With the arrival of Sean, Akainu, and their forces, the tide of battle on the outskirts of the G1 Branch shifted instantly.
With a single strike, Akainu wiped out at least a hundred pirates.
Following his lead, a massive wave of field-grade officers and Marines from the 16th Branch surged forward, completely overwhelming the pirates in the area before pushing onward to support other sectors locked in fierce combat.
As he looked at the countless fallen and wounded Marines surrounding him, Akainu's eyes flared with rage. He glared toward the harbor, where dozens of pirate captains were gathered.
"Those damned pirates... none of them are leaving here alive today!"
But just as Akainu prepared to charge and execute the captains, Sean held him back.
"Admiral Sakazuki, be careful when you strike. If they are Devil Fruit users, make sure you don't kill them!"
"Sean, what is the meaning of this?"
Akainu was clearly confused. He assumed Sean shared Sengoku's view—that capturing ability users was more valuable than killing them, as locking them away in Impel Down ensured their Devil Fruits wouldn't reappear on the open seas for decades.
Sean sighed softly and whispered something into Akainu's ear.
Though the others couldn't hear the words, they saw the result: Akainu's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you serious?"
"I am. Otherwise, why do you think every single ability user in Impel Down died without exception?"
"Hiss... so that time when ten ability users vanished from Impel Down was also..."
"Exactly. I used them as test subjects to confirm if the method worked."
"I see... Understood. I'll leave any ability users with a breath of life."
Akainu nodded, a hint of excitement flickering in his eyes. If what Sean told him was true, it was an incredible advantage. The strength of the Marines in the New World would become terrifying, potentially far surpassing even the Headquarters.
"Blueno, accompany Admiral Sakazuki. Tell the team to be ready to transport any captured Devil Fruit users immediately."
"Yes, Vice Ad... no, Fleet Admiral!"
'''
Meanwhile, at the harbor of the G1 Branch.
"Akainu is charging in alone?"
"Perfect. While Sean and the Vice Admirals aren't here to support him, let's swarm him! We'll kill him together!"
"Taking down a Marine Admiral... hmph, not even the Four Emperors of the past have managed that!"
John licked his lips, a cruel smile playing on his face. The other captains, first mates, and powerful executives of the various pirate crews were equally exhilarated.
Under John's leadership, ninety-seven pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Belly charged forward to meet the Admiral.
However, Akainu didn't panic. Instead, the corner of his mouth curled upward.
Previously, because Marines and pirates were intermingled in a chaotic brawl, he had been forced to attack the pirates' rear, limiting both his power and the range of his strikes.
But now, it was different. There were no allies in front of him—only pirates. He could finally let loose.
Besides, Sean had explicitly mentioned that the G1 Branch needed to be leveled to the ground for reconstruction.
Therefore...
"Meteor Volcano!"
His fists transformed into molten magma, generating a barrage of massive lava fists that he launched violently into the sky.
In the next instant, a rain of magma plummeted from the heavens, slamming into the harbor one after another. The blast radius of each impact was no smaller than the main battery of Sean's battleship. More importantly, the destructive power was far greater.
Within moments, the harbor vanished.
The entire area was transformed into a sea of molten lava.
The air was filled with the screams of pirates. It wasn't that only a few had been hit; rather, most of the pirates died so instantly they didn't even have time to scream.
With a single move, more than half of the pirates with bounties under 200 million Belly were incinerated. Those with bounties over 200 million were left in a wretched state, with only John faring relatively well.
The pirates were stunned.
This power... this range...
It was completely different from what they had seen moments ago! It was several times stronger—perhaps even ten times stronger.
'Is an Admiral truly this terrifying when they go all out?'
From a distance, watching the scene, Sean felt like cursing.
'You said you'd hold back... You said you'd leave the ability users with a breath of life!'
'Sakazuki, you went way too far!!'
In truth, Sakazuki remembered Sean's instructions.
However... when he attacked, he simply acted on instinct. It was a habitual reaction. By the time he realized he had overdone it, it was already too late.
"Admiral Sakazuki, I'll handle the rest!"
Heart bleeding for his lost "specimens," Sean rushed forward, placed a hand on Akainu's shoulder, and spoke.
"Fine, I'll leave them to you. I'm going to deal with the pirates in the other sectors!"
After a brief look of embarrassment, Akainu didn't object. He made his excuse and bolted.
He had to leave; if Sean decided to make him "compensate" him for dozens of lost Devil Fruits, it would be a nightmare. Knowing Sean, the man was absolutely capable of doing that.
Better to vanish quickly!
"Blueno, I'll do the work; you handle the cleanup," Sean said, shaking his head as he watched Akainu flee.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
"Right. Now, let's try out the Human Log Sword Style..."
'Human Log Sword Style?'
Blueno froze for a moment upon hearing Sean's mutterings. What on earth was a "Human Log Sword Style"?
He soon got his answer.
Sean blurred into motion, appearing instantly before an ability user who had transformed into an animal.
Four flashes of sword light sparked.
A "human log" appeared.
The pirate's arms and legs had been severed. Though not dead, he was in a state far worse than death.
At that moment, Blueno understood exactly what Sean meant by the "Human Log Sword Style."
He shuddered, and as he was still reflecting on the horror, a second "human log" was created.
'Work, I need to work!'
Blueno immediately rushed to the first victim, opened a spatial portal, grabbed the pirate, and tossed him inside. Once finished, he repeated the process for the second victim.
In less than three minutes...
Only seven pirates with bounties exceeding 300 million Belly remained before Sean.
Aside from John, whose bounty stood at 558 million, the other six were trembling uncontrollably. At this moment, the image of Sean in their minds was far more terrifying than that of the Four Emperors.
'Damn it... if I can just escape this time, I'll never provoke the Marines again, even if I have to cross the Four Emperors instead.'
It was simply too horrifying.
But escape? Was that even possible?
As for John, while he wasn't shaking as violently as the others, panic had begun to seep into his heart. However, he knew that fleeing was out of the question. Here, his only hope for survival—even if it was just a sliver of a chance—was to gamble everything on a single, all-out strike.
In the next instant, his Devil Fruit power activated.
From the Magnet-Magnet Pirates' ship behind him, tens of thousands of blades erupted simultaneously. They filled the sky in a dense, black cloud, all pointed directly at Sean.
This was his ultimate trump card. To facilitate this attack, he had designed his ship to be exceptionally large, incorporating several massive warehouses specifically to store these weapons. He had done all of this for the sole purpose of unleashing this move at a critical moment.
Sean looked up at the tens of thousands of blade tips and frowned slightly.
'Why is this guy's ability so similar to Eustass Kid's from the original story?'
It wasn't just the power; even the name of the fruit was nearly identical. Eustass Kid possessed the Paramecia-type Magnet-Magnet Fruit, and John possessed the Paramecia-type Magnet-Magnet Fruit.
'Wait, is there even a difference between these two?'
Sean shrugged it off. Regardless of whether there was a difference, once he stripped the fruit from this man and fed it to a Marine, he would find out soon enough.
A look of predatory interest flickered across Sean's face. In his eyes, John was no longer an opponent, but a piece of prey—one that actually piqued his curiosity.
"Sword Rain!" John roared.
The tens of thousands of blades in the sky shot down toward Sean in unison. The sheer volume of the attack was overwhelming, creating a suffocating pressure.
"Bakudō No. 81: Dankū!"
'Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!'
Countless blades slammed into the energy wall of Dankū. Although the assault looked devastating, it failed to breach the defense. Not a single crack was left behind.
This was only natural. Even Whitebeard had only managed to leave a few fissures without breaking through the defense of Dankū. John stood no chance of succeeding where he had failed.
After a full minute, the tens of thousands of blades were exhausted, and the grand assault finally ceased.
With a light tap of his foot, Sean's figure vanished instantly.
In the following heartbeat, dozens of azure blade flashes flickered across the positions of the seven pirates. Immediately after, seven mutilated corpses lay on the ground, their limbs severed.
In truth, given Sean's current level of strength, very few people below the rank of a Yonko Commander could even stand against him. This was especially true for someone like John, whose 500-million-plus bounty was attributed more to his legendary cruelty than to his actual combat power.
"Done. I'll leave the rest to you, Blueno!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
(T/N: I called him John because the previous user of the magnet magnet fruit was called John. The fruit can be Translated as Magnetism Fruit, and might be different from Kid's Fruit.)