Under the impact of the turbulent current, the sea vortex—which had been endlessly rotating and devouring everything in its path—was clearly being suppressed. Its rotation speed actually began to slow.
"Stop for me!!"
With only his upper body floating above the surface, Fish-Man Hoss bared his sharp teeth and once again raised both fists, smashing them violently into the sea.
"Fish-Man Karate: Spear Wave!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Both heavy fists struck at once, like a spear driving straight into the ocean.
The direction of his twin punches formed a spear-shaped current shockwave, blasting once more toward the enormous whirlpool ahead.
Crash! Splash!
The waves collided without end, towering sprays of seawater surging into the sky.
As this force arrived, the vortex in front of Gran Tesoro finally showed visible signs of disruption.
The repeated collision of currents not only caused its rotation to slow even further, but even the shape of the whirlpool itself began to twist and distort.
The surrounding pirates instantly grew excited at the sight.
No one even needed to say anything.
BOOM— BOOM—
All kinds of attacks began pouring forth, continuously bombarding the giant vortex.
Under the dense barrage, more and more turbulent currents began to form.
The massive splashes created by the attacks slammed into the rotating waters.
Gradually, the enormous vortex began to calm.
Its terrifying pulling force completely vanished.
Though the sea remained violently turbulent, it was now clearly no longer enough to stop the gathered pirate fleets.
"Move out, boys!"
"Hahaha! Full speed ahead!"
"We'll gladly take all the treasure on Gran Tesoro!"
"Thanks, Hoss! Ohohoho!"
"..."
RUMBLE!
One pirate ship after another roared to life, swarming toward Gran Tesoro like a tidal wave.
Hoss's expression remained cold.
He slapped both hands against the sea, launching himself upward before landing back on his ship's deck, quickly ordering his crew to move out.
However—
while the majority of pirate crews charged straight toward Gran Tesoro, a small number merely hung back behind them, showing no urgency at all.
Clearly, some people had already sensed that something was wrong.
There was no way the Magic Eye Pirates hadn't noticed such a massive sea vortex being destroyed.
And yet, up until now, not a single one of them had appeared.
That alone was enough to prove there was a problem.
Very soon—
most of the pirate ships had already smoothly entered the waters where the vortex had just been dispersed.
And then—
at that exact moment—
a black figure suddenly appeared above the sea.
Conrad looked down coldly at the pirate fleets below and raised one hand, pressing it down toward the ocean.
BOOM!!
In an instant, the calm sea began trembling violently once more.
Then, before everyone's eyes, the halted vortex began reforming at visible speed.
The moment they sensed the change in the sea—
everyone finally realized it.
He intended to wipe them all out in one move.
"Damn it! I knew it wouldn't be this easy!"
"But this makes it fun!!"
An excited shout rang out from a rough-looking pirate ship.
A lean, sharp-eyed man about two meters tall suddenly underwent a drastic transformation.
A pair of thick gray-black wings burst out from his back.
WHOOSH!
With one powerful flap, he shot into the air toward Conrad.
Clearly, he was a Zoan Devil Fruit user with flight capabilities.
And not just him.
From the other pirate ships, several figures leapt into the air one after another, charging toward Conrad.
There were no fools among pirate captains who had survived this long in the New World.
If Conrad were allowed to recreate the sea vortex, then even if they weren't completely wiped out, the losses would still be devastating.
Quite a few had deliberately refrained from acting earlier for this exact moment—
waiting for the dangerous member of the Magic Eye Pirates capable of creating such a catastrophic vortex to reveal himself.
As long as they dealt with Conrad, the troublesome one with this terrifying ability, then their operation to seize Gran Tesoro's treasure would already be half won.
Facing the pirates charging toward him with overwhelming momentum—
Conrad merely smiled coldly.
A pillar of emerald-green magic erupted from his body and shot skyward.
"Key Magic: Magic Gate!"
Raising both hands toward the heavens, Conrad spread them wide, his voice low and hoarse.
BZZZZ—
A humming vibration spread outward along with the emerald beam of magic.
One emerald spatial gate after another appeared across the sky, covering every pirate below.
The next instant—
everyone using Observation Haki had their expressions change at once.
Especially the pirate captains charging toward Conrad—
terror instantly filled their faces.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Columns of water erupted endlessly from the magic gates.
Each torrent carried terrifying impact force.
The flying Zoan Devil Fruit user was struck first.
His savage beast-man form instantly vanished as he was blasted backward.
With a thunderous crash, the thick stream of water slammed him directly into the sea.
At the same time, the other Devil Fruit users were likewise knocked into the ocean without the slightest ability to resist.
Only a few martial artists avoided being immediately struck down, but even they failed to last long before being blasted down by the continuous torrents.
"Run!!"
"It's seawater!!"
Piercing screams erupted from ship after ship.
Only then did everyone finally understand why those powerful Devil Fruit users had been the first to fall.
Before the power of the sea—
Devil Fruit users had absolutely no means of resistance.
Above them—
the densely packed spatial gates connected together, pouring out endless torrents of seawater.
It looked like an upside-down ocean crashing down all at once.
Below—
the sea vortex had also begun reforming, dragging back every pirate ship trying to escape the area.
Above and below!
The two-layered killing method had fully taken shape, enough to grind every pirate present into total annihilation.
Under such circumstances—
piercing screams continuously rang across the sea.
An aura of despair spread everywhere.
Devil Fruit users had no ability to fight back whatsoever.
Only a few martial artists could barely hold on under such conditions.
Yet beneath the relentless bombardment of the falling seawater, none of their attacks could break through the currents to reach Conrad above.
Dozens of kilometers away, on the small island—
silence filled the temporary Marine command tent.
At this moment, even without telescopes, everyone could clearly see the vast curtain of seawater pouring down from the sky over the distant sea.
For Devil Fruit users, this kind of attack was nothing short of a disaster.
Even non-users who could withstand it physically still had no real answer.
Ships simply could not endure such continuous impact.
No matter how sturdy the vessel, it would eventually be smashed into the ocean.
Vice Admiral Momonga's expression turned grave, his hand unconsciously clenching into a fist.
Thankfully, they had not acted rashly.
Had they fallen into such a trap, the situation would have become extremely dangerous.
Even relying on Admiral Aokiji's powers would still be troublesome.
After all—
once Aokiji used the Ice-Ice Fruit's ability, the seawater falling from the sky would indeed freeze.
But the warships and soldiers caught within it would also be frozen solid.
"Black Robe Conrad…"
Doberman muttered gravely, his gaze sharp and solemn.
(End of Chapter)
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