By now, it was no longer just Yamakaji and Momonga taking action.
The mission objective given by Ortoren was clear: capture them alive whenever possible. That earlier barrage of cannon fire was more about forcing the situation and securing control. If the Marines had truly intended to wipe them out without contact, they would never have allowed such a poorly performing ship to get anywhere near the fleet in the first place.
At this moment, Stainless and Cancer had already stepped onto the deck of the pirate ship.
Strawberry, on the other hand, had yet to make a move. When several Vice Admirals were personally engaging the enemy, there always needed to be one who remained steady as a mountain, anchoring the fleet and overseeing the overall situation to respond to any sudden changes.
So although Strawberry had initially intended to join the fight, the moment he saw Stainless and Cancer use Geppo to board the pirate ship, he made his decision. He would take command of the entire fleet.
This was the Marines' unspoken coordination. The Vice Admirals didn't need to exchange words. Each of them knew exactly what needed to be done, and when.
The instant Stainless landed on the deck, Raizo, who was guarding Kozuki Momonosuke, flung dozens of shuriken in one motion. They filled the air, screaming toward him like a storm.
Stainless didn't even try to dodge. He lifted his chin slightly, drew his arms in toward his waist, and let out a short breath.
"Tekkai!"
As the saying goes, the better you think your Tekkai is, the faster you die.
Anyone who blindly trusted Tekkai had usually paid a heavy price for it.
But this time, Stainless wasn't breached at all. The shuriken struck his body with sharp metallic clangs and bounced away.
At the same moment, Cancer lunged toward Raizo, her saber wrapped in Armament Haki as she brought it down in a powerful slash.
Kinemon, right beside Raizo, reacted instantly. He raised his blade and blocked Cancer's attack head-on. Meanwhile, Shinobu grabbed Momonosuke by the arm and dragged him away from the battlefield, retreating toward the interior of the ship.
For a time, the pirate ship was plunged into fierce chaos.
Stainless held the clear advantage against Raizo, while Cancer and Kinemon were locked in a deadlock. It was obvious that Kinemon's strength was nothing to scoff at.
"With me here, I will not allow you to lay a single finger on the young master. This is loyalty and righteousness!"
Foxfire Kinemon forced Cancer's blade aside and spoke in a deep, resolute voice.
...
Meanwhile, down in the sea, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were both non–Devil Fruit users. After falling into the water, they quickly swam back up and floated on the surface, looking up at Momonga in the air above.
"That guy's strange," Nekomamushi grumbled. "How could anyone possibly use multiple Devil Fruit abilities?"
"Could it be some kind of genetic modification? Or maybe a superpower?" Inuarashi hesitated before asking.
"You've been reading too many North Blue comics," Nekomamushi shot back, glaring at him. "There's no way something like that actually exists. Let's go together. We need to deal with him quickly. Otherwise, who knows if Kinemon and the others can hold out."
The moment he finished speaking, Nekomamushi shot out of the sea like an arrow. Inuarashi didn't hesitate either, bursting from the water in pursuit. One from the left, one from the right, the two arrived at Momonga's sides almost simultaneously.
"Cat and Dog Combined Assault!" Nekomamushi roared.
There was no doubt about it. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi both had tremendous potential. If they had been allowed to grow under normal circumstances, Momonga might not have been able to suppress the two of them so easily.
After all, in the original course of events, the pair had performed quite well, fighting through top-tier battles and even teaming up to crush Kaidou's subordinate, Jack.
But now, their situation had changed in many ways. In the original timeline, they had never traveled through time, and naturally would have had far more years to devote to honing their strength.
At this point, they were still in their youth. Their strength had yet to fully mature and could only be described as decent.
Momonga, on the other hand, was in a completely different state. He was practically at an epic level of enhancement. Not only had he consumed the Baku Baku no Mi, but thanks to his considerable wealth—high-ranking New World Marine officers all enjoyed profit-sharing rights—he possessed a large number of Devil Fruit ability items. This allowed him to freely wield multiple abilities at will. On top of that, he had spent a long time at Ortoren's side, giving his growth far greater room to develop. And as if that weren't enough, he was also equipped with a divine-tier weapon from Red-Haired Shanks himself: the Meito, Gryphon.
At this rate, if Momonga continued collecting even stronger Devil Fruit items, reaching the rank of Admiral in the future wouldn't be out of the question.
The Baku Baku no Mi was truly an absurd ability. No wonder Teach had made it his top priority to seize it in the original timeline.
In short, the current Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were not especially powerful, while Momonga was on an entirely different level.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi attacked together from left and right, coordinating seamlessly. Momonga showed no fear at all. His expression remained calm as he unleashed a barrage of flashy abilities. Defense, speed, offense, energy—everything was covered.
In the span of barely a dozen breaths, Smoker saw at least ten different Devil Fruit powers appear in the air above.
Before Smoker could even finish counting them, Momonga had already grabbed Nekomamushi by the throat. He stomped hard against the air, generating tremendous propulsion, and slammed straight toward the warship.
Momonga's arms were immensely thick now. No, not just his arms. The once well-proportioned and stylish Momonga had transformed into a wild, muscle-bound brute.
His height now exceeded three and a half meters. Thankfully, his suit appeared to be custom-made with a degree of elasticity, otherwise it would have torn apart long ago.
The ability he was using now was none other than the Paramecia-type Muscle Fruit.
In a sense, it could be considered a lower-tier version of the Strength Fruit, but it still provided an enormous boost to raw power.
The reason Momonga could pin Nekomamushi in place with a single hand was precisely because of this explosive surge of strength.
"Smoker!" Momonga barked.
Smoker snapped out of it immediately and released a massive cloud of smoke across the deck without hesitation.
"Smoke Sea!"
With a loud crash, Momonga smashed Nekomamushi's head straight into the smoke. The entire warship shuddered from the impact, but thanks to Smoker's ability, the deck was protected and not punched through.
Almost the instant the impact sounded, the shockwave blasted the surrounding smoke away. Smoker then saw the scene clearly.
Nekomamushi was covered in blood, his limbs hanging limp, eyes rolled back, dark blood spilling from his mouth. It was obvious that Momonga's blow had completely taken him out.
Momonga stood behind him like a green giant, one hand still gripping the back of his neck.
Even though Momonga's body had swelled to over three meters tall, he was still slightly smaller than Nekomamushi, making the scene look strangely comical.
"Take care of him," Momonga said casually to Smoker.
With that, he stepped on the air with Geppo and turned back around, heading to deal with Inuarashi, who he had just knocked back into the sea once again.
...
Meanwhile, aboard the pirate ship, Cancer was growing increasingly irritated. But irritation didn't solve anything. Kinemon was clearly no pushover.
Just as Kinemon once again began to press Cancer back, a pained scream came from the rear of the cabin. The cabin door burst open, and a figure rolled out onto the deck, leaving a long trail of blood before coming to a stop at Kinemon's feet.
"Shinobu!?" Kinemon cried out in shock. "Where is the young master?"
Almost as soon as he spoke, footsteps echoed from inside the cabin. A young man emerged, dressed in a black suit, draped in a Marine Justice cloak, wearing a small top hat. A dove stood perched on his shoulder, right beside his Captain's insignia.
In his hand, he was gripping Kozuki Momonosuke by the throat, dragging him across the deck like a dead dog.
There was no doubt about it. The cold-eyed young man was Rob Lucci.
"The 'young master' you're talking about… is this worthless piece of trash?" Lucci asked calmly.
Before Kinemon could respond, Lucci continued in the same flat tone.
"I'll count to three. Drop your weapons, abandon all resistance, and surrender unconditionally. Otherwise, I'll tear out this useless young master's throat."
As he spoke, Lucci tightened his grip slightly. His fingers dug into Momonosuke's throat, as if he might rip it out at any moment, leaving Momonosuke unable to speak, writhing in agony.