Chapter 43: The Chicken, Dog, and Monkey, the Future Three Admirals, are Extremely Weak
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up 3214 Strength!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up 987 Speed!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up 1598 Stamina!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up top-tier Conqueror's Haki, current progress: 18.5%!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up top-tier Armament Haki, current progress: 16.7%!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up top-tier Observation Haki, current progress: 14.9%!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully picking up Grandmaster-level swordsmanship, current progress: 23.9%!]
The reason Rono hadn't acted yet was because he was feeling his power grow!
A series of notification sounds kept appearing, and Rono's blood began to boil with excitement.
In less than ten minutes since the battle began, his three types of Haki had progressed by leaps and bounds! The growth was several times faster than his three months of sparring with Whitebeard!
It was just as he had guessed!
To break through further and obtain greater power, he either had to challenge someone stronger than himself and pick up their power, or participate in a large-scale war like this, where quantity would lead to a qualitative leap!
Seeing that the time was about right, it was his turn to strike and deliver a heavy blow to the Marines!
"Brothers, charge with me! Find the Celestial Dragons and kill them all!"
His blood boiling, Rono led the Seventh Division into the battlefield!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The moment he joined the battle, Rono unsheathed Kotetsu and unleashed several sharp sword slashes.
In an instant, at least thirty Marines cried out in pain before being engulfed by these slashes!
"Damn it, the great pirate with a 1.5 billion bounty, 'The Vile One' Rono!"
"Such sharp sword slashes, I almost died."
"Against a great pirate like this, we have no chance of winning!" a few lucky Marines who weren't killed said with lingering fear.
Swish!
Rono once again unleashed a terrifying sword slash.
As his swordsmanship improved, the power of his slashes was no less than that of top-tier grandmasters like the Golden Lion or Whitebeard!
Screams rang out.
In an instant, dozens more Marines were engulfed by the sword slash!
It was like reaping leeks; one swing cut down a whole row with incredible speed.
"Follow Boss Rono, charge!"
Behind Rono, Kaido's blood boiled at the sight!
Killing Marines was like slaughtering chickens!
This was his idol—"Hero" Rono!
His choice back then was indeed correct. The Golden Lion, Silver Axe—none of them could compare to Boss Rono!
"Seventh Division, charge!"
Kaido raised his spiked club and charged into a group of a dozen Marines with reckless abandon.
The next moment, all those Marines were sent flying by Kaido!
For the past three months, under Rono's supervision, Kaido had been practicing Armament Haki: Ryuo every day! With Kaido's already outstanding talent, he had completely mastered Ryuo in these three months.
Combined with Ryuo's internal destruction, one strike from his club was almost a guaranteed kill!
"Charge!"
"Kill the Marines! Kill the Celestial Dragons!"
The members of the Seventh Division also unleashed their own abilities!
For a time, under Rono's leadership, the members of the Seventh Division moved as if through an unmanned territory!
Wherever the Seventh Division went, the Marines suffered heavy casualties!
No one is fearless in the face of death. Not even the Marines who represent justice!
Knowing they would be easily killed, these Marines didn't even have the will to fight when they encountered the Seventh Division, retreating directly.
The morale of the Marines plummeted.
The balance that had been maintained on the battlefield was instantly shattered!
After all, the Marines' high-end combat power had almost no spare forces to stop Rono. Let alone Rono, the Marines couldn't even spare a decent force to deal with Kaido!
If this situation continued, it wouldn't be long before the Marines would likely be defeated.
"You damn 'Vile One'! It was the Celestial Dragons who killed your parents, why are you being so ruthless to the Marines!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru watched Rono, her eyes filled with fury!
A single casual strike from Rono sent a dozen Marines to their graves. In just a few minutes, at least two hundred Marines had become ghosts under Rono's blade!
It seemed her initial guess was correct. The addition of "The Vile One" Rono had caused the balance between the two great powers to collapse! After all, the Marines had only barely been able to suppress the Rocks Pirates before. Without Rono, the balance was delicate. With Rono's addition, it was bound to be broken!
Now, it seemed that was exactly the case!
"Heh, cut the crap. You're a Marine, I'm a pirate. If I don't kill you, should I wait for you to kill me instead?" Rono snorted coldly.
Rono didn't like to attack civilians, but that didn't mean he was a good person! The definitions of good and evil were extremely difficult to pin down. In any case, good or evil, whoever stood in his way of killing the Celestial Dragons, he would kill!
This was the rule Rono had set for himself!
What's more, Marines and pirates were inherently opposed. If he didn't kill the Marines, the Marines would kill him in return.
"Damn it, the World Government's reinforcements won't arrive for some time. At this point, I can only try to stall for time."
As a strategist, Tsuru was not a combat type, but more of a behind-the-scenes commander. But in this situation, she had no choice but to go all out. She would risk her life to stop Rono here! Otherwise, the Marines would probably be defeated before the reinforcements even arrived.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, how can we let you handle something like fighting!"
Sensing that Tsuru was about to make a move, several figures blocked her path. As the Great Staff Officer, Tsuru held a high reputation in the Marines and was deeply respected.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, let us go!"
"We are also Marines of justice! We will not back down in the face of evil!"
Tsuru looked closely and saw that the people before her were none other than Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino!
These three were talents the Marines were heavily investing in! Whether it was their talent, potential, fruit abilities, or their unwavering commitment to justice, these three were outstanding.
Now, it seemed that was indeed the case. After all, these three were still new recruits, at the peak of their sense of justice. Even the usually lazy and slacking Kizaru from the original story was like this at this stage.
"I was right about you. I'll be counting on you then."
"Remember, Rono's strength is immense. Try not to clash with him head-on. Focus on delaying him," Tsuru did not refuse, but instead gave them instructions.
Although these three were rookies, they were exceptionally talented! Their Haki and martial arts had already reached the level of a Rear Admiral, not at all like newcomers! Combined with the bonus from their Logia abilities, these three were at least at the level of a headquarters Vice Admiral.
Three Vice Admirals should have no problem holding off Rono for a while, buying time for the World Government's reinforcements to arrive.
"I understand."
The three nodded, then used Shave from the Six Powers to appear in front of Rono's Seventh Division, blocking their path.
"Who are these guys?"
"The Marines' Logia users!"
The members of the Seventh Division immediately recognized the three.
The three before them were the ones who had just worked together to destroy the Golden Lion's air raid: Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino!
"Let us be the ones to stop you! 'The Vile One'!"
"Ara ra ra, to have a bounty of 1.5 billion when you're a rookie just like us... the pressure is really on."
"Ooh~ 'The Vile One'~ How scary~"
The three of them stood before the Seventh Division, their faces filled with righteous determination!
"Hahaha, interesting. Have the Marines run out of people? They're actually sending the three of you to stop me?"
Looking at the extremely immature chicken, dog, and monkey before him, Rono couldn't help but burst out laughing.
If these three were in their prime, Rono might have retreated. But these three were just rookies who had joined the Marines only three months ago!
Sweeping his Observation Haki over them, Rono found that even with their top-tier Logia Devil Fruits, the three of them were at most at the level of a Vice Admiral.
To put it bluntly, if the Marines hadn't run out of people, these three wouldn't even be qualified to fight him.
"You damn 'Vile One,' don't look down on us!"
"You're just a rookie like us!"
"Justice will prevail over evil!"
The hot-tempered Sakazuki was enraged by Rono's words. Everything the other party said and did showed that he didn't take them seriously at all.
In that case, he would just have to show him
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