In the heart of a chaotic sea, twelve Marine warships huddled closely together, struggling to resist the storm's onslaught. A monstrous wave suddenly crashed over them, swallowing two warships whole. When the frothing water receded into the sea, the two vessels had vanished without a trace, as if devoured by the ocean itself.
This scene, unfolding before their very eyes, struck terror into the hearts of all the Marines. The might of nature was not something human strength could withstand. Yet, for some reason, these Marines remained tightly clustered, showing no intention of retreating from this sea area.
After a long while, a cheer suddenly erupted from within the fleet.
"He's out! It's Vice Admiral Onigumo!"
It turned out the Marines had remained in place, waiting for Vice Admiral Onigumo's return. Just as Bellamy firmly believed a distinguished Vice Admiral would absolutely not die in such a place, the Marines also firmly believed that Vice Admiral Onigumo would not fall here.
"It's been a long time since I've been this battered, cough cough cough." Onigumo couldn't help but cough violently; Bellamy's punch to his head had been truly vicious. So much time had passed, yet he still hadn't fully recovered. Of course, the sword thrust he had delivered to Bellamy's heart was no less severe.
"Only ten ships left, huh?"
"It's enough." Onigumo's gaze slowly firmed. "All soldiers, hear my command!"
"Target: Bellamy! Continue the pursuit!"
In the name of justice, Bellamy absolutely could not be allowed to escape. This mad dog was simply too dangerous!
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers brought from Marine Headquarters were all true elites. The sinking of each of these twelve warships was a huge loss for the Marines. But Onigumo believed that even if every soldier here sacrificed their life, as long as they could slay Bellamy on this sea, it would all be worth it. The sacrifice of soldiers was for the protection of everyone's happiness. This was the justice in Onigumo's heart—a justice filled with blood and cruelty, representing sacrifice and protection.
Onigumo had also participated in the Buster Call on Ohara years ago. Unlike everyone else, Onigumo had always believed that the destruction of Ohara was an absolutely correct action. Ohara's existence was disrupting the order of the entire world; it had to be destroyed. If Bellamy's earlier questioning of Smoker had been directed at Onigumo, he would have received nothing but a sword strike to the head.
"Why is there a ship constantly following us from behind?" Drake, one hand gripping the helm tightly, raised a pair of binoculars with the other. The ship was rocking violently; it took him a long time to see clearly that a pirate crew was tailing them closely, seemingly up to something.
"Are they here for the bounty?" What a bunch of reckless fools, daring to venture into such a massive storm. Drake sneered, not bothering with them. Survive the storm first, then talk.
"Wait, why is there another group of masts behind them?" He looked carefully; the Marines had actually caught up too. These guys were truly something else. "Do they want to kill us that badly?"
Drake was somewhat baffled. The sudden appearance of a few desperate bounty hunters, he could somewhat understand. But what was the deal with these Marines? Although the Bellamy Pirates had some notoriety, it wasn't enough to make so many elite Marines risk their lives. Drake was an old hand in the Navy; how could he not see that these warships were crewed by elites from Headquarters? If they all perished in this storm, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would be heartbroken enough to weep blood.
"I must inform the Captain as soon as possible." Although he knew Bellamy was undergoing extremely dangerous surgery, Drake couldn't resist the urge to tell him this news. Marines weren't bounty hunters; these elite Marines could genuinely threaten their lives.
Drake was still unaware that Onigumo had already forcibly swum up from the depths of the sea. This Marine Vice Admiral was their greatest threat at this moment. But his ignorance didn't mean Bellamy was also unaware.
Bellamy, currently undergoing heart repair surgery, abruptly lifted his head. "This Observation Haki." He sensed an intense wave of Observation Haki pressing down from the void, overwhelming everything. "It's Onigumo!" He really wasn't dead. "Still trying to pursue me? Truly a mad dog!"
By now, the surgery was mostly complete; Bellamy's heart had been fully stitched up. All that remained was to treat the wound on his chest. But Bellamy could sense that there was no time left. He pushed away the ship's doctor's hands and abruptly stood up.
"All hands, hear my order! Prepare to engage!"
Bellamy's voice had barely fallen when the roar of cannons sounded from outside. The Marines had begun firing from a distance, attempting to sink them.
"Fire! Fire!" Onigumo stood on the highest mast, directing all warships to open fire. Sheets of cannonballs rained down madly towards Bellamy's vessel. Drake desperately spun the helm, narrowly avoiding them.
"These lunatics, do they have a death wish?!"
"Don't be afraid of them! What can mere cannon fire do to me?" Bellamy's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Captain, what do we do now?"
"You keep sailing. Get us out of this storm first," Bellamy instructed. "Leave the rest to me."
Bellamy walked out of the wheelhouse, facing the fierce wind and torrential rain, and flew to the highest mast.
"Gyehahahahaha!"
"Onigumo! Come and kill me!"
Their gazes clashed across the distance of several nautical miles.
"Bellamy, you can't escape."
"Sink him for me!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral!" The Marine soldiers, braving the impact of the massive waves, desperately hauled cannonballs on deck. Volley after volley of cannon fire shot rapidly towards Bellamy.
A fierce gust of wind swept past. Several soldiers lost their footing and plunged straight into the sea. All of this was witnessed by Onigumo, but not only did the Vice Admiral not stop the order, he urged them on even more frantically.
"Don't stop! Continue firing!"
"Yes, sir!"
Thanks to the desperate efforts of the Marine soldiers, sheets of cannonballs rained down on Bellamy.
"Voidwalker Palm." Bellamy, braving the gale, thrust a palm forward. The tyrannical force of his palm strike directly pushed a large swath of cannonballs away.
The bounty hunters caught between them instantly suffered terrible luck. Several cannonballs directly pierced their deck, blasting large holes in their ship's bottom. Now, these bounty hunters finally knew fear. But thinking of escaping now was a bit too late.
A hundred-meter-long sword slash cut through the air, directly cleaving their pirate ship in two. A dozen figures all plunged into the sea.
Onigumo slowly sheathed his sword. "Eyesores." He didn't notice that among them, one figure looked extremely peculiar.