"They must have been blocked by the experts of the Jinghai Army."
Tesoro narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the situation on the surveillance screen. Unfortunately, the filming range of the transponder snail was limited, so he could only make a reasonable guess.
The Jinghai Army currently possessed nearly twenty Admiral-level powerhouses. Akainin, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Ryokugyu were guarding the Four Seas and were rarely in Totto Land throughout the year. Monkey D. Dragon was responsible for overseeing the first half of the Grand Line. Shimotsuchi Ryuma was temporarily stationed in Dressrosa and would be the Admiral guarding the New World in the future. Aside from these six, the rest of the Admirals were basically all in Totto Land. Even facing an Ancient Weapon, they could hold their ground for a time.
As the Gran Tesoro floated rapidly toward the center of Totto Land, the surveillance footage revealed the situation on individual islands. The waters surrounding two or three islands within their line of sight had turned dark and murky, looking completely different from the deep blue of the distant sea.
When she saw the heads and tentacles of sea beasts occasionally breaking the surface, Nami's heart sank. Sea Kings had surrounded those islands, which was why the water below looked so dark. The Jinghai Army Vice Admirals stationed on the islands were leading their troops to protect the citizens. They wanted to kill those Sea Kings, but since the creatures were underwater and in such vast numbers, a single Vice Admiral was not enough to resolve the crisis. Currently, the Jinghai Army on those few islands could only wait for death.
Nami bit her lip, her heart filled with anxiety. Why hadn't Luo Chen returned yet? If no one stopped those Sea Kings, several islands were about to be overturned. The goal of the numerous Sea Kings was obvious: to capsize and destroy the islands, sending the soldiers and civilians to a watery grave.
Tesoro looked toward the distant Zhenhai Star Hub. The sky there was completely shrouded in darkness. He said worriedly, "Is Mr. Luo Chen at the Zhenhai Star Hub, but being held back by the Dark God and Imu?"
They had no way of knowing the situation at the Zhenhai Star Hub. However, that extreme darkness enveloping heaven and earth was likely related to the Dark God's abilities. Facing the three Ancient Weapons and the joint attack of Imu and the Dark God, many Admirals of the Jinghai Army found their strength lacking. If Luo Chen could not free himself, it would be impossible for the rest of the Jinghai Army to defeat the three Ancient Weapons.
*Boom—!*
The golden giant ship suddenly jolted again. Nami and the others looked at the surveillance screen in shock, only to find that in the distant sky, the Ancient Weapon Pluton had turned its cannons and aimed directly at them.
On the surveillance screen, Pluton appeared to be rapidly moving away. In reality, they all understood that it was Shiki controlling the Gran Tesoro to flee. However, they clearly could not outrun the laser bullets. A sky full of crimson laser bullets converged into a long rainbow, growing larger and larger on the monitor.
Shiki seemed to realize there was no time to run, so he lowered the Gran Tesoro to the sea surface. He himself charged into the space between the golden giant ship and the oncoming rainbow of bullets. The two long swords at his waist, Oto and Kogarashi, unsheathed, swinging out massive slashes.
Shiki's strength was beyond doubt; he was a powerhouse on the same level as Roger and Whitebeard. After his Impure World Reincarnation, his strength had reached its peak. But against the Ancient Weapon Pluton, his two massive slashes were instantly shattered. The slashes collided with the laser rainbow, and amidst the thick smoke of the explosion, a massive number of crimson bullets continued to rush forth.
They were incredibly fast. Shiki didn't have time to launch another attack and could only withstand it with his physical body. His form was riddled with laser bullets before finally exploding into a flurry of paper scraps.
Shiki's head was the first to regenerate. With an extremely grim expression, he looked behind him. The barrage of crimson bullets had passed through him, heading straight for the Gran Tesoro on the sea. Since his reincarnated body had not yet fully recovered, he couldn't block them in time. Furthermore, there were no other Jinghai Army Admirals on the Gran Tesoro. The Golden Emperor, Tesoro, had at most the strength of a Warlord, which was not enough to intercept Pluton's attack.
Deep within the golden giant ship, Tesoro also sensed the approaching danger. Without hesitation, he transformed into a golden giant and moved rapidly through the hull, appearing outside in the blink of an eye. Standing on the roof of the Gran Tesoro, liquid gold sprayed from his palms. The gold condensed into a massive shield before him, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.
Even knowing he was outmatched, Tesoro had to block the attack. Stella was on this ship, as were Luo Chen's women. If he didn't stand up and it resulted in the deaths of Nami and the others, Stella's fate would likely be terrible. As for whether he would die, he could only place his hopes on Luo Chen's Impure World Reincarnation.
The massive golden shield was like paper, instantly shattering within the torrent of crimson bullets. Tesoro's eyes widened in fury, completely helpless. He could only watch as the bullets roared toward him and the golden ship beneath his feet.
At the critical moment, the void in front of him suddenly shattered, revealing a black hole. A palm reached out from the black hole first. The plain-looking palm aimed directly at the torrent of crimson bullets. The moment the thousands of crimson laser bullets made contact with the skin of the palm, it was like a stone sinking into the sea—they vanished without a trace.
In an instant, the long rainbow of crimson bullets was swallowed by the hand. Luo Chen stepped out from the spatial portal, standing in the void above Tesoro. He looked at the pitch-black steel giant ship in the distant sky, his palm emitting strange energy fluctuations.
In the next moment, crimson laser bullets shot out from his palm one by one. They were identical in appearance to the ones swallowed earlier, but the crimson laser bullets Luo Chen fired were much thicker and longer. Each bullet was three to four meters large, looking almost like a crimson laser pillar.
Thousands of crimson laser pillars returned the way they came, heading straight for the ancient battleship in the distance. The space along the path was torn to shreds, revealing the boundless, deep gray chaotic space further within.
Tesoro and the newly restored Shiki looked on in astonishment. The power of the same attack reflected by Luo Chen seemed to have been amplified many times over. While the torrent of bullets fired by Pluton had failed to shatter space, the reflected attack did so with ease.
"Stop!" a loud shout echoed from the direction of the Zhenhai Star Hub.
Immediately after, a massive pitch-black hand extended from the darkness shrouding the Zhenhai Star Hub, arriving above Pluton in an instant. The giant hand swiped toward the incoming torrent of crimson bullets, clearly intending to help the battleship block the strike.
Luo Chen's eyes flickered, a silver-white glow flashing within his dark pupils.
"Miss," he whispered in his heart, activating the Observation Haki enchantment trait, **Affecting the Future**.
Within his mind, his soul power was reduced by a tenth. A mysterious aura of energy appeared out of thin air, enveloping the entire pitch-black hand. The massive hand, which had been charging toward the crimson bullets, suddenly and eerily swerved, slapping toward the empty sea on the right.
*Rumble—!*
The tens-of-meters-large black palm slammed into the ocean, creating a massive abyss and turning vast amounts of seawater into white steam. Simultaneously, the torrent of crimson bullets reflected by Luo Chen struck the battleship Pluton.
Pluton was protected by a layer of dark energy shielding. The shield collided with the crimson bullets, resulting in a continuous chain of explosions. After a brief stalemate, the dark energy shield finally shattered.
Yet, only about a tenth of the crimson bullets reflected by Luo Chen had been consumed. The remaining nearly one thousand crimson energy pillars slammed into Pluton without reservation. In the blink of an eye, Pluton's ten-thousand-meter hull was engulfed in flames.
A sky full of steel wreckage fell into the sea amidst the thick black smoke of the explosion. The broken cannon barrels at the bow were scattered in pieces, kicking up sprays of water before finally sinking into the ocean.
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