The ten warships that had deployed from the Gates of Justice passed alongside the Bridge of Hesitation, approaching the vicinity of the Tower of Justice as they began their bombardment. The rain of cannonballs was aimed not at Enies Lobby itself, but at the Twilight fleet deployed around it.
'Message from Warship No. 1. Nico Robin is currently fleeing from the front of the Courthouse toward the Main Gate. Admiral Akainu is in pursuit. All cannon fire is to prioritize the Twilight Pirates deployed in the surrounding area.'
'Message from Warship No. 4. Monkey D. Luffy, the suspected ringleader of this incident, and the giant Dilus of the Twilight Pirates have been confirmed on the Bridge of Hesitation. Half of all gunners, aim for the Bridge of Hesitation.'
The moment the order was given, the gun turrets swiveled, and the cannons of half the warships turned toward the Bridge of Hesitation. They knew that CP-9's Lucci and CP-0's Guernica and Stussy were fighting there, but it was a decision made with the judgment that a mere bombardment would not kill them.
As soon as the targets were acquired, the cannons fired in unison, engulfing the bridge in a storm of explosions. The bridge shattered under the assault, and Dilus fell toward the sea below—but just as he did, something flew through the air, wrapped around his body, and used the momentum like a pendulum to fling him to safety.
"What is that!?"
"An ability user… a chain user, sir!! He's moving through the air and relocating Dilus!!" a Marine shouted in astonishment, peering through his binoculars.
To see countless chains appear from thin air, to see someone grasp them and swing through the sky like an acrobat—it was a movement so unbelievable it could not have been anticipated. As they frantically turned their cannons, a massive flurry of paper flew in, obscuring their vision.
"It's a Twilight ability user! W-We can't see!!"
"…"
Onigumo, one of the Vice Admirals participating in the operation, took a long drag from his cigar and glared at the male ability user. He knew that Twilight had many ability users in its ranks. But he couldn't help but frown at the clear sight of someone moving through the air.
The Six Powers were techniques that could not be mastered without considerable skill. In the Navy, those who could fully utilize them were almost exclusively officers of the Vice Admiral rank or higher stationed at Headquarters, and only a handful of government intelligence agents could use them. From what he could see, the man was using Soru and Geppo, and it was highly likely he could use the other Four Powers as well.
Just how many individuals of that caliber did they have?
It wouldn't be surprising for a pirate crew that rivaled the Four Emperors to have a fair number, but Twilight was so secretive that they had shared almost nothing of their true strength, even with the Navy, who had been their allies.
This could become a very troublesome affair—he couldn't help but think.
…
"Oi, Luffy!! Are you alive!?"
"Gah, blub… Hah, hah… I-I'm alive…"
Pedro pulled Luffy from the sea and, holding him, began swimming toward one of the Twilight ships. He had been caught in the warship's volley, and when the bridge collapsed, he had been plunged into the ocean. As a Devil Fruit user, Luffy couldn't swim. He had been as good as dead the moment he hit the water, but he had been saved at the last second by a newly awakened Pedro.
Even so, the Twilight ship was still some distance away, and Pedro himself was severely injured. If they were left to drift in the sea, there was no chance of survival.
"Yo, Straw Hat! Hahahaha, you look like you're doing just fine!!"
"!? Buena Festa!?"
Festa's ship, which had drawn near despite the risk, likely to retrieve Dilus, was now upon them. Though it was under constant bombardment, the paper and chains flying around the ship relentlessly defended against the cannonfire.
"Luffy, can you stretch your arm?"
"I-I'll try…"
Just having half his body submerged was enough to sap most of his strength. Now, with the water up to his chest, the feeling of weakness overwhelming Luffy must have been immense. As he struggled to lift his powerless body from the sea and stretch his arm, someone leaped down from the ship, kicked off the air, and in an instant, retrieved both Luffy and Pedro, returning to the deck.
The two let out a great sigh of relief, saved, and offered their thanks.
"Thank you, you saved us…"
"Thanks, old man! Oh, right! What about the giant old man!?"
"Dilus was picked up earlier. See, he's over there, deflecting cannonballs."
"Ah! You're okay, old man! I'm glad!"
Dilus's body, which had shielded Luffy and taken the brunt of the bombardment, showed several burns. Thanks to his natural toughness, further enhanced by his Zoan ability, he seemed fine, but he had still been saved, and Luffy was happy to see him safe.
More importantly, Pedro looked down at the now shrunken Luffy.
"…What's with your body…?"
"Oh, this? It's the side effect of Gear Third."
"Gear? Side effect? …You've developed a reckless technique…"
He had landed a powerful blow on Lucci, sending him flying, and was then caught in the rain of cannonfire and fell into the sea. The duration of this side effect probably wouldn't be too long. But they had lost sight of Lucci and the others. It was hard to believe they had died in the bombardment, so they were likely pursuing Robin on their own. Being able to fly was convenient at times like these, he thought with envy.
Luffy, his body exhausted, stood up and begged them to turn the ship toward Robin and the others.
"At this rate, Robin and the others are in danger! If we let him get away, he'll go after my friends!!"
"Don't be in such a rush, you idiot. The ship's already turned and is heading for the main island… but it's fifty-fifty whether we'll catch up."
It went without saying that running straight there with Geppo was faster than turning a ship around. He could have sent one of the Six Powers users on this ship, but they had to deal with the warships here. While it was unlikely they would engage in a direct boarding battle, splitting their forces was a high risk.
But that was precisely why Festa would bet on it.
"Hahahahaha!! A festival of this scale!! It won't be any fun if we don't do it with a bang!!! Oi, Alex, take him!!"
"Huh!? Do you even know who's handling the defense over here!?"
"He's trying to save his friends who are being chased by Akainu, ain't that a tearjerker!! I don't mind if it's someone else. Derick, how about you?"
"…I want no part of Akainu. But if it's just taking him there, I can do it."
"Really!? You're a lifesaver, thanks!!"
The man with a crossbow slung on his back looked disarmed as Luffy took his hand and thanked him with a wide grin. When he said they would go after giving him some basic first aid, Luffy insisted, "There's no time for that."
Even as they spoke, Lucci was trying to kill his friends. There was no time for leisurely tending to wounds, nor was there any leeway to bring the ship closer.
Feeling a certain pressure from Luffy's intense pleading, Derick reluctantly nodded. He then scooped up the now-normal-sized Luffy and Pedro and took to the sky.
Festa, watching them go, grimaced at the sound of an exploding cannonball and put his cigar back in his mouth.
"What about Germa?"
"We just received word that they've arrived. It seems they're ramming the side of a Navy warship and launching an assault."
"Excellent. It was worth prodding them, then."
Laughing boisterously, Festa took the binoculars from a subordinate and looked in that direction. As he brought the king of the mobile nation—a man who possessed many weapons, many human resources, and who turned his own modified children into weapons—into view, Festa's lips curled into a grin.
"Now they're all in this together. They can't get off this one boat… Well, I don't know what that Kanata girl is thinking, but this can't be bad, right?"
…
With a deafening roar, the buildings on both sides of the road collapsed. It wasn't from the bombardment, but from Zoro slicing through them at an angle. The collapsed buildings completely blocked the road, making it impassable by normal means—but unhindered, Akainu melted through the rubble and emerged from the other side.
"Damn it, we can't deal with him…!?"
"But we can't outrun him in a straight chase either!?"
Even when Usopp attacked with an explosive star from his giant slingshot, Kabuto, it had no effect on the Logia user Akainu. They used anything they could to slow him down, but nothing could stop his advance. If they had brought Seastone cuffs from the Tower of Justice, they might have been able to use them, but it was too late for that now.
"How annoying… How many times do I have to tell you… I will not let you escape!"
Bubbling magma took shape and was fired diagonally, ahead of Caterina and the others who were leading the group.
"Great Eruption!!"
"Tch!! Not good, everyone, stop!!"
At the sudden halt, Iceburg and Tom, who were running behind, stumbled, but Caterina had no time to worry about them and grabbed them by the back, pulling them down.
The magma fired from Akainu's arm landed on the main street, blocking their path.
"He's blocking our path with magma…! This way is no good! We have to find another route!"
"What!? B-But we have to go back—"
"There's no time to go back!! We're cutting straight through the buildings!!"
Without slowing down, Sanji kicked through the wall of a building, avoiding the sea of magma as they aimed for the port where the Sea Train was.
Akainu, pursuing from behind, did not slow down either, and the distance between them was gradually closing. But most of this group couldn't use Haki. And for Zepo and Tobi, who could, challenging Akainu with their half-baked Haki would be suicide.
Since they couldn't fight him properly, the moment he caught up, it was over.
Caterina ran, her mind racing desperately, trying to somehow gain some distance.
"Kaie and Yuisheeze aren't coming… and since the two CP-0 agents aren't coming either, they must be the ones holding them back…!"
The two people she could rely on in this situation were not here.
I have to do something. I have to do something. I have to do something.
What kind of 'genius' am I if I can't overcome an ordeal of this level!!
Caterina ran, panting for breath… and because she was occasionally looking back to check the distance, she miraculously noticed that Zoro, who had been trying to buy time by collapsing buildings to create defensive walls, had finally stopped.
"Don't! You can't win if you fight him!! Run!!"
"He's not the type to give up the chase just because I show him my back… In that case, I'll buy us a few seconds!! Just go!!"
Prepared to die here, Zoro readied his three swords and faced Akainu.
—And it was then that three Cipher Pol agents, having caught up by running through the sky, arrived.
Lucci, Guernica, and Stussy.
"…"
"So this is how far you've run. You're fast on your feet…"
"Oh, we caught up, so it's fine, isn't it?"
"Why are you bastards here…!!"
They should have been fighting Luffy and Pedro, and from what he had heard, the reinforcements from Twilight. The fact that all three of them were here meant that something had happened to them. Lucci wore a dissatisfied expression, but the other two were wearing masks, so their expressions were unreadable.
Whatever the reason, now that they were here, escape would be difficult.
Zepo stood next to Zoro, prepared to buy time with his life, just as Zoro was.
"Just get out of here!"
"I told you, didn't I? I will not let you escape—if I've said so, then you should give up on living!"
He swung his swords with deadly resolve, but they passed through Akainu's body—and the blade of the famed sword, Yubashiri, was melted by the magma's heat, leaving only a small part of the hilt. He had known this would happen, but to be shown the difference in their power so starkly brought many things to mind.
Akainu didn't even deign to fight Zoro, but instead reached out to capture Robin. But from the side, Zepo's Haki-clad strike landed… and with no damage whatsoever, Akainu glared at him, and the magma's heat made Zepo scream in pain.
A terrible burn. If left untreated, it would surely leave a scar.
Even so, he tried to let Robin escape, only to realize that she and the others had stopped.
Guernica and Stussy had gotten ahead of them.
"Give up. This is the end for you."
"Did you really think you could escape from us? You fools."
In a brief lapse of consciousness, Zepo's head was slammed into the ground by Akainu, knocking him out, and Zoro was kicked into another building without even using an ability.
There was no escape.