"You alright, Scotch!"
"Barely. Glad to see you guys made it back in one piece."
After parting ways with Samuel, Jorge's group returned to the ship and began helping repel the Marines.
Jorge approached Scotch, who had scrapes and cuts but no serious injuries.
Looking around, wounded were everywhere. In this situation, no one was unscathed. Everyone was desperately fighting off the Marines pouring from the warships like an avalanche.
Scura had rushed back to the infirmary to treat the wounded, and everyone was doing what they could to improve their situation.
"Anyone taken out?"
"David got one-shotted by Sengoku. Other than that, no major injuries on the ship."
"By Sengoku... Is he badly hurt?"
"Nah, he got blown away, but it's not that bad. He was in the way, so I had him carried to the cabin."
"Got it, the cabin then."
"Hey, what are you planning, Jorge!"
"I'm waking him up! We need Devil Fruit users' powers to take on Sengoku, Zephyr, and those giant bastards!"
They had to use their heads.
Jorge was just a thug originally. He wasn't well-bred or particularly brilliant.
But at least he understood his crew's abilities.
"Kuro!"
"Yeah? Which way should I go?"
"Those giants don't seem to be Devil Fruit users. The best place to use your power is with Kanata."
The one and only joker who could create a fatal opening against Sengoku.
His ability to land an absolutely unavoidable hit—even if limited to Devil Fruit users—was something no one else could replicate, and it would be most effective at Kanata's side.
With commanders and captains attacking from the warships, there'd be no bombardment. Now that the sun had set, the chances of spotting Kuro were lower too.
If they were going to move, now was the time.
"Then I'm heading that way."
"...Be careful. You're one of the weakest on this ship."
"Heheheh, I'll be extra careful."
Jorge watched Kuro leave the ship, crossing the ice to hurry toward Kanata, then headed to the cabin to wake David.
Time to start the counterattack.
If their captain was taking on the most troublesome opponents, they had to hold their ground too.
☆
Zephyr was struggling against Tiger, the fishman who was considerably larger than himself.
Normally he could've knocked him down quickly, but after fighting Zen and Kanata consecutively, he was running a bit low on gas.
Of course, even in this state, he could defeat ordinary opponents easily.
But the man before him was far too resilient to call ordinary.
After several exchanges, Zephyr examined his arms, covered in electrical burns and frostbite, and spoke.
"Giants, fishmen, some races I don't even recognize—the 'Witch' sure has gathered quite the crew."
"Her ship has discipline, but no discrimination. Even a fishman like me is treated as an equal."
There were no fishman Marines.
Because even though the World Government recognized them as a race, discrimination remained deeply rooted.
Fishmen were oppressed by humans but rarely helped by them. Marines rarely emerged from such a people.
Even the giants, who had been objects of terror after the Giant Warrior Pirates' rampage, only began producing Marines thanks to a woman named Mother Carmel.
Without such figures emerging, there would likely be no fishmen wanting to become Marines in the future either.
"That's a painful truth. By rights, we Marines should be the ones doing that!"
"Since you're not, that's why I'm on this side!"
Even as they exchanged words, neither gave an inch, continuing their brutal exchange of blows.
Though Kanata's Haki would recover in thirty minutes, even with some recovery, it wouldn't be enough against Zephyr and Sengoku.
Right here, right now—Tiger had to fight with the determination to defeat them himself, or he'd be the one to fall.
Meanwhile, Dragon and Sengoku were engaged in their own fierce battle.
"Vice Admiral Sengoku... you're as strong as they say...!"
Dragon had never met Sengoku directly.
But through his father, he knew plenty about his strength.
"Damn that 'Witch'... to still have hidden pieces like this...!"
A ship with multiple opponents Sengoku couldn't overwhelm represented an abnormally powerful force for the first half of the Grand Line.
Their purpose was unclear, but—it reminded him of the worst pirate crew active a few years ago.
"With this much power, what are you trying to do!"
"She intends to surpass you and conquer the Grand Line."
A pipe dream no one had ever achieved.
Even Sengoku furrowed his brow at the unprecedented goal of "conquering the Grand Line."
For reasons unknown, the World Government prevented anyone from accomplishing that. There was probably something there.
Pandora's Box—something even the World Government feared to uncover.
"Do you know what's there?"
"No, no one does, including her. But precisely because no one knows, she wants to see it."
The Navy knew about the final island you could reach by following the Log Pose.
Beyond that, there were no islands—only the Red Line.
But if there was something beyond that...
If the island the Navy knew of wasn't the end, and there existed an island no one had reached or knew about, that would truly be "conquering the Grand Line."
"Besides, the reason she's being hunted is because of a Celestial Dragon's rampage. If you hadn't made the first move, we wouldn't have either."
Dragon hadn't been on the ship at the time, but he'd heard it over drinks occasionally.
A Celestial Dragon tried to enslave Feiyun out of curiosity, and when she resisted, she killed both the Dragon and his guards.
It was something the Navy could have prevented if they'd kept a proper leash on that power.
The arrogance of believing no one would resist such authority had created a force this powerful.
"...I have no words. But even a bad law is still a law."
As someone who upheld the law, he couldn't let this slide.
"I figured. That's why we'll resist with everything we have."
Their Conqueror's Haki clashed, making the air tremble.
Because the Navy represented "justice," there was "order." If they overlooked breaking bad laws, "order" would collapse in an instant.
Only chaos would remain.
"That woman will become the eye of the storm ahead! I'll capture her here, without fail!!"
"I won't let you—not even against Sengoku the Buddha!"
BOOM!! Their fists collided, scattering shockwaves.
☆
"Wake up, Zen!"
While Dragon and Tiger bought time, Kanata tried to wake the fallen Zen while resting her body.
His body was battered from taking Zephyr's blow head-on, but leaving him unconscious here wouldn't help anything.
Kanata herself was far from unscathed.
She had to use every resource available or they couldn't break through this situation.
"Ugh..."
"You're awake... Can you move?"
"...Somehow. What's the current situation?"
"Dragon and Tiger are buying time. If you can fight, stand up. If not, return to the ship."
"I'll fight. My body still moves... Besides, conveniently, tonight's a full moon."
"Full moon?"
She realized the sun had completely set.
Night's curtain had fallen, the full moon illuminated the darkness, and each bombardment made the ship flicker with light.
"I'll use my trump card. Just give me a little time."
"Rest for ten more minutes. That'll help my Haki recover somewhat too."
Sitting beside Kanata as she regulated her breathing, Zen took a deep breath and checked his body's condition.
From how the pain moved, several ribs were probably broken.
He could receive proper treatment after everything ended. If they could just overcome this, they'd have time again.
"...I hope Feiyun is safe too."
"That kid will be fine."
Dragon had told her Ivankov went to help. If Jorge had returned, he'd send people from there too.
The problem was facing the giant vice admirals. Even Ivankov alone couldn't handle two vice admirals, and Junxi apparently couldn't break away either.
But all Kanata could do now was trust and leave things to those who remained on the ship.
With her hands full here, she had no capacity to go help.
"Jorge is a coward, but he's not stupid. We can leave the ship to him."
He'd been gaining courage too. Even without Kanata, he could manage the ship well enough.
As they talked, the brief time passed quickly.
"Time's up. How's your body, Zen?"
"I can't fight at full capacity. But... I have my pride."
Zen looked up at the moon, taking in its light.
The Mink Tribe's unique special power—the ability called Sulong.
By directly viewing the unobscured full moon's light, they unleashed their wild power, wielding tremendous strength for a single night.
This was the Mink Tribe's "true form."
"...I see. Incredible."
His brown mane turned flaming red with Haki, and the electricity crackling around him also turned red, discharging violently.
His body swelled, looking visibly powerful.
"This is my trump card. But it won't last long."
Partly due to injuries, but Sulong inherently made users lose their sanity and attack friend and foe alike, dying of exhaustion within one night—essentially a self-destructive ability.
If maintained too long carelessly, Zen would collapse first.
"Then we must finish quickly... hmm?"
"Hey, finally found you."
Turning toward the voice, she saw Kuro running toward them.
The direction was slightly off from the ship—he'd probably been lost.
"It's pitch black so I couldn't see anything, and I thought you'd be near those two fighting flashily, so I was searching all over."
"I see. But you... no, your power is useful. Jorge's idea?"
"Yeah. He said it'd be most effective at your side."
To make use of Kuro's Dark-Dark powers, he'd come here.
She glanced once toward Sengoku, then nodded and spoke to Kuro.
"I'll give the signal. You pull Sengoku in."
"Got it. Leave it to me!"
"Zen, I'm counting on you for Zephyr."
"Understood!"
BOOM!! With astonishing force, Zen launched forward, closing on Zephyr at incomparable speed to before.
Watching him go, Kanata wrapped Haki around both arms and her spear, taking her stance.
"I don't intend to fight repeatedly. I'll end this here."
☆
"Hah... hah...!"
"What a stubborn brute! Taking all my attacks without budging!"
Samuel and Ivankov struggled against Saul and Lonz.
Their physical strength was incomparable to humans. They were painfully realizing how troublesome fighting giants was.
"We're born warriors! The blood in our veins is different from yours!"
"I'm not from Elbaf though, so it's a bit different."
Unlike Lonz, Saul wasn't an Elbaf warrior. Still, their fundamental abilities showed little difference, and he possessed strength befitting a vice admiral.
Even against giant commanders, Ivankov could fight adequately.
It was just bad luck.
"I recommend surrendering peacefully. Your captain may be strong, but I can't imagine winning against Admiral Zephyr and Vice Admiral Sengoku."
"Shut up! Hah, hah... Like Kanata would lose that easily!"
Samuel, who'd worked close to her for six years, knew her strength well.
She wasn't the type to lose so easily.
"You're free to believe. We're not here playing around either. If you won't surrender, then here—"
As Lonz raised his axe to bring it down on Samuel—an invisible bombardment landed from somewhere.
Surprised by the spectacular explosion, Lonz looked toward where the impact had come from based on the collision.
Not from the Navy warships. It came from the 'Witch's' ship.
"Bombardment? But there was no sound or anything—urgh!?"
"Lonz!?"
Two more shots landed on Lonz consecutively.
The shells were invisible. In the night with only moonlight, it seemed like just poor visibility, but that wasn't it.
"What's flying at us...!? Not ordinary cannonballs!?"
"Probably some Devil Fruit user! An ability that makes shells invisible or something!"
"Wrong! If they were just invisible, we'd hear the shells cutting through the air... but there was nothing!"
The bombardments hitting Lonz all packed serious power. Best to assume they weren't normal cannonballs.
They had to watch out next time, looking back toward the ship—but the continuously fired invisible shells steadily whittled down Lonz and Saul's stamina.
☆
"Impact confirmed! It's working!"
"Good! David, next one!"
"Got it!"
Hearing his subordinate confirm impact through binoculars, Jorge clenched his fist and gave David the next instruction.
David took a deep breath and exhaled everything into the cannon.
He repeated this continuously, making fine adjustments before bombarding the enemy giants again.
David had eaten the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, making him a "Bomb Human."
Not just his limbs—even bodily waste like boogers, and even his breath itself became bombs.
"Just like I imagined! Your ability's got serious versatility!"
"Yeah... I never thought it could be used this way."
He'd fallen behind in close combat against Sengoku and been knocked out easily. If this could make up for that failure, David loaded his "Breath Bombs" into the cannon with renewed vigor.
Invisible, inaudible, and too distant for even Observation Haki to detect properly—this bombardment was difficult even for fighters of Saul and Lonz's caliber to defend against.
"Fire a few at the warships too! If we can half-sink them, it'll get easier!"
"I won't allow any more."
Belk, fighting on deck, noticed Jorge's group's actions and immediately threw several daggers to stop them.
However—Junxi's spear knocked them down.
"Your opponent is me. I won't let you look away."
"...Won't fall easily, will you? Then I'll fight as if to cleave this ship itself."
The battle between Junxi and Belk intensified, making interference difficult. Besides, considering Junxi's personality, Jorge figured he'd get scolded later for interfering, so he continued telling David to load Breath Bombs.
Hitting them repeatedly would eventually bring them down, but—giants' toughness was extraordinary.
Once they knew bombardment was coming, they could defend with Armament Haki. While effective at first, now the effect was admittedly thin.
"That's as far as we go. Better to switch to bombarding the ships."
"...Jorge. I have a request."
"What?"
"Fire me as a cannonball."
"...Huh?"
Since becoming a Bomb Human, David's body no longer took any damage from explosions.
Using that, he could achieve human bombardment—flying at cannonball speed and self-detonating.
"No, but... it's dangerous, you know?"
"I'm aware. I lost old comrades at Little Garden... I won't lose comrades again!"
"...Alright. Then get ready. After bombarding the warships, I'll launch you."
"Yes!"
Following Jorge's words, they bombarded and sank two warships, then David climbed into the cannon himself, preparing.
Adjusting the angle straight toward where Saul and Lonz were.
"Ivankov and Samuel should be nearby. Once you get over there, support them."
"Understood."
With a gun equipped at his waist, preparations complete. Since ammunition just needed David to breathe on it, saving on ammo costs was nice.
"Alright—go!!"
BOOM!! The cannon roared, and David was launched straight out.
Air resistance immediately slowed him, but that was calculated. He repeatedly detonated his feet for propulsion, accelerating through the air.
That strike came like a meteor.
"Take this—my Shooting Bomber!!"
He dodged Lonz's axe attempting to shoot him down with small detonations at the last moment—and erupted in a massive explosion upon arrival.
***
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