As Fang Yi carried Yameng away, the surrounding Marine soldiers raised their weapons—but not a single one dared step forward.
They had all just witnessed his battle with Kizaru.
Even though Fang Yi was only a child, not a soul present dared to underestimate him anymore.
Still gripping his bow, Fang Yi quickly rejoined the reinforcement crew.
"Yi! Are you alright? What happened to Yameng?" Jaba, who had arrived with several crew members, asked anxiously.
"Big bro Yi!"
"Fang Yi!"
Shanks, Buggy, and the others behind him on the deck lit up with joy the moment they saw him.
"Mr. Jaba, Yameng-sensei was injured protecting me. She needs immediate medical attention!" Fang Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Got it! Let's go. The Captain is still fighting Sengoku over there, and there's another Logia user—one with magma powers—who's giving us hell. Luckily, Rayleigh is holding him off. Let's head back to the ship!" Jaba nodded firmly.
Hearing that, Fang Yi immediately realized the identity of this magma-wielding Marine must be none other than Akainu, Sakazuki—one of the future three Marine Admirals.
With Jaba and the others helping out, returning to the Oro Jackson went smoothly. After handing Yameng over to the ship's doctor, Fang Yi jumped right back into the fray with the others.
The Marines' overwhelming numbers meant that there were already many fighting onboard the Oro Jackson.
"Mr. Jaba! Leave this to us—please go inform the Captain!" Fang Yi shouted while losing arrow after arrow into the crowd.
"Alright! Be careful!" Jaba nodded. After felling a Marine officer with a powerful axe strike, he dashed toward the main Marine warship—where Roger and Sengoku's battle was underway.
Fang Yi bit down his impulse to go 'log a hit' on Sengoku. He knew now was not the time for any extra drama. This entire battle might have been avoided if not for his earlier capture.
Clang! Buggy struggled to block a Marine's slash. Just as he was about to falter, the pressure on the enemy's sword suddenly vanished.
Thud!
The Marine collapsed with an arrow buried in his back.
"Buggy—go back to the cabin and help watch over Yameng-sensei. I'll hold this side!" Fang Yi said seriously.
Buggy, already panting heavily, had burned through most of his energy earlier during Fang Yi's rescue. Despite his usual laziness during training, this was now a critical moment.
"Huff… Huff… Fine! Since you asked, the great Buggy will help—just this once!" he grumbled, trying to sound cocky.
Fang Yi chuckled but didn't respond—now wasn't the time for banter. Eliminating enemies was the priority.
Meanwhile, having received Jaba's message, Roger grinned at Sengoku's fuming face.
"Well then… since our objective is achieved, guess it's time we say goodbye! Boys—retreat!"
At Roger's command, the crew began withdrawing toward the Oro Jackson.
"Quite the interesting rookies you've got," Rayleigh said with a grin to the panting Sakazuki, before gracefully disengaging. Sakazuki didn't pursue—he knew it wouldn't end well for him.
The Marines, however, had no intention of letting the Roger Pirates go so easily. As they fell back, the Marine encirclement began to tighten.
"Yi-bro! They just keep coming—we're about to be overwhelmed. What do we do?!" Shanks ran to Fang Yi's side, worried.
"Just hold on a little longer… Wanza and Sambel should be wrapping up soon!" Fang Yi replied, losing another volley of arrows.
He'd already emptied his quiver multiple times by now. Luckily, he was always well-stocked with arrows; otherwise, he'd have had no choice but to fight hand-to-hand.
As it turned out, right after Fang Yi returned to the ship, Jaba had ordered Wanza and Sambel to dive and sabotage the Marine warships from below—creating an escape route. All Fang Yi's group needed to do was buy enough time.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
A thunderous string of explosions suddenly erupted from the Marines' flagship.
Sengoku had transformed into his Great Golden Buddha form and begun a relentless pursuit of Roger.
"The Captain's side… the Marines are closing in fast!" Peterm, the goggle-wearing sniper, said grimly.
There were over five hundred Marines, and only about twenty members on the Roger Pirates' side. The numbers were crushing.
Fang Yi knew things couldn't continue this way. But he didn't have any better options… until he remembered—
The lottery ticket he'd earned after tagging Kizaru.
Glancing at today's spin rewards, his eyes locked on a particular skill, and he gritted his teeth.
He activated the pale-blue lottery ticket stamped with the Marine insignia.
"Congratulations, host. You have acquired the skill: Flame Dragon Burst."
Fang Yi blinked—and then grinned widely.
He didn't even need to know the full mechanics. That name alone told him it was something powerful.
Flame Dragon Burst (LV.1) – 0/100
Summon a flame dragon to deliver a devastating area-of-effect strike on the target.
Fang Yi gasped. It was an AOE skill—just what he desperately needed!
Without wasting a second, he nocked an arrow, aimed it at one of the blocking Marine warships, and invoked the skill.
"Flame Dragon Burst!"
He instantly felt like every ounce of strength in his body was being pulled into the arrow. Heat surged from deep within, channeling through his arms.
FWOOOOSH—ROAR!
As he reached his physical limit, he lost the arrow.
The moment it left the bowstring, it ignited and soared across the sky—transforming into a flaming Eastern-style dragon mid-flight.
It wasn't massive—barely ten meters long—clearly due to Fang Yi's lack of stamina.
But when it struck the Marine ship's deck…
BOOM!!
The impact unleashed a massive explosion that engulfed the entire upper deck in flames.
Marines were sent flying. Some leapt into the ocean to avoid the blast.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
Chain reactions followed. Cannons and munitions caught fire and exploded, spreading destruction across the ship.
Even the flame began spreading below deck. If they didn't get the fire under control soon, the whole warship would be lost.
The sudden chaos caught the attention of both the Marines and the retreating pirates.
Even Roger was stunned. He knew his own crew's firepower—but they were all with him now. No one left behind should be capable of that.
"What the hell just happened?!" Sengoku barked, furious.
The three Marine ships had surrounded the Oro Jackson. Now, with one ship crippled, an escape route had opened up.
As for Fang Yi—he had collapsed onto the deck.
He couldn't move a muscle.
"Uhh… Yi-bro… how the hell did you do that?" Shanks asked, wide-eyed, unable to believe what he'd just seen.
Fang Yi was too drained to speak, let alone explain. He was parched and exhausted.
"He's burned out. Take him below—put him with his teacher!" Peter nodded. "I'll go inform Lowen. When Captain Roger returns, we set sail immediately. We can't waste this opening!"
"Yes, Mr. Peterm!" Shanks agreed. Glancing at the now-unconscious Fang Yi, he couldn't help but smile.
Not long after, Roger and the others returned to the Oro Jackson.
When he saw the damage to one of the Marine ships, Roger asked, "Who the hell did that?"
"It was little Yi. As for how? No idea. The kid's completely spent. I had Shanks take him below to rest," Peterm replied.
"HAHAHA! That's amazing!" Roger roared with laughter.
"Let's not relax just yet. The Marines aren't done." Rayleigh pointed at the remaining warships.
Just then—
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions erupted from the remaining two ships.
"They did it!" Jaba laughed. "Wanza and Sambel pulled it off!"
He had ordered them earlier to destroy the ships from underwater.
"Alright, we've got Yi back. Let's get the hell out of here!" Roger bellowed.
"Damn it, Roger!" Sengoku slammed his fist down. Once again, the Roger Pirates had escaped.
"Polusalino… what the hell happened on your end? How did you let a kid get away?" Akainu asked, glaring at Kizaru.
Kizaru grimaced and licked his lips. "That kid… he's not normal. By the way, Sengoku-san… why didn't we use seastone cuffs on him?"
What? Are you saying he's a Devil Fruit user? Sengoku frowned.
Kizaru nodded. Yup. His powers are… weird. I destroyed his arrows with lasers, but still felt like I'd been hit. Next time I see him, I'll settle things properly.
Sengoku looked thoughtful. While he didn't recognize the ability, the Grand Line was full of strange and unknown Devil Fruits. It wouldn't be the first time a new type had surfaced.
They'd just need to be more careful the next time.