Chapter 137: Sudden Reinforcements

Facing the current situation, Buffon felt a slight sense of powerlessness in his heart.

If all his comrades from the Juventus were here, he probably would have already charged forward directly to engage the vice admirals in battle.

Moreover, having Garp—a legendary marine veteran of unknown strength—by his side put him under considerable pressure. He deduced that Garp would not strike at him at this moment.

However, if he directly attacked the soldiers on the warships, he was unsure whether Garp would stop him.

What he feared most was that most people had already crossed the Bridge of Hesitation. If the Marines' artillery launched an indiscriminate attack on the bridge, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

Thinking of this, Buffon hesitated no longer. He changed into his battle suit right there in mid-air, activated the thrusters on his combat boots, and flew toward the warships.

Just as Buffon expected, the moment he moved, Garp's iron fist followed close behind.

Facing a master of Armament Haki, Buffon did not dare to be careless in the slightest.

Although taking Garp's punch head-on just now hadn't injured him, it was the first time since coming to the One Piece world that Buffon felt he could barely catch a blow.

Even against the two giant pirate captains on Little Garden, Buffon felt their strength was inferior to Garp's casual old punch.

Buffon had no choice but to abandon the idea of flying straight across. He spun around, executing his Goalkeeper Secret Skill: Double-Handed Crush, and met Garp's fist head-on.

"Kid, if you stay here and help block the cannonballs, I can temporarily leave you alone. But if you're going to raid the Marine warships, I won't let you succeed."

Buffon cursed inwardly, knowing full well that if he were to say anything to Garp now—such as claiming that destroying the warships could completely stop the Buster Call—Garp would never accept it.

Buffon himself did not yet possess the ability to instantly defeat Garp, and another trace of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

He quickly reviewed all the abilities he had mastered in his mind. Perhaps only by going into the water and using the Merman's strength could he gain a slight upper hand.

However, at that very moment, the second wave of Marine artillery fire arrived as scheduled.

Buffon had no choice but to abandon that thought. Two flying slash waves erupted from his feet, heading straight toward the dense barrage of cannonballs.

Meanwhile, the needle and thread danced in his hands as he resumed weaving his net.

Just at that moment, a massive ocean current suddenly surged up on the sea surface in front of the fleet of warships.

The moment that dark blue body appeared, alongside the giant Juventus emblem on its head, everyone present was shocked, and Buffon in the air was no exception.

Laboon broke through the water, opened its giant mouth, and Saul's iconic laughter rang out from within: "Dereshishi! We finally made it in time!"

Brook, standing beside Saul, drew the cane sword from his waist and let out his signature laugh: "Yohohoho! I've missed out on a lot of battles before, so it seems this is my time to shine."

With a grand wave of Saul's large hand, a white wax assault boat appeared on the surface of the water. He gripped a giant oar and paddled rapidly toward the warships.

The moment he appeared, all the Marines who had seen him before, including Garp, recognized him immediately.

Garp instantly flew into a rage, roaring at Saul: "Saul, you bastard, get back here! You're a former Marine, how could you join a pirate crew?"

With that, he moved to intercept him, but Buffon had already blocked his path, speaking calmly and steadily, "Vice Admiral Garp, your opponent is me."

Meanwhile, Saul, who was furiously paddling, turned back to greet Garp: "Dereshishi! How have you been, Vice Admiral Garp? When you get back, say hello to Fleet Admiral Sengoku for me, and tell him Saul is living quite well now. Now I finally have the opportunity to protect the justice I believe in."

With his reinforcements having arrived, Buffon was no longer flustered. He believed that Laboon's belly couldn't possibly have brought just these two guys along.

In an instant, Buffon enveloped his entire body in Armament Haki, controlled his combat boots to release thrusters, and began spinning in mid-air.

"Goalkeeper Secret Skill: Spiral Punch."

As the words fell, he transformed into a black whirlwind and charged straight toward Garp.

Just as Buffon anticipated, Laboon opened its mouth once more and spat out a stream of water. Riding the current was the Juventus, which had been reinforced by Tom.

Betty stood at the bow of the ship, raising a flag high and shouting, "Warriors of Juventus, let us follow Captain Buffon's lead and charge forward! We will drive away all the darkness in this world."

Behind her, Ryuma bent his knees slightly, exerted force to leap high into the air, and drew the autumn-water blade from his waist. A purple slash shot straight toward the warships ahead.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the Juventus crew, Luffy shouted excitedly, "So cool! It's actually Laboon!"

Robin smiled, turned to Bon Clay beside her, and asked, "Did you do this behind Captain Buffon's back?"

Bon Clay nodded, smiling nonchalantly, "Captain Buffon is so busy, how would he have time to arrange all this? Saving you alone was enough trouble for him."

Robin smiled and said to Luffy beside her, "Captain Luffy, could you please toss me over to Saul's side?"

Luffy didn't refuse. He stood behind Robin, stretched his arms out long, and using the two pillars of the Gates of Justice as leverage, he hurled Robin toward Saul with great force.

Just as she was about to land, Robin crossed her hands over her chest, sprouted wings from her back, and gently landed on Saul's shoulder.

Seeing Robin looking somewhat battered, Saul smiled and said, "Little Robin, Bon Clay told me you were captured by CP9. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Robin replied to Saul, "Captain Buffon has already helped me settle accounts with the ones who bullied me."

"Dereshishi! Then let us fight side by side and stop this Buster Call. Twenty years ago, as a Marine, I failed to stop that tragedy from happening. Now, I will never stand by and watch a Buster Call slaughter over ten thousand innocent people on that island."

Robin nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, we cannot let the tragedy repeat itself."

Returning to his spot, Luffy grabbed Bon Clay and simultaneously catapulted himself toward the warships.

The speed of the two clearly surpassed that of Saul and the others. Landing on the warship, the two exchanged glances, then turned back-to-back, striking a pose to face the Marines charging at them.

"Straw Hat Boy, I am so happy to be able to fight alongside you once more."

"Bon Clay, once we finish this fight, let's have a proper drink together." With that, Luffy unleashed his Gum-Gum Pistol, carving a bloody path across the warship.

Bon Clay deployed Newkama Kenpo and plunged straight into the battlefield.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, the five vice admirals showed a brief flash of surprise, but they did not lose their composure.

Momonga drew the sword at his waist and charged toward Luffy and the pair, while issuing orders: "Rally a portion of the firepower to attack the Juventus. Execute the Buster Call, but don't let this bunch of scoundrels escape either."

Strawberry glanced at Saul and Robin, who were closing in on him, a hint of mixed emotions stirring in his heart.

He had also participated in the Buster Call on Ohara back then, though he was not yet a vice admiral at the time. Yet, he had witnessed with his own eyes the moment Saul sacrificed everything to destroy the warships.

Now, Saul had appeared before him once more, stripped of his title as a vice admiral, standing instead as a pirate on the opposing side.

Strawberry took a deep drag of his cigar, drew the saber at his waist, and shouted to Saul, "I'll call you Vice Admiral Saul one last time..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Saul had already condensed a wax spear in his hand and hurled it straight at him.

Strawberry shook his head and muttered helplessly to himself, "It seems this is going to be a fight to the death."

Meanwhile, Robin had already engaged another vice admiral, Doberman.

Doberman's subordinate, Captain T-Bone, had participated in the operation escorting Robin from Water 7 to Enies Lobby.

Although he knew T-Bone might currently be at Enies Lobby, his characteristically uncompromising demeanor meant he supported initiating the Buster Call without the slightest hesitation.

Furthermore, he held Lucci's abilities as a member of CP9 in high regard, feeling that if even Lucci couldn't handle someone, launching a Buster Call was completely justifiable.

As a left-hander, after blocking Robin's attack, he asked out of nowhere, "Where is Lucci?"

Faced with this question, Robin smiled casually. "He has already been knocked out by our captain."

Robin executed her *Dos Fleur: Grasp*, tightly twisting Doberman's ankles, and added coolly and effortlessly, "And that was while Lucci and Kaku were teaming up."

Brook, moving at blinding speed across the sea surface, charged directly toward Stainless.

Stainless had once served under Kizaru, and along the way, he had inquired about the Juventus Pirates from his former superior.

However, this skeletal swordsman charging before him had not appeared in the information Kizaru had given him.

Yet, as fellow swordsmen, and with Stainless utilizing the Two-Sword Style, a flicker of excitement bloomed in his heart at the sight of an opponent who also wielded a blade.

He stroked his long mustache, drew the dual swords at his waist, spun them in a flourish, and attacked Brook, who had already leaped onto the deck.

As for the vice admiral wearing the T-shaped mask, Ronse, he observed the current battle in silence.

After a brief assessment of the situation, he issued an order: "Third wave of artillery, concentrate fire on the Bridge of Hesitation. Don't let those pirates mingle with the Marines and charge out together."

At this moment, the vanguard troops had reached the Gates of Justice. Looking at the fleet of warships opposite them and the cannonballs flying through the air, the Marines among the crowd were at a loss.

They didn't know whether they should raise the weapons in their hands to block those cannonballs, or turn around and cut down the pirates who had just escaped death alongside them.

Just at that moment, an ancient dragon soared into the air from the Juventus, rushing toward the Gates of Justice.

Betty stood atop the ancient dragon, waving the pirate flag of the Juventus high, and shouted to the crowd below her: "People walking in the darkness,面对 the hegemony of the World Government, please pick up your weapons! For the yearning for freedom and life, we must resolutely fight on alongside them!"