Chapter 302: The Rearguard's Big Moment! The Marines Arrive!
Although Sanji really wanted to light a cigarette and coolly declare that he would handle these reckless small fry alone...
However, the despicable poison gas sneak attack by this squad wearing hazmat suits and masks had completely infuriated the entire rearguard on the thousand sunny.
Facing these aggressive enemies, everyone stood their ground without the slightest hesitation, drawing their respective weapons.
Nami stood at the very front of the deck, her gaze focused and cold.
With a flick of her wrist, she nimbly brandished the Sorcery Clima-Tact in her hand.
As hot and cold air currents rapidly collided, a massive, ink-black thundercloud was instantly created in mid-air.
Then, Nami pointed forward sharply: "Futo!"
Having had a full meal, Futo let out an excited roar.
It took a deep breath and opened its mouth wide, spitting out a violent whirlwind.
The powerful whirlwind, laced with lightning and carrying the dark thundercloud, swept through the enemy ranks like an out-of-control thunder beast.
Countless bolts of lightning exploded within the crowd, instantly charring a large number of gas-masked soldiers and leaving them screaming in agony.
Usopp stood firmly on the ship's railing, drawing his massive slingshot and aiming at the densest part of the enemy crowd as he shouted:
"Taste the power of the Great Usopp!"
"Sure Kill: Green Star - Devil!"
The green seed landed precisely in the center of the enemy group, sprouting the moment it touched the ground and rapidly growing into massive, hideous man-eating plants.
These plants opened their toothy maws, vines lashing out wildly to bite down on any enemies trying to approach the thousand sunny, tossing them into the air.
Chopper unhesitatingly swallowed a Rumble Ball, his body instantly transforming into the rounded yet explosive "Kung Fu Point" form.
Letting out a crisp battle cry, he weaved through the enemy crowd with exceptional agility.
Like a martial arts master, his combos flowed seamlessly as he sent the surrounding enemies flying one by one as if they were children.
Franky laughed as he brought his steel arms together, aiming his palms at the rocky cover where distant enemies were hiding.
"Behold the power of science! Franky Fireball!"
A massive, powerful fireball whistled through the air, shattering the cover and blasting the remaining soldiers who were trying to snipe them, along with the debris, into the sky.
This battle, which the enemy had thought would be as easy as catching a turtle in a jar, ended in a matter of minutes with an overwhelming victory for the rearguard.
The gas mask unit was completely wiped out, leaving the ground covered in charred craters and bodies entangled in plants, with miserable wails echoing everywhere.
With a cold expression, Nami stepped forward with steady strides in her high heels.
Her long leg shot up, and she stomped her foot hard onto the chest of the squad leader, pinning him firmly to the ground.
The Weather Stick, flickering with dangerous sparks of electricity, was pressed directly against his throat as Nami interrogated him coldly:
"Humph, speak. Who sent you trash here?"
"What exactly was the purpose of your sneak attack?"
Under the Navigator's intimidation, combined with the menacing glares of Sanji, Franky, and the transformed Chopper, the squad leader was utterly terrified.
Facing the threat of death, he no longer cared about secrecy and spilled everything:
"It's... it's Master's orders! We were just following orders!"
"He... he told us to capture you pirates and bring you back as perfect subjects for the Gigantification Experiments and new poison gas tests..."
"Gigantification Experiments?"
Nami keenly caught the term, her brow furrowing as she asked sharply.
"What is that?"
The leader's eyes darted around, and he stammered, afraid to continue.
But as Nami increased the pressure of her foot and the numbing sensation of electricity from the Weather Stick grew stronger, he finally broke and spoke tremblingly:
"The Gigantification Experiments... are... they involve kidnapping innocent children from all over the world."
"Then, by continuously injecting them with drugs, their bodies are forcibly enlarged..."
As soon as he finished, a chilling, cold murderous intent flashed in Nami's eyes.
Without any hesitation, she thrust her wrist forward, and the sharp tip of the Weather Stick, crackling with electricity, brutally pierced the leader's throat.
Blood instantly stained the ground, and the leader's body convulsed a few times before going completely silent.
"A bunch of heartless beasts!"
Sanji's face was as dark as water as he forcefully crushed his cigarette butt under his foot.
Hearing about such inhumane things as "human experimentation on children," Chopper's principles as a doctor were thoroughly violated.
His eyes were red, and he trembled with rage, tears welling up in his eyes:
"Unforgivable... I can never forgive bastards who trample on life like this!"
Meanwhile, Nami slowly retracted her Weather Stick and looked at the corpse on the ground.
Recalling her dark memories from the East Sea, the feeling of helplessness and being unable to protect herself welled up in her heart.
She would never allow any more children to suffer such inhumane torture.
At that moment, the entire rearguard squad reached a firm consensus:
There was no need to waste any more time waiting for Luffy and the others; they would charge straight into that mysterious research institute right now to rescue the suffering children!
...
Meanwhile, the exploration team was presenting a completely different picture.
Those samurai legs—only a lower half—that had been pulled from between the giant dragon's teeth, bolted as soon as they hit the ground, moving with incredible speed.
Since this strange body had no mouth, it actually controlled its lower sphincter to emit a series of "farting" sounds with distinct rhythms, using them to communicate with Luffy across a language barrier.
This bizarre method of communication, which defied biological common sense, made Luffy feel that this was the most interesting creature in the world.
His eyes shone with excitement like a child seeing a new toy, and he gave chase relentlessly through the wilderness where thunderstorms and thick fog intertwined.
Zoro, Tatsuya, and Robin followed behind their scatterbrained Captain with dark lines on their faces and a sense of helplessness.
While chasing these "talking legs," Luffy and the others stumbled right into a large patrol squad.
This squad was led by Brownbeard, and its members were all Centaur-like cyborgs with animal lower bodies and human upper bodies.
Facing these intruding pirates, the Centaurs raised their heavy weapons loaded with poison gas shells, preparing to execute them on the spot.
However, in the face of these aggressive enemies, Zoro didn't even bother to draw his swords.
His gaze turned cold, and gripping his scabbard with one hand, he moved like a phantom, using the hard scabbard to violently swat away the Centaurs in the front row, sending them crashing into the rocks.
Seeing this, Brownbeard was about to erupt in rage and give orders, but Tatsuya stepped forward slowly.
In the pitch-black mist, Tatsuya's eerie red and purple pupils suddenly lit up.
A tangible, cold killing intent swept through the area like a tidal wave.
The Centaurs, who had been brandishing their weapons, felt as if the Grim Reaper had them by the throat.
Their legs instantly went weak, and they fell to their knees one after another with a series of thuds, losing even the strength to hold their guns.
Seeing this, Luffy didn't take the opportunity to kill them; instead, he unceremoniously leaped onto Brownbeard's broad back.
He excitedly patted Brownbeard's back and announced loudly:
"Great!"
"The fog here is way too thick, and walking is exhausting. You guys can be our mounts for this adventure!"
"Full speed ahead!"
...
Deep within Punk Hazard, inside a research institute hidden beneath solid ice and a steel fortress.
Trafalgar Law, the current Seven Warlords of the Sea known as the "Surgeon of Death," stood with his arms crossed in a dimly lit monitoring room.
His gaze was fixed on the screens on the wall that monitored every corner of the island.
Law pulled down his spotted hat, his deep eyes reflecting a faint irritation.
The thousand sunny's rearguard had not only cleanly defeated the poison gas unit sent by Caesar but was now charging straight toward the research institute with murderous intent.
On another screen, Luffy and his group had not only instantly killed the flying dragon that even he found troublesome.
But now they were even using Brownbeard's Centaur patrol as mounts, rampaging across the island without a care.
The Straw Hat crew's style of bringing chaos wherever they went had completely shattered Law's meticulously planned infiltration.
"These unreasonable lunatics..."
Law gritted his teeth. "If they're allowed to keep causing trouble aimlessly like this, it'll definitely trigger Caesar's intense suspicion."
"If anything goes wrong, Kaido's Artificial Devil Fruit factory here will be exposed prematurely."
Just as Law was feeling a massive headache and thinking about how to clean up this mess.
His peripheral vision suddenly caught another monitoring screen in the corner, connected to the abandoned port on the outskirts of the island.
On the screen, amidst the dark storm, two massive warships flying the seagull flag were forcefully docking, braving the constant lightning and the raging winds on the sea.
Recognizing the insignia on the warships, Law's pupils constricted sharply, and his brow furrowed deeply:
"The Marines?!"
...
At the dilapidated port at the island's entrance.
The storm raged over the sea, and cold rain poured down.
Vice Admiral Smoker, wearing a broad Justice coat and biting down on two thick cigars, and Captain Tashigi, wearing glasses and clutching a famous sword, stepped off the warship with grim expressions.
Smoker stopped and looked up at the massive iron gate lying on the ground at the island's entrance.
He took a deep drag from his cigars and slowly exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke:
"So you really are here... You can't escape my grasp, even in the New World."
"Prepare to die, Straw Hat!"
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