On the coast, Yamato watched the six warships deploy into a surrounding formation and raised a skeptical eyebrow.
The fleet maintained a distance of over 120 meters, their heavy cannon turrets rotating with a mechanical grind to lock onto her position. It was a clear, aggressive stance; they were targeting her with everything they had.
"Is this... an attempt to kill me?" Yamato asked, a sharp smile playing on her lips.
These Marines were truly bold. To think they could take her down with just six ships was a joke; it seemed they were simply tired of living.
"Who is in charge over there? Is it some officer like Akainu who thinks every pirate should be executed on sight? If that's the case, don't blame me for being impolite," she thought. "I won't show mercy to anyone trying to take my life, not even the Marines."
Yamato's eyes narrowed as she reached behind her and gripped the handle of her massive spiked club, Takeru. On the lead warship, Vice Admiral Cliff stared coldly at the figure on the shore.
"Onihime Yamato, your life ends here!" he muttered.
"Vice Admiral Cliff, all cannons are locked on. Please give the command," a soldier reported, his voice tense.
"All ships, fire at will! Annihilate the target!" Cliff shouted, waving his hand forward.
"Yes, sir! Commencing the annihilation of Onihime Yamato!" The order was relayed across the fleet instantly.
At that moment, Yamato tightened her grip on her club with both hands. Brilliant golden lightning erupted from the weapon, coiling around it like a nest of angry thunder snakes.
Crackle!
Stray bolts of golden electricity splashed onto the sand, blasting charred holes into the ground.
"Goodbye, foolish Marines. If you need someone to blame, blame your own weakness. You never should have bared your fangs at me," Yamato said, her golden eyes flashing with a lethal light. "Narikabura Arrow: Vajra!"
With a violent roar, Yamato swung her club.
Swish!
In an instant, the golden lightning burst forth like a shower of falling flowers. Each "petal" of the golden rain was actually a massive, crystalline bolt of energy radiating a blinding glow. The space above the sea was suddenly saturated with golden light, so intense that the Marines on the warships were forced to shield their eyes.
"It's too bright! I can't see! What's happening?"
"Not good! My eyes!"
Panic swept through the ships as the sailors were plunged into a white-out of pure energy.
"Don't panic! It doesn't matter if you can't see—just fire!" Cliff screamed, his voice cracking with desperation.
But as the words left his mouth, the golden light reached the deck of his flagship. What is this? was the last thought that crossed Cliff's mind.
Boom!
A series of deafening explosions rocked the ocean. All six Marine warships were struck by the lightning simultaneously. Pillars of fire soared into the sky as the ships' magazines ignited, tearing the hulls apart. Debris rained down into the water; not a single vessel remained intact.
"That wasn't even enough for a warm-up," Yamato remarked, resting her club on her shoulder.
This was the first time she had attacked the Navy since arriving in this world, but they had brought it upon themselves.
"I'm no saint," she sneered.
She took a deep breath and transformed, her body stretching and shifting until a giant dragon took to the sky. Below her, the sea was a graveyard of burning wood and drowning men. Many Marines had perished in the initial blast, but some survivors clung to wooden planks, staring up in absolute horror.
"In just an instant... it's all gone!" one soldier sobbed.
"What is that? How can such a creature exist?" another screamed.
They looked up to see the massive pink dragon ascending toward the clouds. Surrounded by divine, snow-white flame clouds, she looked like a legend come to life. The dragon circled once, her massive shadow blotting out the sun and making the survivors tremble in the cold water.
"We're doomed!" the Marines cried out in despair.
"What a bunch of fools, completely unaware of your own limitations," Yamato's voice boomed from the sky, sounding indifferent and ancient. "Remember this lesson: never bare your fangs at someone you can't afford to provoke."
The survivors could only shiver as the dragon turned and vanished into the cloud layer.
"We're... we're alive?" Seeing her depart, the soldiers breathed a shaky sigh of relief. They had been certain she was going to finish them off.
"Quick! Swim to the island! We have to contact Marineford!"
The survivors kicked toward the shore with everything they had.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"This is a disaster, Fleet Admiral Sengoku! One of our New World fleets has been completely destroyed!" A Marine Major burst into the office, nearly tripping over the rug.
"What happened? Who did it?" Sengoku asked, his brow furrowing.
In the New World, the Navy usually moved with extreme caution to avoid unnecessary conflict with powerful pirates. Especially when it came to the Four Emperors, the Marines never took the initiative to start a fight without a massive advantage.
"According to the survivors, an anomaly was spotted on an uninhabited island, and Vice Admiral Cliff took the fleet to investigate," the Major explained quickly. "They found Onihime Yamato alone on the shore. Vice Admiral Cliff then ordered an immediate attack."
The Major paused, swallowing hard. "Before the ships could even fire a single shot, the entire fleet was annihilated in a single blow. That's the full report."
Sengoku's face hardened. He understood the situation immediately: his own officer had been reckless.
"That idiot! To attack her even after confirming her identity—did he have water in his brain? He threw away an entire fleet for his own ego. He deserves to be court-martialed!" Sengoku barked.
"Sir... Vice Admiral Cliff was killed in the explosion," the Major noted quietly.
Sengoku went silent for a moment. "He's dead, so he doesn't have to deal with the consequences. But what about the soldiers who died for his stupidity? This is a massive loss."
"The report mentioned something else, sir," the Major continued. "The survivors claim Onihime Yamato turned into a dragon and flew away."
"What? A dragon?" Sengoku's eyes widened in genuine shock. "You're telling me Yamato has the same ability as Kaido? How is that possible?"
In the entire world, only Kaido's Mythical Zoan was known to grant the form of a dragon.
"The soldiers saw it clearly, sir. They were very specific—but they noted that the dragon was pink, not blue like Kaido," the Major added.
"A pink dragon? Could it be another Mythical Zoan Type?" Sengoku's frown deepened as he pondered the implications. "One that mirrors Kaido's power? This changes everything."
------------------------
For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse