Lulucca Island, in the first half of the Grand Line.
Boom—! Boom—!...
Out on the sea, six sailboats, their black pirate flags snapping in the wind, turned their broadsides toward Lulucca Island. Their dark cannons were aimed at the port, and they unleashed a barrage of cannonballs that crashed into the harbor, quickly sinking ship after ship.
Docked at the port of this town were two very conspicuous large sailboats: one was a blue warship, and the other flew the royal flag of Alabasta.
The main target of the pirate ships, constantly bombarding from the sea, was to sink these two sailboats!
Near the town's port and dock, in front of a large hotel named "Jasmine," two groups of people were locked in a fierce battle. One side consisted of Pirates, only two in number.
The other side was the Marines, with over forty men. They formed a human wall, protecting a young man in a black robe within.
This man, protected by the Marines, was Nefertari Parsel, the current King of Alabasta!
As the king of a country, there was a reason Parsel was on Lulucca Island...
He was going to attend the World Conference, held every four years by the World Government!
For this, the Marines had also dispatched Headquarters Rear Admiral Kong to serve as his escort.
However...
When the two ships were docked at the pier to replenish fresh water and food, they were suddenly attacked by the Phoenix Pirates!
At this moment, in front of the hotel, a large number of Marines and King's Army guards had fallen, but the two attacking Pirates were still unharmed.
Seeing this situation, a beautiful woman with a saber, wearing a lieutenant rank cape and her dark blue hair tied in a high ponytail, shouted loudly to Kong Rear Admiral not far ahead:
"Kong Rear Admiral, the Pirates' reinforcements have arrived!
Should we first escort King Parsel to another part of this island and wait for reinforcements to arrive?"
"Lieutenant Tsuru, I'll leave King Parsel's safety to you..."
Boom!
Before Kong Rear Admiral could finish speaking, he was kicked in the chest by a phoenix burning with blue flames.
The next moment.
He spat out blood and crashed directly into a building, causing the entire building to collapse.
"You were already at a disadvantage when fighting me, and now you dare to be distracted and careless... Your margin for error is not as high as mine! If you want to die, I'll gladly fulfill your wish!"
The phoenix burning with blue flames retreated from its beast form and transformed in mid-air into a red-haired middle-aged man, three meters tall, with blue flame wings and bird claws.
His name is Captain Earle, the Captain of the Phoenix Pirates, with a bounty of 700 million Berries. He is the mastermind behind this attack.
His strength is extremely formidable; his combat power is comparable to a Marine Admiral. The Marines had sent troops to encircle and suppress him multiple times but failed to capture him.
Rumble—!
From the ruins of the house, the heavily injured Kong Rear Admiral, enduring the pain from the wounds all over his body, forced himself to lift the ceiling pressing down on him with both hands and stood up from the rubble.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, his fists were tightly clenched, and his eyes were fixed on the man flying in mid-air.
"Cough! Phoenix Captain Earle...
Why are you attacking the King of Alabasta...?"
"Hahaha! Do you even need to ask something like that?
Of course, it's to kidnap him!
If I capture the king of a country, it's not too much to demand any amount of ransom, is it?" Captain Earle laughed wildly.
As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently glanced and noticed that under Tsuru's leadership, the King of Alabasta and a group of Marine soldiers had already begun to retreat into the distance.
So, Captain Earle immediately shouted to a middle-aged man not far away, who was two and a half meters tall and completely diamondized:
"Andrew, how long do you plan to keep playing...!?
Quickly finish them off and capture the King of Alabasta!"
"Hahaha! I'm just a little curious about how many more punches this Marine can take...
Since you said so, I won't play anymore!"
Andrew raised his diamondized fists and clashed them heavily in front of his chest. He looked at the Marine soldier in front of him with a slightly playful gaze.
This was a burly young man with black hair, wearing a Marine uniform, and an arc-shaped scar on his left cheek.
Compared to the cannon fodder he knocked down with one punch, this Marine soldier had taken more than ten heavy punches from him, had fallen down several times, but still stubbornly stood up.
"Hey! Kid, what's your name!"
"Monkey D. Garp!"
The black-haired young man raised his right hand, wiped the blood from his forehead, and reported his name.
"Good! I'll remember you... The one who kills you today is I, Diamond Andrew, you won't die in vain!"
As he spoke, Andrew instantly rushed in front of Garp. He raised his diamondized right fist and heavily smashed it towards the opponent's abdomen.
Because Andrew's speed was too fast, Garp had no chance to dodge, so he could only stand still and choose to take the hit head-on...
Iron Body!
Armament Haki Partial Hardening!
The next moment.
Bang!
The diamondized fist smashed into Garp's abdomen, making a muffled sound. The huge impact force instantly caused blood to spill from the corner of his mouth.
However...
Garp's body only swayed slightly, but he did not fall.
Immediately after, he retaliated with a right hook wrapped in Armament Haki, fiercely smashing it onto Andrew's cheek.
"I told you... Having eaten the Diamond-Diamond Fruit, I can diamondize my entire body. Coupled with my powerful Armament Haki, it gives me the strongest physical defense in this world! No matter how you attack, it's all just tickling me!"
The next moment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Andrew fiercely delivered a whip kick to Garp's waist and ribs, sending him flying backward. He crashed through three buildings in succession before finally stopping, buried in the ruins of the houses.
On the other side, Phoenix Captain Earle swooped down, wanting to grab Kong Rear Admiral's head with his right claw, but the latter grabbed him with a backhand and forcefully swung him onto the ground.
Boom—!
Captain Earle's body created a large, cracked crater in the ground.
However…
Before Kong Rear Admiral could press his advantage, Captain Earle instantly retreated from his beast-human form. As if nothing had happened, he locked the former's right arm with his legs, flipped over, pinned him to the ground, and swung his fists, smashing them directly onto the opponent's face, punch after punch…
Thus, a very strange scene appeared!
Both of them were clearly top-ranked powerhouses on this vast sea, but at this moment, they had abandoned all combat techniques and were wrestling on the ground, fiercely engaging in a mutual exchange of blows, trading injuries…
No! It should be said that Kong Rear Admiral was the one forced into the state of mutual exchange!
When his attacks landed on Phoenix Captain Earle, the latter's injuries recovered instantly, in less than a second, while the damage caused by the latter's attacks on him was constantly accumulating!
"Alright, now it's time for the real business!"
Seeing that Garp, who was buried in the ruins, had finally calmed down, Andrew immediately stomped the ground forcefully. His figure, like an arrow released from a bowstring, chased directly after the rapidly retreating Marine and King Parsel.
Soon, he caught up to them in an alley.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Marine soldiers who sensed the enemy approaching immediately raised their Sabers, pulled the triggers, and fired bullets, trying to repel the enemy in front of them.
Unfortunately, Andrew completely ignored the bullets, letting them hit his diamondized body without leaving even a single scratch.
In the blink of an eye, he rushed in front of those Marine soldiers, raised his diamondized right arm, and smashed it towards Tsuru, who had been shooting at him.
However…
Clang!
A dark, black Saber, spitting dark red arcs of electricity, suddenly cut through the void and collided with his diamond fist.
Immediately after, a powerful force from the Saber pushed him back continuously, causing his feet to plow two shallow, more than three-meter-long furrows in the ground.
Seeing this scene, Andrew's heart was suddenly filled with surprise and uncertainty. He immediately took the initiative to distance himself and became vigilant.
"Who is it!? Sneaking around, if you have the guts, come out!"
Swish!
In the void, a red light flashed, and a spatial door quietly opened. Sephiroth, holding a butcher knife and wearing a black suit, walked out from within the door.
"Yo! You're quite arrogant!
"What's your name?" Sephiroth asked the middle-aged man covered in diamonds, a smile playing on his lips.
"I am Diamond Andrew, Vice Captain of the Phoenix Pirates, with a bounty of 300 million Berries!"
"Hello, Andrew!... Goodbye, Andrew!"
Sephiroth smiled and nodded, then raised the butcher knife in his hand. He slashed towards the diamondized Andrew.
The next moment, everything changed.
A dark red shockwave, condensed from Haoshoku, shot out from the butcher knife with lightning speed. It slammed directly into Andrew, who hadn't been able to dodge.
Crack!
Despite his diamondization and Armament Haki defense, cracks still appeared on Andrew's body where he was hit.
Immediately after, the Haoshoku slash's immensely powerful impact sent Andrew flying. He went "Whoosh!" drawing a perfect parabola in the air, carried by a whistling wind.
He flew far, far away.
Finally, with a "Plop", he plunged headfirst into the sea in the distance, splashing up a large white wave...