Chapter 16: Time to Retreat
"Clang!" Sparks flew as Rossy's sword struck Sakazuki's arm. At the same moment, Sakazuki's body was enveloped in Armament Haki, and when the blade of Rossy's sword collided with the Haki, sparks erupted.
"Bang!" Despite Sakazuki's Armament Haki protecting him, the immense force transmitted from Rossy's blade still pushed him backward, forcing him to slide away in surprise.
[Again, it's silent and invisible. Even Observation Haki couldn't detect it! If it wasn't for the instinctual danger sensed by the Armament Haki, this sword would have likely struck me.] After stabilizing himself, Sakazuki silently marveled.
Thinking this, Sakazuki grew more cautious of Rossy and fully activated his Armament Haki in his hole body.
After sending Sakazuki sliding back with a single blow, Rossy did not relax. On the contrary, he became even more focused.
But Sakazuki wasn't about to give Rossy time to think. With a flash of movement, he appeared in front of Rossy, his arm transforming into molten lava, striking toward Rossy. Rossy too wrapped his sword in Armament Haki, engaging in battle.
Just moments into the fight, Rossy realized the huge gap between his strength and Sakazuki's.
Sakazuki wasn't like Borsalino. Whether it was his Devil Fruit abilities, physical combat, or Haki, there were no significant weaknesses. Rossy had used his Devil Fruit's abilities to render himself undetectable to Sakazuki's Observation Haki. However, Sakazuki, relying on his rich experience and battle instincts, managed to avoid Rossy's silent attacks time and time again while retaliating.
"Bang!" Sakazuki's fist collided with Rossy's sword, and the powerful force sent Rossy sliding back involuntarily.
"Can you still move? It's time to retreat!" The spot where Rossy slid to happened to be next to Jack, and he looked at his broken sword.
From Jack perspective, Rossy's strength wasn't inferior to Sakazuki's. Even if Rossy couldn't defeat him, he wasn't far behind. There was no need to rush a retreat.
Moreover, Rossy had already ordered the Mammoth Fleet to retreat. How could they retreat now? Rossy had the ability to fly, but he didn't.
"Silence, Gravity Silence!" At that moment, Rossy suddenly grabbed Jack by the shoulder, swung him, and sent him flying toward the distance.
"Flaming River, Great Fire!" Just as Jack was flung away, Sakazuki's flaming magma fist shot toward them, dissolving everything it touched.
"Silent, heat Silence; Silent, Attack Silence!" Rossy extended a hand to block the molten giant fist.
"Collapse Fist—Critical Strike." Rossy's follow-up punch was unleashed with terrifying power.
The collision of Sakazuki's volcanic eruption-like flame and Rossy's fist caused a series of explosions, violently shaking the entire warship.
"Has he escaped?" When Sakazuki withdrew his great flame, the molten lava disappeared, revealing the place where Rossy had been standing, now reduced to ash. Rossy was nowhere to be seen, but Sakazuki didn't believe Rossy was so easily defeated.
"Immediately pursue the pirate ship!" Sakazuki ordered with a frown.
"Vice Admiral, this ship is heavily damaged and no longer able to sail!" a Navy officer reported.
Upon hearing this, Sakazuki's expression changed, and he immediately launched himself forward with great speed. Just as he was about to land, he stomped on the air with a loud explosion.
"Moonwalk!" Sakazuki used the Moonwalk technique, speeding rapidly toward the front.
"Vice Admiral!" The Navy soldiers watched in shock as Sakazuki soared through the air using his Moonwalk technique.
Jack, having been flung by Rossy, shot off at high speed toward the distance. With the gravity silenced on him, there was no force pulling him down, and Rossy's throw continued to propel him forward. It took a while before Jack finally came to a stop.
When he stopped, Jack was surprised to find himself floating in the air.
Without gravity, Jack could move with ease by gently pushing off the air's resistance. His physical prowess wasn't bad, and he quickly mastered the art of moving through the air, sprinting through it.
"Boom!" Suddenly, a sound like the air being shattered came from afar. Jack turned around and saw a figure coming toward him at incredible speed.
In no time, the figure had arrived in front of him.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself. Let's go, we need to hurry. Akainu is catching up," the figure said. It was Rossy, who grabbed Jack by the collar and, using his Moonwalk-like technique, shot them both forward like rockets.
Unlike Jack, who had just learned how to move in zero gravity, Rossy was using a method inspired by the Marine Six Styles' Moonwalk to move quickly. The principle was similar to the Shave technique but far more difficult. Rossy hadn't formally trained in the Marine Six Styles, but he knew the theory. In a gravity-less state, he could perform the Moonwalk without much trouble, a technique that would take years of training to master.
Thanks to this air-walking ability, Rossy's speed was nearly as fast as flying, if not faster.
At his speed, Rossy quickly caught up with the Mammoth Fleet, which was still under pursuit by the Navy. The two sides were in combat, or rather, the Navy was relentlessly pursuing, while the Mammoth Fleet kept fleeing.
Due to the delay caused by the noble fleet, the Mammoth Fleet was quickly overtaken by the Navy. However, the Navy didn't engage directly; instead, they continued to bombard the Mammoth Fleet from behind. Given the Navy's small numbers, a direct engagement would be costly, even if they won.
"Silence, Eliminate Gravity!" Rossy immediately eliminated the gravity silence from Jack, and as he did so, he threw Jack toward a Navy warship.
"Boom!" Jack's massive form slammed into a Navy warship, creating a huge hole in the ship.
"Dammit!" Jack crawled out of the hole and angrily shouted at Rossy, who was floating in the air.
"Jack!" The Navy soldiers exclaimed as they saw Jack emerging from the hole.
"How is this possible? Wasn't he fighting with Sakazuki?"
"It's Rosenante! How is he here?"
"Did Sakazuki lose?" The Navy soldiers were astounded.
"Destroy their ships, Akainu is coming fast," Rossy commanded, then turned and charged toward another Navy warship.
"Stop him! We can't let him destroy the warships!" a Navy Rear Admiral shouted.
At this, Rossy unsheathed his long sword, and his sword aura silently slashed out. The Navy soldiers didn't even notice the sword strikes before their sails were severed. Rossy continued to swing his sword, wreaking havoc on the Navy warships. In just a short while, the huge warship was left in ruins.
On the other side, Jack went even further, transforming into the Mammoth, and started smashing the Navy warship with wild abandon. The Navy couldn't stop him, and soon the ship was on the brink of sinking.
"Such violence. If I weren't here, this warship would have sunk, and as a Devil Fruit user, you'd be finished," Rossy flew over, grabbing the transformed Mammoth and, using his Gravity Silence ability, lifted it into the air.
In truth, Rossy envied Jack's destructive power. While his own abilities were impressive, his attack and destructive force were still inferior to Jack's.
Rossy's strength had mainly come from his Devil Fruit abilities, which were highly developed. However, while the Silent Fruit was powerful, it lacked the sheer offensive power that Jack's abilities brought to the table.