"Whoa—"
The moment he tumbled to the ground, Denjiro couldn't suppress the urge to vomit a mouthful of blood.
Before he could even catch his breath, the overwhelming pressure of absolute justice bore down on him, causing his pupils to involuntarily constrict.
As he looked up, a shadow of death seemed to loom over him, freezing his body in place.
Sakazuki resembled a volcano spewing molten lava.
The chilling glint in his eyes beneath the brim of his cap was suffocating, making even Denjiro feel utterly devoid of the will to fight.
His hand which tightly gripping the hilt of his sword trembled uncontrollably.
Of course, it wasn't fear of death that shook him—it was the searing pain radiating from the split in his palm after blocking Sakazuki magma fist, the agony spreading through his body and assaulting his nerves.
"You can die now!"
Without hesitation, Sakazuki raised his magma-coated fist once more and brought it down mercilessly toward Denjiro's head.
Just as Denjiro was about to meet his end under Sakazuki's fist, Kozuki Hiyori who had been sent flying by the shockwave of their clash shouted.
"Admiral Sakazuki, spare—"
"BOOM—"
Before she could finish, an ear-splitting explosion erupted.
In an Instant, a terrifying shockwave surged outward, sending the barely risen Hiyori tumbling again.
The surrounding marines were caught off guard, some flung backward, others stumbling away.
In the blink of an eye, only a few officers remained standing at the entrance of the temporary Marine base.
Yet even they seemed to be under pressure, sweat pouring from their brows as they staggered back a few steps before freezing in place.
Meanwhile, in the admiral's office of the temporary base, Mihawk and Jinbei had risen the moment Denjiro crashed through the window.
When they saw the black-and-red lighting roaring outside, their expressions shifted in surprise and they spoke in unison.
"Conqueror's Haki!"
"Bzzzt—"
As their voices faded, the air vibrated with a low-frequency hum, the space itself rippling under the influence of the Haki.
The suffocating pressure of the Conqueror's Haki left no one standing at the base's entrance.
A hundred meters away, Denjiro lay on the ground, one hand propping himself up while the other clutched his sword's hilt, his face a mask of horror as he watched the relentless shockwaves erupting before him.
To his left and right stood Sakazuki and a towering figure who had intercepted the magma punch with a massive spiked club.
The Conqueror's Haki crackling around the club sent waves through the air with faint thunder and lightning.
Following the club upward, a woman wearing a demonic mask stood imposingly opposite Sakazuki.
It was none other than Yamato, who had rushed from Onigashima straight to the Flower Capital.
"MARINES!"
Having arrived just in time to save Denjiro, Yamato fixed Sakazuki with a blazing gaze and said solemnly.
"Do you intend to control Wano Country like Kurozumi Orochi did?"
Before the words had fully left her mouth, Yamato took a forceful step forward.
An even more overwhelming Conqueror's Haki erupted from her as she raised her voice and spoke with confidence.
"From this moment onward, I will protect Wano Country!"
****
At the entrance to Wano Country, beneath the natural ocean waterfall, over a dozen Marine warships were lined up in perfect formation across the sea's surface.
On each ship's deck stood several Marine soldiers.
Assigned to guard the ships instead of participating in the Wano operation, the soldiers on every vessel carried a hint of resentment.
"Missing out on military merits yet again!" sighed a soldier under 1.8 meters tall among a group of five gathered on one deck, looking up at the waterfall opposite them.
"If I could join this mission, I'd definitely earn at least one commander-slaying achievement!"
"Stop bragging," another retorted. "Most of the Beast Pirates' officers were wiped out in the battles. There aren't even enough officers left in Wano to count on one hand. Even the Vice Admirals won't get their share—what makes you think you would?"
"But the Vice Admirals don't need such military merits!"
"Wait... is that another warship approaching? Reinforcements?"
Hearing this, the five soldiers all turned to look.
Before they could react, soldiers on other ships suddenly rushed to the edges of their decks, standing at attention and saluting in unison toward the same direction.
"What's going on?"
"Holy—it's the Fleet Admiral!"
After a brief moment of shock, the five soldiers' eyes widened as they recognized the imposing figure on the approaching ship's deck.
They immediately rushed to join their comrades in saluting, shouting in unison.
"Fleet Admiral!"
Standing on the approaching warship's deck was none other than Fleet Admiral Orion in his signature coat, accompanied by Admiral Gion.
"Attention all personnel!"
"Salute to the Marine's Greatest Leader, Fleet Admiral Orion!"
As Orion's ship drew near, an officer from one vessel stepped forward.
At his command, every Marine guarding the ships snapped to attention, their voices filled with fervor as they shouted.
"LOYALTY!"
Orion returned the salute with a smile. "Do I detect a hint of resentment in your voices? Feeling left out because you're stuck guarding the ships instead of joining the fight?"
The officer who had initiated the salute immediately straightened up and answered loudly.
"Reporting to the Fleet Admiral—yes, sir!"
Gion's eyes widened slightly at the officer's unexpectedly honest response.
Orion's smile remained unchanged as he nodded approvingly.
"A soldier who dares to speak his mind—that's a good Marine!"
"Since you're all so eager to reach Wano, leave one guard per ship and have the rest come aboard!"
"I'll personally fly you across this natural barrier!"
At these words, the nearest Marines broke into excited grins.
Within moments, all but one guard from each ship had gathered behind Orion, while those slightly too slow to join could only watch enviously from their decks as their comrades departed.
Even without the prospect of military merits, simply being by the Fleet Admiral side was an honor in itself.
However, their slow speed left them standing there, consumed by envy and jealousy.
"Fleet Admiral, how do we get up there?"
After the remaining soldiers gathered on the deck, Gion immediately looked up at the towering waterfall of seawater cascading before them.
"To cross this natural barrier, we'll have to abandon our warship!"
"No need!"
Orion smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
Then he step forward as he crouched down and pressed his palm against the deck, saying each word clearly.
"Armament!"
Bzzzt—
An overwhelming and domineering surge of Armament Haki instantly spread out, enveloping the entire warship in the blink of an eye.
The next second—
BOOM!!!!!
With an earth-shattering explosion, the warship that now fully encased in Armament Haki was propelled upward by a terrifying force, soaring straight toward the top of the waterfall.
The Marines on the deck watched in stunned disbelief as their warship suddenly ascended into the sky while the waterfall rushed downward at breakneck speed.
Their eyes widened and cries of astonishment escaped their lips.
"The warship—"
"It's flying!?"
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