Captain America tapped a finger against his shield, the clear, pure note hanging in the air like a final judgment. CLANG.
"This isn't Seastone," he said, a cold smile on his lips. "It's Vibranium. Ever heard of it?"
"No," Yamakaji snarled, forcing himself to his feet, his arms still trembling from the violent recoil. "But it doesn't matter. When I am done with you, I will deliver that shield to Vegapunk myself. I am sure the science division will be very interested in taking it apart."
The Vice Admiral wasted no more time on words. He charged, katana held ready, but Riven was already in motion. He met the charge head-on, shield raised. At the moment of impact, he didn't block; he redirected. He used the immovable surface of the shield to absorb Yamakaji's forward momentum and, in a stunning display of acrobatic prowess, vaulted up and over the Vice Admiral's body.
As he sailed over Yamakaji's head, he called back, "It's been a pleasure, Vice Admiral! We'll have to do this again sometime!" He landed perfectly on the ship's railing, poised for a dive.
"You coward! You're running away?!" Yamakaji roared, spinning around, furious that his opponent was disengaging just as the real fight was about to begin. For a swordsman of his caliber, it was the ultimate insult.
He started to give chase, but the panicked screams of his crew cut him short. "Sir! The fire-ship! It's going to hit!"
Yamakaji's head snapped toward the bow. He finally understood. It had all been a diversion. A tactic to keep him occupied. "Damn you!" he roared, but it was too late. He saw the burning hull of the first warship bearing down on them, a mountain of fire and steel.
"Abandon ship!" he bellowed, his voice carrying across the deck with the full force of a command. "Abandon ship! Every man for himself!" With no other choice, Yamakaji, one of the five commanders of the Buster Call, leapt into the sea and began swimming desperately for the safety of the nearest vessel.
The impact was cataclysmic.
CRUUUUNCH!
The burning prow of the first ship plowed into the second's midsection with a sound of tortured, screaming metal. The warship folded in on itself, its spine broken, the deck plates buckling like cardboard. A secondary explosion from deep within its ruptured hull sent a fireball mushrooming into the sky. The screams of the dying were lost in the roar of the flames and the hiss of steam as the wreckage began its slow, inexorable slide into the sea. Two down.
From the water, Riven watched the fruits of his labor. He felt no triumph, only the cold, hard calculus of war. Taking down two ships was a victory, but a small one. There were still eight more out there, a ring of death tightening around Ohara. And more importantly, he knew the true threat wasn't the ships. It was the men commanding them. Men like Yamakaji. And among them, there would be Logia users, those who had eaten Devil Fruits that turned their very bodies into an element.
Against them, I'm helpless, he thought, the cold reality settling in his gut. The Super Soldier Serum makes me strong, fast, a master strategist. But I don't have Haki. I can't touch a man made of smoke or ice or magma.
His current power had a limit, and he had just seen the edge of it. He couldn't win by brute force. He had to be smarter.
He swam back to shore, the peak human physique of Captain America cutting through the waves with tireless efficiency. He reached the beach where Saul and Olvia were huddled, their faces illuminated by the horrifying orange glow of the burning fleet and the ever-growing fire consuming the Tree of Knowledge. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and the distant, ceaseless thunder of cannon fire as the remaining eight ships continued their relentless bombardment of the island.
"Captain!" Saul called out, his voice heavy with a new, crushing despair. "It's no use! We saw what you did, and it was magnificent! But look! There are too many of them! They're going to level the entire island!"
"They're not just aiming for the Tree anymore," Olvia added, her voice a low, trembling whisper of rage. "They're firing into the towns. They're killing the civilians… the ones who were trying to flee." She clenched her fists, her knuckles white. "They're burning our entire world."
"Then we can't let them," Riven said, his voice cutting through their despair. He placed a firm hand on Olvia's shoulder, forcing her to look at him. "Don't give up. Think about Robin. You have to live for her. What hope does she have if her own mother surrenders?"
The words struck home. The mention of her daughter's name was a spark in the darkness of Olvia's grief, rekindling the fire in her eyes. This man, this impossible hero, was right.
Saul looked from the burning ships to the unwavering resolve in Captain America's eyes. "What do we do, Captain?" he asked, his voice now filled with a sliver of hope. "You took out two warships by yourself. You must have a plan."
"I do," Riven said, his expression turning deadly serious. "But it's dangerous. It will mean facing the full might of the fleet head-on." He turned and looked directly at the giant, his gaze intense. "It will require a sacrifice, Saul. A stand against impossible odds. Do you have the courage for that?"
Saul looked at Olvia, at the flames consuming the library that held all the world's knowledge, and then back at the man who offered not a guarantee of victory, but a chance to fight back. A wide, fierce, tragic grin spread across his face.
"Dereshishishi!" he laughed, the sound a deep, booming rumble of defiance. "No problem! If it means saving Robin and Olvia, I'm ready for anything! Just tell me what to do, Captain!"
"Good." Riven nodded, turning to face the fleet, his mind already mapping out the strategy. "Their attention is divided. They're focused on bombarding the island, and they're confused by what just happened. We're going to use that."
He pointed a finger toward the warships.
"You and I, Saul. We're going on the offensive. Together. We'll create a diversion so massive, so loud, that every cannon and every eye in that fleet will be pointed at us."
He then turned to Olvia, his voice softening slightly but losing none of its intensity.
"That will be your window. While we have their attention, you will take Robin, find a boat on the far side of the island, and you will escape into the chaos. It's the only way."