The tragic battle lasted from the scorching sun high above until the bright moon hung in the sky, and from the first light of dawn until noon the following day.
The entire sea area was stained with a tragic dark red. Broken ship planks, floating debris, and scattered flames bore witness to the cruelty of this war.
On the flank of the gibeck,
A Vice Admiral named "Iron Wall" Barton was already covered in blood. His left arm was unnaturally twisted, and he swung his long saber with only his right arm, locked in a desperate struggle with Golden Lion Shiki alongside two other equally scarred colleagues.
They had already rotated through three groups of people. Now, they were relying entirely on sheer willpower to endure, all to fulfill the Order to "restrict Shiki."
However, the exhaustion of physical strength and the accumulation of injuries finally reached their limit. Vice Admiral Barton stumbled, his parrying motion a half-beat slow, and a fierce light exploded in Shiki's eyes!
"Jiehahaha! Get the hell out of my way! Lion: Thousand Slicing Valley!"
Countless violent golden sword slashes, like a blooming lotus of death, erupted instantly!
The other two Vice Admirals spat blood and were sent flying backward. Vice Admiral Barton, who bore the brunt of the attack, despite pushing his Armament Haki to its limit, still had his saber shattered with a piercing crack. Immediately after, his body was pierced by countless sword slashes... "Vice Admiral Barton!!" On a nearby warship, the Marine Soldiers who witnessed this scene let out heart-wrenching cries of grief.
This Vice Admiral, known for his defense and for protecting countless colleagues, used his life to put a period on this war of attrition, becoming the final straw that broke the Marine battle line.
Shiki's escape was like a tiger released from its cage, a hungry wolf entering a flock of sheep!
"Finally... it's my turn to show my power! Jiehahaha!"
The long-suppressed anger and desire for slaughter were completely released.
Shiki no longer needed to be distracted by protecting the ship. He hovered high in the sky, his twin swords dancing wildly. Massive sword slashes, capable of cutting through mountains, struck out like the Grim Reaper's scythe, precisely and violently targeting the Marine warships that had lost the protection of their top-tier combatants!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One, two, three... The keels of the warships were easily sliced like thin paper under the golden sword slashes. Explosive flames and thick smoke rose one after another, and the Marine's fire support network was instantly riddled with holes!
..."You have lost." Charlotte Linlin flapped her wings to shake off a thrust from Tsuru, stating the fact calmly as she watched the warships below blooming continuously like fireworks.
Tsuru's movements stopped. She looked at the retreating fleet, at the ships struggling and sinking under Shiki's sword slashes, and listened to the bad news constantly coming from the communication channel, letting out a deep sigh.
Fatigue and helplessness crept onto her usually calm face.
She said nothing more, knowing that any words at this point were hollow and powerless.
She took a deep look at Charlotte Linlin, turned around, and used Moonwalk to fly toward the main fleet.
At the same time, her clear and heavy voice spread through the entire Marine fleet via the transponder snail:
"All forces... retreat! Repeat, all forces retreat! Prioritize rescuing those in the water! Each unit cover each other in turns!"
With the Order issued, the remaining Marine fleet began to turn and retreat with difficulty.
Having lost the suppression fire, the other cadres of the Rocks Pirates, like ferocious beasts breaking free from their chains, began to erupt and pursue frantically!
"Don't let them escape!"
"Leave your treasures and your lives behind!"
Some Vice Admirals, heavily injured and knowing they could not evacuate, had a flash of resolve in their eyes.
They voluntarily broke away from the retreat formation, charging against the flow of people toward the pursuing pirates.
"justice... shall not be trampled upon!"
"The Marine has no path of retreat!"
They burned their last sparks of life, unleashing astonishing power, stubbornly blocking the torrent of pirates like reefs, using their lives to buy precious time for their colleagues' retreat.
Watching those figures who knew they would die yet still went forward without hesitation, seeing the crimson light that bloomed when they perished together with the pursuing cadres, Charlotte Linlin hovered in the air. Her massive Dragon Wings flapped slowly, and a complex, hard-to-define light flashed in her eyes.
"Giving up their lives for so-called 'justice'... In this world, what exactly is right and what is wrong?"
She murmured to herself, finding no answer. Perhaps it was precisely because the line between right and wrong in this world was so blurred that she wanted to establish 'Inazuma' and her determination to build the 'Order' in her heart.
She couldn't control too much, but she could control what was in front of her.
In the center of the island, where the three—Rocks and the others—were fighting, the signal for the Marine's retreat also arrived.
"Rocks! Consider it your win this time! But justice will never yield!" Sengoku's magnificent voice carried a sense of unwillingness.
"I will come to catch you again, Rocks!" Garp's roar was still full of power.
"Wuhahaha! Want to leave? It's not that easy!" Rocks laughed wildly. Although he had added some scars to his body, his momentum was still at its peak. He issued the invitation once more:
"Garp! Sengoku! Do you see? This is my power! Join me, and together we will subvert this world!"
"In your dreams!" / "Wishful thinking!"
The two rejected him in unison. Immediately, the golden giant Buddha and the black iron fist erupted with their final powerful strength. A massive shockwave forced Rocks back temporarily.
Taking advantage of this recoil, Garp and Sengoku stopped fighting and retreated rapidly, quickly disappearing from the island.
Rocks watched the direction they left but did not pursue. After all, it was no simple task to finish those two off. Moreover, his goal had been achieved. After this battle, the prestige of the Rocks Pirates would resound throughout the world.
As the Marine fleet turned into black dots on the horizon, the remaining pirates erupted in earth-shattering cheers! They had survived and had defeated the invincible Marine!
Although the Marine still had some forces that had not been deployed, their Rocks Pirates also had the forces on Hachinosu Island!
Rocks leaped up and landed steadily on the hideous figurehead of the gibeck.
He opened his arms as if to embrace the entire sea. His dark cloak danced wildly in the whistling sea breeze.
He looked down at the excited Crew members, and his domineering and arrogant voice spread across the sea area that had just experienced the flames of war:
"From this day forward!! We—"
He paused, allowing everyone's anticipation to reach its peak, then suddenly roared out:
"Are the sole—OVER! LORD!—of the sea!"
"Awoo—!!!"
"Overlord!"
"Captain Rocks!"
"Pirate Overlord!"
The pirates who survived the ordeal shouted with all their might, waving their weapons. The sound waves pierced the clouds, announcing the arrival of a chaotic and violent era dominated by the Rocks Pirates!
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