The tension between the two factions surged. On both sides, elite forces stood ready—there were barely any low-level pirates among them!
"Shyahaha~! Today, the Hell Pirates will rise as the new rulers of the seas!!!"
The arrogant Golden Lion, Shiki, was the first to strike. With a roar, he slashed his dual swords at Dawei's lover— Calypso. The force of the blow sent her flying, creating a battlefield some distance away.
Hammerhead Shark Dalma followed suit, roaring as his body transformed into a hammerhead shark half-beast. His head, shaped like a massive battle axe, radiated Armament Haki. With a stomp, he shattered the ground beneath him and launched himself straight at Whitebeard, Newgate!
"Gurarara~! Good! Today is the day the name of Whitebeard shakes the seas!!"
Seeing Dalma charging at him—bounty 650 million Belly—Newgate raised his fist, already crackling with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. One punch sent Dalma hurtling backward like a cannonball.
Without wasting a moment, Newgate charged after him, carving out a new battlefield where Dalma crashed. This time, he was determined to raise his bounty past 700 million!
Dawei frowned. Two of his top officers had already been forced back right at the start?
Ashura Jakun drew his blade and slashed toward the poison expert, Tia, who was coated head-to-toe in toxins. But it wasn't the head-on clash he had anticipated—instead, she detonated a thick cloud of poisonous gas at her feet. Jakun couldn't avoid it in time!
Fortunately, the ship's doctor, Crocus, was nearby. He intervened just in time, using a Wind Dial to blow the poison away. As the cloud dissipated, Tia's venomous eyes glared back at them.
Fishman Tom wielded a massive hammer inlaid with hard Seastone. He swung it at one of the Sea Siren Pirates' regular officers. With one thunderous blow, the enemy's sword shattered, and he was sent flying.
Shakky emerged from the shadows, gleaming with excitement. Her razor-sharp claws tore into a pirate who had been attacking Stussy. The sneak attack inflicted serious damage—but it would only work once. The other officers quickly grew wary.
Shakky didn't push her luck. She turned to face another officer head-on, leaving the injured one to Stussy. Meanwhile, the swordsmen and samurai teams fell upon the Sea Siren Pirates' elite forces like executioners, the battlefield soaked in steel and blood.
Amid the chaos, Dawei finally moved. Intent on ending this swiftly, he took the initiative—his half-beast form now fully active. As a mutated octopus-human hybrid, he wielded eight famed swords in eight arms, each strike aimed to kill. His target: Brook.
Taking out the opposing captain would shatter enemy morale, even push them into full retreat or madness!
"Eight-Sword Style!"
Dawei ignored the attacks from Charlotte Linlin and Redfield. He was prepared to take damage if it meant cutting down Brook in one blow. His monstrous regeneration would heal whatever wounds he took—even those caused by Haki.
"Gates of the Underworld!"
A massive death god spirit erupted from Brook's body. Its stomach opened into a wide gate, and ghostly warriors charged out, heading straight for Dawei.
"You dare ignore me?!"
Redfield's strength was not to be underestimated. His noble blade, coated in Ryuo, stabbed into Dawei's back—despite being covered in Armament Haki.
Squelch!
The Ryuo-imbued strike pierced through Dawei's Haki defense and stabbed into his internal organs. He was stunned—these so-called rookies had mastered externalized Armament Haki this quickly?
Even if they could project Haki, it should've only broken his defenses—how did they damage him internally?
Caught off guard, Dawei faltered. His sword strikes lost power, and Brook managed to block them. Then, Charlotte Linlin slammed into him with a Ryuo-infused flaming punch, sending him crashing backward.
...
From afar, Dawei wiped the blood from his lips, his expression calm. The trio's power slightly exceeded expectations—but they were still within his control. His internal organs had already begun regenerating rapidly.
In a war of attrition, he feared no one. But his subordinates still needed him—he couldn't afford to waste a second!
With a slight breath, Dawei's eight tentacles extended once more. Blades in hand, they slashed toward Brook, Linlin, and Redfield at breakneck speed. The battlefield became a flurry of sword shadows and tentacles.
His terrifying sword aura, fused with externalized Armament Haki, covered the entire field—and he still had energy left to support his subordinates. It was as if he intended to take on the entire Hell Pirates alone!
"Get lost!!"
Newgate intercepted one of the attacking tentacles with a single punch. Even Golden Lion Shiki wasn't spared—two tentacles struck him, carving sword wounds into his body. Clearly, Dawei was giving special attention to his ex-lover's allies.
"Damn it! Archers and riflemen—FIRE!!"
Seeing Shiki wounded and the tentacles flooding the sky, Brook realized it was their moment to strike. He immediately gave the order.
At the same time, Brook's Death God began singing a requiem, trying to interfere with Dawei's soul. Linlin and Redfield launched thunderous and fiery assaults to paralyze the tentacles.
Seastone-tipped arrows and bullets filled the air, aiming at the wildly flailing appendages. Though Dawei's movements were nearly flawless, a single misstep allowed a Seastone arrow to pierce one of his tentacles.
In an instant, all his tentacles vanished. A furious roar echoed—Dawei's right middle finger had been pierced clean through by a Seastone arrow. No matter how he tried, he couldn't pull it out.
Without hesitation, he chopped the finger off completely. The moment it was severed, his Devil Fruit powers returned—and his eyes burned with fury as he glared at the Seastone-equipped squad.
Conqueror's Haki erupted from him in a crushing wave, aiming to overwhelm the troops. But Redfield and Charlotte Linlin countered with their own Conqueror's Haki.
Brook's Death God added its own pressure, while even the injured Shiki and Newgate unleashed their Haki in unison.
Together, the five unleashed an overwhelming force, pushing back Dawei's Conqueror's Haki and stunning him.
His face paled.
"Impossible! How can a small crew like the Hell Pirates have five Conqueror's Haki users?!"
Dawei's defiance faltered under the pressure, but his eight tentacles reappeared, unleashing a storm of great swordsman's aura that forced everyone to scatter.
...
Shaken by the barrage of Conqueror's Haki, the Siren Pirates' officers and elites faltered. The Hell Pirates, seasoned against such displays, capitalized, cutting down their foes one by one.
Enraged at his crew's losses, Dawei fully awakened his beast form—a towering 30-meter octopus siren. Brandishing his swords, he attacked every Hell Pirate in sight with reckless abandon.
Three devastating attacks blasted Dawei backward. Though he regenerated quickly, the strikes pushed him away from the main battlefield.
The Seastone troops followed Brook, Linlin, and Redfield, rushing to intercept Dawei. Their mission: buy time for Newgate, Shiki, and the others to finish their opponents.
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+188 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg