Buggy noticed that Blackbeard's expression suddenly shifted unpredictably, though he couldn't tell what was happening.
However, considering that Blackbeard might be experiencing a mental breakdown from prolonged suppression, Buggy decided to ignore it for now.
Instead, he turned to Shiryu and said, "Go and break off Jozu's limbs, but leave him with one breath. We'll take him with us later."
Shiryu nodded and headed towards Jozu with his sword.
Only then did Buggy turn his attention to another battlefield where Bullet was fighting five opponents at once!
It had to be said that Bullet's physical strength and Haki had been honed to an extremely high level.
Despite the relentless attacks from the Marine Headquarters' five top experts, he had managed to hold his ground without defeat for so long!
But it was merely a matter of not being defeated!
The giant created by Bullet's combined Devil Fruit abilities had completely lost its human shape, now just a slow-moving mass, passively defending against the five top experts' attacks.
In the original storyline, Bullet was defeated by the combined assault because of a vulnerability in his defense caused by Law's Devil Fruit power.
Without Law, although the Marine Headquarters' five top experts' attacks were fierce, they had no way to pierce through the fusion giant's defense, which was tens of meters tall, harder than steel, and imbued with Haki.
However, even with this, if no external force intervened, Bullet was undoubtedly destined to fail!
Controlling such a large body while being attacked by five powerful experts simultaneously was taking a huge toll on him.
It wouldn't be long before Bullet's stamina was exhausted, and even if his shell was as hard as steel, the five top experts would eventually tear it apart.
Buggy chuckled softly and looked at Blackbeard, who was still engaged in a fierce battle, and said, "Teach, don't you think something is still missing?"
Blackbeard was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean?"
Buggy pointed towards the battlefield where Bullet and the others were fighting and said, "Even though Whitebeard is dead, there are still two old-timers from the old era over there!"
"How about we each take one of them down and completely usher in the new era?"
Blackbeard followed Buggy's gesture and immediately understood what he meant. He excitedly said, "Kekekekeke, you're right! The new era needs to look like a new era. Keeping those old-timers around only wastes resources that should go to the younger generation!"
Buggy nodded in satisfaction, pleased that Blackbeard understood him.
Buggy said, "Don't say I'm not looking out for you. Garp is a master of physical combat, so your Dark-Dark Fruit won't have much effect on him. Therefore, you'll handle Sengoku!"
However, Blackbeard frowned upon hearing this and didn't agree right away. Although Buggy's words were reasonable and seemed considerate, knowing Buggy's deep schemes made Blackbeard instinctively feel that Buggy might be trying to set him up.
But for the moment, Blackbeard couldn't figure out where Buggy had laid the trap.
It didn't matter much, though; as long as he didn't follow Buggy's plan, Buggy wouldn't be able to trick him. If Buggy knew what Blackbeard was thinking, he'd probably be exasperated.
Buggy was genuinely looking out for Blackbeard and had no intention of tricking him.
Blackbeard's eyes flickered before he laughed and said, "Heh-heh-heh, forget it! I'm more interested in that old guy Garp, so I'll deal with him myself!"
Buggy frowned at this but responded, "Fine then, I'll take care of Sengoku. But let me be clear: since Sengoku is my target, any spoils from him belong to me!"
Buggy's reaction made Blackbeard even more certain of his suspicions and he agreed without hesitation.
As for the spoils from Sengoku... it was just a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, which Blackbeard didn't care about at all.
He genuinely had no interest in it, not because he had no one to use it with at the moment.
"Then it's settled!" Buggy said, then looked over at Shiryu, who had already incapacitated Jozu. "Shiryu, choose any one of the three Admirals to help relieve some pressure from Bullet!"
Previously, Shiryu might have been somewhat outmatched by the three Admirals, but now, with the regenerative power of the Phoenix Fruit, Shiryu could hold his own against any strong fighter in the world. This was the power of a Devil Fruit—instantly elevating one's combat ability to a higher level.
Having selected their targets, the three of them did not hesitate and quickly made their way to Bullet's battlefield. Meanwhile, Sengoku and the others were occupied in their fight, but with five against one, they still had some capacity to keep an eye on the other battlefields.
Seeing Marco and Whitebeard fall one after another, and Blackbeard seizing their Devil Fruit powers, they were stunned beyond words!
At the same time, their wariness of Buggy and his crew had reached a new level!
So, when Buggy and his crew approached them, Sengoku and the others instinctively stopped their attacks and created distance.
Bullet also got a brief moment to catch his breath, once again controlling the fused form into a slightly smaller giant!
"Hehehe, Bullet, you really are in quite a mess now!" Buggy, accompanied by Blackbeard and Shiryu, appeared at the feet of the giant, teasing Bullet with a hint of amusement.
Bullet didn't respond to Buggy's taunt. Instead, he focused on regaining his strength!
Even Bullet, no matter how arrogant, knew that he couldn't handle so many top fighters on his own!
So, despite his belief in the philosophy of 'the lone warrior is the strongest,' Bullet remained silent this time and said nothing more.
On the Navy's side, Sengoku, upon seeing Buggy and his crew, was already considering ending the battle!
Killing Whitebeard and wiping out the Whitebeard Pirates, although not directly accomplished by the Navy, had met the strategic objectives of this war!
Moreover, the Navy Headquarters had paid a heavy price for it. Out of the original 100,000 elite Navy soldiers, fewer than 10,000 remained!
They had originally planned to march into the New World on the back of Whitebeard's corpse, strengthening their control over the New World. But now, that seemed impossible!
How to recuperate after the war and rebuild the Navy's strength was the most crucial matter now!
However, all of this depended on ending the war now!
Otherwise, if the fighting continued, even if they managed to eliminate Buggy and the others, the Navy Headquarters would be left in name only!
The notorious pirates wouldn't give them another chance to rest and recover!
Sengoku's mind raced as he quickly assessed all the pros and cons of the situation. Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and stared at Buggy, saying, "Buggy the Clown, this war has lost all meaning. How about we end it here?"
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