"Alliance Leader, the Red-Haired Pirates have begun withdrawing!" Kyros stood beside Hikaru, with forty Zoan Fruit users arrayed in two rows behind him. The imposing formation showcased Alliance Leader Uchiha Hikaru's extraordinary stature.
Hikaru watched the battle coldly. His sensory ability covered the entire battlefield; even without Kyros telling him, he could precisely grasp the battle's every development.
"What a pity. Marco is still so stubborn," Hikaru said flatly. "I'd originally planned to absorb these men after crushing Blackbeard, then let them manage Blackbeard's territory for me. But it seems that idea has to be abandoned. What can people who fail to see the bigger picture and disregard the greater good do besides ruin things?"
Kuzan, standing behind Hikaru, said mildly, "Didn't you say you wanted pirates to disappear from this world completely? Yet now you're planning to absorb a pirate crew that was once so renowned?"
"I never said I wanted pirates to disappear from this world completely," Hikaru replied leisurely. "I only said that the alliance under my rule will eradicate that darkness and have a brand-new future. As for places beyond my alliance, I can't control them, and I don't want to."
Kuzan fell silent.
Suddenly, the sea churned with a loud splash, and a figure shot out of the water toward the ship.
"Protect the Alliance Leader!" Kyros reacted as if facing a great enemy, drawing his sword in one swift motion. The dozens of Devil Fruit users behind him instantly shifted into their beast forms and rapidly repositioned themselves. In the blink of an eye, they had formed a protective formation around Uchiha Hikaru.
Hikaru silently praised them. The training of these Devil Fruit users had truly paid off. Before eating the fruits, they had merely been ordinary elite soldiers. Afterward, their strength had soared.