Carol, standing nearby, suddenly remembered something:
"Over on Admiral Kuzan's side, Hale Nock has also been driven back. All Four Emperors have now retreated to their territories."
"What should we do next?"
"Fleet Admiral, sir."
Sakazuki's calm voice rang out:
"So it's over..."
"Send out the orders."
"Pull another third of the Vice Admirals and half the fleets from Kuzan's and Enel's forces. If Red-Hair and Hale Nock launch a strong offensive afterward, they may withdraw from their defensive positions."
"Assign the detached Vice Admirals and fleets to Garp and Borsalino respectively."
"Have them attack toward Whole Cake Island and Wano Country."
Ever since his promotion to Fleet Admiral and his declaration of war, Sakazuki's moves had left everyone baffled.
First, he had used the Red Line to form a semicircular defensive perimeter.
Then he had poured troops into the New World without pause, fiercely attacking Charlotte Linlin and Kaido at the center of that perimeter.
This time, he had thrust straight into the heart of their territories like a dagger.
Of the defensive island chains centered on Whole Cake Island, the Marines had broken through three of the five forward lines. Only the last two remained, along with the ruined Whole Cake Island and the five defensive lines behind it.
At Wano Country, three forces had advanced together in an attempt to encircle the enemy, but Kaido had intervened and wiped out one of the fleets.
With one force missing, the Marines were now facing off against the pirates at the gap.
And now, with so many troops being transferred into the central battlefield again, the pressure on the two flanks was easy to imagine. Yet no one dared question it...
Likewise.
The pirates did not dare act rashly in response to Sakazuki's movements either.
The forces on either