At this moment, in a sea area only a short half-day's journey from Lantis Island, two Marine warships were slowly sailing. On one of the warships, Admiral Kizaru was holding a Den Den Mushi, speaking with Fleet Admiral Sengoku from Marine Headquarters: "Kizaru, are you near Lantis Island?"

"Not yet, but almost there," Kizaru replied lazily.

He had received Sengoku's orders earlier, but he had been pursuing Moris in a distant sea area and couldn't reach Lantis Island immediately.

"A minute ago, Eric contacted the World Government and Marine Headquarters, requesting the activation of the Buster Call. Base Commander Reizer of the Lantis operation has been killed, Eric lost an arm, Kuma is injured, Shichibukai Crocodile has betrayed us, and Marine casualties have exceeded four thousand. You need to hurry to Lantis Island and take control of the situation," Sengoku said with unprecedented gravity.

For a long time, there hadn't been such a large-scale casualty event in the first half of the Grand Line.

Sengoku still didn't fully understand what kind of upheaval had occurred on the island to cause such heavy losses to several powerful Marine officers.

Had Lantis abandoned its last chance to survive outside the island and completely turned into beasts? And why had Crocodile gotten involved, even attacking the Marines?

At this point, Sengoku no longer trusted the World Government's directives and instead urged Admiral Kizaru to quickly take charge on the island. If the situation worsened further, it would be beyond control.

Or perhaps it already was.

Because the World Government had already ordered him to activate the Buster Call! However, due to lingering doubts, Sengoku didn't immediately agree, and with Kizaru nearby, he bought some time.

Sengoku was, relatively speaking, a responsible man.

"Reizer is dead, Eric is severely injured and lost an arm," Kizaru muttered, his usual carefree expression fading as he scratched his head, realizing the magnitude of the trouble.

"Not a moment of peace... These Shichibukai are such a hassle," Kizaru sighed, though he knew he was the one who had to deal with the mess.

Meanwhile, at the Lantis Marine port.

Countless Marine ships were burning on the sea, with a few ships sailing along the coast, occupied by the Landis people.

They stayed close to the shore because just a bit further out, the super-long-range cannons of the Eight Islands could reach them.

The Landis people had only managed to seize a few ships. Just before breaching the Marine's temporary base, the Marine officers had ordered the ships to be burned. Even after capturing the base, only a handful of ships could be salvaged.

Hoddman stood on one of the ships, looking at the recently breached Marine harbor, now swarming with reinforcements and the enemy's top commanders.

He had no choice but to order a retreat with the remaining ships.

At least they had to protect the ships they still had.

Eric and Kuma, along with the Marines, arrived at the harbor and saw the burning ships. Eric's face turned grim: "Contact the Eight Islands and have them send new ships. From now on, no ships are allowed to enter or leave Lantis Island. Any ship spotted will be sunk immediately."

"Yes, sir."

During the retreat, Eric had already reported the island's situation to the World Government. With the current Marine forces, holding the base was manageable, even if Queen Hathaway herself arrived.

They just needed to hold out until the ships arrived and then leave Lantis Island. Eric was certain the Buster Call would be activated sooner or later.

The Marines rarely suffered such defeats, let alone the loss of several Rear Admirals and a top Vice Admiral base commander.

Vice Admiral O'Neill watched Eric giving orders, his expression blank. He had once eagerly awaited the Buster Call, but now, after the battle in the Demon Abyss, he no longer desired its activation.

It was ironic—during the battle, he had felt sympathy for the Lantis people. He had seen their unity in the face of despair, reminding him of his fallen comrades.

They were dead now.

Their faces lingered in his mind, a mix of nostalgia and accusation. His convictions were wavering. He had long realized the mistakes he had made over the years.

But were the Marines' current actions right? O'Neill began to doubt, not just the justice of the Marines and the World Government, but himself. What should he do? For now, he didn't know, only that he was filled with uncertainty.

Kuma remained silent, while Ganos was visibly frustrated.

But the Lantis people were hot on their heels. They weren't attacking the base now because Eric and the Marines had arrived first and set up defenses. A reckless assault would result in heavy losses.

"Are we just going to flee like this? What about the long-lived species? What about the research? What about the World Government's mission?" Ganos complained, unable to believe that a Shichibukai and a top commander had been defeated.

It was a shock to Ganos, especially since Kuma was a powerful cyborg created by Dr. Vegapunk.

"That thing won't die so easily. We'll search the island again after the Buster Call is activated," Eric said, his face dark.

But his combat strength had been greatly reduced. Even an ordinary Rear Admiral might be able to hold their own against him now.

This was his worst moment, so he had little interest in responding to Ganos. The mission had failed, and now they could only wait.

"Will the Lantis people attack?" Kuma asked. If they did, they wouldn't get any ships and would suffer massive casualties.

"No, their commander is crazy but not stupid. There are no ships left here, and if any new ships arrive, we can destroy them in time. But the Lantis people will keep an eye on us, preventing us from entering the island. Not that it matters—a bunch of blind natives, they'll all be destroyed anyway..." Eric analyzed.

And indeed, when Hathaway received Hoddman's report, she understood. She hadn't expected the Marines to react so quickly, ordering the ships to be destroyed in time. Only a few ships had been seized.

Destroying ships was easy, but protecting and capturing them was far more difficult. Even if Hathaway herself had tried, the outcome wouldn't have been much better.

"How many warriors can the ships carry now?" Hathaway asked, as zombies were being guided by warriors to assault the Marine base from a nearby hill.

Of course, any zombies near the queen's area were swiftly killed. While the zombie threat was significant, with sufficient forces, they couldn't cause major damage in the short term.

The temporary base's location was excellent, with a high, curved terrain that made it easy to defend. The zombies could only deplete the Marines' ammunition but couldn't break through the defenses of around eight to nine thousand soldiers. Instead, they left behind charred corpses on the ground.

"If we consider speed, all the ships combined can carry at most 1,500 warriors. If we ignore speed, we could double that number," Hoddman replied.

"That's too few," Hathaway frowned. Doubling the number wasn't an option—if the ships were overloaded, they'd become easy targets while crossing the sea. They'd be sunk before getting close.

So 1,500 was the limit. But how many of those 1,500 would survive the Marine's firepower while crossing the sea?

With luck, maybe half, or even fewer. That wouldn't be enough to fight the Marines. She couldn't hold an island alone, and even if they temporarily captured it, she couldn't defend every direction.

If they transported all the Lantis people to the guardian islands, the result would be even worse—a few Marine warships bombarding a guardian island would wipe them out entirely.

"Wait. When the Marine transport ships arrive and leave Lantis Island, select 1,500 warriors to go to sea with me. This is our only chance—we must try. When we set off with the Marines, there will be conflict, but the guardian islands' firepower will also have to be cautious," Hathaway ordered after some thought.

"Understood."

(End of Chapter)