PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

The entire battlefield was drowned in a suffocating silence.

Everyone stood in a daze, utterly unable to process what they'd just heard.

This was a Four Emperor, after all.

An existence on par with the very Whitebeard who now ravaged the field and shattered Marineford itself.

And now they were being told—told that Kaido, equal in stature to Whitebeard, had already been defeated?

Was this a joke?

Or were they just too weak to understand?

"…Captain, should we retreat?" Catarina Devon's voice trembled slightly as she broke the silence.

The rest—Sanjuan Wolf, Avalo Pizarro, and the others—snapped out of their shock, looking toward Blackbeard with alarm.

They had all seen firsthand the terror of Admiral Luo Yu during their time in Level 6 of Impel Down.

They had only dared leave that hellhole and join this conflict because they believed Kaido's involvement would be the end of that nightmare.

But now? Their greatest assurance—Kaido—had fallen?

Panic began to take root.

Blackbeard's face turned deathly pale.

He had experienced Luo Yu's terrifying might personally, more than once.

And yet… with Whitebeard so close—his long-coveted Gura Gura no Mi just a slash away—he couldn't bring himself to let go.

He looked up sharply, eyes bloodshot, and roared.

"Big News Morgans, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"

"If that bastard had really beaten Kaido, then where the hell is he?!"

"You're just making up lies because the Marines are losing control of the battlefield—spreading fake news to tip the balance back in their favor!"

"I never thought you, the great Morgans, would stoop so low as to publish false headlines! Who's going to trust the World Economy News anymore?!"

"You—!!" Morgans choked, momentarily speechless.

He had no rebuttal—because he, too, didn't know why Luo Yu hadn't shown up.

A flicker of doubt rippled across the field.

Could Kaido really have fallen so easily?

Even Sengoku and Tsuru found themselves hesitating.

And then—

A soft, timid voice rang out unexpectedly across the battlefield.

"Morning tea at nine-thirty…"

"Admiral Luo Yu probably went for tea. But it's almost noon—five minutes until clock-out. As usual, even if he's slacking, he'll come back to clock out and show his face."

"And if he really did defeat Kaido, he definitely wouldn't miss it."

Standing beside Hina, Ain had spoken up—her voice small, but clear.

She even added with a mutter, "Besides, Fleet Admiral Sengoku didn't offer any bonus pay for him to fight in the first battlefield…"

That last line, though muttered, echoed across the battlefield like a thunderclap.

Tea breaks at 9:30, clocking out at noon, and not showing up without extra pay?

Anywhere else, people would've laughed it off as nonsense.

But not when it was about Admiral Taiote Luo Yu.

It made perfect sense.

All eyes turned simultaneously to the shattered remnants of Marineford's clock tower.

There were still five minutes until the scheduled execution at noon.

Blackbeard froze.

Beside him, Catarina and the others tensed up, their nerves stretched to the limit.

Ain's words had struck deep.

"…Captain, what do we do?" Catarina asked again, her voice tight.

Teach stiffened. Then he clenched his fists, his face twisting with rage.

"No! I refuse to believe this garbage from Morgans! And even less that anyone would live by such idiotic habits!"

"Whitebeard is right there! His Devil Fruit is mine for the taking—I won't let it slip away now!"

"Once I have the Gura Gura no Mi, even if Luo Yu does show up, I won't fear him!"

"Shiryu, Burgess—stop Sengoku! I'll take down Whitebeard myself!"

His voice rose to a maniacal roar.

Teach surged forward, his Dark-Dark Fruit power exploding to its peak.

Shiryu of the Rain and Burgess exchanged a brief look of hesitation—but they knew the stakes. They were already bound to Teach's fate.

And the chance to steal the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit was something they could not walk away from.

If Teach could reach the level to face Luo Yu…

Then maybe, just maybe, they stood a chance of surviving the wrath to come.

"Go! Stop the Buddha—Sengoku!" Shiryu bellowed, drawing his blade and charging forward.

The others followed, shaking off their doubts.

Boom!

Sengoku shattered Shiryu's flying slash with a single golden punch, then glared at the rushing enemies.

He snarled.

"Akainu! Stop Blackbeard! Don't let him succeed!"

As one of the few survivors who had seen Rocks D. Xebec's madness firsthand, Sengoku understood the horror of dual Devil Fruit users.

If Teach really acquired the Gura Gura no Mi—alongside the Yami Yami no Mi—it would be a nightmare beyond imagination.

But before he could finish—

Akainu erupted in molten fury, shooting forward like a volcano-powered jet toward Whitebeard.

His intent was clear.

He wasn't stopping Teach.

He was trying to beat him to it—to claim the kill and the credit for defeating Whitebeard.

He surged forward, gaining on Teach rapidly. They were only fifty meters from Whitebeard now.

Then Akainu roared, his right arm swelling with volcanic rage.

"Great Eruption!"

Boom!

A torrent of magma blasted forth like an erupting volcano, aimed squarely at Whitebeard.

Teach skidded to a halt, infuriated, and looked back at the clock tower with a twitching eye.

Then he screamed.

"Akainu! Get the hell out of my way! You're stealing my time!!"

"Dark Surge – Black Wave!"

Boom!

A black tide burst forth in a tsunami of darkness, slamming toward Whitebeard as well.

Two monstrous attacks—lava and darkness—now raced toward the same dying target.

But above all… the clock kept ticking.

Four minutes to noon.