The lightning faded, smoke billowed through the air, and beneath the ruins of the skull-shaped structure, deep underground in the dungeon, a circular golden barrier lay crushed under heaps of rubble.
Beneath the golden shield, Tesoro was half-crouched on the ground, one hand bracing against the floor, the other supporting the gold itself. Protected beneath him was T. Bone, who had been imprisoned here.
"Ortoren-sama really is punctual," Tesoro said with lingering tension. "Ten minutes exactly. Not a second more, not a second less…"
Long before the Marines surrounded Hachinosu, Tesoro had already slipped onto the island.
He had spent most of his time doing internal work at G-5 and rarely showed his face, so after landing on the island, no one noticed his identity.
According to the plan, Ortoren's broadcast would mark the beginning, and ten minutes later, the Bull of Heaven would wipe out the entire island.
Tesoro's task was to use that broadcast to draw Ochoku's attention, then quickly locate Bone and get him out.
Without a Vivre Card, this would have been difficult, but with one, it became much simpler.
Judging by the result, Tesoro made it just in time.
...
On the other side, the small two-story building near the docks wasn't at the center of the island, so it suffered relatively less damage, though most of it had still collapsed. Shanks and the others were now hiding within the ruins.
"That was vicious," Yasopp muttered as he glanced outside. "Ochoku and Silver Axe didn't get taken out just like that, did they?"
The once-bustling Hachinosu had been reduced to endless rubble.
"Probably not," Beckman said as he lit another cigarette. "That move looks terrifying, but it's not unstoppable. If those two went down that easily, it'd be a bad joke."
At that moment, with a sharp swish, a figure appeared atop a shattered stone pillar, as if he had teleported there instantly.
It was Ochoku.
And judging by his condition, he could be called completely unharmed. Though it looked like he had been swallowed by the Bull of Heaven earlier, at the very last instant, Ochoku had vanished through teleportation, narrowly avoiding the devastating blow.
That's right. The great pirate Ochoku also possessed a Paramecia-type ability, and a powerful one at that: the Teleportation Fruit.
Unscathed, Ochoku glanced toward the nearby ruins and spoke coldly.
"Hey, you dead yet, idiot?"
Not far away, within the rubble, a battle axe was half-buried among broken stones, with two thick legs sticking out, as if a burly man had been buried underneath.
As Ochoku's words fell, the rubble suddenly exploded outward. Covered in dust and grime, Silver Axe dragged himself free, gripping his battle axe and cursing furiously.
"Damn Marine bastards! No sense of honor at all!"
Compared to Ochoku, Silver Axe looked far worse. He was filthy, scorched in places, with burn marks across his body. Still, these were only superficial injuries. When the Bull of Heaven detonated, this top-tier pirate had protected himself with powerful Haki.
After standing up, Silver Axe scanned his surroundings. Seeing Hachinosu reduced to this hellish state, his eyes burned with fury.
"I'm going to kill that bastard!!!"
Ochoku had no intention of running either. After all, if Ortoren could come knocking, blow apart most of his base in one move, and he didn't even dare say a word before fleeing, he'd have no face left on the seas.
Though he had always preached patience and restraint, the rage burning in Ochoku's chest could no longer be suppressed. At this point, he couldn't convince himself to endure any longer.
...
Aboard the warship, Issho received a Den Den Mushi call. After exchanging a few words, he hung up.
Turning to Ortoren, he said, "Tesoro has rescued Bone. We can proceed."
Gion smiled faintly. "Together?"
Issho rested a hand on his sword hilt and nodded. "I was just about to—"
Before he could finish, Ortoren raised a hand and cut them off.
"Hey, hold on. Now that the man's been rescued, there's nothing to hold back. It's rare I run into two opponents who actually look like they can fight. Let me have some fun first."
"You're going alone?" Issho looked at Ortoren in mild surprise. "It's not that I doubt your strength, but we're itching to fight too…"
"I'm an Admiral," Ortoren said bluntly. "Let me enjoy myself first."
The moment his words ended, lightning flashed beneath his feet, and his figure vanished from the warship's deck.
Issho sighed and looked at Gion. "What now?"
Gion, clearly indulgent toward Ortoren, shrugged. "What else can we do? The Admiral has spoken. We'll just wait until he's had his fill…"
Issho let out a long breath. "As a Marine, my position might be questionable here, but I honestly hope Ochoku and Silver Axe can hold on for a bit. Otherwise, I won't even get a chance to step in."
Crack.
Lightning snapped through the air, scattering arcs of electricity. In the next instant, Ortoren's figure appeared out of thin air, standing not far in front of Ochoku and Silver Axe.
Under the shadowed gazes of Ochoku and Silver Axe, Ortoren's lips curled into an arrogant grin.
"Still worried about saving face?"
"Bastard!" Silver Axe's eyes flared with rage. He had no intention of wasting words. Stamping his foot down, his massive body burst forward with speed completely at odds with his build, closing in on Ortoren in an instant. The battle axe in his hands tore through the air, a sonic boom ringing out as he swung straight at Ortoren.
Ortoren reacted just as fast. Before the blow could land, he ripped the warhammer from his back and smashed it head-on into the incoming axe.
Bang!
Warhammer and battle axe collided violently. The ground beneath both men instantly gave way under the overwhelming force. Before the shattered stone could even bounce up, the shockwave crushed the surrounding debris into fine dust.
The two locked weapons for a brief moment. Silver Axe's eyes burned with ferocity as the muscles and veins in his arms writhed and bulged, swelling visibly.
Then Ortoren felt it, a savage surge of power transmitted through his warhammer.
When it came to brute strength, Ortoren had always been proud. Across these seas, there were very few who could match him head-on.
But now, he had clearly run into one of them.
From this short clash alone, Ortoren could already tell that the power Silver Axe was unleashing was no weaker than that of his own cheap old mother, Charlotte Linlin.
Seeing that he hadn't crushed Ortoren's resistance in a single strike, Silver Axe looked momentarily surprised. The feeling passed quickly, replaced by sudden understanding.
"There's a rumor you're Linlin's son. Looks like it's true," he said. "Did you inherit her talent?"
Before Ortoren could answer, Silver Axe let out a cruel grin.
"But did Linlin ever tell you this? I'm even stronger than her inborn monster strength!"
His words had barely fallen when, just as he was about to erupt with power again and overwhelm Ortoren head-on, Ochoku's figure appeared beside them like a ghost. The long blade in his hand thrust straight toward Ortoren's chest.
"Idiot! Why are you talking so much? Kill him first!" Ochoku snapped.
Facing the blade aimed directly at his heart, Ortoren showed no intention of dodging. A feverish light flared in his eyes as his muscles expanded once more. In the same instant, Haki and lightning burst forth, completely enveloping his body.
Ochoku's blade stabbed viciously into Ortoren's chest. At the same time, Silver Axe's renewed strength poured out again, yet Ortoren held firm.
The blade first pierced through Ortoren's lightning armor, then struck his Haki, breaking part of it before touching his chest muscles. And then…
A few drops of blood slid down the edge of the blade. That was all.
Shock flickered in Ochoku's eyes as he stared at the tip of his sword. It had pierced barely a centimeter of flesh before stopping, unable to go any deeper.
"Ahahahahaha!" Ortoren burst out laughing wildly. "You think you can kill me with that?"
The moment his words ended, he released his grip on the warhammer. His figure flashed like lightning, shifting just half a step aside. Silver Axe's heavy, all-out swing failed to pull back in time, missing Ortoren and smashing brutally into the ground beside him.
In that fleeting moment of displacement, Ortoren was already right in front of Silver Axe. Though he was clearly shorter, his presence now completely overwhelmed him.
Dazzling lightning gathered at Ortoren's elbow.
"Heavy Flow Burst!!!"
With a furious roar, Ortoren drove his elbow forward, thunderous power erupting as it slammed into Silver Axe's abdomen. The massive body was blasted away like a cannonball, sent flying by the single strike.
As Silver Axe was hurled back, Ortoren's body pitched forward as if he were about to fall. In the next instant, his free hand slammed against the ground, and his tall frame fluidly shifted into a one-armed handstand.
Riding that momentum, he launched himself into the air and whipped out a lightning-laced kick toward Ochoku.
Ochoku was no slower. Before the kick could land, he vanished in a blink, leaving only empty air behind. Ortoren's strike missed, the unleashed force detonating in the air with a sharp boom.
In the next moment, Ortoren had already recovered his stance. His feet touched down, and he yanked the warhammer out of the ground, resting it casually on his shoulder.
"This isn't enough," he said lazily. "Try harder. Entertain me a little more. Otherwise…"
His voice paused, a vicious smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"I'll kill you both."