"My mother! Wait! That call just now! What did you do to my mother, you pirate?!"
Vice Admiral Fernando heard her mention his mother and the cafeteria, and recalling the emergency call he had just hung up, he understood everything in an instant.
Fear turned into a brief flash of anger as he roared at Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin unhurriedly drew the nodachi from her waist, her tone tinged with mockery:
"Oh? A filial son? Pity, no matter how filial you are, neither you nor your old lady are any good."
"Don't worry, that old woman who wet herself is fine for now, but..."
She paused, the killing intent in her purple eyes focusing unmasked on Fernando.
"...as for you, it's hard to say."
Hearing this, Fernando suddenly realized his current situation. The opponent was a Great Pirate with an initial bounty of 500 million! And she was a member of the Rocks Pirates!
His previous courage vanished instantly. A massive wave of fear gripped his heart, and his fat legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
"You! You! What do you want to do?!" he shrieked, putting on a brave front despite his inner cowardice.
"I am a Navy Vice Admiral recognized by Marineford! This is the Sabaody Archipelago! Marineford is right nearby!"
"If you touch me, the Admiral will never let you get away! You'll never make it out of here alive!"
"Hehe, whether I can make it out or not is none of your concern."
Charlotte Linlin sneered.
"As for now, let's see just how much real strength you have, you Navy Vice Admiral who climbed the ranks through your old lady's extortion!"
Before her voice even faded, she swung forward casually!
Screech—!
A coarse, thirty-meter pink sword beam erupted instantly!
The sword beam tore through the air with a sharp whistle, plowing deep furrows into the corridor's floor and ceiling as it surged toward Fernando with unstoppable force!
"I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!!"
Facing the terrifyingly swift slash that filled his entire vision, Fernando's pupils contracted sharply, and the shadow of death instantly enveloped him.
Survival instinct overrode everything else!
Realizing there was no way to dodge, he frantically coated his arms with Armament Haki and crossed them in front of him, attempting to tank the fatal blow!
Boom!!!
The sword beam slammed violently into his arms!
The massive impact sent his fat body flying back like a ragdoll, slamming heavily into the solid wall behind him, which cracked instantly!
"Arghhh—!"
Fernando let out a howl of agony. He felt as if his Armament Haki-coated arms were about to be crushed!
The pink sword beam was slowly tearing through his Armament Haki defense; he could clearly feel the touch of death!
(I'm not willing! I'm not willing to accept this!)
Massive fear and resistance to death, along with the hardships and unscrupulous means he had used to climb up from the bottom, flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
(I spent so much money! I gave so much! I finally reached this position! I haven't enjoyed it enough! I haven't even bought a Devil Fruit yet! How can I die here?!)
"But I haven't lived long enough yet!!!"
Along with a roar full of resentment, under the extreme pressure of life and death, the Armament Haki within Fernando's body miraculously began to flow!
As if struck by inspiration, he stopped trying to withstand it head-on and instead attempted to use a clever force to redirect the sword beam!
Vroom! The sword beam rubbed violently against his flowing Armament Haki, letting out a piercing hum!
Just before his arms were completely ruined, he exerted his last ounce of strength to deflect the terrifying sword beam diagonally upward!
Rumble!!!!
The pink sword beam tore right through the Naval Base's reinforced roof and shot into the sky.
Like a pink meteor, the sword beam streaked across the sky of the Sabaody Archipelago, eventually slashing through the topmost canopy of a massive Yarukiman Mangrove numbered GR-21 in the distance!
Crack—!!!
With a loud crash, the massive mangrove's crown was sliced clean off and began to slowly tilt and fall!
...On the streets of the Sabaody Archipelago, people were already unsettled by the loud noise coming from the direction of the Naval Base and the pink light shooting into the sky.
"What's that?"
"Did it fly out of the Naval Base?"
"The color is quite pretty... Wait! That tree! The canopy at the top is falling!!"
"That cracking sound! It's breaking! Run!!"
"Help! It's going to crush us!"
"Child! My child! Come here quickly!"
"Quick, hide in a building!"
Panic spread instantly like a plague.
The massive mangrove crown fell with terrifying momentum, its shadow looming over the streets and amusement facilities below.
People cried and screamed, desperately fleeing in all directions, and the scene became extremely chaotic.
"Ah! Help!"
A Damselette was pushed down by someone while fleeing. With a sprained ankle, she could only watch in despair as the massive shadow descended upon her.
Just then, a man holding a giant axe in one hand appeared in front of the Damselette.
The man appeared beneath the canopy at a speed invisible to the Damselette's naked eye.
"Eighty Owl Slayers!"
With a low shout, the dual axes danced in a dazzling arc, and the massive canopy was instantly split into countless fine wood fragments, falling like a rain of sawdust.
"Wow! So cool!"
The surviving Damselette looked at the man walking toward her with sparkling eyes as he sheathed his axes.
The man set down his giant axe, knelt on one knee, and said to the Damselette with a gentle face:
"Beautiful lady, are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine!"
The Damselette lowered her head, her face slightly flushed, and cautiously placed her hand into the one the gentleman extended... Inside the Naval Base:
"Huff... huff... ha... ha... I... I survived..."
Fernando collapsed in the debris in the corner, gasping for breath, his face filled with the relief of having survived.
But his arms were completely twisted and deformed, hanging limply at his sides, and blood soaked his white Vice Admiral coat.
Merely blocking a casual swing of Charlotte Linlin's sword beam had nearly cost him his life and left his arms completely ruined.
"Not bad," Charlotte Linlin raised an eyebrow, her tone playful,
"It seems those who manage to become Marine Vice Admirals have a few tricks up their sleeves; they're not all useless."
"No... not at all... it's not even one-ten-thousandth of your power, milady..."
Fernando endured the intense pain and forced a smirk that looked worse than crying,
"Milady... surely your anger has subsided after that strike? Let this be the punishment for my foolish mother's offense... what do you think?
Afterwards... afterwards, I'll act as if I never saw you! You can continue to enjoy yourself in the Sabaody Archipelago, and all expenses... will be on my tab!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Charlotte Linlin tilted her head, looking at him with a half-smile, her purple eyes shimmering with a light that saw through everything.
"But, why do I feel... that in your heart, you're planning to contact Marineford the moment I leave, to notify those idiot Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise,
and have them send an Admiral and CP0 to capture me, then throw me into Impel Down or offer me to the Celestial Dragons in exchange for credit and rewards~"
Although her Observation Haki couldn't directly read minds, she could clearly feel the changes in his emotions.
Especially since her Observation Haki had reached the level of predicting the future, when facing an opponent whose Haki was far weaker than hers, any flicker of fear, resentment, or calculation in their heart was as clear as a torch in the dark night.
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