Neither the Red-Hair Pirates nor Ryan's group seemed the least bit concerned at the sudden appearance of the Navy.

After all, there wasn't a single person among the arriving marines who was worth their attention.

Sure, there were a lot of them — but neither Rosinante nor the Red-Hair Pirates were the sort of people who got taken down just because they were outnumbered. Their captains were Conqueror's Haki users, for crying out loud.

When faced with someone who wields Conqueror's Haki, sheer numbers become meaningless — unless, of course, every single participant in the encirclement was at least a flag officer.

Clearly, that wasn't the case here.

"Surround this place! Don't let anyone escape! The Vice Admiral will be here any moment — we are to capture the Supernova, Red-Haired Shanks, and the mad-dog pirate, Bratt!" A marine officer barked orders as troops quickly formed concentric layers around them, even evacuating nearby civilians.

Rosinante was intrigued. He stopped walking and stared at the marines in curiosity.

An encirclement? For the Red-Hair Pirates? Just this many men? Judging by their words, a vice admiral was on the way too.

If it were just an ordinary vice admiral, it'd be like delivering themselves as offerings to Shanks and his crew. But this was close to Marineford — it wasn't impossible for one of the real monsters, like Sakazuki or Kuzan, to show up.

That would make things interesting.

Since the Navy wasn't here for him, Rosinante decided to enjoy the show.

As for the other "main character," Bratt — he could barely stay upright, his whole world still spinning from the brutal beating he'd just taken. It was sheer, stubborn fighting spirit keeping him on his feet, and he didn't even seem to notice the marines' presence.

Rosinante, standing calmly in front of him, watched as Bratt dragged his feet forward, raising a shaky fist to throw yet another punch.

It had no strength behind it.

No matter how much fighting spirit burned in him, his body was done. After taking so many hits from Rosinante, there simply wasn't any fuel left in the tank.

"You really are a tough one," Rosinante said lightly. "But for now, why don't you take a nap?"

He vanished without a sound.

A moment later, he reappeared behind Bratt, bringing the edge of his hand down in a precise chop to the back of Bratt's neck.

For the first time, Rosinante didn't go for his face.

Bratt's eyes rolled back, and he slowly collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Take him back. We can 'educate' him properly later. And make sure you get a seastone chain to lock him up when we return — if this guy goes berserk again, he'll be a real pain to deal with," Rosinante ordered.

"Yes!" Kisu replied immediately.

With a wave of his hand, two black-clad attendants appeared. Each grabbed one of Bratt's arms and dragged him away like a sack of grain.

"Cloud Rope Lock!" Shaxia didn't feel this was secure enough. She activated her Devil Fruit ability, conjuring a massive chain woven entirely of near-invisible cloud ropes, binding Bratt tightly.

Cloud ropes were notoriously tough and nearly invisible — and Shaxia had woven thousands of them together into a single chain. In her opinion, even Kaido would be restrained for at least a while if he got caught in this.

"Heh, looks like we're about to get dragged into your mess, Red-Hair. Just what did you do to tick the Navy off this badly?" Rosinante chuckled.

"Why? Is the great Dragon King afraid of a little heat?" Shanks grinned, utterly unconcerned.

"Well, one vice admiral isn't really a problem for me," Rosinante admitted. "I just don't like being collateral damage, you know?"

"Collateral damage? Don't be so stingy. You're the one who took down Bratt, after all. If anyone has a reason to fear the Navy's anger, it should be him. Their primary target is probably Bratt — we're just an added bonus," Shanks replied casually.

Rosinante frowned slightly. Not because he was upset, but because something about what Shanks said made him uneasy.

In the original history — the one he remembered from the anime — there was no such man as Bratt. Meaning, in the proper course of events, Bratt was supposed to die, either here at Sabaody or later in the New World.

Given everything Benn Beckman had said, Bratt had been running around causing trouble ever since he left his home island — dragging his entire crew to their deaths until he was the only one left. He couldn't even set sail anymore.

All signs pointed to him dying here, in this very encirclement.

Which meant…

If Rosinante hadn't interfered, Shanks and Bratt would likely have been mid-fight when the Navy arrived.

Naturally, pirates and marines are sworn enemies — so the two might have stopped fighting to face the Navy together.

Or, knowing Bratt, he might have just kept swinging at both sides.

Regardless, if the marines sent weren't strong enough, Shanks would've wiped them out effortlessly.

So, for Bratt to die here, the vice admiral who was coming had to be someone formidable.

Who could it be? Rosinante's eyes narrowed as he gazed off into the distance, lost in thought.

"Ready the cannons!" the marine officer barked.

Under his command, a row of improvised cannons was aimed directly at Rosinante's group.

"that man—!" The officer's adjutant suddenly froze, staring at Rosinante in shock. His trembling hand rose, pointing straight at him.

The attack on Marineford by the Grey Kingdom had only just recently ended. And as the captain of the Grey Kingdom, Rosinante was now a world-famous figure, splashed across every newspaper headline.

Even though the World Government tried to suppress the details, the press had been quick to spread the story — and speculation had only elevated Rosinante's infamy further, painting him as a figure who could shake the world.

As part of the Sabaody Marine garrison — stationed so close to Marineford — how could the adjutant possibly not recognize the man who had given the entire Navy a headache?

"What's wrong?" the navy officer asked, following the man's trembling finger — only for his face to drain of all color when his eyes fell on Rosinante.

"H-how is he here?!" the officer stammered, his voice cracking.

"This is above our pay grade. We need to inform the vice admiral immediately!" he shouted.

"Yes, sir!"