How could there be pirates willing to intervene in the affairs of Water 7 at this time?
He didn't believe that all pirates were evil, as he had seen civilians who couldn't bear being exploited by the kingdom's nobles and thus turned to piracy.
But even those people would never take action for the civilians of Water 7 at this time.
Only the Marines could, and it would only be the Marines.
But when his eyes fell on Gin's face again, the doubt in his heart resurfaced.
He had seen this face before.
T Bone was a fan of the East Blue Martial Arts Tournament and yearned for a fair duel.
If it were not for his duty as a Marine officer, he would even be willing to try joining the Martial Arts Tournament.
Martial arts is also one of the qualities that knights abide by.
This marine Rear-Admiral, who called himself Kin, looked almost identical to the winner of the first East Blue Martial Arts Tournament, a pirate known as Gin the Man-Demon.
And that man had later been confirmed to be serving under White Knight Gawain, who was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The other party shouldn't be here right now, and even if he were, it couldn't possibly be for the sake of Water 7's civilians.
"Gin... their faces may look alike, but their bodies are completely different. Maybe they are related by blood."
"The older brother is a Marine officer, while the younger brother is a pirate. This type of case isn't unheard of within the Marines."
Thinking this, T Bone's heart gradually settled down.
It was also at this time that Gin handed T Bone a bottle of water and bread. T Bone looked at it, then turned and handed it to a pirate dressed like a Marine officer with a tired expression on his face.
"You need these more than I do."
"Uh..."
This man was originally a sailor on Gawain's ship. He looked at the bread in his hand and the ugly man in front of him, but with a will as bright as gold, and nodded subconsciously: "Thank you, sir!"
Gin looked at this scene and didn't say much.
He just suddenly felt that the Marines might not be as bad as he imagined.
… … …
At the harbor, the pirate ships gathered in the area were all destroyed in an instant by Gawain's breath, compressed into a laser-like form.
The sea burned with a fierce fire, consuming the wreckage of the pirate ships, and the terrified screams of pirates who hadn't managed to escape could be heard from time to time.
Those pirates were going to be burned alive because they didn't have time to jump off their ships.
The guards at the harbor watched this scene without a hint of sympathy, only feeling an unspeakable sense of satisfaction.
"Wait… There's another one! A pirate has broken through the encirclement and is trying to land!"
Someone shouted in alarm, and the guards immediately took up a defensive position.
"Stop!"
Gawain raised his hand, stopping the guards who were about to act.
His gaze fixed on the distant sea, and he felt an incredibly powerful presence rapidly approaching.
"A serious guy is coming!"
"Retreat!"
The next moment, a frost spread over the sea in the distance.
Crack!
The sea surface quickly froze, and the pirates who had no time to escape were directly frozen into ice sculptures.
The wreckage of the pirate ship that was originally burning on the sea was also completely extinguished at this moment.
The remaining force of this cold air rushed directly to the land of the harbor and spread to Gawain's feet before barely stopping.
"This kind of ability that can freeze the entire sea in an instant, there's only one person I know who could do that..."
Gawain's face grew serious as his gaze fell on the distant sea, where he saw a familiar figure slowly approaching on a bicycle across the ice.
It was Aokiji who had come to Water 7 after his battle with Akainu.
"It's been a while."
"Gawain!
Aokiji appeared laid-back while looking at Gawain, who was dressed in a Marine Vice-Admiral's uniform, with a teasing smile.
"This outfit actually suits you well."
Gawain's expression stiffened, and he quickly interrupted.
"Are you here to fight me or to help out?!"
Normally, Aokiji should not be here at Water 7.
Even if he had come, he should have been in his Marines admiral's uniform, not dressed casually.
Given the current situation, it was highly likely that something unexpected had happened.
Until Gawain figured out Aokiji's intentions, he had no plans to let him into Water 7.
"Then it depends on how you perform."
While speaking, Aokiji looked at Gawain jokingly.
The sea breeze swept across the glaciers, carrying with it a piercing chill that hit everyone's faces, making them shiver.
The completely frozen sea was also displayed in front of everyone at this moment.
"This?!"
"Is this real?!"
"The entire sea surface is..."
A guard couldn't help swallowing his saliva because the sea within his sight had turned into glaciers.
The pirates who were still wailing in the sea of fire were frozen into ice sculptures in an instant, and these people even maintained the movements of struggling before death.
The scalp of the people watching turned numb.
The strength of the man in front of them was unquestionable.
Swish!
The frightened guards instantly raised the guns in their hands.
But this weapon, which was originally enough to take away lives, could not bring them the slightest sense of security at this moment.
Everyone's eyes fell on Gawain.
In their opinion, only Gawain, who was as powerful as a monster and destroyed dozens of pirate ships with one sword, had the ability to compete with the man in front of them.
"Put down your gun."
Gawain's indifferent voice made everyone feel a strong power.
With him here, everything would be fine.
They had this thought in their minds at the same time.
Everyone slowly put down their guns and took a few steps back behind Gawain.
Even though they knew that their duty was to protect the refugees behind them, the fear instinct of creatures still made their bodies make corresponding movements.
Some people realized this, and their eyes were full of shame.
Some people were still confused and stumbled. When they were helped up by their companions, they realized that their vests had been wet with cold sweat, and their faces were frighteningly pale.
Whoosh!
The sea breeze blew, lifting a few strands of hair on Gawain's forehead.
At this moment, Gawain breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Aokiji did not answer directly, his attitude showed that his purpose was definitely not to come here to cause trouble for him.
Combined with Aokiji's casual clothes, it was obvious that he was not here as a Marine.
Gawain had some guesses in his heart, but he kept them to himself.
"Boring."
Gawain complained, skipping Aokiji's half-joking topic, and asked: "Are you here to help or to make trouble?"
"Well."
Aokiji raised his hand and scratched his head: "I have good news and bad news to tell you."
Gawain frowned and inexplicably had a bad premonition in his heart.
After temporarily handing over the post-war finishing work to Zoro and Van Augur, he called Kuro and walked to the side with Aokiji.
This was not that Gawain deliberately concealed others.
But the word bad news from Aokiji reminded him of something that had happened in Ohara.
The Water 7, already battered by continuous warfare, was on the brink of collapse both physically and mentally.
The Marines's reinforcement had become their last pillar of hope. If even that pillar were to collapse, these guards would probably lose their will to fight.
"Come with me."