After Momousagi took to the air and charged toward the aerial battlefield, in the ruins of a building at one corner of the Front Plaza...
Only York and the two Lieutenants remained, staring blankly at one another. The soldiers lying on the ground showed no signs of getting up anytime soon.
A Lieutenant with two naval sabers crossed on his back examined the unconscious soldiers, finally managing to wake a few.
"Listen, what comes next is beyond anything you can take part in... Leave the mission here to Tika and me."
The Lieutenant spoke to the soldiers.
They had escorted York all the way here, serving as shields "just in case." Now, with Conqueror's Haki sweeping through every so often, they could no longer fulfill even that duty.
"Lieutenant Chess, what do you mean?"
The soldiers who had gotten up exchanged bewildered looks.
"Either withdraw immediately, dragging or hauling the others along with you."
The other Lieutenant, named Tika, wore a double-edged longsword at his waist. He tapped his leg, having already recovered from the effects of the Conqueror's Haki blast.
"Or stay right here and don't move until everything is over."
After a little deliberation, the soldiers decided to remain in the ruins for now.
"Lieutenant York, what should we do now?"
Chess and Tika were both headquarters elites who knew the Six Powers and had basic proficiency in Armament Haki. But both were already over thirty-ordinary talents, not naval Supernovas.
They asked York, their "equal in rank," because he was a Lieutenant in the Science Unit, with a security clearance far above theirs.
"Y-you just need to protect little old me... I have important work to do-"
York hid behind a fallen concrete slab, exposing only the upper half of his head, goggles and all, as he watched