Zino, Sanji, and the rest were rushing toward Grove 46, weaving through the streets as fast as they could. Suddenly, Zino's expression changed.
"Our ship is under attack," he said sharply.
"What?" Nami's eyes widened. "Did the Marines get there already?"
"I'll go ahead. You all keep moving," Zino said. Without waiting, he transformed into lightning and shot off through the air.
Meanwhile, at Grove 46, several Marine warships had arrived offshore. Before they even fully docked, they began bombarding the area with cannon fire. Explosions echoed as cannonballs rained down on the sea and the dock.
Onboard the Silent Orca, the situation had grown tense.
"This is not good. We're surrounded," Kruz said grimly. He tore open small rifts in space, sending several incoming cannonballs vanishing into the void before they could hit.
"Should we sail away?" Baral asked urgently.
"We can't," the ship, Silent Orca, replied. "The rest of the crew are still on the island. We're not leaving them behind."
On one of the Marine warships, Sentomaru stood with his arms crossed, watching the action unfold. His eyes narrowed at the sight of cannonballs disappearing into thin air.
"There's a devil fruit user down there who can tear space?" he muttered. "Interesting."
He turned to the Pacifistas beside him. "Stop the cannon fire. PX-3, PX-4—fire your lasers!"
The Pacifistas responded instantly, opening their mouths. Two concentrated beams of light shot across the battlefield.
"Laser incoming!" Kruz shouted. He tried to open another void portal, but the lasers were too fast.
BOOM!!
One beam struck the ship's mast, sending splinters flying. The Silent Orca screamed.
"Ah! My mast! I'm hurt!"
"This is bad," Zoro growled. "We need to go inland."
"Wait, what about me? Are you going to abandon me?" Silent Orca trembled a little.
"I've got this," Friday floated forward in the form of a red orb. "Everyone off the ship, now!"
The crew quickly leapt overboard, landing on the nearby shore. As the last foot left the deck, Friday transformed into an exact copy of Kruz. With a flick of his hand, he opened a spatial pocket.
"Wait, what's going on—AAAH!" Silent Orca yelped as the space pocket closed around her.
"It's dark in here!" the ship's voice echoed briefly before disappearing into the void.
Friday sealed the rift.
"They're coming!" Kruz shouted as he turned toward the incoming warships.
"Let's find the others and regroup," Zoro said, already sprinting ahead.
From the warship, Sentomaru gave a sharp command. "Pursue them. Don't let them escape!"
The Marines landed ashore in quick succession, leaping from their ships with discipline and speed. Sentomaru and two towering Pacifistas touched down right after, immediately charging toward the direction of the fleeing Orcas.
"Tch. They're actually chasing us?" Zoro squinted toward the advancing troops. He abruptly halted in his tracks, drawing his swords halfway. "Then let's not waste time running. We fight them here."
"Wait," Gin said, placing a steadying hand on Baral, who had morphed into a weapon. "There's too many of them. Look at the numbers. They're not here by accident. They came prepared."
"I agree," Alvida added with a frown. "This smells like a planned assault. And don't forget—Sabaody is too close to Marineford. If we're stalled here, we won't just be fighting grunts."
"Then what's the plan?" Zoro asked, still itching for a fight. "We can't just run forever."
Before anyone could respond, a familiar voice came from above, calm but carrying weight.
"You're right to be cautious. An Admiral has already arrived on Sabaody."
Crackle—!
A lightning bolt struck the earth nearby. In the blink of an eye, the lightning took human form—Zino stood tall, his coat fluttering from the residual energy.
"Zino!" The crew visibly relaxed and smiled at the sight of their captain. Relief mixed with renewed determination filled their faces.
Not far away, Sentomaru narrowed his eyes as he saw the lightning strike and the man that emerged.
"That figure…" he muttered.
"Identified: Monkey D. Zino," one of the Pacifistas, PX-3, reported in a mechanical voice. "Captain of the Orca Pirates. Current bounty: One Billion Berries."
Back on Zino's side, the crew quickly gathered around him.
"Did you just say Admiral?" Alvida asked, her voice tight with tension. "Which one?"
"Kizaru," Zino replied flatly. His tone was calm, but everyone knew what it meant. This wasn't a regular fight anymore.
Zino turned toward Zoro and said, "If you're in the mood to fight, go ahead. Don't worry about being stalled. This kind of fight is exactly what you need to grow stronger."
The Orcas glanced at one another.
Zoro grinned. "Fine by me. I'll take that guy with the axe."
"I guess I'll take the one who shoots lasers," Alvida said, stepping forward with confidence.
"I'll handle the other laser-shooter," Kruz added. "Let's see how fast their beams really are."
Zino watched them head off and raised an eyebrow. Are they overconfident? Maybe. But some lessons can only be learned in battle, he thought.
While his crewmates charged ahead, Zino raised his hand toward the sky. Dark clouds swirled instantly as lightning began to gather. With a sudden motion, he slammed his hand downward.
A crackling surge of electricity split the sky.
Bzzzt—zzzap!
The lightning shot forward like a spear and tore through the Marine line. Screams rang out as the energy rippled across the ground, paralyzing many of the soldiers instantly. Sparks flew as several rifles exploded from the voltage.
In the aftermath, smoke lingered in the air. From the dozens who landed earlier, only few figures remained standing, Sentomaru and his two Pacifistas are among them.
Sentomaru clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tch. This is getting bad." His eyes scanned the battlefield, frowning at the state of his disoriented troops. Most of them were incapacitated, twitching from the aftermath of Zino's lightning strike.
The two Pacifistas beside him remained operational, but they were already locked into battles with two members of the Orcas.
"Where is Uncle Kizaru? What's taking him so long?" he muttered, speaking into his transponder snail again, but still getting no reply. He narrowed his eyes. "Is he just walking around again?"
His thoughts were abruptly cut off by the sudden rush of movement.
A blur shot at him from the side—Zoro.
"Three Sword Style!" Zoro shouted as he lunged forward, spinning his blades into a fierce arc. "Tora Arashi!"
The three swords slashed in a powerful cross formation, aimed directly for Sentomaru's chest. It was a brutal opening strike, meant to cleave through even the toughest armor.
But Sentomaru didn't flinch. He simply let out a small sigh and brought his arms forward, his palms spread in a wide sumo stance. His skin shimmered as a dense black aura covered his body—Armament Haki, hardened to the extreme.
Clang!!
Zoro's swords struck his torso with full force, but they failed to penetrate. The metallic impact rang through the clearing.
"My defense is the strongest in the world," Sentomaru said coldly, not even pushed back an inch.
Zoro grit his teeth. "Tch… so he's a walking fortress."
He tried to pull his swords back for another strike, but Sentomaru moved faster.
"ASHIGARA DOKKOI!"
With a sudden thrust of his palms, a shockwave of invisible force burst forth. It wasn't a normal push—it was advanced Armament Haki, an Emission that didn't require physical contact to deal damage.
The blow struck Zoro cleanly, bypassing the guard of his blades. The wind was knocked from his lungs as the force slammed into his torso, launching him backward like a ragdoll.
He hit the ground hard, skidding across the dirt before slamming into a thick root. Wado Ichimonji slipped from his mouth and clattered beside him.
"Ghh—!" Zoro coughed, a thin trail of blood dripping from his lips. He clutched his chest. "Haki… but that wasn't normal. It didn't even touch me."
He sat up slowly, pain shooting through his side, but his eyes sharpened.
"I can't beat him with ordinary attacks…" he murmured.
Zoro closed his eyes briefly, steadying his breath. The air around him began to distort as a dark pressure radiated from his body. His blades hummed with energy as the very aura around him changed.
"Kyutoryu… Asura."
With a sudden explosion of willpower, Zoro's form transformed. Three faces. Nine swords. A haunting silhouette that pulsed with demonic energy and pure fighting spirit. The very ground beneath him cracked under the weight of his aura.
Sentomaru's expression grew slightly more serious. "A strong spirit," he admitted, tightening his grip on his axe, "but still meaningless… without true power."
Zoro roared, charging forward with everything he had.
"Asura: Makyusen!"
Nine blades slashed all at once, converging into a devastating arc aimed at Sentomaru's midsection. The air split under the force of the technique, a shockwave racing behind it. For a brief moment, it looked as though Zoro had broken through—the sheer force pushed Sentomaru back a step, the first sign of movement from the unshakable wall.
But Sentomaru grunted, planting his feet and reinforcing his Haki. The black sheen on his axe thickened, and he raised it in time to block all nine strikes at once.
The earth trembled. Dust exploded from the impact. But the defense held.
"It's over, pirate," Sentomaru growled.
With a sudden motion, he thrust out his palm—this time at close range.
A massive burst of Haki erupted directly into Zoro's chest, bypassing his blades entirely. The impact shattered his concentration, and the Asura form dissolved in an instant.
Zoro's body rocketed backward like a missile, crashing violently through the massive trunk of a Yarukiman Mangrove tree. The explosion of splinters echoed through the grove.
Sentomaru exhaled, lowering his arm. "That's what happens when you challenge the world's strongest defense head-on."
"Zoro!" Gin who was fighting against the still standing marines shouted, breaking focus as he noticed the swordsman being launched through the air, crashing violently into a mangrove tree in the distance.
But just as he cried out, a Marine blade came slashing toward his neck.
"Focus!" Zino's voice cut sharply through the chaos like thunder.
Startled, Gin twisted back just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike. The sword missed his throat by inches, cutting a shallow line across his shoulder instead. Gritting his teeth, he flipped backward, regained his footing, and lunged at the attacking Marines with a renewed burst of ferocity.
Meanwhile, Zino's gaze remained fixed—not on Gin, but on Sentomaru. His attention narrowed, not just on the man himself, but on the thick, pulsing aura emanating from his form. The Haki Sentomaru was using wasn't just hardened armor. It projected, shaped the air, carried intent like a tidal force. It was advanced Armament Haki in the form of Emission—refined and deadly.
Zino recognized it instantly. The technique was similar to Rokuougan that he know. But instead of being fueled by immense physical energy, Sentomaru's version drew from willpower—Haki, in its rawest form.
"Baral," Zino said, still not taking his eyes off the Marine captain, "go check on Zoro."
Baral, still in mimic form, gave a small nod and bolted toward the mangled tree Zoro had been blasted through.
That left Zino alone with Sentomaru.
Both of them began walking forward without a word, the battlefield noise dulling as they closed the gap. The tension between them was palpable, like a storm slowly gathering pressure.
Sentomaru broke the silence first—by charging.
"Ashigara Dokkoi!" he shouted, thrusting his palm forward, a surge of pressurized Haki roaring ahead of him like a cannon shot.
Zino didn't flinch. His eyes flickered with sparks as he activated his Observation Haki. In that brief instant, time seemed to slow. He saw the trajectory of the blow, the subtle shift of Sentomaru's weight, the ripple of air the strike carved through space.
Then—crack!
Zino transformed into lightning.
The beam of power passed through where he'd stood only a fraction of a second earlier. And in the next instant, Zino reformed behind Sentomaru, fist already cocked and coated in Armament Haki. He delivered a clean, solid blow directly into the Marine's side.
Sentomaru staggered slightly from the impact, grunting as he slid a step forward. His torso pulsed black with haki, absorbing most of the damage—but not all.
"You can use Haki," Sentomaru said, turning his head with a mix of surprise and grudging respect.
"And I can use this."
Zino raised both hands, palms crackling with electricity. Bright blue-white lightning coiled around his arms like living snakes, flaring with raw, unstable power.
He thrust his hand forward, launching a compressed burst of lightning, reinforced with his own Armament Haki.
The energy exploded on impact, enveloping Sentomaru in a flash of light. The shock singed his uniform, smoke rising from the burnt cloth—but when the light faded, his skin was untouched beneath the hardened Haki layer.
"Impressive…" Sentomaru said. Then his eyes sharpened. "But ineffective."
Without missing a beat, he rushed forward, hefting his massive battle axe and swinging it in a wide, sweeping arc aimed low at Zino's legs.
Zino didn't retreat—he vanished.
A streak of lightning flashed, and he appeared a few meters away, standing atop a shattered root. The axe cleaved deep into the ground where he had been, the shockwave tearing through the soil like a quake.
From that moment, the battle became a deadly dance.
Zino darted in and out of existence, blinking from one place to another as electricity sparked in his wake. Each time he reappeared, he struck with lightning-augmented fists or delivered ranged blasts of energy.
Sentomaru, though slower, met each attack with solid, unyielding defense. His blackened Haki armor took every hit head-on, and his axe swung with brutal force, cutting deep grooves into the battlefield whenever Zino was even a moment late in evading.