"You lunatic!" Aokiji shouted coldly. Moving with incredible speed, he launched himself forward, instantly freezing the ground beneath him as he shot towards the incoming slash to intercept it.
In that direction stood a defensive wall. If that sword aura struck, the wall, though sturdy, might not hold. And if it failed, the casualties would be devastating.
Garp frowned, also about to move, when he suddenly sensed something. He looked up sharply and yelled to Aokiji, "Get back!"
"What is that?!"
"A meteor?!"
"No way, how could there be a meteor here?" The Marines on the battleships were stunned speechless. The flaming meteor plummeting from the sky was terrifying. The booming sonic booms were sharper and louder than thunder.
It felt like the very sky was being smashed in.
"What the?!" Garp and Aokiji were also taken aback. A meteor attack? Wasn't that a bit excessive? If it were any larger, shattering an island would be trivial.
Boom! The meteor crashed down, colliding perfectly with the massive sword aura. In an instant, the frozen sea began to melt, and Aokiji rapidly retreated.
The ice layer he had formed, though casual, was over ten meters thick. Even powerful explosive shells couldn't shatter his ice in one blow.
But this meteor's impact obliterated everything.
"Who goes there?!" Everyone's gaze turned towards the island. This attack was incredibly powerful; even most Admirals would think twice about tanking it head-on.
Andia Kingdom actually harbored such a master. Moreover, this method of attack clearly didn't belong to any member of the Dawn Pirates.
"Th-this blind guy is this strong?" High in the clouds, Enel munched on an apple, monitoring with his Mantra. With him there, even a Marine Admiral might not detect them.
His Mantra, combined with his lightning abilities, was a perfect match. He was there to observe the Marines' movements. If discovered up in the clouds, Enel was confident he could escape.
And this blind man—he had seen him before. When Xia had appointed him as some "Protector Deity of the Nation," Enel hadn't thought much of it. Back then, he hadn't sensed any powerful aura from the seemingly ordinary blind uncle.
Looking at it now, it was because the man's strength far exceeded his own, his presence perfectly concealed. But the moment he attacked, it was like a ferocious tiger unleashed from its cage.
"Move the ships in! It must be the Dawn Pirates or Silvers Rayleigh. An ordinary person couldn't possibly block my attack." Ramirez shouted.
Garp and Aokiji didn't refute him, and they didn't have time to hold him accountable for his earlier reckless actions. This sudden interception attack had captured everyone's attention.
Seeing no objection from Aokiji, the battleships formed a line and advanced towards the coast. There, they saw a blind man holding a cane sword, standing quietly on the beach.
Sensing the approach of the Marine ships, Issho spoke calmly and gently, "Could I ask you Marines to leave? I am the Protector Saint of the Andia Kingdom. I regret to inform you that our nation can no longer host you."
If the visitors weren't Marines, Issho wouldn't have been so polite. But the Marines—they had once been his aspiration. Yes, once upon a time.
In that very moment, Issho's desire to join the Marines had diminished just a little more.
"Who are you? You're not Crocodile, nor Silvers Rayleigh." Ramirez stared at Issho for a long moment, a hint of disappointment in his voice. Not their target.
"Thank you for intercepting that attack," Aokiji said, expressing his gratitude. If it hadn't been stopped, the consequences would have been troublesome. He had no desire to clean up after this madman.
"Oh?" Issho was slightly surprised. So it seemed not everyone approved of that attack just now.
However, as the Protector Saint of the Andia Kingdom, it was his duty to maintain the nation's stability and peace.
And within this Marine force, he sensed a presence filled with immense power, bloodlust, and madness. He couldn't allow them entry. Now that he had acted, the situation had completely changed.
"You are the Protector Saint of Andia Kingdom?" Garp asked calmly. This man... he seemed to have heard of him somewhere. Blind, cane sword, meteor...
Very similar to a certain famous swordsman.
"That is correct." Issho nodded. Though the newcomers were all powerful, he felt no fear. Facing any potential evil, now that he could no longer see, he could not afford to retreat.
"I've never heard of Andia Kingdom having such a powerful swordsman. And summoning meteors... must be a Devil Fruit user, right?" A Vice Admiral stepped forward, questioning. Such a strong individual, willing to serve as a mere guard for a kingdom?
And they had never heard of him before.
"Please leave. I have no desire to draw my blade against those who maintain order on the seas. Though I heard our king once warmly received you, you do not seem to reciprocate that sentiment..." Issho reiterated.
"Kick us out? Seems you're not just blind in the eyes, but blind in the heart too. Do you really think blocking one of my attacks gives you the right to negotiate? Let me test your strength, haha..." Ramirez, excited by the prospect of a fight, ignored Aokiji and Garp and charged forward, sword in hand.
"Negotiate? No. I am simply asking you to leave. If you refuse, then I will have to escort you out. Gravity Sword: Tiger!" Issho gripped his sword in reverse. Purple Haki, like smoke, coiled around the cane sword—the color of the Gravity Fruit's power combined with his Haki, thick and solid.
Purple, the color of wisteria. The future Admiral Fujitora had just unleashed his Tiger strike.
The blade moved like lightning.
Boom! The two swords clashed, and a terrifying, super-strong hurricane swept in all directions, pulverizing the surrounding rocks.
"This blind man's sword is so heavy!" The moment their blades met, Ramirez not only felt the might of the Tiger but also an unbelievable weight. It was like fighting not a person,
but someone wielding an entire mountain and slamming it down on him.
"So strong!" Aokiji's expression was grave. They hadn't stopped Ramirez, partly because they wanted to gauge this strong man's abilities.
After all, a figure this powerful—no weaker than an Admiral, with an attacking style reminiscent of the former Admiral Akainu—suddenly appearing on the seas warranted the Marines' close attention.
No one knew if he might become a threat in the future.
"Gravity Repulsion!"
Boom! Ramirez suddenly felt a wave of repulsive force surge towards him. Caught off guard, he was sent flying backwards.
He stumbled back a few steps before regaining his footing, his expression towards Issho now a mix of gravity and excitement. This blind man was monstrously strong; he himself was slightly outmatched.
"This?!" The Vice Admiral and other Marines could hardly believe it. The World Government's combatants, while extreme in their methods, were undeniably powerful. Yet in a direct confrontation, Ramirez had come off slightly worse.
"That's enough. We'll leave immediately." Seeing Ramirez ready to continue fighting, Garp spoke up.
They were already in the wrong here. And since their opponent was Andia's Protector Saint, pressing the attack and escalating the situation would only harm them.
After all, despite the change in kings, Andia Kingdom remained an economic power. They had even paid this year's Heavenly Tribute. If this dispute reached the World Government, the Marines would be the ones in trouble.
"Bu—" Ramirez started to object, but seeing Garp's already grim expression, he swallowed his words.
Under normal circumstances, he wasn't afraid of Garp. But a serious Garp was a different kind of crazy—pure and simple.
If Garp decided to fight you, even the Fleet Admiral, Kong, or the Gorosei couldn't stop him. He was completely unreasonable.
And Ramirez, though crazy himself, was still subordinate to the Gorosei.
"We'll submit a search warrant to King Xia and then send people ashore to hunt for Rayleigh and the Dawn Pirates. Also, Ramirez, you can return to the Holy Land. I will personally report this to the World Government." After this near-disaster, Aokiji could tolerate no more, even if Ramirez was deliberately planted by the World Government.
But he had to firmly reject this now. People like this shouldn't be let out; they should just stay guarding the Holy Land.
"Report! Traces of the Dawn Pirates have been spotted on the North Coast! Witnesses saw the Dawn Pirates' ship passing through that area just moments ago." At that moment, a Lieutenant Commander ran up to report.
(End of Chapter)