The scheduled time for the Warlords meeting arrived.
However, Marine Headquarters did not focus their attention on the arriving Warlords. Instead, their priority was entirely on Edward Weevil and his mother, Miss Buckin.
Around the execution platform erected in the center of the square, Marine officers and soldiers of various ranks arrived one after another, forming orderly lines on both sides of the platform, stretching all the way to the gates of the headquarters prison to prevent any unexpected incidents.
Meanwhile, the Marine News Division staff responsible for broadcasting the execution process were setting up the visual Den Den Mushi and gradually connecting it to the open-air screens on Sabaody Archipelago.
In front of every open-air screen on Sabaody Archipelago, reporters from major news agencies had already gathered. Once the Marine Headquarters' broadcast connected to these screens, they would relay the live footage to the world using their own visual Den Den Mushi and regular Den Den Mushi.
Everything for the public execution was proceeding smoothly, awaiting only the arrival of the execution time and the start of the broadcast.
...
Marine Headquarters Port.
Several warships tasked with transporting the Warlords slowly docked.
The first to arrive was the warship carrying Bastille. Before the ship could fully stop, Bastille and Doflamingo jumped off the deck one after the other, landing on the dock.
Shortly after, Jinbei and Hanafuda, who were on the same warship as Vice Admiral Strawberry and Rear Admiral Noah, also disembarked.
As the three Warlords gathered, a group of Marine soldiers immediately swarmed out, lining both sides of the path leading to Marineford Square, glaring at the trio with murderous intent.
By now, the three Warlords, including Doflamingo, were numb to this treatment. Each lost in their own thoughts, they silently followed Bastille, Vice Admiral Strawberry, and Rear Admiral Noah, walking unhurriedly up the steps.
At that moment, two more warships docked. Doflamingo, who had just stepped onto the stairs, seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He immediately turned to look at the two newly arrived warships. When he saw the figures on the decks, he grinned widely.
"Looks like it's not just the three of us!"
Onboard the two warships were the Warlords Crocodile and Gecko Moria.
Gecko Moria, with his nearly seven-meter-tall, obese frame, looked quite different from what they remembered!
Not only did he have a massive, seven-meter-tall body, but his appearance was also terrifyingly grotesque at first glance.
At this moment, Gecko Moria, surprisingly, hung his head meekly standing quietly beside Vice Admiral Hound like a wronged little wife. Clearly, just like the other three, Moria had also been worn down by the eager-to-prove-themselves Marine soldiers, leaving him with no fight left.
Meanwhile, another Warlord, Crocodile, remained as arrogant as ever.
He stood alone on the deck of the warship, draped in a black fur coat, his hair slicked back and a cigar dangling from his mouth. He exuded the aura of a king looking down on the world, his gaze fixed on Doflamingo and the other two who had disembarked before him and Moria.
"Doflamingo, your expression right now is making me uncomfortable!" Crocodile suddenly burst into laughter as his eyes landed on Doflamingo.
"Were you threatened by the Marines assigned to escort you? If so, you've really opened my eyes. The Heavenly Yasha, who dared to attack the Celestial Dragons' tribute and forced the World Government to make him a Warlord, actually swallowed his pride? Guhahaha~"
"You're not much better yourself!" Doflamingo turned around, hands in his pockets, and grinned.
"How about a bet? If you dare to look back at those soldiers behind you without being threatened, I'll admit defeat."
Hearing this, Crocodile mouth twitched slightly, and he quickly glanced over his shoulder.
"What are you looking at?!"
The moment Crocodile turned his head, an officer from the Marine soldiers behind him stepped forward and mercilessly berated him to his face.
"Get moving!"
"Hiss~"
Crocodile took a deep drag from his cigar, a cold glint flashing in his eyes before disappearing.
Seeing this, Doflamingo mood instantly improved.
"Hehehe~ Crocodile, you're nothing special after all."
"Doflamingo, Jinbei, Hanafuda!" Before Crocodile could react, Noah, who had been following behind the two, suddenly turned around, his eyes blazing as he stared at the three Warlords.
"Keep up! If you make me late, I'll request permission from the Fleet Admiral to hunt you all down after this Warlord meeting!"
Even Vice Admiral Strawberry couldn't hold back anymore and quickly intervened.
"Noah, that's enough."
Doflamingo, clearly unfazed, didn't take Noah scolding to heart. Watching as Crocodile and Gecko Moria jumped off the warship and approached, a sly smile curled on his lips. He moved closer to Crocodile and whispered sinisterly.
"Crocodile, this meeting is anything but ordinary! If something unexpected happens, how about we team up and escape together?"
"You've surely noticed by now that the Marines today are nothing like before. Even ordinary soldiers dare to boss us around. This means the newly appointed Fleet Admiral has ulterior motives for calling this Warlord meeting. My gut tells me he's likely planning to use this opportunity to eliminate us all!"
Crocodile ignored Doflamingo, silently walking past him alongside Gecko Moria. As a seasoned veteran among the Warlords, how could he not sense the danger lurking in this meeting? Especially after being intercepted by the Navy warship, he clearly sensed the undisguised hostility from the top down of the Navy Headquarters towards him, a Warlord of the Sea.
The accompanying Navy soldiers on the warship, in particular, seemed as if they had taken expired aphrodisiacs, maintaining a high level of vigilance from the moment they intercepted him until now. It gave him the illusion that if he made even the slightest unusual move, these soldiers would not hesitate to rush forward and tear him apart!
Of course, he wasn't afraid of these Navy soldiers on the warship. If he wanted to, everyone on the ship that intercepted him, including the accompanying Vice Admiral Stainless, wouldn't survive.
However, he neither wanted nor dared to do so.
First, if he were to attack the accompanying Navy personnel, it would inevitably provoke the most frenzied retaliation from the Navy Headquarters in the future.
He might even be the next one to be publicly executed!.
Second, the new Fleet Admiral of the Navy Headquarters had risen to power through a coup, and his ambitions were certainly not limited to merely commanding the Navy.
To understand the true ambitions of this new Fleet Admiral, he had to remain calm and observe the situation. If the other party ambitions were grand enough, he could fully exploit this risky opportunity to attend the Warlord meeting, creating a chance for a win-win situation.
After all, danger and opportunity coexist. The greater the storm, the more valuable the fish.
Led by several Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals, the group of five passed through the heavily guarded Navy ranks and entered Marineford Square.
The moment they stepped into Marineford Square, a chilling aura of killing intent immediately swept over them, causing these seasoned figures who had roamed the Grand Line for years to widen their eyes in surprise.
In front of them, a towering execution platform stood in the center of the square, surrounded by thousands of soldiers with stern expressions. The fortresses around the square were heavily guarded, with soldiers standing under the fluttering flags bearing the Navy seagull emblem.
Taking advantage of the high ground, they watched the newcomers with a predatory gaze.
On the other side of the execution platform, a high stage had been erected. On the stage stood a long rectangular conference table covered with a white tablecloth.
On both sides of the table, over a dozen Rear Admirals from the Headquarters stood in identical postures, hands behind their backs, their figures tall and straight.
Although the square was filled with tens of thousands of people, not a single sound could be heard. The air was thick with a suffocating aura of killing intent, making even the Warlords, including Donquixote Doflamingo, feel an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Amidst the silence and tension, only the Navy flags symbolizing justice and honor fluttered in the sea breeze.
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