The fierce battle on the island had reached its boiling point. Both the Navy and the Straw Hat Crew were starting to feel exhausted.
The rear admirals and commodores were especially worn out.
Battles at this level forced them to stay intensely focused at all times. Their minds were so strained that their stamina had rapidly drained away without them noticing.
At almost every battlefield, only the vice admirals and a handful of rear admirals still had the strength to fight.
Even so, thanks to their numerical advantage at the start, the Navy had still gained a considerable upper hand.
The Straw Hat Crew, by contrast, were struggling to breathe. Robin, Brook, and Chopper on the ground, and Nami in the air, were all gasping for breath.
"I feel like... my arms are so weak... I can barely hold my weapons."
Usopp panted heavily, his chest heaving as he aimed both pistols ahead of them. He stood back-to-back with Franky.
The two of them were surrounded on all sides by four vice admirals, including Kashou and Red King.
"Ah, I've only got one and a half bottles of Cola Energy left in my body, too. We need to find a vending machine with food, fast."
Franky spoke gravely, panting just as hard.
Hearing that, Usopp instinctively glanced down at his nearly empty pouch. His voice low and heavy, he muttered to himself:
"...This is bad."
Facing four Marine Headquarters vice admirals, he couldn't even imagine beating them. He wasn't sure he could last until he ran out of ammunition.
Everyone was locked in fierce combat right now, and none of them could easily break away to help someone else.
At this point, all their hopes rested on Luffy and Lina. If either of them won, the situation could turn around