The real plot!
"I'm not too late, am I?"
Ace smiled as he landed on the ground.
Right after him,
Marco, Jozu, Yamato, and several other division commanders dropped down from above.
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Ace!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates."
Ryokugyu gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with hatred. He looked down at Lina and Luffy. "And the Straw Hat Crew!"
No wonder the higher-ups had changed their minds at the last minute before the finals, secretly taking the Float-Float Fruit and turning the deal into a transaction between CP0 and the Donquixote Family.
Did they intend to work together and wipe out both pirate crews? Ryokugyu had a vague suspicion.
Rumble!!
A violent tremor shook the earth.
The ground and walls writhed nonstop. The surrounding buildings twisted together, eventually forming a gigantic head that looked down at them.
One of the highest-ranking executives representing "Spades," the Stone-Stone Fruit user, Pica.
Another man stepped forward. He was tall and powerfully built, wearing a white checkered coat, with what looked like food residue still stuck to his cheek.
The original highest-ranking Heart executive, Demon Bamboo Vergo!
Vergo held a length of bamboo in his hand and stood alongside the other executives, their eyes fierce. Together, they seemed to be closing in on Lina and Luffy.
Except for Suna, who had remained at the palace, Trebol, who was protecting her, and Monet, who was guarding the factory, nearly all the executives were here.
Lina recognized some of them.
The spiky-haired man in the trench coat, Gladius, the Boom-Boom Fruit user; Baby 5, the Weapon-Weapon Fruit user; and Mahal, the Ton-Ton Fruit user, were all there.
Every one of them looked at Lina with hatred, as if they wanted to devour her whole.
"Hey, Luffy, what's going on?"
Several figures leaped down from