Whitebeard Remnants and the Buster Call Assemble

On the Marine warship Wuli was aboard, the excitement of the Marines and the smiles on the faces of the rescued civilians had yet to fade when they suddenly spotted countless black dots approaching from the distance.

The people aboard the warship were puzzled. As the black dots drew closer, Wuli and Shu's eyes narrowed, while everyone else gaped in alarm and cried out in panic, "They're cannonballs!!"

No one had expected those warships to launch an attack on them, and they were utterly shocked.

As the first few cannonballs arrived, Shu leaped up and knocked them all away. The instant they were struck by Shu, they turned crimson.

Some exploded in midair, while others fell into the sea and burst apart, flames accompanied by thick smoke.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Shu's eyes were grave, and he was deeply perplexed. He did not know why the Marines were attacking them.

Of course, that was not all. The continuous barrage of incoming cannonballs left the Marines aboard the warship horrified. This time, another figure sprang out, and Wuli's sword left its sheath once more.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

His figure flickered through the air. Before anyone could see what had happened, they saw every cannonball flash with a streak of sword light, split apart down the middle, and explode in two halves.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under the cannonball assault, Wuli and the others had come within less than a hundred meters of the three large warships beside the isolated island and the six warships of similar size to Wuli's own. They could now make out the people on the other side. The bombardment ceased, and Wuli's warship came to a halt as well. The atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Wuli looked at the several figures aboard the large warship in the middle, surprise in his eyes. All three were vice admirals. For three vice admirals to come here in person, the Marines clearly attached considerable importance to this.

Although Wuli said nothing, anger burned in Shu's eyes as he looked at the tall man in the middle. Beneath his Marine "Justice" cape, the man wore a double-breasted gray suit, a dark green shirt, and a silver tie. A gold hoop earring hung from his left ear.

Naturally, Shu recognized this vice admiral: Onigumo. Back at Enies Lobby, he had similarly disregarded his own comrades in order to attack pirates. Now, he had launched another reckless attack without a care for them.

"Vice Admiral Onigumo! Why did you attack us!?" Shu demanded, forcibly suppressing his anger.

Onigumo looked at Wuli without recognizing him, then turned to Shu, who seemed somewhat familiar. He had seen him once during the Enies Lobby incident. He said coldly, "We never received any notice that you were coming here, Colonel Shu. Why are you here?"

The anger on Shu's face was becoming difficult to contain, but he still answered, "We accidentally entered this area while pursuing the Straw Hat Pirates. But we never expected to be shelled by the Marines?!"

"Colonel! Do you know who you're speaking to? Watch your attitude!" Mozambia said coldly. He wore a sword at his waist, a Marine coat, and a shoulder cape. Shu could not help lowering his head, angry but unwilling to speak further.

The remaining vice admiral wore a dark brown suit, a black tie, and a shirt dotted with red circles. With a cigar clenched between his teeth and a broad smile on his face, he said amiably, "Colonel Shu, it was a misunderstanding. You suddenly entered these waters without approval from Headquarters, so Vice Admiral Onigumo mistook you for pirates posing as Marines and attacked you."

The three warships were far larger than Wuli's. The one that had fired upon them earlier belonged to Vice Admiral Onigumo. That was precisely why he and Vice Admiral Mozambia had come aboard Onigumo's warship, as they too remained constantly vigilant against pirates.

After hearing the explanation, everyone aboard the warship understood. They had been mistaken for pirates disguised as Marines. Still, even if they had not reported to Headquarters, launching an attack like that had been far too rash. Yet in such a sensitive region, Hōshō's explanation was understandable.

After Wuli's warship joined up with the other Marine vessels, they could see from afar a town on an island engulfed in flames. Wuli frowned, unable to understand why they were stopping here instead of driving away the pirates.

"Vice Admiral Hōshō, it seems that town is being ravaged by pirates. Shouldn't we go and rescue them immediately?" Wuli asked.

"And you are?" Hōshō asked with a smiling squint. He truly had no impression of the man before him, and the other two vice admirals looked over as well.

"He is Colonel Wuli, recruited through the World Military Draft," Shu answered for Wuli.

"Oh, Colonel Wuli. We have a mission and cannot head there immediately. I cannot tell you the details of that mission yet. We have confirmed that captain-level members of the Whitebeard Remnants are fighting New World pirates in that town. We must wait for the other two vice admirals to arrive before we act," Hōshō explained gently with a smile.

"Vice Admiral Hōshō, you've said too much!" Onigumo said with a frown. Missions were not something that could be casually disclosed. Even vice admirals uninvolved in the mission could not be told, much less two colonels.

"Marine officers, if you don't act soon, our fellow citizens will be harmed by those pirates!" The civilians aboard Wuli's warship could not make sense of it for a moment. Why were these Marines not saving their hometown?

"Who are they?" Onigumo asked.

"We encountered them in the Calm Belt. They are civilians from that town," Shu explained.

Whitebeard Remnants? New World pirates?

Wuli fell into thought. It seemed Blackbeard had indeed achieved his goal and forced a hidden Whitebeard commander into the open. But why did they need to wait for two more vice admirals before acting? With those two added to the three before him, that would make five vice admiral-level Marines.

It took five vice admirals to act??

Wuli's pupils contracted as he suddenly realized something. He cried out, "The Buster Call?!"