Hachinosu Island.
This was a breeding ground for crime, a paradise for pirates.
The island's architectural style was chaotic and disorderly: enormous skulls served as houses, shattered shipwrecks formed the walls of taverns, and the air was perpetually thick with the pungent smell of cheap rum, gunpowder, and dried blood.
At that moment, a bloody hunt was unfolding on one of the main streets at the island's center.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Rapid gunfire tore through the clamor, mixing smoke and dust to further oppress the already dimly lit street.
Nearly a hundred soldiers in Marine uniforms were making their last stand, their backs against a makeshift barricade of rubble and garbage.
Their uniforms were so stained with blood and grime that the original colors were unrecognizable, and each bore wounds of varying severity.
Yet, despite this, they kept their firearms raised and aimed forward.
Facing them was a seemingly endless horde of pirates.
The pirates wore cruel, mocking grins, brandishing bloodstained weapons as they closed in menacingly.
This Marine unit had originally come to rescue the "kidnapped" royal family of Portovia, only to realize too late that it was an elaborately orchestrated trap.
The rescuers had become the hunted.
By the time they realized the Portovian royals were in league with the pirates, it was already too late.
Pirates swarmed from all directions, cutting off every escape route and trapping them firmly on this narrow street.
"Captain, we're running low on ammunition!" A soldier reloaded his magazine, his voice weakened from excessive blood loss.
The man addressed as Captain had his left arm wrapped in thick bandages, blood still seeping through.
Dragging an injured leg, he leaned on his sword for support, yet his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's.
Watching the pirates draw nearer, reveling in the thrill of the hunt, the Captain took a deep breath, his eyes reigniting with fierce determination.
The Den Den Mushi in his pocket had just ended its transmission.
Captain Morgan, the Fleet Admiral's personal guard, had delivered their last hope.
"Hold the line, brothers!" The Captain's voice cut through the gunfire and the pirates' jeers. "Captain Morgan, the Fleet Admiral's personal guard, has just made contact with us!"
He paused, then raised his voice emphatically: "The Fleet Admiral is coming to rescue us!"
The Fleet Admiral!
Those words acted like a candle flame, instantly dispelling the darkness surrounding the Marines.
Despair, exhaustion, and pain were swept away in that moment, replaced by an explosive surge of fighting spirit!
"Whoosh!"
All the Marines still able to stand, as if infused with boundless strength, straightened their backs in unison.
Immediately after, they discarded their empty firearms and drew the sabers at their waists.
"Loyalty! Devotion!"
A unified, earth-shaking roar erupted from the mouths of these remaining soldiers.
Their fearless momentum actually caused the surging tide of Pirates ahead to subconsciously halt for a moment.
The one-eyed Pirate captain leading the charge froze in confusion.
"What's going on? Have these Marines gone mad? They're already at death's door, why won't they give up?"
A burly man beside him wielding a spiked club licked his lips and sneered, "Just the struggle of a trapped beasts! No matter how loud they scream, it won't change their fate of being torn to pieces!"
"Brothers! Follow me!" The burly man raised his spiked club high and let out a beast-like roar.
"Kill all these Marines! Don't let anyone of them to escape and make a report!"
"Oooohhhh!"
The Pirates roared again with sky-shaking fury, like a pack of thoroughly enraged starving wolves, ferociously pouncing forward.
Facing the surging wave of death, the remaining Marine soldiers showed no trace of fear.
They gathered behind their Captain with practiced coordination, forming a final arrowhead formation.
The Captain took the lead, raising his long sword high with its blade pointing straight ahead.
"For the Fleet Admiral! For justice!"
"Brothers, follow me into battle!"
"Charge!"
Two forces collided violently!
Blades flashed and blood splattered everywhere.
The Marine soldiers erupted with astonishing combat power, each strike delivered with full force, every swing made with the determination to take their enemies down with them.
However, the numerical disparity was far too great.
In just the first clash, over a dozen Marine soldiers fell in pools of blood.
A young soldier was simultaneously pierced by three cutlasses, yet with his dying breath he desperately clung to a Pirate's leg, biting through the man's throat.
Another Marine soldier, surrounded by four or five Pirates, pulled the pin on his honor grenade with resolute determination.
...
"Captain!" The adjutant cut down a Pirate and leaned back-to-back with the Captain, panting heavily.
"At this rate we won't last until the Fleet Admiral arrives! We must find a way to retreat!"
"There's no retreat behind us!" The Captain parried a giant axe aimed at him, then reversed his blade to slice open his attacker's chest, blood splattering across his face.
Wiping his face, he roared hoarsely, "Our duty isn't to wait for the Fleet Admiral to come rescue us!"
"It's to ensure that when the Fleet Admiral arrives here, he witnesses our loyalty and fearlessness!!"
Hearing this, the adjutant's body jolted violently.
Looking at his fallen comrades around him, watching the Captain's blood-soaked back as he fought desperately, a surge of hot blood rushed to his head, his eyes instantly turning crimson.
"Damn Pirates!"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
After two rounds of fierce combat, only the Captain, his adjutant, and about a dozen soldiers still capable of holding their swords remained on the Marine side.
They were compressed into an even smaller encirclement, drenched in blood, like a few rocks in stormy seas that could be completely swallowed at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Pirates kept receiving continuous reinforcements.
Their numbers hadn't decreased but had instead multiplied, completely blocking the entire street.
Dense crowds of Pirates, their eyes glowing red, watched like spectators admiring caged prey, their faces filled with cruel delight.
"Exhilarating! So exhilarating!" A one-armed Pirate captain laughed maniacally, holding a blood-dripping battle axe with his remaining hand.
"Haven't had such satisfying slaughter in so long, haha—"
"Hmph, without that Fleet Admiral, the Marines are just a bunch of trash! Not even worth killing!" Another scar-faced leader spat contemptuously.
"Enough nonsense!" A short, stout leader grew impatient, striding forward with murderous intent.
"Hurry up and finish these off so we can go back to drinking!"
With that, he brandished two hand axes and stepped out from the crowd, ready to crush the remaining Marines in one swift assault.
...
Meanwhile.
On the deck of the training ship.
As soon as they entered the waters around Hachinosu Island, Orion immediately unleashed his Observation Haki.
Extreme-level Observation Haki surged forth silently like an invisible tide, instantly enveloping the entire island and surrounding sea.
He clearly captured the bloody street, the soldiers resolved to die, their desperate roars, and the pirates' madness.
Discovering the island's Marines were at their limit, Orion's eyes sharpened abruptly.
He then turned to look at the restless, battle-eager trainees behind him and said gravely.
"It's your time to shine!"
Before the words faded, Orion suddenly raised his hand and made a grasping motion through the air.
"Eh?"
Caught completely off guard, Luffy felt an irresistible force lift him into the air.
The next moment, he was cleanly hurled skyward by Orion.
Though weightless, Luffy showed no panic.
Instead, he spread his limbs excitedly mid-air.
"Wahahaha! I'm flying!"
Amid his booming laughter, Luffy's figure traced an exaggerated arc across the sky like a cannonball, heading straight for Hachinosu Island's central area.
Then, Ace, Sabo, Zoro, Sanji, Hawkins, Trafalgar Law, Franky, Brook...
One after another, figures soared up from the training ship's deck like meteors streaking across the sky.