With a scream, he reflexively let go of Franky. Freed, Franky bolted forward, but suddenly a barrage of Tempest Kicks erupted behind him. The force of the kicks sent Franky flying, blood splattering from his back as he crashed through several houses.
Despite the damage, Franky quickly recovered, rolling to his feet and continuing his desperate sprint.
Kumadori and Fukurou were in hot pursuit.
As they ran, however, the three of them noticed something was wrong. The closer they got to the coast, the louder the vibrations became, shaking the ground as if a colossal tsunami were approaching or the sky were about to fall.
"Big Mom! I will definitely beat you!"
"Straw Hat Boy! Prepare to die!"
Two earth-shaking roars boomed out, and then Franky, Kumadori, and Fukurou saw a man in a straw hat collide with a gigantic woman standing on a black cloud high in the air.
A deafening "bang" echoed like thunder from the heavens.
Purple-and-black lightning shot out from between the two fighters.
The shockwaves from their clash radiated outward, and the immense pressure of their combined Haki made the sea churn and the island tremble. It was a terrifying sight.
Franky, Kumadori, and Fukurou were all frozen in stunned silence.
"It's Straw Hat Luffy and Big Mom?! How are two of the Four Emperors fighting in Water Seven?!"
The suddenness of the battle was so shocking that the three couldn't process it.
This was especially true for Kumadori and Fukurou, who, as top-tier agents of CP9, should have been aware of such a major event much sooner. Yet, they were only just finding out. It seemed Luffy and Big Mom had been fighting for a while.
"Chababa! What's going on here?! Why did Big Mom come to fight Straw Hat Luffy!" Kumadori exclaimed.
"Yo yo yi! The power of the Four Emperors is truly terrifying. At this rate, Water Seven will be destroyed. I never thought I'd die here. I hope I can see my mother in the next world!" Fukurou cried out.
As the two agents fretted, Franky's mind kicked into gear. He rushed straight toward the center of the battle, uncaring of the danger.
Franky knew he couldn't outrun the CP9 agents. To shake them off, he had to take a different approach. Since these two seemed terrified of the Four Emperors, he would use the battle's chaos as a shield!
He wasn't worried about being killed by the collateral damage. If he died, the Pluton blueprints he carried would be destroyed, and the World Government would never get their hands on them. He figured his old friends on the iceberg would be relieved to hear the blueprint had been destroyed for good.
In a split second, a tragic, yet resolute, thought crossed Franky's mind.
"It's a shame I won't get to avenge Mr. Tom... Zambai, Kiwi, Mozu, and Yokozuna are going to be so sad, and I can't bear to leave them. As for that bastard Iceburg, he'll probably be happy if I die... Waaah! Dammit! My heart is super—I don't wanna die!"
Franky sobbed to himself, wiping away tears. He loved the Franky Family. They may have been a bunch of thugs, but they were his family. How would they survive without him? He couldn't just abandon them!
Just then, a figure crashed to the ground near Franky.
It was Luffy in Gear Fourth: Bounceman. He wiped blood from his mouth and struggled to get up, his body uncontrollably bouncing, unable to stand still.
Luffy looked up at Big Mom in the sky, frustrated with the aerial battle. Even though he could fly in this form, it was an enormous drain on his stamina. A battle with an Emperor was a war of attrition, and he couldn't afford to waste energy.
Both Kaido and Big Mom had leveraged their flight abilities to fight in the air, forcing Luffy into their kind of battle. Flight was an incredible advantage—a cheat code, really. Luffy couldn't blame them; he could only blame himself for not being able to fly naturally.
Luffy finally noticed Franky. "Hey, you! It's dangerous here! Get out of here, or I can't guarantee you'll make it out alive!" he yelled before launching himself back into the sky to resume his fight with Big Mom.
Franky was surprised by the Emperor's concern. A brief moment of awe came over him, but it quickly faded when he saw Kumadori and Fukurou catching up.
They were top agents, after all. Danger wouldn't stop them.
Franky had no choice but to keep moving forward, with Kumadori and Fukurou hot on his heels.
Suddenly, a massive shockwave from the sky slammed into the ground.
All three of them were thrown into the air by the force, vomiting blood from their injuries before crashing back down, far from the battle.
It was just the aftermath of the fight, yet it nearly killed them.
Fortunately, they were all incredibly tough. Franky, being a cyborg, wasn't going to die easily.
Kumadori and Fukurou, ever the dedicated agents, were still determined to arrest him. If their target wasn't him, Franky might have even admired their resolve.
At that moment, the sound of many footsteps rang out.
"Big Bro! Big Bro, are you okay! We're here to save you!"
"Brother Franky, come to us!"
"Brother Franky, we're here to back you up! Run!"
Zambai, the second-in-command of the Franky Family, along with the Kiwi and Mozu sisters, led a large mob of his subordinates, all armed. Without a word, they opened fire on Kumadori and Fukurou.
But even seriously injured by the shockwave, the two CP9 agents were far beyond what a group of common thugs could handle. They dodged the bullets and shells without taking a single hit. The sisters, seeing their guns were useless, led the charge with blades drawn.
Tears streamed down Franky's face. "You idiots! Why did you come here?! Get out! I'm super—you don't need to save me!"
But this time, his subordinates ignored him, rushing forward without hesitation.
"Chababa, a bunch of idiots heading for their deaths!"
"Tempest Kick!"
Fukurou lashed out with a single attack, and a large number of the Franky Family members immediately fell. The others, however, continued to charge, completely fearless.
Seeing this, Franky's heart filled with a mixture of sadness and fury, and he rushed headfirst toward Fukurou.
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