The moment Momonga finished speaking, the entire fleet moved in unison. It was obvious that although they were all Vice Admirals, Momonga's status was higher. He was the commander of this operation.
Signal jammers were activated at once, cutting off all communications in the area. The Marine fleet switched to internal channels as the warships began to maneuver slowly, tightening the encirclement and adjusting their cannon angles.
When the first warship closed to an appropriate distance, Yamakaji clenched a cigar between his teeth and gave the order without hesitation.
"Fire. Sink that pirate ship."
The next instant, deafening cannon fire erupted from the warships. Smoke filled the air as countless shells roared toward the so-called "pirate ship."
It really could only be called a so-called pirate ship. After all, the vessel Inuarashi and the others were on had been something they'd picked up at random on Spring Queen Island. It had no real firepower to speak of. The outdated cannons on board couldn't even return fire against Marine warships at this distance.
But a ship carrying pirates is a pirate ship, isn't it?
So shooting it was perfectly justified.
As the Marines launched their assault, Inuarashi's side reacted immediately. Those who needed to draw swords did so, those who needed to pull out guns did the same, striking down the incoming shells midair to protect the ship.
Momonosuke might have looked like a teenager now, but he had never seen anything like this. He panicked on the spot, clutching Shinobu and crying out in fear.
"What do we do? What do we do?"
He was completely at a loss.
Kinemon slashed through several shells with a flaming blade, then shouted in a low voice,
"Please do not panic, young master. We will protect you with our lives!"
"Raizo, find a way to steer us over there!" Kanjuro yelled. "We have to seize a Marine warship to escape. This ship won't hold!"
This vessel had neither firepower nor speed. There was no way it could stand up to Marine warships.
The only option was to get close, board one of their ships, and take it. Only with a warship's performance could they hope to break out.
"The Vice Admiral who was shouting earlier should be their fleet commander," Nekomamushi said. "Charge straight for him. Take him down and seize his ship. A commander's warship is usually better equipped."
With that decision made, the small ship pressed forward through the barrage, heading straight toward the warship where Momonga stood.
On the deck of that warship, Smoker stood beside Momonga.
"Vice Admiral Momonga, looks like they're treating us like pushovers."
Smoker belonged to G-5, but the pursuit of San Juan Wolf had been ordered by Ortoren, who required cooperation from Marine forces throughout the New World. Because of that, Momonga had temporarily requisitioned Smoker.
He hadn't expected to make use of him here so soon.
Momonga smiled faintly.
"Perfect. I've been wanting to see just how capable these pirates really are. Ones who've served on both Roger's and Whitebeard's ships."
As he spoke, Momonga's hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
That blade was a gift from Ortoren. A Meito from the Red-Haired Pirates, Shanks' own sword, Gryphon.
As the three-masted ship drew closer, a figure leapt up from its deck, wielding an enormous brush as a weapon, clearly aiming to board the warship.
But before Momonga's side could react, another figure jumped out from the Marine warship that had been bombarding the ship alongside it.
It was Yamakaji.
Yamakaji launched himself into the air, his target none other than Kanjuro, the man holding the giant brush.
Midair, Yamakaji took a deep breath. The cigar in his mouth burned away in an instant. Then he exhaled a thick plume of smoke that clung to his blade, producing a shower of ash.
That's right. After joining Ortoren's command and becoming part of the New World Marines, Yamakaji, following Momonga's example, had also chosen to become a Devil Fruit user.
As a major power in the New World, Ortoren naturally didn't have just a handful of Devil Fruits at his disposal. Strictly speaking, those few were his personal property, while within the Marine system itself, quite a number of formidable Devil Fruits had also been obtained in the New World.
The one Yamakaji had eaten was the Paramecia-type: Ashes Fruit.
"One-Sword Style: Burning Mountain Blaze!"
Yamakaji slashed downward in a single stroke. A massive surge of ash burst forth with the blade, completely shrouding the surrounding area. In the next instant, Kanjuro was cleaved out of the ash cloud, sent flying violently toward the sea below.
"Kanjuro!" Kinemon shouted, hurling a wooden plank with all his strength at the same time.
Although Kanjuro was a traitor, he and Kinemon had worked together for many years and shared perfect coordination. Kanjuro crushed the plank midair with a single kick, using the rebound to launch himself upward again, ink splashing wildly from the brush in his hand.
"Painted Sparrow!"
Kanjuro moved with incredible speed. With a single stroke, a skylark appeared in midair.
This was Kanjuro's ability. As a Paramecia-type Brush-Brush Fruit user, anything he drew could exist as vividly as a living creature.
The skylark immediately caught Kanjuro as he fell and took flight.
At the same time, Yamakaji stepped on the air with Geppo. His perpetually narrowed eyes snapped fully open, a sharp gleam flashing within them. Kicking off the air again, he rapidly closed in behind Kanjuro and swung his blade once more, ash-laden power surging with the strike.
The slash failed to hit Kanjuro, but it cut straight through the skylark's wing. Sparks burst out as the wing disintegrated like ash, scattering and vanishing in an instant.
Kanjuro reacted immediately, his brush moving again as several fierce aerial birds took shape and rushed toward Yamakaji.
...
On the other side, Inuarashi charged straight off the deck. With a long blade in hand, he split several incoming shells in midair, then surged forward. With a clean, powerful leap, he reached the space above the warship's deck.
His eyes locked firmly onto Momonga. Without hesitation, he descended from above, blade crashing down as he roared,
"Canine Fang Assault!"
Dense Armament Haki wrapped tightly around his blade, its pressure overwhelming, as if the strike were meant to split the entire warship in two.
Beside Momonga, Smoker's expression grew serious. He grabbed the jitte behind him, about to move, when Momonga placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on the hilt of Gryphon at his waist.
"Don't rush."
As his words fell, Gryphon slid free of its scabbard. The moment the blade emerged, equally powerful Armament Haki solidified around it. Without the slightest retreat, Momonga slashed straight upward to meet the attack.
The two slashes collided above the warship, erupting with terrifying force. In the instant their attacks clashed, Momonga vanished with Soru, reappearing at Inuarashi's side.
Momonga brought his blade down. Inuarashi immediately raised his sword horizontally to block the sudden strike. But before he could shift his stance, Momonga lifted his leg and unleashed a kick, sending a slicing shockwave through the air.
There was no doubt about it. This was one of the Marines' standard techniques, part of the Six Powers.
Rankyaku.
Haki surged into Inuarashi's leg as well. Without backing down, he kicked straight into the Rankyaku, shattering the flying slash apart.
At the same time, the gemstone necklace hanging around Momonga's neck bounced up with his movement. He caught it cleanly between his teeth.
There was no question about it. The gemstone around Momonga's neck had already been processed and carried a Devil Fruit ability.
As a Baku Baku no Mi user, the moment Momonga bit into it, he instantly gained the power contained within the gem.
Paramecia-type: Sonic Fruit.
"Hah!"
Momonga shouted sharply as he swallowed it.
That single shout transformed instantly into a sonic explosion. Inuarashi, standing far too close, had no room to dodge. Worse still, he never imagined that Momonga's voice alone could carry such destructive power. The blast struck him head-on, sending him flying.
Momonga didn't slow down in the slightest. As Inuarashi was blown back through the air, Momonga stepped forward with Geppo, closing the distance. His blade flashed with cold light, Haki surging as he prepared to strike again.
"Useless big dog!"
Nekomamushi cursed furiously, suddenly appearing beside Momonga. His hands formed claws and crossed in an X-shape as multiple razor-sharp finger-pressure slashes burst toward Momonga.
A trace of disdain flickered through Momonga's eyes. He bit down on the ring on his right pinky. The ring itself had no special ability, but it was made of an extremely high-density alloy.
The moment Momonga swallowed the ring, his left arm transformed into the same alloy material. He raised it forward and blocked effortlessly. He didn't even need to release Haki as he deflected every one of Nekomamushi's attacks.
Seeing this, Nekomamushi was completely stunned.
No matter how Momonga had dodged or blocked, it wouldn't have surprised him. But this kind of transformation left him utterly shaken.
Wait a second. You were using a sonic-type ability just now. How did you suddenly turn your body into metal?
Does that make any sense?
Is that even scientific?
Before Nekomamushi could recover from the shock, Momonga took another bite, swallowing the ruby ring on his middle finger.
Then Momonga opened his mouth. A burst of flames mixed with a sonic shockwave erupted outward, instantly setting Nekomamushi's fur ablaze.
"What the hell?! He can breathe fire too!?" Nekomamushi screamed in pain, plunging straight down into the sea, where the flames were finally extinguished.
Standing in midair on Geppo, Momonga casually flicked his long sword, tracing a sharp arc before smoothly sheathing it. His expression was filled with contempt.
"Is that all you've got?"
On the deck, Smoker watched the entire scene unfold and murmured without realizing it,
"So cool… Vice Admiral Momonga."
The Baku Baku no Mi was truly terrifying.
...
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