Chapter 257: Mouse Chasing Cat
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The warships in the distance began to provide covering fire, a dense barrage of cannonballs covering the area like black rain.
Crackle!
Nami was the first to jump up, her arm transforming into an arc of electricity that surged out like a swimming snake, weaving into an electric net to intercept the attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless cannonballs exploded in mid-air in a dense burst of firelight, like a fireworks display.
"Leave the ship to us!"
Franky called out, flipping open his left palm to reveal several gun barrels, which poured a large number of bullets at the cannonballs in the air like a Gatling gun.
"How dare they damage the Merry like this!"
Looking at the shattered and messy stern, Usopp was furious. "Luffy! Reiner, hurry up and beat him hard!"
"Yeah, of course."
A hint of anger flashed across Luffy's face. He said with determination, "I'll definitely send this bastard flying with my own hands!"
"You arrogant pirate hooligan. Sending this old man flying is not something you can do with just your mouth."
A fierce glint appeared in Z's eyes. His ferocious mechanical arm shortened a section and locked, golden energy gathering as he aimed at the Merry and began to charge.
"It's a laser!"
"Be careful!"
Laser technology was an extremely high-damage weapon. Its powerful piercing ability meant that even a strong Haki user would not easily take it head-on with their physical body.
As the group cried out in concern, a figure instantly shot out, transforming into a streak of blue light and flying towards Z.
"Die, you pirate!"
Z roared angrily, a dazzling light flared, and a scorching hot golden cannon beam shot out straight!
"Smasher Laser!"
"Stop getting carried away, old man!!"
Reiner let out an explosive roar, dragging his giant axe as he swung it up from below!
Rumble!!
The sound of the atmosphere vibrating was deafening, and the formless space seemed to crack open.
Before the overwhelming, terrifying force, the condensed beam of light was instantly shattered and disintegrated, turning into specks of scattered golden light that dissipated in the air.
The powerful aftershock sent the airborne Z flying directly, and he flipped and retreated several dozen meters.
The falling Reiner summoned his falcon and landed steadily on it.
In terms of physical combat, he admitted he was far inferior to Z. He would have to trade at least two punches for every one of Z's.
But in terms of explosive power, Reiner had an absolute crushing advantage. Even if his Haki didn't have the technique of internal destruction, its power was still not inferior to Z's.
The only thing he needed to be careful of was the mechanical arm embedded with a large amount of Seastone.
"Cough, cough!"
Just as Z steadied himself, before he could use Moonwalk to step on the air again, he tightly clutched his heart, his expression pained as he fell from the sky.
"Master Z!!"
"It's an asthma attack!" Ain and the other two cried out in alarm and immediately turned to rush to Z's side.
"Damn it!"
Z hurriedly took out an inhaler from his pocket. He stared warily at Reiner while spraying it into his mouth twice, taking a deep breath before he recovered.
"Are you alright, Master Z?"
Phew—Phew—Phew!
Ain and the other two arrived at Z's side. The air under his feet was pushed out with a dull sound, and his figure rose into the air again.
"I'm fine. Prepare to retreat."
Z waved his hand in a gesture, his expression wary as he stared at the group on the Merry. He then took out a test tube filled with green liquid from his pocket.
Inside, a stable, floating purple stone was soaking. This was the Dyna Stone he used to blow up the End Point islands.
After a brief exchange, although he didn't want to admit it, Z knew he couldn't beat these few people.
His goal had not yet been achieved; he absolutely could not fall here.
"Ain, tell everyone to retreat. I'm going to detonate the Dyna Stone."
"Yes, sir!"
Ain nodded in acknowledgment, and with Binz, rushed towards the warship in the rear, stepping on the air.
"Sink into the sea, you pirates!!" Z didn't hesitate. He brutally crushed the test tube containing the Dyna Stone and threw it with all his might at the Merry!
Luffy's eyes widened. As if he had seen some incredible future, he cried out in alarm, "Run!!"
A large amount of yellow sand quickly condensed into a high wall, and then a pitch-black shadow, as black as ink, spread out, enveloping the Merry along with the sand wall.
Reiner didn't recognize what it was at first glance, but his Observation Haki continuously warned him, stimulating his mind. Foreseeing that it was an explosive attack, he subconsciously summoned Frieren to erect a defense.
The next moment.
The Dyna Stone, upon contact with the air, emitted a strong white light. The extremely dazzling light outshone the azure of the sky, turning the entire space into a vast expanse of white!
Boom!!!
A terrifying explosion echoed through the heavens!
The violent impact pushed aside the seawater, creating a huge deep pit. The defense Reiner had constructed collapsed with a roar, and countless fine grains of sand rained down!
"—Aaaah!!"
Bang!
"Ouch! My head!"
The sea current instantly became abnormally turbulent, pushing the Merry and shaking it violently. The people on the ship were thrown about, frantically grabbing the nearby railings to steady themselves.
After a good while, the ship's body finally stabilized a little.
"Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Luffy, covered in dust and dirt, drilled out of a pile of sand. His expression was like he had eaten a fly. He stuck out his tongue and continuously spat out sand.
Bang!
"Damn it!!"
Luffy angrily slammed the floor. Looking at the departing fleet in the distance, he stood up and bared his teeth, shouting, "Reiner! Turn around and chase them! I will absolutely not forgive that bastard!!"
"Eh!? Wait a minute, Luffy! Are you crazy!"
Nami hurriedly called out to the exasperated Luffy, repeatedly trying to persuade him, "Where have you ever seen pirates chasing after Marines? Haven't they already been driven away? Anyway, we didn't suffer much loss. How about we just let it go?"
"I don't care! To damage the Merry like this! I'm angry! I have to go and beat him up!" Luffy shouted indignantly.
"That's right, Luffy! I support you this time! I'm also going to get revenge for the Merry!" Usopp, filled with anger, rarely volunteered for battle.
"Me too!" Chopper was also displeased, baring his teeth as if he were about to bite someone. "He even smashed my infirmary, that bastard!"
"Usopp! Chopper! How could you two too!"
Nami was somewhat in disbelief. She hurriedly cast a pleading look at Reiner. "Hey, Reiner! You should talk some sense into them."
"Are you kidding me!"
Reiner pointed at Luffy and Zoro with exasperation and shouted at Nami, "He even praised those two idiots! Why am I the only one who gets looked down on! Today, I'll definitely chop that old bastard to death!!"
After cursing fiercely, Reiner directly summoned his falcon, flew into the sky to track them, and then rushed straight to the helm to turn the ship around.
You can trash-talk me, but praising Luffy and Zoro while only dissing me? That's not okay!
Who can accept being outdone by these two idiots!
Sanji slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded in agreement. "That was indeed a bit insulting. I can understand that."
"Huh? What do you mean!"
"I mean you're an idiot."
"You want a fight, curly-brows!"
"Who's afraid of who, Moss-head!"
The two of them pressed their foreheads together, a fire of anger flashing in their eyes. A fight was about to break out.
Bang! Bang!
Veins popped on Nami's forehead. Leaving the two who were now twitching on the ground, she gritted her teeth and walked into the cabin.
They're all crazy!
Angry and cold!
Soon, relying on the falcon in the sky for tracking, the Merry trailed far behind the NEO Marine fleet.
By evening, just as the sun was setting on the horizon, the sunset dyed the sky with fiery clouds.
The Merry finally arrived at a small island not on any map. The NEO Marine fleet was docked by the shore, and on the other side of the island was a small village.
Reiner wasn't sure if this was the island Z was going to blow up, or if they were just stopping for a rest.
But it didn't matter. With an island, they wouldn't be as restricted in their fighting as they were on the ship before.
The Merry quickly docked on the side with the village. On the way, Robin recalled some information about Z and told Luffy and the others.
The group roughly learned a little about this man's life. His family was killed in retaliation by pirates. He led new recruits out to sea and encountered a brutal pirate, and the new recruits were tragically wiped out.
As for Z becoming disheartened and leaving the Marines because that brutal pirate became a Warlord, since it was a disgraceful matter, the World Government did not announce it publicly.
After the group briefly packed up, they set off. Reiner left some undead to guard the ship, but Franky said the Merry needed some repairs and volunteered to stay behind.
Nami's extremely wide-range Observation Haki confirmed the location of Z's group. She led the group and snuck over from the foot of the mountain.
The side of the island where Z was located was a barren, red land. Nami easily identified it as a dormant, active volcano.
By the time they arrived, the other party was setting up Dyna Stones on the mountainside. The terrifying power of which Reiner and the others had already witnessed during the day.
With the number they were setting up now, if it were to be detonated here...
"Are those guys crazy?"
Nami stood stunned in shock, her pupils slightly out of focus as she murmured in disbelief, "With the scale of this volcano, if it's activated, the entire island will be destroyed. At that time, the village on the other side..."
Reiner knew it was much more than that. Z's goal was to blow up the three End Points, thereby causing the destruction of the New World to achieve his goal of eliminating all pirates.
To be honest.
He highly doubted Z would be so ruthless.
A person who wanted to eliminate all pirates, how could he have let Luffy go twice after defeating him? For whatever reason, he shouldn't have. If he wanted to destroy the world, would he still consider any sentiment?
Reiner felt more that Z blowing up the two End Points was just a helpless and pitiful way to vent his dissatisfaction with the Marines.
Having dedicated his entire life to the Marines, and in the end, in another way, to die surrounded by the disciples he had personally trained... perhaps Z had already thought of an ending for himself long ago.
But.
"That has nothing to do with us."
Reiner clenched his fists, the muscles in his arms bulging. His eyes were cold as he stared at the purple-haired figure in the black cloak on the mountainside. "Today, we're just here to get our own back."
"That's right!"
Luffy took a step forward, his fists colliding as he cracked his knuckles. He grinned and was the first to charge up. "Let's go, brothers! Let's beat them up hard!!"
"Yeah!!"
"Revenge for the Merry!"
"That female swordswoman is mine."
"Wait a minute, Moss-head! That's my target!"
The group followed closely behind. Zoro and Sanji vied to charge towards Ain. Reiner and Luffy shot straight for Z!
"Hmm?"
Noticing the commotion behind him, Z slowly turned around and saw several familiar faces.
"It's you bunch of pirate hooligans again."
Z spoke faintly, looking at the few who had saved his life with a complicated expression. Then a corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He raised his giant mechanical arm and walked down step by step.
"Perhaps this is not bad either. Ain, use your ability on me twice."
"Yes, Master Z."
(End of chapter)
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