"Karasu, tell Lindbergh to cancel the detonation."
Watching Aokiji retreat, Dragon pulled out a Den Den Mushi and spoke to Karasu, the commander of the Revolutionary Army's North Army.
He hadn't lied to Aokiji—this really was the last of their planned moves. What he had just called off wasn't so much a 'trump card' as it was a final 'surprise' meant for the World Government.
If Dragon and the Revolutionary Army's main forces had been wiped out here, then Lindbergh—who had already left Marineford—would have triggered the explosives planted in Reverse Mountain.
Blowing up Reverse Mountain would merge the Four Seas and the Grand Line into a single, unified ocean.
Even if the World Government and the severely weakened Marines managed to restore order, they would need to invest massive amounts of time and resources—enough time for the next generation of revolutionaries to rise.
"Understood!"
Karasu's whispery, almost inaudible voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Having fought alongside Karasu for years, Dragon was accustomed to his eerie way of speaking and had no trouble understanding him.
On the battlefield, the Whitebeard Pirates and Revolutionary Army forces successfully regrouped with the remnants of the Red-Haired Pirates, covering each other's retreat toward their respective ships.
With Akainu held off by Marco, the remaining Vice Admirals—both regular and Giant types—were struggling to hold their ground.
Despite their numbers, they were vastly outmatched by the elite fighters from the two Emperor crews and the Revolutionary Army.
To make matters worse, the Seven Warlords—who were supposed to be aiding the Marines—were doing little to nothing.
Aside from Gecko Moria, who was busy collecting shadows and corpses, and the mindless Bartholomew Kuma, the rest of the Warlords were outright refusing to participate.
"Fufufu… How delightful. I never expected the Revolutionary Army to have the power to summon a storm…"
Doflamingo lounged on a tall stone pillar, one leg crossed over the other, draped in a raincoat he had somehow acquired. Occasionally, he flicked his fingers, using his puppet strings to make random pirates fight each other—just enough to say he was participating.
Even with this lazy attitude, he was still doing more than Mihawk, who sat with his eyes closed, seemingly meditating, or Boa Hancock, who was busy fangirling over a photo of Borsalino.
"Damn it… I feel so weak…"
Luffy gasped for air, tongue hanging out, exhausted after barely managing to defeat a Marine Headquarters Captain.
For Devil Fruit users, this stormy battlefield was nothing short of a nightmare.
"Die, Straw Hat brat!"
Vice Admiral Vivian, a female giant, roared as she swung her naginata down at Luffy.
She still couldn't believe she had been tricked into saving this deceitful brat. Of course, she would never admit that she simply hadn't seen clearly—so it had to be Luffy's fault.
"Uwaaaaah!"
Luffy barely dodged in time. The massive naginata struck the ground, carving a trench dozens of meters long.
If that blow had landed, even with Luffy's Armament Haki, he'd likely have been cut clean in two.
Excluding Vice Admiral Garp—who wasn't officially ranked—Vivian was among the top three strongest Vice Admirals, not counting Gion and Tokikake, who were close to the level of top-tier powerhouses.
Unlike Devil Fruit users, Vivian relied purely on her immense physique and mastery of both Armament and Observation Haki, making her one of the most formidable and difficult opponents to deal with.
Even two years later, Luffy might not be her match.
"Your opponent is me! Dragon Claw Fist: Dragon Talon!"
At the critical moment, Sabo intervened, deflecting Vivian's naginata before it could strike again.
"Sacred Fire: Shiranui!"
Ace followed up immediately, sending embers dancing across Vivian's body. Unfortunately, before the flames could spread, she extinguished them with an invisible wave of Armament Haki.
Having spent years under Borsalino's command, Vivian had yet to awaken Conqueror's Haki, but her mastery over both Armament and Observation Haki was exceptional.
She could coat her weapons with Haki, release it externally, and even use the advanced internal destruction technique—abilities that few could match.
"Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff. Fire Fist. Straw Hat brat. Good… I'll take all of you down right here!"
Despite being outnumbered three to one, Vivian showed no fear. Her sharp brows arched slightly, and a fierce battle-hungry smile spread across her face.
For the war-loving giant race, stronger opponents only made battles more exhilarating.
"Be careful—this giant woman is really strong!"
Sabo warned, more worried about Luffy than Ace.
But he was a second too late.
"I'm going in! Second Gear!"
Steam burst from Luffy's body as he activated Gear Second, his speed and strength surging dramatically.
"So fast! Luffy's gotten even stronger! But as his big brother, I can't lose to him!"
Ace grinned, transforming into flames and following closely behind. The stronger Luffy became, the more reassured Ace felt.
"Hey, you two! Wait for me!"
Sabo didn't manage to stop his two younger brothers, but he was used to this kind of reckless behavior by now. With a sigh, he rushed forward to support them.
If battle records were the only measure of strength, then Luffy—who had already defeated two Warlords of the Sea—and Ace—who had been deemed strong enough to be invited into the Warlords before even making a name for himself—should have had the upper hand.
Even though Sabo wasn't as well-known, he had always been the strongest among the three brothers.
By that logic, Vivian, a Vice Admiral with only mid-tier Warlord-level strength, shouldn't have been able to match them.
But real battles weren't just about past achievements.
First, Vivian was a giant.
Second, she had been under Borsalino's command even longer than Dragon had been in the Revolutionaries.
"Rokushiki: Life Return—Divine Martial Form!"
Vivian let out a long breath, forcing herself to endure the excruciating pain as every cell in her body seemed to burn. Then, in an instant, her massive frame began to shrink at an astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, the twenty-meter-tall giant compressed down to a little over two meters while maintaining perfect proportions.
Life Return was the most difficult and mysterious technique of the Six Powers. Mastering it allowed one to control every aspect of their body at will—even making their hair as flexible as an arm.
A true master, like Borsalino, had even extended their youth, appearing as a teenager despite being from Sengoku's generation.
Under Borsalino's guidance, Vivian had honed her Life Return to an advanced level. While she hadn't achieved eternal youth, she had developed a unique ability to compress her body.
However, a giant's immense size made it impossible to maintain this form for long. The pain was unbearable, and even if she did nothing at all, she could only hold it for three to five minutes—much to the disappointment of a certain someone with ulterior motives.
"Wahhh! The giant lady got smaller!"
Luffy was already mid-charge when he saw Vivian shrink, startling him.
In this form, she could no longer wear her standard Vice Admiral uniform, and her massive naginata was now too unwieldy to use.
Fortunately, Borsalino had prepared in advance, crafting a special undersuit from island cloud material that would adjust to her size.
"Godspeed Kick!"
Vivian vanished.
In the next instant, she was right in front of Luffy, her foot swinging straight for his head.
"Rubber Jet Scythe!"
Luffy didn't even try to dodge—he kicked straight at her in return, trusting his resilience to carry him through. Trading blows was his specialty.
Boom!
Crash!
Their kicks connected at the same time.
Even in Second Gear, Luffy's speed slightly surpassed Vivian's. But when his foot struck her head, her hair—controlled through Life Return—blocked the blow with ease.
Vivian only needed a slight tilt of her head to deflect his attack, while her own kick sent Luffy flying over a hundred meters.
Though her body had shrunk, her strength and mass remained unchanged.
If anything, her durability had skyrocketed. At this size, she was even harder to damage than before.
"Luffy!"
Ace arrived just in time to see Luffy sent flying. His eyes burned with rage as he threw out a blazing punch.
"Fire Fist Bullet!"
Flames roared toward Vivian, reflecting the fury in Ace's heart. At that moment, all he wanted was to turn her into ashes.
"Armament—Dragon Claw Fist: Dragon's Breath!"
Sabo, fully aware of Vivian's immense strength, attacked alongside Ace. His Armament Haki surged through his Dragon Claw Fist, generating a powerful shockwave aimed straight at her.
Even before their attacks landed, Vivian's Observation Haki flared with warnings. No matter how tough her defense was, she wasn't invincible—especially not against two opponents of Ace and Sabo's caliber, both fighting with full force.
"Armament—Diamond Body!"
Vivian took a deep breath, suppressing her body's instinct to revert to its giant form. She coated herself entirely in Armament Haki.
If she were still in her giant form, not even her mastery of Armament Haki would allow her to achieve full-body coverage, and any attempt would be severely weakened.
But in her compressed form, things were different.
With her level of Armament Haki, combined with her naturally high durability, her defense was now on par with Diamond Jozu's.
Boom!
Flames and shockwaves crashed into her in succession, forcing her back a few steps but failing to break through her defenses.
Ace and Sabo's expressions darkened. Neither had expected her to be this strong after shrinking.
"I'm not done yet! Rubber Jet Rocket Launcher!"
Luffy, who had just been kicked away, clenched his teeth and charged back into the fight. If toughness was a competition, he wasn't one to lose.
After all, this was the same Luffy who had survived his grandfather's "training"—being thrown into wild jungles or tied to a hot air balloon and left to drift.
"Conqueror's Kingdom!"
Vivian didn't even spare Luffy a second thought.
She punched straight at him.
Normally, this technique required a weapon, but Vivian's mastery of Elbaf combat techniques meant she didn't need one.
By concentrating the force of her punch into an extremely small area and releasing it in an instant, she created a devastating shockwave.
BOOM!
Luffy was sent flying yet again.
If not for his Armament Haki, that attack would have punched a hole straight through him.
"Luffy!"
Ace immediately turned into flames and chased after him.
Even though Luffy was now a notorious pirate with a 300-million-beri bounty, in Ace's eyes, he was still the little brother who needed his protection.
"Armament—Dragon Claw Fist: Dragon Fang!"
Sabo lunged at Vivian in perfect sync, preventing her from seizing an opportunity to attack Ace.
Despite being caught in what was essentially a battle of attrition, Vivian showed no fear. Even as her body screamed in agony, feeling as if it were being consumed by flames, she refused to back down.
BOOM!
Dragon Claw Fist was a technique Sabo had honed to crush tyranny—its greatest strength lay in its relentless ferocity.
But Vivian was a battle-hardened giant, hot-blooded by nature.
Even with Borsalino's teachings tempering her, she had never lost her aggressive instincts.
When they clashed, it was like fire meeting steel—each exchange sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, further wrecking the already devastated ground.
After several rounds of brutal exchanges, Sabo was visibly struggling, his face flushed red from exertion.
But Vivian wasn't faring any better. She was reaching her limit—blood was starting to leak uncontrollably from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
Her Form was, at its core, a failed technique developed by Borsalino.
He had long since realized its dangerous side effects and had explicitly forbidden her from using it.
But Vivian, stubborn and competitive as she was, refused to accept this limitation.
In the end, Borsalino had laid down one rule—if she absolutely had to use it, she was not allowed to maintain it for more than a minute in battle.
After all, any opponent strong enough to force her into this technique wouldn't be someone she could easily defeat.
If she couldn't end the fight in that time, continuing to push herself would only lead to her own downfall.
"This woman... she's ridiculously strong!"
Sabo's hands were trembling.
Even with his Armament Haki, he couldn't completely withstand Vivian's superior Haki-infused strikes.
If this were before he regained his memories, he might have chosen to retreat, prioritizing his survival as Dragon had always instructed him to.
The Revolutionary Army could not afford to lose its Chief of Staff.
But now, with his past memories restored, Sabo was no longer just the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command.
He was also the elder brother of Ace and Luffy.
And to him, protecting his brothers was more important than his own life.
He could never forgive Vivian for nearly killing Luffy.
Even knowing he was at a disadvantage, Sabo gritted his teeth and charged forward again.
°°°
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