Luffy's eyes instantly lit up. He turned his head and shouted to Nika, who was yawning, "Nika! Hurry! Go drag out that old cannon of mine!"
Nika let out a big yawn and got up sleepily.
"Huh? Which old cannon? You're a Devil Fruit user what do you need a cannon for? One punch from you is stronger than any cannonball."
Luffy answered her with a smile.
Nika reacted as if she had been triggered.
She pursed her lips and reluctantly headed toward the Going Merry's storage room. "Fine, fine. Stop nagging. I'm going to drag out your family heirloom right now."
Soon, a rather antique-looking cannon—even a bit rusty—was dragged out.
It seemed to have been kept in surprisingly good condition.
"Aim. Everyone to your positions."
Luffy jumped to a high spot and, full of high spirits, acted as the overall commander.
Nami stood by the helm, precisely directing the course and angles of the two ships, ensuring that all the cannons were aimed at the bows of the two vessels that were getting closer and closer.
"Fire! Fire!" Luffy gave the order.
In an instant, thunderous roars echoed across the sea!
Usopp's special shell screamed through the air, trailing flames.
The energy beam from the Franky Destruction Cannon was dazzling and dazzling.
The new cannons on the Going Merry spat out tongues of fire!
Luffy's old cannon was loaded and fired by himself. The feeling of firing a cannon himself was indeed not bad.
After one round of artillery fire, it turned into a bullet-hell mode.
The Straw Hat crew's firepower was truly a bit scary.
However, most of the shells and energy were poured with precision toward the pursuing Navy warship behind.
After all, for pirates, the Navy was the natural enemy.
The pirate ship ahead thus got a chance to catch its breath, taking the opportunity to distance from the warship.
Just as two stray shells were about to hit the sea near that pirate ship—a mutation occurred!
A beam of light with shimmering specks shot out from the pirate ship and quickly enveloped the two cannonballs.
Then, under everyone's astonished gaze, the two cannonballs, which had been full of kinetic energy, seemed to instantly experience the erosion of countless years. Their outer shells became covered in rust at a visible speed, then they fell powerlessly into the sea, barely even making a splash.
"Huh?"
Nami's eyes widened in surprise. "What kind of ability is that? The cannonballs just dropped straight into the water."
Vivi peered intently, her tone uncertain. "It didn't look like they were shot down. More like they directly aged and decayed?"
"The ability to age objects?"
Robin looked thoughtful. "That must be some kind of Devil Fruit ability. But I've never heard of it."
That was normal. There were too many Devil Fruit abilities.
Even the Gomu Gomu no Mi could be the Nika Fruit.
Mythical Zoans were sometimes more Logia than Logia, and more Paramecia than Paramecia.
Another volley was fired, this time more precisely covering the sea area in front of the Navy warship, forcing it to slow down and make an emergency turn, temporarily stopping its pursuit.
Meanwhile, the pirate ship took the opportunity to quickly approach the Thousand Sunny.
At the bow of the other ship, a figure stepped forward, hands on hips, and angrily shouted toward them. Her voice was crisp but carried anger:
"Hey! Were you guys aiming at us?!"
She was a young girl with pink hair, a somewhat rebellious makeup style, and gold rings hanging from the corners of her eyes. Her figure was small, but her momentum was full.
The crew members beside her looked slightly older. They quickly gathered around and tried to persuade her:
"Captain Bonney, calm down! No bad words!"
"Yeah, yeah. They did save our lives, after all."
"If it weren't for their fire support, we really couldn't have shaken off that shadow behind us."
"So we need to thank them. Don't use such a harsh tone."
Bonney looked annoyed, but she couldn't resist the words of these people who had watched her grow up. "Th... thank you."
"No problem."
Luffy looked at the pink-haired girl who was thanking him. His expression gradually turned strange.
The more he looked at her, the more familiar she seemed. He quickly pulled a folded bounty poster from his pocket, unfolded it, and slapped his forehead.
"I knew she looked familiar."
On the bounty poster was exactly that pink-haired girl.
Jewelry Bonney – Bounty: 140,000,000 Berry!
"Ooh, a beautiful lady!" Sanji's eyes immediately turned into hearts.
"Yohohoho! May I ask, madam—"
Brook also straightened his tie, ready to show gentlemanly manners. He started to say this sentence automatically, then glanced at Luffy and silently swallowed the words back.
"Pirates are enemies, aren't they?" Zoro's hand rested on his sword hilt, his eyes alert.
"Hey, Marimo, do you think such a beautiful lady is an enemy?" Sanji retorted.
"Hah? You want to fight, you pervy cook?"
Luffy quickly reached out and stopped them.
"No, no, no! Don't fight yet!"
Luffy pointed to the bounty poster and said to his crewmates, "I know that captain over there."
Nami's expression instantly became somewhat strange. She looked Luffy up and down. "Again? Is she another one of your childhood sweethearts?"
She couldn't help but think of Uta.
On the other ship, the Bonney Pirates also seemed to have recognized the very distinctive Jolly Roger of the Straw Hats. Bonney hesitated for a moment, then shouted loudly toward them: "Hey! Straw Hat! Thanks! But you'd better turn around and leave quickly. Don't let that troublesome old man catch you!"
No sooner had she spoken than—
CRASH!
Something like a meteor fell from the sky, with a piercing shriek, at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to follow. It crashed down right in the middle of the Bonney Pirates' deck.
The enormous impact made the entire ship stagger. Wood splinters flew everywhere.
The smoke and dust slowly dispersed. A tall, burly figure draped in a Marine "Justice" coat gradually became clear.
He had neat purple short hair. His face bore the fortitude of someone who had weathered many storms. The most striking feature was his mechanical arm, which glinted with cold metallic light!
"Pirates. You are under arrest."
His low, hoarse voice carried an undeniable majesty. "Don't think you can escape again."
"You bastard!"
Bonney's face was pale as she looked at the tall figure before her. She was both angry and anxious. "Why are you like a burr—you just won't shake off?!"
"Because you are pirates."
The purple-haired man's tone was calm, but his pressure was strong. His mechanical arm slowly raised, clearly about to strike Bonney.
At this critical moment—
"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!"
A fist covered in pitch-black Haki, like a cannonball shot from a gun, crossed the distance between the two ships and slammed hard into the side of the purple-haired man's face.
THUD!
With a dull impact, the purple-haired man obviously did not expect this sudden attack. His body was knocked off balance, sent flying backward into the cabin of Bonney's ship, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Luffy withdrew his fist, standing at the bow of the Thousand Sunny. He grinned at the stunned Bonney, then without any explanation, stretched his arm, wrapped it around her waist, and—to her astonished scream—scooped her directly onto the Thousand Sunny's deck.
"Sorry, old man,"
Luffy shouted toward the broken cabin opening, "I'm protecting this one."
Then he looked at the panicked crew members on Bonney's ship. "Do you want to come over yourselves, or should I help you?"
The crew members looked at each other. Seeing that their captain had already been taken, and having witnessed Straw Hat's strength, they quickly shouted, "We'll come ourselves! We'll come ourselves!"
With that, they frantically began lowering a small boat.
A red light flashed in Luffy's eyes. He stretched his arm and went over to Bonney's ship.
By then, at the broken cabin opening of the Bonney Pirates' ship, the dust was dispersed by an invisible force.
The purple-haired man slowly walked out. He rolled his neck, producing a soft cracking sound. His huge mechanical arm flexibly rotated its wrist.
He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. His sharp, hawk-like gaze locked onto Luffy.
"I haven't agreed to that, you know."
His voice carried suppressed anger.
Luffy showed no fear as he met his gaze. "Who are you?"
"Who am I? My name is Zephyr."
Zephyr grinned, showing a row of white teeth, but his smile carried a cold fighting spirit. "You look familiar. I remember now. You're that dangerous bloodline that old fart Garp left behind in the East Blue."
He paused, his tone carrying a hint of complexity. "Your old man back in the day also called me 'Zephyr-sensei.' But it seems now that both you father and son have become the most vicious criminals that need to be eliminated from this world. Very well, then I will arrest you here and now!"
On the Thousand Sunny, although no one except Luffy knew Bonney or understood why Luffy had suddenly decided to protect her, since it was the captain's order, there was no need to question it—they would obey.
Zoro, Sanji, Brook, and the others instantly entered combat mode.
Because the aura emanating from that old purple-haired man on the other ship was quite terrifying.
Bonney's face was still pale. She anxiously shouted to the Straw Hat crew, "You idiots! You'd better leave here quickly while you still can!"
Nami looked at her with some irritation. "Hey! Our captain only stepped in to save you!"
"That's exactly why you need to leave quickly!"
Bonney stamped her foot in frustration. "We're on the sea. When those two start fighting, my ship will definitely be the first to be destroyed! On the sea, that man has the natural advantage. Straw Hat is a Devil Fruit user—he's at a disadvantage! At the very least, don't fight him on the water!"
She clearly knew Luffy, and she believed that Luffy would not have the advantage fighting this old man on the sea.
That at least meant that this old man had strength on par with Luffy's—or possibly even greater!
Robin calmly spoke, asking the key question. "Miss Bonney, who exactly is that old man?"
Bonney took a deep breath
ath and said, word by word:
"Former Marine Admiral. Known across the sea by the epithet 'don't kill'—Black Arm Zephyr!! "
That name was like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of most of the Straw Hat crew.
A former Marine Admiral!
That was a monster on the same level as Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu!
***
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