Things were not unfolding the way Cloud had imagined Ares did not suffocate inside his Cloud Domain. Instead, he'd turned into a colossal Mythical Zoan beast, leaning into sheer speed and power, his flesh as hard as forged steel, and punched straight through what Cloud had believed to be an impenetrable prison.
Saint Khristin's sharp question still hung in the air when Cloud's face darkened. Only moments ago he had sworn that Ares wouldn't last long under his assault.
And in the blink of an eye, Ares slapped that confidence aside.
Cloud ground his teeth. The proud lift of his chin faltered. He forced the words out, reluctant but honest. "Saint Khristin… Bloodhand Ares isn't someone I can defeat in a short time."
"To bring him down will take a hard fight and time. A lot of it…"
It was a truth he couldn't dodge. One technique after another had been broken; everything left was just a variation on what Ares had already seen. Beating him quickly? Unlikely.
Freed from the Cloud Domain, Ares gulped down air, steadied himself for a breath and lunged.
"Dragonflame!"
A column of fire speared toward Cloud, staining the sky a fiery red. The surrounding clouds caught the glow and bloomed into a sea of burning sunset magnificent and terrifying all at once.
"Triple Drifting Cloud Net!"
Cloud slashed a hand through the air. Ranks of taut cloud-cables wove together before him, stacking into layered shields that met the dragon's breath head-on.
The battle raged on.
Cloud's admission had turned Saint Khristin's face thunder-black. His left hand tightened on the hilt at his waist Shodai Kitetsu, one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords.
Then bloop… bloop… a Den Den Mushi chimed. Even Khristin twitched at the sound; tension made every nerve raw. He slipped a hand inside his white kimono and drew the receiver.
"Moshi moshi. Saint Khristin speaking."
A clipped voice answered, "Reporting, Saint Khristin: the Rocks Pirates' officers the Golden-Arm Swordsman Wang Zhi and Silver Axe have entered the Sward Sea. Awaiting your orders."
Orders?
Khristin glanced up at the duel tearing the heavens, thoughts racing. He took a long, silent few minutes.
On the other end, the commander's voice came again, uncertain. "Saint Khristin? Can you still hear Saint Khristin?"
"Cancel everything," Khristin said at last, decisive as a blade. "Abort the operation. All units stand down."
There was a stunned silence so complete that even the Den Den Mushi's mimicry looked blank. Khristin snapped the shell shut. If Wang Zhi and Silver Axe were already in these waters, the spectacle overhead would draw them like sharks to blood.
He raised his voice to the sky. "Cloud! Abandon the ship. We withdraw!"
The order snagged Cloud mid-movement; he hesitated and nearly took a slash to his true body for it, escaping only by dissolving back into the overcast.
He looked down to the deck, to Saint Khristin. The other man's eyes made it clear: the command stood.
Cloud gestured, and a white cloud peeled off the ceiling and drifted to the deck. Khristin hopped lightly onto it and rose, borne up like a sage riding the wind. He joined Cloud aloft.
They turned to go, Cloud unable to hold his tongue. "Saint Khristin, why retreat? He attacked a World Government ship. By precedent, we should execute him and broadcast it to the world."
That was how the Government kept its aura intact by turning offenders into headlines and warnings.
Khristin's reply was level. "Our original plan was to use the lure of the Heavenly Tribute to ambush the Rocks cadres. No one anticipated stumbling into Bloodhand Ares after a year missing."
"And he's not the boy from last year's intel. He now stands on par with a Marine Admiral."
"I've also just been informed that the Rocks officers have entered this sea. I'm calling the operation off."
He did not add the real reason, the seed of a larger plan one that might bring the Rocks Pirates to ruin. For that, he needed time…and the approval of the Five Elders.
"Full speed to the Holy Land, Mariejois," Khristin said, a glint of excitement flickering deep in his eyes. If this works, Rocks is finished or at least grievously maimed.
Back on the Government ship
Ares made no move to pursue. That bald swordsman who'd held back radiated danger; if both had committed, the fight could have gone very differently.
Shedding his dragon form, Tengetsu Ares dropped onto the battered deck.
Kaido thundered up, relief written all over his face. "Good thing they bailed. Otherwise, today could've gone ugly. I think that Saint Khristin took a call bet that's what changed it."
"Yeah," Ares admitted, a little rueful. "I wanted to keep trading with that CP0 director, but against two at once? I'm not there yet. Once we're back on Hachinosu, I need to pick Newgate's and Shiki's brains about Kenbunshoku my Observation needs work."
Elemental bodies that could melt into an endless sky of cloud pinning down the true body was a nightmare.
He glanced around at the wreckage. "Any survivors? We need a heading if we're getting back to Hachinosu."
Kaido scratched his head, sheepish. "Uh… I kinda took care of everyone. Including that Tenryuubito…"
"How about I check below for charts or something?"
Ares nodded.
Kaido barreled into the cabins, ripping doors off their hinges when his bulk didn't fit.
Out on the water, a pirate ship cut hard toward the Government vessel, closing fast.
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