instantly turned to sand, and he let out a low growl.
"Desert Diamond Blade!"
A broad blade of sand met the oncoming sea of trees, cleaving many trees in two. However, this did not stop the surging flow of trees, which were endless. Crocodile's attack had little effect.
Left with no other option, Crocodile had to use Sables to create a massive sandstorm.
Logically, "sand" should restrain "tree," since Sand-Sand Fruit can absorb the water needed for life. However, the trees created by the Aramaki are extremely resilient and can withstand the onslaught of sand to move forward.
Crocodile gritted his teeth as he focused intently on fending off the sea of trees. Suddenly, a vine appeared silently behind him, transforming into a sharp thorn with a dark gleam at its tip.
Turles's pupils contracted, and he shouted.
"Oh no! Boss!"
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and Crocodile shuddered. He slowly turned his head, and what came into view was Turles, who was pierced by tree thorns.
"Turles!"