...
In the waters surrounding the Sabaody Archipelago, a Marine warship from Marineford slowly approached.
On board, Kizaru strode across the deck and stopped at the bow. He looked out into the distance, taking in the chaos unfolding on the Sabaody Archipelago.
"My, my, the chaos seems to be getting worse and worse. Should I head to the island first to take a look?"
"Are you going off on your own again? I have to look everywhere for you every time. Stop causing trouble for me, Uncle."
Behind him, Sentomaru stepped forward with his massive broadaxe resting on his shoulder, a look of utter disgust on his face.
Kizaru turned to look at him, hooking a finger to stroke his chin with a slightly sleazy expression.
"However, if we arrive too late and let the Straw Hat Crew escape, that would be quite bad."
"Stop joking around. Their ship isn't even coated yet. With you here, where could they possibly run to?" Sentomaru turned his head away impatiently.
It would be a bit troublesome if the targets hid on the island, but if they dared to set sail, unless they dove to the bottom of the sea, Kizaru's speed would allow him to catch up in the blink of an eye.
Even so, Kizaru still hadn't changed his mind about landing first.
"Reporting to Admiral Kizaru!"
Just then, a Marine field officer ran up to Kizaru, saluted, and reported in a sonorous voice:
"The naval guns are ready! A large number of pirates have been spotted at the port preparing to flee. Should we open fire immediately?"
"Oh? Then open fire."
"Yes, sir!"
Receiving Kizaru's permission, the officer turned and ordered the artillerymen on the deck,
"Open fire!!"
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
With that command, the cannons roared fiercely, and three pitch-black cannonballs shot toward the port.
At that moment, Kizaru's body emitted a golden glow. In the blink of an eye, his body transformed into photons, scattering and flying toward the fired cannonballs.
Then, those motes of light coalesced back into Kizaru's figure atop the cannonballs. With his Justice coat fluttering wildly behind him, he stood perfectly straight on the projectiles as they flew toward the port.
What a pretentious way to make an entrance.
On the warship, Allen couldn't help but mock him inwardly as he strode up to the bow deck.
Sentomaru glanced back at him and said flatly, "Warlord of the Sea Allen, why did you come along too?"
"Isn't it obvious? My lovely subordinates are still on the island. If anything were to happen to them, my heart would ache."
Allen smiled with a playful look in his eyes.
When Kizaru left Mary Geoise, he had followed along. Sengoku had explicitly forbidden it, but the prohibition was useless; Allen turned a deaf ear and left anyway.
He didn't plan on doing anything here; he was just bored out of his mind in Mary Geoise and came out to find some amusement. Sengoku wouldn't possibly fight him over such a trivial matter anyway.
Whoosh—!
Black wings unfurled from his back. Allen leaped lightly, flapping his wings to whip up a gust of wind, and flew toward the Sabaody Archipelago at breakneck speed.
Watching the two of them leave one after another, Sentomaru felt both angry and helpless. He massaged his forehead and gritted his teeth.
"Every single one of them is like this. What a headache-inducing bunch of bastards."
"Report! The Pacifistas have been fully activated and are ready to deploy at any time!"
An officer came over to report. Sentomaru looked back at the row of Pacifistas standing neatly on the deck and ordered:
"PX units, prepare to land! Target: all Supernovas on the island!"
Beep beep beep beep!
"Command received."
Accompanied by a cold electronic voice, red lights flashed in the eyes of the Pacifistas.
Meanwhile.
...
Grove 29 of the Sabaody Archipelago.
In a devastated commercial street, numerous stalls and debris were scattered all over the ground. Buildings had collapsed into ruins during the battle, and two figures were engaged in fierce combat.
"Straw Chariot!!"
Hawkins, transformed into a straw demon, pushed his hands forward. Countless strands of straw extended from his fingertips, rapidly assembling into a chariot.
Hideous iron nails sprouted from the front of the chariot as it charged forward with tremendous momentum.
Faced with this overbearing attack, Nami hastily leaped to the side, simultaneously using her Clima-Tact to blow a gust of wind at the ground, using the recoil to accelerate her movements.
Boom!!
The straw chariot violently smashed through a wall. In midair, Nami spun the Clima-Tact in her hands, continuously generating electric arcs. She then swung it down forcefully, lashing a chain of lightning like a long whip onto the straw chariot.
Terrifying high-temperature energy erupted within the chariot. The dry straw caught fire, which rapidly spread across the entire vehicle.
Hawkins hurriedly severed the connection controlling the chariot from his hands. The straw strands intertwined into pointed fingers, from which rusty brown spikes grew one after another, viciously slashing through the air toward Nami.
"Deadly Rusty Nails!!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several long nails shot toward her. Nami's gaze sharpened. After twirling the long staff in her hands a few times, she aimed it at Hawkins. A large number of diamond-shaped ice blocks rapidly condensed in the air at the tip of the staff.
"Ice Burst!!"
With a loud shout from Nami, an intense storm swept up the hailstones and blasted forward. It blew away the incoming nails and hurtled toward Hawkins with undiminished force!
Boom!!
Under Hawkins's astonished gaze, the devastating ice storm instantly swallowed his entire body, tearing through the entire street and slamming him ruthlessly into a building at the far end.
In an instant, debris flew through the air above the street. Nami's feet touched back down on the ground. As the storm gradually dissipated, she stared intently into the dust-filled ruins.
'That makes seven already...'
A completely ruined straw voodoo doll fell to the ground as Hawkins walked out of the rubble.
Although he was covered in dust and looked a bit disheveled, he didn't seem to have any injuries, and his expression remained entirely unruffled.
Nami's eyes grew solemn. It looked like she had the upper hand, but so far in the battle, she hadn't dealt any substantial damage to her opponent.
She had vaguely guessed the mechanics of Hawkins's ability—he was likely transferring the damage to his straw dolls.
However, she had no idea how many times he could transfer it, or if there was even a limit at all.
If it was the latter, then continuing to fight would be completely meaningless; she would sooner or later be worn down by him.
Meanwhile, Hawkins appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was already starting to consider retreating.
Ten substitutes, and the opponent had forcefully destroyed seven of them.
To think that she was merely an officer under a Warlord of the Sea. He hadn't taken her seriously at all in the beginning, but now...
'I should have done a divination before coming here.'
Hawkins thought to himself, unable to help but feel a bit of regret.
"This is bad, Captain!"
"The Marines are here! It's Admiral Kizaru!"
Suddenly, several pirates ran over, shouting in panic.
Hearing his subordinates' voices, Hawkins glanced back, his brow furrowing.
"What happened? Why would a Marine Admiral come here?"
"It's the Straw Hat Crew! Those guys attacked a Celestial Dragon!"
The pirates hurriedly yelled, "The Marines have already started surrounding the island. We need to leave right now, Captain, or we won't be able to escape later!"
"The Straw Hat Crew?"
A look of disbelief crossed Hawkins's face.
Right under the World Government's nose, right next door to Marine Headquarters, someone was actually stupid enough to attack a Celestial Dragon in a place like this?
Hearing their conversation, Nami couldn't help but be stunned as well.
Setting aside the highly complicated matter of Luffy and his crew attacking a Celestial Dragon and drawing out a Marine Admiral...
Since Allen was a Warlord of the Sea, the Marines shouldn't attack her, right?
"If we run into an Admiral, all the hard work it took to get here will be for nothing."
Hawkins said in a calm tone. The straw covering his body rapidly retracted back into him. After reverting to his human form, he squeezed two intact straw voodoo dolls out of his body.
"Calamity Demon Soldiers!!"
The two straw dolls fell to the ground and rapidly expanded, transforming into two bizarre, hideous straw demon soldiers wielding a scythe and a pitchfork.
"It's a pity, but let's end it here for today."
At Hawkins's command, the two straw demon soldiers charged forward one after the other with eerie strides.
"Flare Cannon!!"
Nami shouted and raised her Clima-Tact. The Gas Dial and Flame Dial installed inside activated simultaneously, and a surging beam of blue flames condensed and fired out.
Boom!!
The thick blue flames, like a pillar of light containing terrifyingly high temperatures, instantly engulfed the two straw demon soldiers.
When the dazzling firelight dimmed, Nami lowered her Clima-Tact and looked toward the end of the street again, but Hawkins was already nowhere to be seen.
...