When Saint Charlos heard the CP agent tell him to flee, his face purpled with rage.
"Insolent dog! I am a god! Why aren't these ants kneeling? They all deserve to die!" he shrieked. "I order you to kill them all! NOW!"
The white-suited man's expression darkened, but he suppressed his own anger.
Instead, he shot a subtle glance at his companion.
The other agent understood immediately.
Both pulled out Emergency Den Den Mushi and sent a distress signal to all nearby Marines, who would be forced to abandon their current tasks and rush to their aid.
In the brief moment that took, a sharp scream tore through the air.
Before anyone could react, Ron was already standing over the Celestial Dragon, his foot pinning the man's head to the ground.
He ruthlessly ground Charlos's face into the dirt.
"You damned celestial pig!" Ron snarled, his voice thick with loathing. "I've hated your kind since the first time I saw one! Preying on the weak and calling yourselves gods!" He punctuated the sentence with a vicious stomp.
"Today, I'm going to beat you to death!"
Ron began kicking the man's head over and over, each strike fueled by pure fury.
The CP agents and everyone else were frozen, stunned into silence by the sudden, brutal assault.
Crack!
The glass helmet the Celestial Dragon used to breathe filtered air shattered under Ron's boot.
"AHHH!! AHHH!!!" Charlos's muffled screams turned into shrieks of terror.
"H-Help... HELP ME!!"
Hearing the man could still scream, Ron kicked harder.
"Die, you damn pig!"
After more than a dozen brutal kicks, the CP agents finally snapped out of their stupor.
"STOP!!!" With a collective roar, they lunged towards Ron.
"Oh? Trying to kill our vice-captain?" a voice boomed. "You'll have to get through me first!"
In a flash, Jozu appeared, blocking their path.
His eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
He clenched his right fist, and a shimmering aura of seismic energy—the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—enveloped it.
Then, he threw a devastating punch.
"Tremor!"
With a low, thunderous shout, an overwhelming shockwave erupted from his fist.
The force not only shattered the air but carried an unstoppable pressure, crashing directly into the lead CP agent.
"WHAT?!"
The agent never expected such an attack.
Caught completely off guard, the tremor slammed into his chest and sent him flying like a ragdoll.
He tumbled through the air before barely managing to land on his feet, his face was full of disbelief.
Wasn't that Diamond Jozu? he thought, his mind reeling.
The one famous for his impenetrable defense? How was I sent flying by one punch? And that feeling... the air itself splitting... wasn't that Whitebeard's power?!
Jozu stood his ground, flexing his wrist and staring down the agent with a hint of disdain.
"Surprised?"
The agent struggled to his feet, only to realize in horror that all his companions had been intercepted by other members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
He had no backup.
Meanwhile, the young man named Ron was still mercilessly beating Saint Charlos, who was now barely conscious.
If they didn't intervene, the Celestial Dragon would die, and their entire unit would be executed for their failure.
"Damn it! What was that power?!" he yelled at Jozu.
"Oh? You mean this?" Jozu clenched his fist again, and the shimmering quake-field reappeared.
"Yes, that! How do you have Whitebeard's power?!" The man's fears were confirmed—it was undoubtedly the ability of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Hahaha, we owe that to our vice-captain, Ron!" Jozu said, admiring the power crackling around his hand.
"Let's just say our crew has some... new advantages. You wouldn't understand."
The agent grit his teeth in frustration.
"Enough wasting time," Jozu said, his gaze sharpening. "That was a warning. This one is for real."
He thrust his hand forward and seemed to grab the very air itself.
With a violent tug, space crackled and distorted around his fist.
He pulled his arm back as if drawing a massive bow, and the air fractured, creating a visible shockwave centered on his knuckles.
"DIE!" Jozu unleashed the strike.
The compressed force exploded outward.
The CP agent had no time to react before the invisible shockwave slammed into him.
His body was launched in a perfect arc, spraying a trail of blood as his suit was shredded to tatters.
He crashed through a dozen massive trees before finally slumping to the ground, his fate unknown.
"Jozu, you've gotten even better at using Pops' power," Ace remarked, walking over after finishing his own opponent.
"Hahaha, just getting the hang of it. I've probably only inherited about a third of Pops' strength," Jozu replied humbly.
Just then, a final, agonized gurgle came from Saint Charlos, who had finally passed out from Ron's relentless assault.
"That's it? He's done already?" Ron muttered, clearly annoyed. "I hadn't had nearly enough."
Marco chuckled. "He's too fragile, Ron. Might as well just kill him and be done with it."
"Hold on," Ron said, a grin spreading across his face. "Based on experience, where there's a celestial pig, an Admiral isn't far behind. Let's wait. We might get some unexpected gains."
Previously, the prospect of fighting an Admiral would have made them wary.
But now, they'd welcome the fight for a chance to collect a new blood samples.
"Speaking of waiting," Jozu said, his expression turning serious as he looked at Ron.
"Ron you didnt lie to us right? you said Teach would come to Jaya, but we've been there for two months without a single sign of the man."