Under Bartolomeo's barrier, all the Marines' attacks were rendered ineffective. Some were even reflected by the barrier, their force rebounding and injuring themselves.
"So strong!" Marco murmured as he watched the Marines outside fail completely to break through.
The look in his eyes as he watched Bartolomeo changed from indifference to gravity.
He had thought that his and Jozu's defensive abilities were already unmatched in the world. He had never expected someone like this to exist.
Under Bartolomeo's protection, Marco recovered while helping Jozu heal. They had to regain their fighting strength quickly and go help Pops and the others.
Now that the Blood Sword Pirates had joined the battle, the situation on the battlefield seemed to have evened out. But Marco knew that was an illusion.
The Marines still held an overwhelming advantage. Pops had already suffered serious injuries while fighting Sengoku and Zephyr.
The only reason he could still suppress Zephyr now was because Pops was simply too powerful.
But as the ship's doctor, Marco knew Whitebeard's condition better than anyone. Though Pops was still as invincible in battle as ever, his stamina had declined with age.
As time passed, Whitebeard's lack of stamina would become apparent.
And Enel's recent outburst was merely a temporary remedy. As long as someone could hold him back, his large-scale area attacks would not be of much use.
Many of the Marine elites had not been injured and remained at peak fighting strength. Compared to them, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates had been affected to varying degrees. If this continued, they would still be the ones to die.
Sure enough, after Enel displayed his might, a Marine Vice Admiral went after him and held him back.
It was Momousagi—Gion—who had arrived with the Marines' chief strategist, Tsuru.
After Enel erupted, Kid erupted