Something was seriously wrong.
Kaido might look like a brute, but that didn't mean he was brainless. After turning it over again and again, he reached a single conclusion.
"We've walked into an ambush."
His gaze snapped toward where the Golden Lion was. Shiki was hovering in midair, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, looking uncharacteristically disheveled. Garp's punch had clearly done real damage.
After all, when it came to raw toughness, Golden Lion Shiki was arguably the weakest among the monsters of the Rocks Pirates.
That "weak" was only in comparison to freaks like Tengetsu Ares, Linlin, Newgate, and Kaido.
It didn't mean Shiki was fragile.
Shiki's face was dark as stormwater. His eyes cut past Garp and landed on the thick, towering figure standing atop the Marine base's rooftop in the distance.
"The Marines came prepared… Did word leak out that we were attacking Marine G-1?!"
Black smoke hung over his head, blotting part of the sky. From the air, he swept his gaze across the battlefield, taking everything in at a glance.
The Marines' numbers were beyond expectations, and every last one of them was elite.
Shiki's eyes turned vicious as he stared at Garp, grinding his teeth.
"How did you Marines know we were coming for G-1?!"
Garp picked his nose, then actually looked like he was thinking hard.
In the end, he gave an answer so outrageous it nearly made Shiki spit blood on the spot.
"No idea. I was asleep back then."
Shiki's mouth twitched. A surge of blood rushed up his throat, but he swallowed it down by force.
He glared at Garp with a look that wanted nothing more than to carve him into a thousand pieces.
But now wasn't the time to settle accounts.
Shiki inhaled sharply, gathered his breath, and roared,
"Retreat!!!"
The shout rolled across the entire battlefield.
The moment the order went out, countless pirates began to fall back. Only a small handful, drunk on blood and adrenaline, ignored the command and kept charging.
Kaido turned and ran without hesitation.
He was experienced enough to know that in moments like this, even half a second of indecision could get you killed. You had to break away immediately. If you got left behind, you'd be isolated.
And abandoned.
Once the retreat order was given, no one was turning back to save you.
Kaido had learned that lesson back home, long ago, in war.
"Stop right there!" Zephyr, still in his purple suit, blocked Kaido's path. "Our fight isn't over yet!"
"Get out of the way!!!"
Kaido swung his kanabo like a rabid beast. His muscles swelled as if filled with blood, veins bulging grotesquely along his biceps, screaming to the world just how terrifying his strength was.
The moment the retreat order rang out
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been observing from the rear, frowned in confusion.
"What's going on…? Weren't the Rocks Pirates here for that Devil Fruit? Why retreat before their main force even shows itself?!"
Something about this didn't match the Marines' expectations. Images flickered through Tsuru's mind, and her brows knitted tighter as she silently searched for where the plan had gone wrong.
At that moment
Fleet Admiral Kong was just as suspicious, but he didn't hesitate for even a breath.
He issued orders at once.
"All forces, advance!!"
"Stop them!"
His voice went out through a Den Den Mushi broadcast, instantly spreading across the battlefield. The inner wall gates burst open, and groups of long-rested Marine officers surged out of the fortress like a white tide, crashing forward with unstoppable momentum.
After giving the command, Kong's eyes grew darker.
"Rocks still hasn't shown himself. As a Logia user of the Yami Yami no Mi, there's no way he could resist the temptation of that Devil Fruit."
"Unless… he already knows the Devil Fruit isn't at Marine G-1."
"Is there a spy from the Rocks Pirates inside the Marines?!"
He shook his head almost immediately.
Only two or three people within the Marines even knew the truth about that Devil Fruit intelligence.
There was no way the information should've leaked.
Then
Kong's expression sank as a horrifying thought struck him. His heart tightened uncontrollably.
"The Rocks Pirates mobilized everyone… but they're nowhere to be seen."
"So where are they right now?!"
He knew Rocks would never make a meaningless move.
If this wasn't their true target, then what was?
Marineford?
Or
Mary Geoise?!
No matter what Rocks was aiming for, the fact remained: the Marines' forces were concentrated at G-1. Other bases would be thinly guarded. If the Rocks Pirates struck elsewhere, it would be a catastrophe.
Realizing the shape of Rocks' scheme, Kong immediately contacted Marine intelligence to ask for any trace of the Rocks Pirates.
The answer came back empty.
As if they'd vanished off the face of the sea.
Kong's anxiety deepened.
"I need to report this to the Five Elders immediately. And…" Kong narrowed his eyes, a sharp light flashing in them as he stared at the pirates on the battlefield. "We can't let these pirates escape."
"We set this trap for the Rocks Pirates, and we will cut down their strength."
"Shiki. Tengetsu Ares. Kaido."
"Those dangerous bastards cannot be allowed to return alive."
Kong reached into his coat and pulled out a special Den Den Mushi.
Not the golden one used for a Buster Call.
This one was white, with a button on its shell.
He extended a thick finger and pressed it.
At that moment
Inside a room within Marine G-1, a group of strangely dressed people lounged about. Some played chess. Some lay sprawled on the floor asleep. Some idly toyed with instruments they carried.
In the middle of a massive war, they looked absurdly relaxed like tourists on holiday.
They all shared one thing in common.
White masks.
They were CP0, the World Government's strongest intelligence organization.
As Kong pressed the button, one CP0 agent drew out a matching Den Den Mushi from his cloak clearly paired with Kong's and rose to his feet.
He looked calmly at the twenty to thirty CP0 agents around him and said flatly,
"Everyone. It's time to move."
With that single order, the laziness vanished.
The CP0 members straightened, gathered, and followed their leader out of the room.
Elsewhere
Kong called the Five Elders and reported,
"Saint Topman Warcury, I have something extremely important to report. Rocks did not personally attack Marine G-1. We're investigating his whereabouts, but I suspect the Rocks Pirates may be preparing to strike the World Government itself."
"Have you detected any abnormal movements on your end?!"
Far away in Mary Geoise, one of the Five Elders Saint Topman Warcury frowned deeply. His authoritative face carried a heavy shadow.
"Rocks' trail has disappeared…"
He propped his chin with his hand, sinking into thought.
"Where would Rocks go?" Warcury's brows twisted into a hard knot, darkness gathering between them.
Back at the G-1 battlefield
Garp chased after Shiki, grinning as he yelled,
"Shiki! I'm not satisfied yet why're you running?!"
"Not running would be stupid." Shiki glanced back at the relentless Garp and snorted. "I'm the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi user."
"If I want to leave, none of you can stop me."
That wasn't arrogance.
As a Fuwa Fuwa no Mi user, he could remove gravity from himself or objects and float freely in the sky.
He could also soar through the heavens at tremendous speed.
In his own words
He was the ruler of the skies.
"Shiki's Might Ground Scroll!!!"
With a rumbling roar, the earth bulged upward, swelling into a massive mound, like some horrific underground creature was about to burst free.
Even the tall walls warped. Marines standing atop them staggered and swayed, faces draining white.
"What's happening?! Why is the wall moving?!"
"What's underneath?! If this keeps up, the wall's going to split in half!!"
Panic-filled shouting erupted.
The next second
The raised earth took shape as a colossal stone lion. It opened a maw like a bottomless pit and swallowed toward Garp.
"What an annoying power!" Garp cursed, swinging a fist like forged steel and smashing straight into the lion's face.
He'd fought Shiki too many times to count. He knew Shiki's ability inside and out.
Shiki might not have been the strongest among Rocks' top fighters
But his fruit was the most troublesome.
Boom!
A domineering punch slammed into the massive stone beast, dozens of meters tall.
The shock force blew the lion's head apart.
In an instant, it became a headless lion.
That brief delay was all Shiki needed.
He rose higher, clearing the height of the wall.
But the moment he passed above it, the unruly, arrogant smile on his face froze solid like he'd become a statue.
His pupils dilated, uncontrollably.
He had seen something that shook him to his core.
Shiki's eyes trembled as he murmured blankly,
"How…? How could Tengetsu Ares be completely helpless under Sengoku…?"
In the scene before him was a gigantic crater, like a meteor had smashed into the earth. It had to be hundreds of meters wide and dozens deep.
And at the bottom of that crater
A blood-soaked figure, several meters tall.
A walking "man" made of gore.
His entire body was drenched in crimson, and at his wounds, horrifying flesh buds were visibly growing, regenerating in real time.
Golden Lion Shiki couldn't believe it.
His mind went white for a moment.
He couldn't understand it.
And in that moment of shock
Garp's fist, heavy as a mountain, slammed into his back.
Crack!
The sound of bone breaking rang out, and Shiki plummeted straight down into the earth.
"This guy's spacing out again…" Garp started to complain
Then his face twisted dramatically.
With Shiki gone from his line of sight, Garp could clearly see Tengetsu Ares'惨状 in the distance.
"Ares?!"
Garp was so shocked he nearly bit his tongue.
"That's Ares no doubt about it!"
"But how the hell did he get hurt that badly?!"
It was unbelievable.
Garp knew Sengoku's strength well.
But he also knew Tengetsu Ares.
In Garp's mind, Sengoku's job should've been to stall Ares.
He never once considered the possibility that Sengoku could severely wound him.
"What happened?!" Garp was completely thrown off.
His gaze shifted
And he immediately spotted Admiral Sengoku.
In front of Sengoku stood a towering pirate with fishman traits.
"It's him…?!"
"Sea Demon Slardar!"
Blocking Sengoku was none other than Tengetsu Ares' subordinate Sea Demon Slardar.
Slardar gripped a trident, his body riddled with wounds. Some scales had been torn away, and in places the injuries were so deep bone could be seen.
"Whatever happened to make Ares lose consciousness, I won't let you hurt him again!" Slardar opened a mouth full of sharp teeth, thick blood smeared between them.
His scarred chest rose and fell violently, betraying how far he was from truly calm.
Trident in hand, he stood like a loyal guardian, shielding Tengetsu Ares' body.
Sengoku lowered his gaze. Shock still lingered in his eyes.
"Tengetsu Ares' physique is too monstrous. Even after dozens of shockwaves, I still couldn't kill him."
"And that terrifying recovery… even unconscious, his body is repairing itself at an unbelievable speed."
"If I let his body keep healing, his injuries will recover in no time."
Sengoku's expression hardened. The golden Great Buddha despite its size moved with a nimbleness that defied reason.
Whoosh!
He appeared before Slardar in a flash and threw a ferocious Buddha Fist!
A shining sphere of golden light carried power beyond common imagination.
Slardar's thick arms swelled like inflated balloons as he poured every ounce of strength into a trident swing.
Clang!
A deafening impact rang out.
Slardar spat a mouthful of blood. His wounds split open again, fresh blood gushing out.
Sengoku's immense force blasted him back dozens of meters. Slardar crashed and rolled across the ground, smeared in dust, looking utterly miserable.
"Cough, cough…"
Slardar used his trident to force himself upright.
"I won't let you pass."
"A real tough bastard." Sengoku's voice was cold. "Too bad you're a pirate."
He stepped down hard.
The golden Buddha shot forward again as if freed from gravity itself, charging toward Slardar with terrifying speed.
The fishman's strength was decent.
But "decent" meant little before an admiral.
And this was land.
Not the sea.
In the ocean, with terrain and racial advantage, a fishman might hold back an admiral.
On land, it was another story.
Slardar flicked a glance at Tengetsu Ares behind him still standing, unmoving.
He prayed in his heart.
"Ares… wake up."
"I'll buy you as much time as I can."
His eyes filled with stubborn resolve. He forced himself to endure the agony tearing through his wounds, drawing out what little strength remained inside him.
"You can't even bring out Armament Haki anymore, and you still insist on standing in my way?" Sengoku raised his fist.
The golden glow around it was like the sun itself, half-hidden behind the battlefield smoke.
"Tekkai Buddha Fist!!"
His punch came down.
With the power of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu amplifying it, Slardar's trident finally gave up.
Crack!
It snapped in half.
Slardar was blasted away again without the slightest suspense.
Boom!
He fell right in front of Tengetsu Ares.
Blood wouldn't stop flowing, staining the ground dark.
Slardar felt like his body had come apart at the seams. He couldn't gather strength. He couldn't stand.
With great effort, he turned his head toward Ares and spoke weakly.
"Ares… you…"
"Wake… up…"
Sengoku snorted.
"He's taken dozens of shockwaves. Even if he wakes up, it won't change anything."
He stepped forward.
In his palm, another massive golden sphere began to condense.
Seeing it, Slardar tried to move tried to rise again. Fingers twitched. Legs trembled.
He tried again and again.
It was useless.
He had tasted Sengoku's shockwaves already. He knew exactly how terrifying and destructive that attack was.
Once it hit
You would be crushed by a force like annihilation itself.
If Slardar's body weren't so tough, he wouldn't have lasted this long.
Sengoku's face was rigid, his words a death sentence.
He pushed the giant golden sphere forward with his massive palm.
"This… ends now!!"
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