Nami was currently gripped by extreme tension. She understood the power of the Blackbeard Pirates all too well; they were not an enemy her group could handle at their current level, especially considering they only had five combatants plus Carina, who lacked fighting skills and relied solely on her wits.
Clang!
The sharp ring of clashing steel echoed as sparks flew; Zoro and Shiryu's blades collided.
In that singular moment of impact, Shiryu gauged his opponent's swordsmanship and intent. He was secretly shocked that someone of Zoro's age could reach such a level, but a smirk soon tugged at his lips. "Not bad, kid. You've trained well. Unfortunately, your journey ends here today."
Zoro's own mouth quirked up. "That's a fine blade you've got. It'll make a nice addition to my collection."
Seeing Zoro's surging battle lust, Nami shouted urgently, "Stop, Zoro! We need to retreat for now!"
Nami knew they had no chance of winning a direct confrontation. As she spoke, the surrounding Blackbeard Pirates' lackeys began closing in with sinister, mocking grins, surrounding Luffy's group in a tight circle.
Fwoosh—BOOM!
Suddenly, a streak of blue flames tore across the sky and slammed into the Blackbeard grunts, sent dozens of men flying into the air instantly.
"Blue flames..."
Burgess's expression shifted. Suddenly, rose petals began to flutter through the air. Sensing a threat, Burgess swung a massive fist backward, striking the flat of a blade dead center.
Bam!
Vista, who had intended to ambush Burgess, retreated several steps. His mustache twitched as he chuckled, "As expected of a Titanic Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates. To block my sword under those circumstances... impressive."
"They are..." Sanji looked on in shock at the newcomers attacking the Blackbeard Pirates from both sides.
Nami finished his thought: "The Whitebeard Pirates... 'Phoenix' Marco and 'Flower Sword' Vista!"
"Aren't those Ace's crewmates?" Luffy realized out loud.
"Murunfufufufu... so the Whitebeard Pirates are here for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit as well?"
Catarina Devon, the "Crescent Moon Hunter" and one of the Blackbeard Pirates' core members, stepped forward with a laugh.
"We want to reclaim Pops' ability, but we aren't so low as to steal it. We'll take it back fair and square through the Colosseum tournament."
Suddenly, countless figures appeared on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, startling Carina and the others. Looking around, there were at least five hundred men.
At the front of the rooftop crowd stood Lucky Roux, munching on a ham leg. He spoke through a mouthful of food, "The Blackbeard Pirates have always been famous for being cowardly. We figured you wouldn't use honest means to get the fruit."
"Roux?" Luffy's eyes widened as he looked up.
Lucky Roux grinned. "Long time no see, Luffy."
"We won't let you steal Pops' power."
Marco's arms transformed into wings, wreathed in blue flames. "You got lucky last time. This time, we're going to crush you completely, yoi."
The moment Marco finished speaking, hundreds of Whitebeard crewmen leaped from the roofs, instantly engaging the Blackbeard Pirates in a chaotic brawl.
Shiryu, parrying the combined pressure from Zoro and Vista, sneered internally. Bunch of fools. Haven't you noticed Lafitte isn't here? Once the fruit is in our hands, we're out of here.
He never intended to fight to the death. Gran Tesoro was currently a hornet's nest of different factions, and the Blackbeard Pirates weren't yet dominant enough to take them all on at once.
Once Lafitte secured the fruit, they would retreat immediately. With the strength of the Titanic Captains, not even someone of Marco's caliber could stop them if they chose to flee.
As for the foot soldiers... who cared if they lived or died?
…
With such a massive commotion, Tesoro naturally noticed. His head emerged from a golden wall on a nearby building as he muttered to himself, "So it was Blackbeard who sabotaged the Master Den Den Mushi? He doesn't want to settle it in the arena; he sent his men to steal it instead."
Tesoro glanced toward the highest VIP lounge and gave a cruel grin. "Well, I'll look the other way for now. Let's see how many of you actually make it out alive."
With that, Tesoro vanished back into the gold.
Meanwhile, inside the ultra-luxurious VIP suite:
Thud—
Lafitte roughly tossed Psycho P, the Color-Color Fruit user, to the side. He held his cane-sword in one hand and adjusted his top hat with the other. "Good work, Psycho P-san. If not for your ability, we wouldn't have been able to cut the Master Den Den Mushi so easily."
To sabotage the Master Den Den Mushi under the watch of countless surveillance Den Den Mushi, they had relied on the Color-Color Fruit's transparency powers.
Lafitte had targeted Psycho P from the start, using his hypnosis to control him. He used the man to handle the Den Den Mushi and then find the hiding spot of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. A perfect plan.
Psycho P was still deep in a hypnotic trance, showing no reaction as he hit the floor.
Lafitte's eyes landed on the golden fruit sitting inside a transparent display case in the center of the lounge. A look of delighted surprise flashed across his face as he hurried forward. "Ohoho... it's mine."
Just as Lafitte reached out, his hand less than five centimeters from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, a sudden surge of killing intent forced him to abandon the prize. He drew his cane-sword to parry.
The blades clashed, but Lafitte was stunned to find that his attacker was Psycho P, the man he had just hypnotized.
"What?"
Beyond the surprise, Lafitte immediately noticed something was wrong. Psycho P was drooling, his eyes were blood-red and unfocused. He was clearly being controlled, but not by Lafitte.
Is there a third person in this room?
Lafitte used a burst of strength to shove Psycho P's blade away and create distance. Just as he decided this place was too dangerous to linger, he felt a hand pat him on the shoulder.
A leisurely, mocking voice whispered into his ear:
"Mm, a good plan. But... didn't you do your homework before coming in here?"