Unstoppable. Completely unstoppable.
Not even when using his own abilities could he divert its path.
Let alone intercept it at the tail end.
There wasn't even time to react.
Dragon, who had been blasted into the sky along with the ship's wreckage, stabilized himself by manipulating the wind to keep afloat.
He shook his head hard, unwilling to believe that the attack he just witnessed was real.
Dragon had a chilling realization:
This thing's speed is even faster than Kizaru!
After all, when he was still with the Navy, he had sparred with the three Admirals.
Though he wasn't a match for them, Kizaru—the fastest among the three—had attacks that claimed to move at light speed, yet Dragon could still react and defend against them.
But this recent attack left no room for any reaction at all.
So... was this beyond light speed?
You have to admit, in the pirate world, aside from learning how to read and write, most people—except a few scholars or scientists—don't bother studying anything else.
They're not illiterate, but almost.
Basic knowledge is severely lacking.
That's why Kizaru thought he could reach light speed, while Dragon believed that the electromagnetic cannon's projectile traveling at Mach 20...
was actually faster than light.
The next moment, Dragon scanned the scene with Observation Haki.
His expression immediately darkened.
The Revolutionary Army's officers on the ship...
Four of them were wiped out at once!
More than a dozen others were thrown into the sea.
Because most of the officers were Devil Fruit users, the sea surface descended into chaos.
The surviving Revolutionary soldiers were diving in to rescue their comrades.
"Dragon, don't worry about us! Go—go quickly!"
"If we don't take down Jun Lin's fleet, none of us will survive today!"
On the surface, Sabo—who wasn't a Devil Fruit user and so hadn't sunk—shouted up into the sky.
Without hesitation, Dragon nodded and turned to fly toward Jun Lin's fleet.
---
Jun Lin Second Fleet.
The shelling continued without pause; the electromagnetic cannons kept firing.
On the flagship's bow deck stood two figures.
"Dracule, are you confident?" Luo Lan asked as he put down the Den Den Mushi.
Just now, Viola had reported that Dragon had abandoned the fleet and was charging directly at Luo Lan's position, flying at high speed. He would arrive in less than two minutes.
"I am a swordsman. I never calculate odds. I simply strike with one decisive cut!"
Well, swordsmen always speak with such flair.
Not only Dracule Mihawk—among all the skilled swordsmen Luo Lan knew from the original story, none spoke humbly.
Is that a swordsman's inherent trait?
Luo Lan shook his head with a smile.
"Dracule, even if you say that, I wasn't asking if you're confident you can kill Dragon. What I want to know is..."
"Are you confident you can capture him alive?"
Mihawk was momentarily stunned.
Killing with one stroke—that's what a swordsman does!
You want me to capture him alive?
For the first time, Mihawk looked hesitant.
"Dracule, this is for your own good. Dragon can die, but not at our hands, or else..."
"Anyway, if you really can't hold back, go all out—just don't finish him off with a killing blow."
Luo Lan gave a wry smile and said this.
According to Luo Lan's calculations, it would be very difficult for Mihawk to kill Dragon outright in battle.
Their strength was comparable.
Even if Dragon was somewhat weakened, killing him wouldn't be easy.
Like Luo Lan said: just hold back and don't deliver the final strike.
"Looks like there's no time for more talk. The guest has arrived!"
Luo Lan looked up at the sky.
A figure appeared far off in the distance, rapidly approaching at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Sure enough, in less than a minute, Dragon appeared in the air just a hundred meters ahead of Jun Lin's fleet.
"Luo Lan... so it really is you!"
"It is. I warned you not to lay a hand on the Arkado Kingdom, but obviously, you didn't listen."
"The incident at Baltigo—was that your doing?"
"If you won't heed my warning, then consider this your last one. Unfortunately, you still won't listen."
Dragon clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
At Baltigo, thousands of Revolutionary elite soldiers and more than half their officers had been slaughtered.
Since the formation of the Revolutionary Army, they had never suffered such a heavy loss.
Dragon's heart was filled with pain and rage.
He raised her hand; a fierce cyan wind howled around him as he prepared to strike.
But before he could attack, he suddenly sensed something, withdrew his hand, and narrowly dodged an astonishing slash.
"Dracule Mihawk!"
"Why are you here?"
"Why are you helping Jun Lin?"
"Why..."
Mihawk's sudden appearance broke Dragon's composure.
Over the years, Dragon had tried to recruit Mihawk—he had even personally visited Kuraigana Island to see him.
But clearly, Dragon failed.
In fact, Mihawk had gotten so fed up with Dragon's pestering that he fought him and chased him off the island.
Dragon never imagined that the next time he saw Mihawk, this guy would be working for Jun Lin.
"Let me introduce you!" Luo Lan said.
"This is Dracule Mihawk, one of Jun Lin's three Admirals, and your opponent today!"
"A friendly reminder: in the two minutes since you flew here, the Revolutionary fleet has suffered four waves of shelling, seven ships sunk, and over twenty damaged. At this rate, the entire fleet will be destroyed in twenty minutes—meaning..."
"Your time is running out!"
With that, Luo Lan raised his right hand and struck downward forcefully.
The main guns on five battleships fired simultaneously, and the flagship's three electromagnetic cannons launched three metal projectiles in an instant.
"Stop!!"
Seeing this, Dragon almost lost his mind and charged madly toward Luo Lan's battleship.
But unfortunately...
Midway, a figure appeared and blocked his path.
"Mihawk!!"
With a low roar, Dragon attacked immediately.
His mind was focused on one thing: pushing Mihawk back quickly so he could destroy these terrifying battleships.
Otherwise, except for a few left behind in the other three seas, the rest of the Revolutionary Army would be wiped out here in the East Sea.
This was unacceptable.
However...
Pushing Mihawk back—
Was that even possible in such a short time?