"Whew! Those youngsters certainly have some backbone. I didn't think they'd be able to hold off those two for this long."
Lucian whistled in genuine admiration as he watched the enemy struggle against Aps and Lelampago. It was his personal code to respect the strong, regardless of whose side they were on. Of course, respect didn't mean mercy; he had been ordered to annihilate them, and he intended to do so with absolute professional sincerity.
He picked up a Transponder Snail to contact the left-wing fleet, where the smoke was thickest.
"Flagship to Left Wing. Report status."
"This is the Mad Pirate Crew, leading the left! We've already lost ten ships to invisible strikes! We're maintaining the offensive, but we can't see what's hitting us!"
"Understood," Lucian replied. "Are you being hit by standard shells?"
"No, sir! We could intercept normal cannonballs... it's like the very air is exploding!"
I thought so, Lucian mused. A pirate who couldn't handle a standard cannonball wouldn't last a day in the New World. There had to be a trick—likely a Devil Fruit ability. He switched channels to the right wing, which was currently trying to box the enemy in.
"Flagship to Right Wing. Report."
"This is the Bulk Pirates! We're being hammered by massive whirlpools! Several ships have been pulled into the depths! We've formed a blockade, but the enemy is holding their course!"
"Copy that. Maintain the wall and keep firing from your broadsides. They have multiple ability users. Report any visual on their source."
"Roger!"
Lucian hung up and surveyed the chaos. Despite the term "Armada," the reality was that they were a collection of pirates, not a disciplined military. His job was to provide the strategic glue that kept them from devolving into a disorganized rabble. In truth, Lucian was too talented for a life of piracy, but the sea had claimed him nonetheless.
"Their flagship is loaded with ability users and a master navigator," he whispered, rubbing his chin. "Standard cannon fire is only going to slow them down."
He had been briefed that this was an elite, small-scale crew. The bulk of their power seemed concentrated on the Sombrero, while the two escort ships were stuck in a defensive loop.
That's the opening, Lucian realized.
"All ships in the Left Wing, listen up. Shift your aim from the flagship to the vessel in the center of their formation. On my signal, unleash everything you have."
The New World had plenty of strong captains, but individual strength had its limits. In a true war, numbers were an absolute force. The Sombrero was a fortress, but if he dismantled the support around it, the fortress would eventually crumble.
"Left Wing... FIRE!!"
***
"It looks like he's finally getting serious," Aps said, gracefully dodging a localized avalanche of seawater.
He moved through the air with effortless agility, using his chains to swing from the masts of subordinate pirate ships. In any other sea, an avalanche on open water would be impossible, but the Mobejumul Sea laughed at common sense.
Dragon and Junxi kicked off the air in pursuit, parrying the chains that lashed out from Aps's blind spots. The Green-Haired Commander's Haki and tactical awareness were leagues above the opponents they were used to. He was a Grand Commander of the Golden Lion for a reason.
"You boys are tough, I'll give you that," Aps laughed, his eyes mocking them. "But how long can you hold? Do you enjoy watching your friends sink one by one?"
"Our job is to pin you down," Dragon grunted, refocusing his Haki. "The rest of the crew can handle themselves."
"Leaving you free to roam this ship is a death sentence we won't accept," Junxi added, his spear a blur of silver.
"Hoh... I thought you were just muscle-bound idiots, but you actually have some sense."
Aps's smile turned razor-sharp. Blackened, Haki-infused chains surged toward Junxi. Junxi swatted them aside, ignoring the fact that the chains were tearing through the decks of Shiki's own subordinate ships to reach him.
Dragon lunged from the side, aiming a Haki-clad punch at Aps's head. Aps sensed it with his Observation Haki and blocked with a cross-guard of chains. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, and for a moment, Dragon was pushed back by the weight of the commander's defense.
Junxi moved to cover him, his Six-Point Spear dancing through Aps's guard.
"Too slow!" Aps chirped.
A chain snaked around Junxi's ankle, hoisted him into the air, and hurled him toward the churning sea. As Aps moved to finish him, Dragon intercepted, grabbing several chains with his bare hands and physically yanking the commander toward the deck.
"Don't look down on us!!" Dragon roared.
Aps looked genuinely surprised as he was slammed into the wood. He rebounded instantly, manifesting a forest of chains from his back. Dragon felt the pressure rising. He was fighting a man who could trade blows with legends, while his own captain was fighting Shiki himself.
I can't let her down, Dragon thought. We are the shield that protects her home.
"Focus, Junxi!" Dragon called out as the spearman vaulted back onto the deck, dripping wet but unharmed. "He's changing gears!"
"焦るな (Don't rush)," Dragon whispered to himself. "Read his intent. Feel the flow."
A wall of chains surged toward him like a tidal wave. Dragon twisted his body at an impossible angle, his movements fluid and precise.
"What?" Aps blinked.
Dragon had slipped through. The attack was broad and relied on numbers, but Dragon had navigated the gaps with pinpoint accuracy.
Aps snarled, contracting the chains to ensnare the "Revolutionary," but before the trap could close, Junxi slammed a Haki-hardened fist into Aps's jaw. The impact sent the commander crashing through the cabin wall.
Aps stood up seconds later, wiping a thin trail of blood from his lip. "That... actually hurt."
He looked at the two with genuine annoyance. "You're a real nuisance. We're busy men, you know. We don't have time to play with the help."
"Then try and kill us," Junxi challenged. "But don't expect us to make it easy."
"You still think you can win?" Aps asked. The ship itself began to groan as his Haki flared. Then, something shifted. The wood beneath Dragon and Junxi's feet began to ripple. Chains didn't just come from Aps anymore—they erupted from the very floor of the ship, lashing out like iron vipers.
"Die. Your existence is officially irritating."
"Junxi, stay sharp!" Dragon warned. "This is a whole different level of power!"
"Hahaha! If he's as dangerous as an Admiral, then he's just the challenge I need!" Junxi laughed, his fighting spirit reaching its peak.
***
"Raaaaagh!!"
A massive white beast slammed into the deck of the Sombrero, a pair of halberds cutting through the air with the force of thunderclaps. Every swing was a lethal promise, yet Zen moved like a shadow, his spear parrying the blades just inches from his throat.
"Hah! A Mythical Zoan!" Zen grunted, his arms vibrating from the sheer kinetic force of the trades. "You certainly have the strength to match the stories!"
Lelampago didn't answer with words, only with a savage growl. His raw physical power was staggering, and with the elemental boost of his lightning, every trade was a gamble.
"His back is wide open!" Samuel shouted, lunging forward in his hybrid form. His claws raked across Lelampago's spine, but to his horror, they only left faint white marks. The beast's hide was reinforced by both Haki and layers of dense muscle.
"Damn it! It's like hitting a mountain!"
"Get down!" Zen warned.
Lelampago spun, his halberd whistling over Samuel's head. If he had been a fraction of a second slower, his head would have been in the rigging.
Feiyun stepped in, her Haki-clad fist descending like a falling star. "Out of the way!"
CRASH!
Her punch met Lelampago's halberds. The impact cracked the deck beneath them. Realizing she couldn't win a pure test of strength against a concentrated Mythical Zoan while she was holding back her size, Feiyun transitioned. She grew instantly, her massive hand wrapping around the commander's torso. Before he could react, she physically hurled him off the ship and into the sky.
"Zen, go!" Feiyun shouted. "I'll hold the deck!"
"On it!"
Zen used Sky Walk to pursue the falling commander. He looked up and saw Gloriosa perched on the mainmast, her bow drawn to the limit. She was sniping the incoming cannonballs from the fleet, her Haki-infused arrows detonating the shells before they could reach the hull.
"The Captain's drills saved us," Gloriosa murmured. "Without Sky Walk and Haki, we'd be at the bottom of the sea."
The battle was reaching a fever pitch. In the distance, Kanata and Shiki were locked in a duel that felt like the end of the world.
***
The sea was flowing backward toward the sky. Massive hailstones the size of human heads rained down, and slashes of Haki split the clouds.
"You're a persistent brat, I'll give you that!" Shiki roared.
"We're fighting on your home turf, Shiki. Don't complain about the difficulty," Kanata replied, her voice cold and steady.
Shiki unleashed a Lion's Thousand Sunder, a storm of golden slashes that threatened to turn anything in its path into mincemeat. Kanata didn't retreat. She met the assault head-on, her spear moving with surgical precision to deflect every single blade.
"Lukewarm. You'll need more than that to kill me."
She coated her spear in Haki and swung it downward, aiming to drive the Golden Lion into the depths. Shiki met the strike with his own Haki-clad blades. The weapons didn't even touch; the invisible pressure between them blew a hole in the clouds and sent Shiki spiraling toward the sea's surface.
"Lion's Majesty: Earth Bind!!"
The ocean rose up, shaping itself into a colossal lion's head that sought to swallow Kanata whole. She didn't flinch. With a single, powerful thrust, she shattered the water-beast and landed softly on the surface of the frozen waves she had created.
"Hmph. You've grown," Shiki admitted, lighting a fresh cigar despite the wind. "At Water Seven, I had you bleeding in minutes. Now... I haven't even touched you."
Kanata stood without a single mark on her. Her growth was terrifying—even Shiki had to acknowledge that she possessed the same "unlimited" potential her mother had.
"I should have killed you back then," Shiki spat. "But no matter. You're the daughter of a legend, but your crew isn't."
He pointed toward the horizon. One of Kanata's subordinate ships was currently engulfed in flames, the victim of Lucian's coordinated volley.
"Lucian knows how to command a fleet," Shiki grinned. "Your men are strong, but they can't beat an armada. This is the power of numbers. This is why I am the Great Admiral."
"You think sinking one ship is the end?" Kanata asked.
"I think it's the beginning of the end. Octavia wouldn't have blinked if her entire crew died; she would have just killed me and found new ones. But you... you care about them. And that makes you weak."
Kanata's eyes narrowed. The temperature around her began to plummet. A deep, bone-chilling frost began to spread across the sea, turning the waves into a jagged graveyard of ice.
"I see your game, Shiki," Kanata said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "And I've decided: you die here."
"JIHAHAHA! Show me that anger! Let's see what the 'Echo' can really do!"
The two collided again, their slashes illuminating the dark storm clouds. Shiki laughed as he watched another of Kanata's ships take a direct hit.
"See? Another one. How does it feel to watch your dream sink?"
"SHUT UP!!"
Kanata's rage peaked. The blizzard she had summoned turned into a localized hurricane. But amidst her fury, a series of explosions rocked the Golden Lion's fleet.
They weren't coming from Kanata's ships.
"WAHAHAHAHA!! WE MEET AGAIN, GOLDEN LION!!"
A new ship emerged from the mist. It was smaller than the Sombrero, but it radiated an aura of pure, unadulterated power. Its figurehead featured two mermaids, and a flag familiar to every soul in the New World fluttered in the gale.
The Oro Jackson.
Shiki's face went pale, then twisted into a mask of pure rage. "ROGER!! What the hell are you doing here?!"
The man standing at the prow, Gol D. Roger, laughed with the joy of a man who loved the chaos.
"What am I doing?! Isn't it obvious? I'm here to help my friend!!"
The Roger Pirates had entered the fray. The Naval Battle of Mobejumul had just become a three-way war.
***
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