"The First Branch Base's reinforcements have arrived."
A pirate officer grinned. "Captain, it's just as you predicted! They really came; our acting with this small Marine branch wasn't for nothing."
"It was to be expected."
The one addressed as captain was a scrawny, bamboo-thin middle-aged man, none other than "White Dove" Durkin, with a bounty of 66,000,000 Berries.
He glanced at the figure streaking towards them using Moonwalk and sneered, "That guy must be the Rear Admiral from the First Branch. He's really asking for death, daring to charge in alone…"
"Probably newly transferred from Marine Headquarters. Been on the Grand Line too long, so he thinks he can handle any pirate in the West Blue," Bakushoujo said calmly. "Too bad he doesn't realize what kind of opponents he's facing today."
Although she and Durkin had only just entered the Grand Line less than two months ago, their strength was far beyond that of typical rookies from the same period.
The two had not only jointly hunted down several pirates with bounties near 100,000,000 Berries at Whiskey Peak, but they had also easily defeated a Headquarters Rear Admiral from G-3 Branch who came to pursue them, all in just over ten minutes.
Therefore, a mere Rear Admiral reassigned to the West Blue was not taken seriously by them.
Perhaps only Vice Admiral-level enemies would make them wary.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have deliberately dragged out their attack, waiting for reinforcements to arrive so they could gobble up all the Marines at once.
Just Branch 329 alone isn't enough, is it?
A cold glint flashed in Durkin's eyes. Since Captain Bakko dared to kill his younger brother, he would make the entire West Blue Marine force serve as Arkin's funeral procession!
"Let's go, Shirley."
He looked at Bakushoujo beside him and coldly snorted, "Starting with this Marine Rear Admiral who's coming to his death, let the entire West Blue plunge into panic and upheaval…"
The moment his voice fell.
Countless white doves suddenly surged out from his cloak.
Meanwhile, Bakushoujo lightly clapped her hands, and instantly, each of the surging white doves was imbued with a miniature bomb.
The two of them, one a Zoan-type White Dove Devil Fruit user and the other a Paramecia-type Bomb-Bomb Fruit user, had developed and refined their abilities together, creating various combined techniques that worked in close cooperation.
And this technique, where fast-moving white doves each carried a bomb, like an endless swarm of exploding talismans, was one of their trump cards!
"White Dove: Infinite Bombs!"
Amidst a fierce roar, the bomb-infused white doves showed no reduction in speed, sweeping towards Nao in the sky in an overwhelming tide, their momentum truly terrifying.
They have a move like this?
In the sky, Nao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly, feeling a bit surprised after detecting the abnormal status within those white doves with his Observation Haki.
These two West Blue pirate captains really gave him quite a surprise. Just this method of developing and using the Bomb-Bomb Fruit was far superior to that afro-wearing guy who only flicked snot twenty years later.
However.
"Flashy but useless. It won't work on me."
Nao's gaze was calm. With a slight flick of his wrist, the Yone twin swords at his waist flashed free, slashing forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Two-Sword Style: Shifting Jade Slash!
Buzz!
The moment the blades crossed and slashed down, the sea near the shore erupted with countless water columns. A surging, violent gale instantly swallowed all the streaking white dove bombs and carried them, sweeping them back towards the pirates on shore!
What?!
Witnessing this, Durkin and Bakushoujo both wore expressions of shock and disbelief.
This was a secret technique they had only developed a few months ago, one that had been invincible even in the Grand Line. Yet, now it was easily nullified by that Marine with a single sword slash?
"Get out of the way!"
Seeing the bombs sweeping back, he and Bakushoujo simultaneously retreated explosively to either side, roaring for their subordinates to scatter and dodge.
However, the speed of the sword energy was unimaginably fast.
They barely managed to pull back, but the ordinary pirates had no chance to avoid it. They could only watch in terror as the sky full of bombs, along with the howling gale, enveloped them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions instantly erupted on the shore, screams and wails rising one after another.
Almost half of the thousand pirates were injured in this explosion, and many unlucky souls caught in the center of the blast died on the spot.
They probably never imagined, even in death, that after fighting and adventuring with Durkin and Bakushoujo for so long, they would ultimately die by their own captains' trump card.
And when the smoke cleared.
Nao, who had been hundreds of meters away, had already arrived at the shore at some unknown point using Moonwalk, looking down coldly at the heavily injured and dead pirates below.
"Damn it…"
Noticing Nao who had killed his way to their heads, Durkin and Bakushoujo exchanged glances, seeing the grave look in each other's eyes.
Such terrifying speed, such terrifying swordsmanship!
A Rear Admiral and branch commander assigned to the West Blue should, by all rights, be weaker than a Rear Admiral from the Grand Line. But what in the world is going on with this guy…
How can he be this strong?Were they fishing for a small fry, only to accidentally lure in an unbeatable great white shark?
At this point, they could only fight to the death. Durkin gritted his teeth, suddenly transforming into a giant half-human, half-dove beast. Flapping his wings, he shot into the air, attacking Nao who was still airborne.
Swish!
On the other side, Bakushoujo tacitly stomped the ground, surging forward like a leopard. Her arms, sparking with explosive flames, shot towards Nao's vital points from an extremely tricky and strange angle, one from the left, one from the right.
The two erupted with their fastest speeds, reaching Nao in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out, and smoke permeated the air. Durkin's and Bakushoujo's figures crossed paths, both landing on the ground, looking towards the center of the smoke.
Did they succeed?
Both were panting roughly, their hearts filled with uncertainty.
He had just displayed astonishing speed, yet when faced with their combined encirclement, the Marine Rear Admiral hadn't even moved, allowing their attacks to land. This was truly bizarre.
A moment later.
The smoke dissipated, and Nao's figure reappeared before them.
He was completely unharmed, only his hair slightly disheveled. Looking at the two pirates whose faces were filled with disbelief, he shook his head slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction in his sigh:
"So this is all you amount to. I really did overestimate you…"
How could this be?!
Durkin's pupils abruptly constricted. This beast-hybrid form was a new ability he had only mastered in the past few months. He knew better than anyone how terrifying its destructive power was when used at full force.
The previously defeated G-3 Branch Rear Admiral had been easily gravely wounded by this very move due to carelessness.
But now…
How could it have absolutely no effect on this guy?!
"Since the only surprise you could give me was the white dove bombs just now,"
In the air, Nao looked down at the two. He shifted the Azakana Sword behind his back, gripping them tightly again, and said softly:
"Now, it's my turn to act and end this…"
Swish!
Before his words finished, a sword energy like a giant white python had already whistled out, cutting a fan-shaped arc that simultaneously covered Durkin and Bakushoujo, who were in different positions.
Pffft!
In an instant, the sharp sword energy easily shattered the defenses of the two pirate captains.
Their faces filled with terror, they had no time to turn and flee before their heads were already sent flying high, falling into the dust.
The two headless corpses swayed slightly, then stiffly fell backward…
An overwhelming victory! A thorough, absolute devastation!
For a moment, the entire battlefield on the shore fell into an eerie silence.
Both the Marines of Branch 329 who were trapped in the fortress and struggling to resist, and the subordinates of the White Dove Pirates and Explosion Pirates.
All of them were wide-eyed and dumbfounded, unable to recover from the sight of the two pirate captains being decapitated.
"Run!"
"Quick, escape!"
After a full ten seconds, a pirate finally snapped out of it and screamed in terror.
Their previous ferocity and ambition had vanished. Before Nao, who displayed an invincible presence, these pirates who had ventured into the Grand Line now had no will to fight. Each one wished their parents had given them two fewer legs, scrambling to flee in all directions.
However.
At that moment, the West Blue First Branch fleet had already arrived and docked. Large numbers of Marines poured off the decks like a tide, their guns raised, and an encirclement quickly formed, virtually sealing off all escape routes from the pier.
Looking at these fiercely imposing Marines, then turning back to gaze at Nao, who held his sword, calmly pursuing them.
The pirates' faces instantly turned pale. At this moment, they finally understood how utterly desperate the trapped Marines inside Branch 329 Base must have felt earlier…
Ten minutes later, the heavy snow finally began to let up.
The Marines, having simply cleared the battlefield, assembled into neat formations, lining both sides. They watched with awe and admiration as Nao, cloaked in Justice, strode through the fortress gates amidst the enthusiastic welcome of the entire Branch 329.
The Rear Admiral… he actually did it!
He was the first to enter the battlefield—and he faced the two powerful pirates who had returned from the Grand Line alone. Not only did he emerge completely unscathed, he had already secured victory and brought the battle to an end before the others even set foot ashore.
It truly matched what they had heard on the deck earlier.
Many commissioned and non-commissioned officers from the West Blue First Branch exchanged bitter smiles.
Their role, in the end, was truly just as Nao had said: simply to cordon off any escaping stragglers and help clean up the battlefield…
Gion followed closely behind Nao into the fortress. Noticing the reactions of her many subordinates behind her, she pouted, rather bored.
Well, it seems the prestige she had painstakingly built up over a month was surpassed by that guy Nao in just an hour.
Even if he's her man, it's still a bit annoying, isn't it?
Hmph, let him bask in the glory during the day. But when night falls, she definitely needs to give that boy a good lesson!