Beneath the skies of Skypiea, Admiral Akainu was still waiting for news from the second landing warship.
However, before any communication signal could reach them, a massive shadow suddenly loomed overhead, immediately catching the attention of the lookout.
The marine raised his binoculars and looked up, nearly dropping them in shock.
"B-Big trouble!" the marine shouted, grabbing a Den Den Mushi loudspeaker. "Reporting to Admiral Sakazuki! A ship is falling from above! It looks like... it's the warship we sent earlier!"
"What?!"
Both Akainu and the surrounding naval officers were stunned by the news.
Quickly snapping out of it, Akainu snatched a pair of binoculars from a nearby marine and looked up. His pupils shrank.
"Damn it!"
He cursed before immediately barking orders:
"All warships, disperse immediately! Evade the falling vessel!"
"Yes, Admiral!"
The other marines quickly snapped into action, maneuvering their ships.
However, the descent was too sudden, and the massive naval warships were difficult to move quickly. This was especially true for the central command ship Akainu was on.
As the falling warship hurtled toward them, Akainu roared:
"Take action! I'll destroy the ship—you all try to rescue any survivors!"
Before he even finished speaking, he leaped into the air, his right arm transforming into scorching magma as he threw a punch upward.
"DAI FUNKA (GREAT ERUPTION)!"
A colossal magma fist shot toward the falling warship.
At the same time, the other naval officers used Geppo (Moon Step) to ascend, searching desperately for survivors.
BOOOOM—!
The already heavily damaged warship—nearly torn apart by Lin Xuan's Kamehameha—was completely shattered by Akainu's magma strike, exploding into countless flaming fragments that rained down across the surrounding sea.
Many of the marines on board were rescued, but they were all severely burned, unconscious, and on the verge of death—unable to provide any useful intel.
Faced with this situation, an eerie silence fell over the command ship.
Everyone looked to Akainu, waiting for his response.
His expression was grim as he finally growled:
"Contact the other units. Have them send forces to test alternate routes and assess the situation!"
Gan Fall had once mentioned that there were other paths to Skypiea, though they were dangerous.
Over the past few days, the Navy had investigated these alternate routes and stationed forces there under other naval officers.
Upon hearing Akainu's report, they quickly mobilized, sending warships toward Skypiea from different directions.
But within half a day, Akainu and his men witnessed several more warships plummeting from the sky, nearly crushing them.
It turned out that no matter which path they took, all routes eventually led to the sea in front of the Gate of Heaven—the same area where Lin Xuan and his crew had previously encountered Gan Fall.
This was also the area directly facing the Knock Up Stream.
So whenever a naval warship reached that point, Lin Xuan would sense it and immediately blast it with a Kamehameha.
Thus, every single warship the Navy sent was sent flying back, with not a single one successfully landing on Skypiea.
From the waters near Jaya, all Akainu and his men could see was warship after warship crashing down, batch after batch of marines left severely wounded or dying.
Finally, one Vice Admiral managed to evade Lin Xuan's direct Kamehameha strike. Though he still fell, he remained conscious, using Geppo to slow his descent.
He reported the situation above to Akainu.
After relaying the intel to Marine HQ, Admiral Aokiji spoke up:
"The one attacking our warships must be Lin Xuan! Right now, the only person on Skypiea who can control lightning and pull off something like this... is him."
But Fleet Admiral Sengoku fell silent upon hearing Aokiji's assessment.
After a moment, his voice came through the Den Den Mushi:
"Sakazuki... withdraw your forces for now."
"WHAT?!"
Akainu was furious. "Fleet Admiral! Are you saying we just let this go after losing so many men?!"
Sengoku sighed. "We have no choice. Right now, we can't confirm the enemy's true strength, and they hold the advantage of terrain. Continuing to force our way in would only lead to pointless casualties. Rather than waste lives, we should regroup and wait for a better opportunity."
Akainu clenched his teeth, unwilling to back down. "...Fleet Admiral, I propose gathering a team of Rear Admirals and above, led by me, to launch another assault on Skypiea! Wewilltake them down!"
In Akainu's view, the reason their warships kept getting destroyed was that they lacked strong enough fighters to withstand the enemy's attacks.
If he personally led a team of elite marines, they could break through.
But Sengoku's response was firm.
"I saidretreat. That's an order."
Akainu's fists trembled with rage, but in the end, he could only grit out:
"...Understood."
"DAMN IT!"
After hanging up, he smashed a nearby table to pieces in frustration.
The Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals behind him stood frozen, not daring to speak.
After a moment, Vice Admiral Onigumo cautiously approached.
"Admiral Sakazuki... then we...?"
"...We retreat."
Akainu finally accepted Sengoku's command and gave the order.
"Yes, Admiral!"
The officers quickly relayed the command to the entire fleet.
Akainu stood alone on the deck, glaring up at the White-White Sea with clenched fists.
"You who dare trample on the Navy's justice... Iwillpersonally annihilate you!"
Meanwhile, on Skypiea, Lin Xuan waited for a long time but saw no more warships appear.
He smirked, almost disappointed.
"That's it? Just a few ships and they're done? The Navy's got no guts."
But he soon turned his attention elsewhere—because right now, in the Transdimensional Chat Group, the live stream showed that Uchiha Madara, after a long battle, had finally seized the perfect opportunity to seal Kaguya!
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T/N:
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