The government agents on duty saw Momomi walk onto the deck with his subordinates.
Only then did they let down their guard, silently pitying the man who had offended her. Since he didn't come out with them, he must have been dealt with.
Sensing several gazes fixed on him, Noyer sneered dismissively. The Mane Mane no Mi's power wasn't something ordinary people could see through.
With Momomi leading the way, his actions became much more convenient. He quickly found the highest-ranking officer on the ship where Christine and the others were located. Using Momomi's status, he easily made contact and copied his appearance.
With Blueno's Door-Door Fruit, Noyer made his way from ship to ship toward the lead vessel. After going through tedious procedures and dealing with one government official after another, he finally found the surveillance room.
He walked into the surveillance room with a dark expression. This plan seemed pretty cool at first, but executing it was troublesome and tedious. It wasn't as good as being in the East Blue, where he could just stand there with a sword and rob whoever he wanted across vast sea areas.
Noyer's current face was that of an operator in the surveillance room. He looked up at the staff members around him.
In such a large room, there were so many people watching the video transponder snails, plus quite a few communication transponder snails. It would be difficult for an ordinary person to quickly deal with them all.
But for Noyer, it was just a matter of releasing his Supreme King Haki. Even if some expert could withstand it, two more punches would finish the job. After all this time, controlling his power within a specific range was a minor issue.
Outside, Momomi had used the Nagi Nagi no Mi's power to soundproof the area, so no one could hear what was happening inside. Noyer focused his mind, sinister blood-red light flickering in his dark eyes.
Just as his Haki was about to burst forth, a voice suddenly came through.
"Saint Rolwiff, please come this way."
Noyer hastily suppressed the surging Haki and looked toward the door in surprise.
Saint? Another Celestial Dragon?
Sure enough, at the doorway, a fat man wearing a bubble helmet swaggered over, flanked by several fawning subordinates.
Saint Rolwiff patted his belly and looked arrogantly at the surveillance footage on the screen, "That's all there is? The stuff these inferior kingdoms send is getting more and more halfhearted."
A subordinate brought over a plush lounge chair and smiled obsequiously, "With your noble status, my lord, of course you wouldn't be impressed by these things."
Saint Rolwiff reclined lazily, "Before we reach Mary Geoise, let's pick out some interesting items."
Noyer raised an eyebrow. So the Celestial Dragon claimed to look down on the Heavenly Tribute, but really wanted to cherry-pick treasures before the others could?
Typical self-important dragon shit…
Saint Rolwiff was lying comfortably in his chair when he noticed someone approaching. He frowned angrily and barked, "You trash, what do you think you're doing?"
Noyer rubbed his neck and smiled at the Celestial Dragon, "I thought this trip would be routine, but I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise."
Saint Rolwiff's pudgy face turned red with rage, "You lowly creature! What are you saying?!"
The subordinates in the room rushed to surround Saint Rolwiff, watching Noyer warily.
Noyer revealed a smile. Suddenly, a terrifying aura emanated from his body. Fierce red waves of energy burst forth from within, the violent pressure contained within the single room. Everyone was swept by the wave of energy, foaming at the mouth and collapsing to the ground in an instant.
A few tough men still standing beside the Celestial Dragon received a few extra blows from the kindly intruder. In the blink of an eye, the entire force was wiped out.
Saint Rolwiff stood there dumbly, snot dripping from his nose like an idiot, "Eh…"
Noyer pulled out a small transponder snail from his pocket and tapped it once after connecting. This was their agreed-upon signal. Once Momomi received it, she would prepare to make her move.
Having finished his work, Noyer sat down cheerfully in front of Saint Rolwiff, "So tell me, what's a Celestial Dragon doing on the fleet?"
Saint Rolwiff's subordinates had all been knocked out, but his arrogant attitude hadn't diminished in the slightest. He lectured, "Who are you? How dare you sneak into the Heavenly Tribute convoy! I am a descendant of the gods! Watch out or I'll execute you, you commoner!"
Noyer wasn't about to indulge him. He raised his palm and slapped him across the face. The Celestial Dragon's bubble helmet shattered on the spot, his fat body spinning several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
Descendant of gods? Even ancient emperors claimed to be descendants of the sun, but they were still just narrow-minded fools…
Saint Rolwiff's fat face swelled up, and he pointed at Noyer arrogantly, "You dare hit me! Believe it or not, a Marine Admiral will come arrest you!"
Without hesitation, Noyer punched him again, then grabbed him by the throat, "If you keep babbling, I'll rip your tongue out right now."
Saint Rolwiff finally grasped the seriousness of the situation. Tears of humiliation streamed down his face as he covered it with his hands.
"Why are you here? Aren't Celestial Dragons forbidden from participating in Heavenly Tribute escorts?"
Saint Rolwiff answered obediently, "I was originally taking another route back to Mary Geoise, but when I heard they were transporting Heavenly Tribute here, I came to have some fun…"
Noyer frowned, "What were you doing all the way out here for no reason?"
"I…"
Noyer noticed him stammering, as if hiding something. Looking down, he saw the man clutching his pocket tightly.
"What are you hiding?" Noyer kicked the fat pig over and searched his pockets. Sure enough, he found a large map.
His jaw dropped. A map of Mary Geoise?
"Why would a Celestial Dragon be carrying this around?" Noyer asked, confused.
Saint Rolwiff's face showed bitterness, "It's not that I had to carry it — someone insisted I carry it. When I was buying slaves earlier, a group of thieves tried to escape with this map, but my subordinates drove them off and it fell into my hands. My father called and said this map was very important, and it was good that we recovered it. He told me to personally bring it back to see him."
Noyer stroked his chin skeptically, "They're comfortable with just you? They didn't send CP0 or someone to escort you?"
Saint Rolwiff tremblingly pointed at the men on the ground who had received the finishing blows, "They were the government agents escorting me."
Noyer: …
The map was most likely stolen by the Revolutionary Army. The attack on the Heavenly Tribute might also have been to cover the map-seizing operation.
Who would have thought this Celestial Dragon would be stupid enough to deliver himself right to the Heavenly Tribute fleet.
Noyer unfolded the map and examined it, then looked down at Saint Rolwiff. A cunning smile spread across his face. With the map and a Celestial Dragon's face, things could be much more convenient in the future.
He crouched down and, under the coward's terrified gaze, reached up to touch his own face, transforming it into an identical copy.
Rolwiff cried out in horror, "Why? Why can you transform into my appearance?"
Noyer sneered coldly, "Well, you're no longer of any use," he said indifferently.
With that, he pulled out a kidney-stabbing knife from his waist and slit Saint Rolwiff's throat in one swift motion.
A Celestial Dragon died just like that at his hands, confused and unclear about what had happened, his eyes wide open in death, unwilling to accept his fate.
Noyer waited quietly on the ship until the Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang again.
Momomi's cold voice came through, "You've dragged this out long enough. Mary Geoise should be sending reinforcements by now."
Noyer stretched his arms and laughed, "Does that mean I don't need to hold back anymore?"
Momomi paused for a moment before saying, "Time to get serious."
After hanging up, Noyer returned his body to its original form and walked out of the room.
The guards on deck saw a stranger emerge and raised their guns in alarm, "Who are you?!"
Noyer raised an eyebrow and provocatively beckoned to the guards with his finger. The government guards couldn't tolerate such disrespect. At the command, they furiously opened fire.
On the other ships, Revolutionary Army soldiers who had infiltrated separately began causing chaos from within. The guarding Marine ships were confused, but they were about to have their hands full.
One after another, coated ships surged up from the depths of the sea. The ocean echoed with deafening battle cries.
On the Revolutionary Army ships, Ace took the lead, leaping onto a Marine vessel and roaring excitedly, "Fire Fist!"
An orange-red giant flaming fist instantly broke through several Marine ships. The commanding officer turned pale with shock, "Fire Fist Ace! All Marines, be on alert for pirates!"
The Marines readied their weapons and clashed with the Revolutionary Army soldiers charging at them.
Sabo followed Ace onto the ship. His perfected Armament Haki combined with his authority-crushing Dragon Claw technique made killing enemies in formation as easy as crushing instant noodles.
Dragon's Breath easily shattered a ship, and the terrifying Fire Fist could sink vessels. The two brothers fighting together again were just as formidable.
However, after Ace tossed Rasetsuō to Noyer, the situation on the battlefield changed once more. Wielding the Cursed Blade, he radiated an evil aura, each move and slash releasing sword energy like resentful ghosts.
Marines wounded by the sword energy felt as if they were possessed by evil spirits. Their pain intensified, blood flowed unstoppably, and some even saw hallucinations of demon gods appearing behind Noyer.
Noyer employed his not-quite-proficient shadow teleportation, becoming an emotionless harvester of lives. The fear in the Marine soldiers' hearts grew ever deeper.
Christine rendezvoused with him and asked in surprise, "You copied the Kage Kage no Mi too?"
Noyer nodded, "I killed Moria and copied it while I was at it."
Christine was speechless. A Warlord of the Sea was killed by Noyer? How come she'd never heard this news?
If she'd known he had this ability, maybe the plan could have been modified.
Lucci used Rankyaku to slice away an attacking opponent, saying to Noyer, "The guard force is manageable, but the reinforcements coming soon will be tough to handle."
Noyer nodded and instructed Blueno, "Hurry and help the Revolutionary Army move the Heavenly Tribute — take as much as possible."
"Yes!"
As expected, the Revolutionary Army's coordinated attack from inside and out — with nearly half their resources committed — came in overwhelming force. No matter how many experts the guard force had, it was futile.
The Heavenly Tribute defenders gradually showed signs of defeat, then collapsed entirely. Their ships were quickly occupied by the Revolutionary Army.
But before everyone could catch their breath, scouts from the distant waters sent word that a large Marine reinforcement force had arrived. The Revolutionary Army had finished moving most of the Heavenly Tribute resources, leaving only a small amount of wealth behind.
Noyer, who believed in leaving nothing behind, quickly said to Ace, "Burn the ships — don't leave a single one."
Ace obediently nodded, "Leave it to me!"
At that moment, on the Marine battleship arriving with reinforcements, a white-haired but spirited elderly female officer gazed into the distance with a worried expression.
The female Vice Admiral beside her quickly offered comfort, "Vice Admiral Tsuru, don't worry. We're not too late — we'll definitely catch those hateful pirates."
Vice Admiral Tsuru, known as the Great Staff Officer, wearily rubbed her temples, "I hope so. In recent years, too many lowlifes have been targeting the Heavenly Tribute…"
The Vice Admiral deeply agreed and was about to speak when loud laughter interrupted her.
A solidly built gray-haired old man holding a bag of rice crackers, crunching away, said carelessly, "Little Tsuru just overthinks things. So what if the Heavenly Tribute gets robbed? Those shitty Celestial Dragons are just in it for kicks anyway."
Tsuru glared at him, "Garp! You weren't ordered to come along — stop bothering me."
Garp shamelessly grinned, "I just wanted to help you catch pirates."
Tsuru glanced at him, "Fire Fist Ace is among the attacking pirates. I've always suspected — does he have some connection to you?"
Hearing this, Garp started whistling and stammered nonchalantly while wiping sweat, "Nani? W-what… connection? You're overthinking it!"
Tsuru retorted expressionlessly, "Your lying wouldn't even fool a dog."
The Marine battleships drew closer to the battlefield. Tsuru and the others could already see the smoke-filled sea with countless burning ship wreckages.
Garp shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed out, "Oh — they're quite capable, aren't they."
Tsuru's expression darkened.
"Is now the time for such comments?" She issued orders, "Prepare for battle — don't let them escape!"
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Army soldiers returned to their coated ships, preparing to flee.
Just as Noyer was about to escape, he heard Ace say in confusion, "Is that the old man…"
His whole body shuddered. He quickly looked in the direction of Ace's gaze.
The old man holding rice crackers and picking his nose — that face identical to Luffy's — it was definitely Garp!
An expert! A great expert!
Garp's Haki talent had been in Noyer's sights all along. Looks like they couldn't escape now. He had to find a way to copy that old geezer's talent. Fortune favors the bold…
After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up. He pulled Lucci and Blueno aside and began giving them instructions in a low voice.
◇◆◈◆◇
The Revolutionary Army ships began to flee, with the Marine fleet in desperate pursuit.
Tsuru was directing operations when a Marine soldier ran over and reported:
"Report! Celestial Dragon Saint Rolwiff has survived! He's requesting our escort!"
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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Take a look at the new books I'm translating on my profile, Cyberpunk 2077: A God-Level Skill Every Day and Infinite Worlds: Building the Strongest Harem!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)