"What!!"
"Retreat immediately!!"
Ochoku abandoned any further conversation with Marco the Phoenix and Fire Fist Ace, leaving behind the occupied islands, and led the Hachinosu Fleet back to their base.
They've accumulated so much wealth over the years; it can't be used as a stepping stone for the Cross Guild!
Seeing the Ochoku Pirates and the Hachinosu Fleet leave, the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They fought against Ochoku Pirates and suffered heavy losses as well!
Of the dozen or so affiliated pirate crews that escaped from the Marineford War, four veteran pirate crews merged into Whitebeard's main crew. After several defected, several more have now been lost.
It was an utterly dismal situation!
Fire Fist Ace originally intended to take the opportunity to defeat the Ochoku Pirates, but Marco and Whitey Bay stopped him.
They now need repairs and restoration.
After this battle, the remaining affiliated pirate crews have all been completely integrated into the Whitebeard Pirates.
After the fierce battle, the captains of the subordinate ships gathered on a Moby Dick-class ship secondary ship named [New Moby Dick].
"Doma, McGuy, Karma, Decalvan Brothers, thank you for your unwavering support!"
"Now Blenheim, Curiel, Kingdew, Haruta, Gil, and Fossa are all gone."
"I hope you can take their places and become division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Please!
The Whitey Bay bypassed the two hot-headed captains Ace and Marco, and sincerely extended an invitation to the powerful subordinate captains, including Ranger Doma, Raikou McGuy, Octopus Karma, and the Decalvan Brothers.
He even bowed deeply!
She knew that not every subordinate captain was willing to give up their captaincy and become a squad leader.
But right now, the Whitebeard Pirates really need these subordinate captains to keep them afloat.
Seeing Whitey Bay speak like that, Ace realized what was happening and, mimicking Whitey Bay, bowed to the captains of the subordinate ships in invitation.
This led to a very strange scene: a pirate captain bowing to the person who invited him, which is extremely rare in this world.
"Everyone, join the Whitebeard Pirates! Let's restore our Pops's glory!"
Fire Fist Ace bowed and saw several captains hesitate, even wanting to kneel down, but Marco forcibly pulled them back.
As the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, he shouldn't have done that!
However, Roger even knelt down and kowtowed to Whitebeard in order to borrow Kozuki Oden from the Whitebeard Pirates.
Izo of the 16th Division, watching Fire Fist Ace's actions, was indeed reminded of the scene when Roger borrowed the head of the Oden, and a tear welled up in his eye.
"Since both Big Sister Whitey Bay and Captain Ace have extended this invitation, then I'll take the position of squad leader!"
"Captain Ace, you must lead us to retain our position as one of the Four Emperors, and perhaps even become the Pirate King!"
Moved by Whitey Bay and Ace's 'sincerity,' the one-armed Ranger Doma had no choice but to accept the invitation, merging his pirate crew into the Whitebeard Pirates and becoming one of their divisions.
"Then I'll join too!"
Lei Qing McGuy and You Shiqi Dorma had a life-or-death bond, and seeing Dorma speak up, he went along with it.
Seeing this, both Octopus Karma and the Decalvan Brothers accepted the invitation.
"Very good!!"
Fire Fist Ace shouted excitedly; he really didn't want to see the Whitebeard Pirates, left behind by his Pops, fall apart.
"Izo, your 16th Division is temporarily disbanded. You will become the captain of the 9th Division!"
"Doma, you will be the 10th Division Captain; McGuy, the 11th Division Captain; Karma, the 12th Division Captain; Decalvan Brothers, the 14th and 15th Division Captains."
Whitey Bay, the eldest sister, once again spoke up to make appointments, and Fire Fist Ace, the young captain, had absolutely no objections.
The 6th Division Captain Blamenco and the 7th Division Captain Rakuyo are still in the hands of the Goa Empire and are not dead.
Therefore, Whitey Bay will not revoke the positions of these two squad leaders for the time being.
There might still be a chance to redeem it from Wang Shi, or even rescue it!
"Yes!"
These strongest subordinate captains became the new squad leaders one by one.
The captains of the weaker affiliated pirate crews knew their own worth.
They voluntarily merged their pirate crews into the Whitebeard Pirates, serving as vice-commanders of various divisions and officially becoming members of the Whitebeard main crew.
Thus, under Whitey Bay's reorganization, all the affiliated pirate crews that had gone through several life-or-death battles were incorporated into Whitebeard's main crew, becoming a unified whole.
On the surface, the Whitebeard Pirates have shrunk considerably, but at least they have restored the overall formation of the Whitebeard Pirates' main crew.
It also greatly enhanced everyone's cohesion and fighting spirit.
At least Whitey Bay and Marco didn't have to worry about these affiliated pirate crews anymore, and they quietly withdrew from the Whitebeard Pirates that day.
A new Whitebeard Pirates has officially set sail once again!
"Everyone! While the Cross Guild is attacking Hachinosu, let's take back all the islands occupied by the Ochoku Pirates!"
After regrouping and resting, the Whitebeard Pirates launched another attack to recapture the islands, this time after a half-day break.
The territory that the Beasts Pirates, Big Mom Pirates, and the Cross Guild have already seized is Whitebeard Pirates simply cannot reclaim.
They can only bully the weaker Ochoku Pirates in order to maintain the Whitebeard Pirates' status as one of the Four Emperors, even if it's the weakest one.
"Charge!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill those bastards, the Ochoku Pirates!"
"Pops took such good care of Hachinosu! He didn't even charge protection money! And as soon as Pops left, that bastard Ochoku jumped out!"
The old and new division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates shouted in unison, their morale soaring.
···
Meanwhile, on Hachinosu...
The Cross Guild, which was originally planning to destroy the naval fortress, changed course at Shiryu of the Rain and headed directly to the wealthy Hachinosu.
Wouldn't plundering and conquering this pirate holy island be more satisfying than destroying a naval fortress?
"Hahaha! From now on, this island belongs to the Cross Guild!"
The Avalo Pizarro Avalo Pizarro, Devil Fruit User the Island-Island Fruit, directly merged into Hachinosu, turning the giant skull castle into his own head, and burst into loud, maniacal laughter.
"Lulu lulu, that old man Ochoku went to conquer Whitebeard's territory, and ended up abandoning his own base!"
The Vasco Shot, Vasco Shot, breathed fire, burning the resisting pirates into flames.
"That's more satisfying!!"
With his eyes blazing red, Shiryu of the Rain slaughtered any pirates who dared to resist on the island, letting out a wanton, sinister laugh.
"Is this the old headquarters of Rocks?!"
Bondi World looked at the island, feeling a little excited as well; he had finally arrived in this Pirate King kingdom.
Has Ochoku returned yet?
Bullet, the Heir to the Devil, casually picked up a pirate in his hand and looked out at the distant sea.
They were originally waiting for Beast Kaido to come knocking, but in the end they still had to take action against Ochoku Pirates first.
Ochoku's head was already in his pocket!