In less than two minutes, every pirate had been floored, save for Gladius and the twenty odd men surrounding him.
Seeing this, Gladius's eyelid twitched.
"Out of the way!"
He shoved the pirates in front of him aside and raised his right hand.
"Stone Burst!"
Spheres of rock shot rapidly from his gear-like devices. These weren't mere physical projectiles; they were infused with his Devil Fruit ability. While the spheres were small when launched, they expanded rapidly mid-flight.
Having read the original story, Sean knew exactly how this attack worked. Once they hit their target, they would trigger a violent explosion.
Although Gladius wasn't the highest-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family, he was still a primary executive. He was far beyond the capabilities of the ordinary Marines under Sean's command.
Sean decided to act.
With blinding speed, he unleashed five consecutive kicks, knocking all five rock spheres away. Though the impact would trigger an explosion, if one were fast enough, the projectiles could be sent flying far enough away before they detonated.
It was the same principle Rayleigh had used when removing and discarding slave collars in the original series. The key was speed.
A moment later, five thunderous booms echoed through the air.
Gladius's eyes widened in shock.
'Damn it, this guy is definitely not at a Commodore's level. He's at least a Rear Admiral, maybe even a Vice Admiral.'
With that single display of prowess, Gladius realized he was likely outmatched. Moreover, there were three Captains who were proficient in the Six Powers, and they were far from weak.
Unless...
"Full Body Burst!" Gladius gritted his teeth and let out a low shout.
Suddenly, his entire body began to expand like a balloon, growing larger and larger!
"Lucci, stop!"
Noticing Lucci's movement, Sean barked a warning. Though he didn't know exactly what Gladius was planning, Lucci's instincts told him it wouldn't be anything good. Lucci had intended to take him down before he could finish his preparation, but as he moved, Sean's left hand blocked his path.
"In this state, any external attack will trigger a massive explosion," Sean explained. "The power would be equivalent to at least ten fortress cannons."
"And it's not just the blast. During the explosion, his hair transforms into countless poisonous needles that fire in every direction!"
"It might not be a fatal threat to me, you, Kaku, or Jabra, but none of our Marines would survive!"
Lucci stiffened. 'He can do that?'
In that instant, Lucci understood why Sean had stopped him. The surrounding Marines gasped in horror. This man had essentially become a human super-bomb, combining a massive blast radius with an omnidirectional ranged attack. It was absurd.
"Commodore, how do we handle this?"
"It's fine. Have all the Marines huddle as close together as possible. Leave the rest to me."
Gripping Hekireki, Sean stepped forward slowly.
Admittedly, this move was troublesome. If he could use 'Dankū', it would be an easy fix. Unfortunately, his current Kidō limit was only level 50, and 'Dankū' was Bakudō #81. Even with a full incantation, he couldn't cast it.
But that didn't mean there was no solution.
"Marines! My young master is a Warlord with a legal license to plunder. Hand the prisoner over, and the Donquixote Family will act as if today never happened," Gladius threatened, now a massive sphere. "You are merely a Commodore. You might be able to defeat me, but is it worth the lives of so many Marines?"
"Furthermore, even if you are willing to pay that price today, the young master will never let this go. How will you face the wrath of the Donquixote Family?"
Sean ignored him, continuing his slow approach while speaking to himself.
"While I can't use a massive area-of-effect defense like 'Dankū' yet, I can manage a small-scale one."
"A small defense might not protect all the Marines behind me, but if I get close enough—if I deploy the defense right in front of you—do you think you can still threaten them?"
"If the range is insufficient, I'll simply close the distance to minimize the angle of the blast's impact!"
As he finished speaking, Sean was already standing directly in front of Gladius, barely ten centimeters away.
In one fluid motion, Hekireki slashed upward, cutting Gladius clean in half.
Because of the external impact, the Devil Fruit ability—which had been primed and ready—triggered the moment Gladius's life force began to fade.
The explosion began.
Simultaneously, Sean shouted, "Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"
A circular blue protective shield manifested instantly in front of him.
BOOM!!!
It felt as if a dozen fortress cannons had fired at once. A terrifying explosion erupted. However, because Sean had infused it with ample Spirit Power, the 'Enkōsen' held firm.
Exactly as Sean had theorized, by placing the defense at an extremely close range, he maximized the restriction on the explosion's impact angle.
The force of the blast was immense, but because of the 'Enkōsen', the energy was forced to flow backward and to the sides. Since the shield was practically pressed against Gladius, the shockwave could only penetrate forward at an angle of less than 15 degrees on either side.
In other words, out of a 180-degree frontal arc, the central 150 degrees were a complete safety zone. The remaining 15-degree slivers on the sides weren't even enough to reach the large warships in the rear, let alone the Marines huddled behind Sean.
The remaining twenty-odd pirates, however, fared miserably. Not only were they blown away by the blast, but they were also riddled with countless poisonous needles. They were wiped out instantly.
As for the sailing warship they were on, more than half of it was vaporized. The remaining wreckage began to capsize.
"Everyone, return to the warships!"
"Yes, Commodore!"
Even the weakest of these Marines possessed more than 50 Doriki. Even if they hadn't made it back on board before the ship capsized and fell into the sea, they wouldn't have been in any real danger.
However, that wasn't the case; everyone had moved with swift precision. Some of the more capable soldiers bypassed the rope ladders entirely, leaping straight onto the warship's hull, seven or eight meters above.
"Commodore, there should still be some pirates alive. How should we handle them?"
"Have everyone inspect the ship. Make sure they're thorough—after an explosion of that magnitude, we must be absolutely certain the vessel sustained no damage!"
"Yes, Commodore!"
Lucci immediately caught Sean's drift and went to carry out the orders. It was a massive warship, after all; every inch needed a meticulous inspection. If one hour wasn't enough, they'd take two. If two wasn't enough, they'd take three!
In short, the end result would inevitably be...
The inspection would conclude exactly when the last of the heavily wounded pirates had drowned, ensuring there was no time left to rescue them.
After all, this was simply to prioritize the safety of the Marines... and the security of a vital naval asset like a large warship.