While the Straw Hat crew and Franky were bringing down Rob Lucci together, Rengoku was leading Nico Robin toward the Gates of Justice.
In truth, he wanted nothing more than to hoist her over his shoulder and drag her through quickly—but with the Buster Call already in motion, he had to remain vigilant of every threat around them.
The Gates of Justice had long since been opened—not for Robin, but for the incoming Buster Call fleet.
Far off on the horizon, the dark silhouettes of battleships came into view. And the moment those ships confirmed that the gates stood wide open, they surged forward, accelerating into rapid advance.
"Tch…"
Rengoku clicked his tongue—a rare expression of frustration.
Thousands of Marines and government agents were still scattered across Enies Lobby. If the bombardment began before they had the chance to escape, it would be a massacre.
BOOM!
The first cannon thundered from the lead battleship.
Spotting the incoming shell, Rengoku instantly drew his flaming blade, Enrin Kitetsu, and cut the projectile down.
"Damn it… they've already begun the bombardment?!"
He quickly grabbed his den-den mushi and opened a line to the distant fleet.
Brrrrrr… Brrrrrr…
K-chak.
"This is Buster Call Battleship One."
"Vice Admiral Onigumo?"
Of all people, the lead ship was commanded by Onigumo—the hardline vice admiral infamous even among the Marines.
"What is it, Rengoku? Why are you calling?"
"Can you halt the bombardment at once? There are still thousands of Marines trapped on Enies Lobby who haven't escaped!"
But Onigumo's reply was flat, almost disinterested.
"Rengoku, you've been a Marine long enough to know how this works. To stop a Buster Call, you'd need Admiral Aokiji himself to call it off."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Even as they spoke, Battleship One kept firing, and soon Battleships Two and Three joined in, shells raining down as they reached range.
"Stop this! Cease fire, Onigumo! Are you truly prepared to sacrifice thousands of Marines' lives just to kill a handful of pirates?!"
Rengoku's furious demand was met with the same cold voice.
"This is a Buster Call, enacted under Admiral Aokiji's authority. You can't stop it."
"The Buster Call was triggered by a mistake! A mistake by CP9's director Spandam! You'd slaughter thousands over one man's blunder?!"
"To follow orders without question—that is what it means to be a soldier! Don't spout naïve nonsense, Rengoku!"
Onigumo's temper was flaring now as well. It wasn't that he refused to acknowledge Rengoku. He treated him as an equal in rank. But in experience, Onigumo saw him as still green.
From Battleships Four through Six, the cannons roared as well, shells screaming across the sky.
"Damn it!"
Rengoku cut the line. Words were meaningless now. Action was all that remained.
"Nico Robin, don't you dare think of running!"
Gripping Enrin Kitetsu tightly, he leapt high into the air, intercepting the storm of cannon fire.
All eight battleships opened up in unison, their bombardment lighting the sky like judgment itself.
"Enrin Kitetsu! I'll need your flames at full strength!"
With a low hum, the demon blade responded. Its voice seemed to rumble in the flames it unleashed, vomiting forth a firestorm that stretched across the heavens, burning to meet the rain of iron.
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form!"
"Blooming Flame Undulation!!!"
A spiral wall of fire erupted, spreading across the sky, forming a massive blazing barrier that intercepted the incoming shells.
At that very moment, aboard Battleship One, the Marines also saw it.
"This… this is Admiral-class power…"
Vice Admiral Onigumo muttered grimly as he watched the curtain of fire swallow shell after shell.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo! Something is coming through the flames—it's Vice Admiral Rengoku!"
The lookout reported in a trembling voice, just as Rengoku burst through the inferno, soaring toward Battleship One.
THUD!!
"I see him too…"
Onigumo spoke as Rengoku landed instantly across from him, having crossed several hundred meters in a single leap.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo! Cease this bombardment at once! Enies Lobby is an island of justice under the World Government—you know full well what that means!"
"Vice Admiral Rengoku," Onigumo replied flatly, "once a Buster Call is triggered, nothing can stop it. Unless you bring Admiral Aokiji himself, it cannot be canceled."
The calm, unyielding response only deepened Rengoku's fury. Words meant nothing to hardliners like him—men who would sacrifice Marines as easily as pirates in the name of "justice."
"I will say this only once more. Cease fire immediately! This is my final warning!"
Rengoku leveled his flaming blade directly at Onigumo.
Unfazed, Onigumo let out a low chuckle and unleashed his own ability. Ten spectral blades appeared in his hands, gleaming with menace.
"What now, Rengoku? Do you intend to spark a civil war while criminals and pirates still run free?"
The surrounding Marines, terrified, scrambled to pull back as the two vice admirals squared off.
But just as swiftly as the standoff began, it ended. Rengoku lowered his blade.
Onigumo relaxed his stance as well, dispersing his conjured swords.
"…So, you truly will not stop this bombardment?" Rengoku's voice was low, heavy with restrained rage—so unlike his usual booming tone.
Onigumo sighed, finally speaking in a measured, almost paternal voice.
"Listen carefully, Rengoku. A Buster Call is sanctioned by both the World Government and the Navy. It is an indiscriminate annihilation strike. Until the target is completely eradicated—or the admiral who authorized it rescinds it—it will never be halted."
He stepped closer, resting a hand on Rengoku's shoulder.
"I know you mean well. Everyone does. But this is the order. This is what it means to be a soldier. If you want it canceled so badly, then bring Admiral Aokiji himself. Otherwise, accept that the mission will run its course."
Onigumo's words carried no malice. He acknowledged Rengoku's kindness, even admired it. But orders were orders. Personal feelings had no place in official duty.
"Continue the bombardment—"
CRASH!
"Ghhkk!!"
Before Onigumo could finish, Rengoku's hand clamped around his collar and arm. With a burst of strength, he slammed the man's skull into the deck plating.
Then came a follow-up strike: his fist, hardened with Armament Haki, smashing squarely into Onigumo's jaw.
Fish-Man Karate: Ten-Thousand Tile Throw.
Fish-Man Karate: Myriad Tile True Fist.
The two flowing techniques struck in perfect sequence. Onigumo had no chance to react. He collapsed instantly, unconscious.
Without hesitation, Rengoku reached into the man's coat, pulled free the communications den-den mushi, and barked into it:
"Battleship One and Battleship Two, hear me! Vice Admiral Onigumo is incapacitated and unfit for command!"
He gestured for nearby Marines to drag Onigumo's unconscious body away.
"As of this moment, I, Vice Admiral Rengoku—also appointed executor of this Buster Call—assume full operational authority over Battleships One and Two! And as commanding officer, I hereby order you: Cease all bombardment immediately!!"
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