Whitebeard's brows tightened slightly. He had not expected Garp to return so quickly. He subconsciously glanced toward the warship. Those guys were moving too slowly.
Whoosh!
With no time to think further, Whitebeard yanked his naginata from the sand. The blade kicked up a spray of sand, Armament Haki flowing over it like water. Then he slashed upward from below.
Thud!
A piercing collision exploded. Powerful air currents burst from where blade and fist met, shaking the sand so violently it flew up like it had been swept by a gale, forming a ring of dust.
"Garp, I'll leave Newgate to you for now. I'll deal with those thieves first!" Sengoku threw down those words and leaped into the air. He stepped repeatedly in midair, each step exploding a white shockwave beneath his feet as he sped toward the warship.
Whitebeard's heart sank. He instinctively wanted to withdraw his strength and intercept Sengoku to buy Ron and the others more time. But the next second, Garp's attacks came one after another like a tide, punches packed so densely that Whitebeard had no room to breathe.
"Newgate!" Garp shouted excitedly. "You'd better worry about yourself first!"
Whitebeard gritted his teeth and silently swung his blade to block. Sparks burst repeatedly across the sand as blade and fist clashed.
If it truly reached the point where there was no other choice, Whitebeard would not hesitate at all. He would directly injure the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred himself.
As long as Ron could use his ability to walk on the sea at the critical moment, they would win.
-------------------------------------
Inside the World Government warship.
Sengoku hurried through the corridor.
Finally, he stopped outside the cargo hold where the Heavenly Tribute was stored.
More than half the treasure chests inside had been moved away. Heavenly Tribute that had once been stacked neatly was scattered all over the floor, messy like a market that had been looted.
Sengoku's gaze became exceptionally cold, and his fists clenched tightly.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
Urgent footsteps suddenly sounded from the end of the corridor.
Sengoku instinctively looked over.
Soon, three figures rushed out from the corner and were reflected in his eyes.
"Uh... looks like we took the wrong path." The instant Stussy saw Sengoku, her pupils shrank. Before she could even finish speaking, she turned and ran back. "Hey, hey, hey, I told you not to be greedy! Kaido, Ron, stop him!"
Before her voice fell, Kaido's figure had already surpassed Stussy, who ran first. He cursed while running, "It was clearly you! You insisted on dragging me and Ron to help you move things!"
"Bastard!" Stussy gritted her teeth and sprinted. After all, whoever ran slowest became the front line. "Do you think I don't know what you two were thinking? Weren't you betting there might be Devil Fruits inside?"
Kaido, whose thoughts had been exposed, ran even faster.
Sengoku's gaze passed over them and landed on Ron.
He did not run. He stood there with one hand in his pocket and the other hanging casually at his side, a faint, indifferent smile on his face.
Sengoku suppressed the anger in his heart, slowly pulled the "Justice" cloak from his shoulders, and tossed it aside.
His eyes stared coldly at Ron. "You seem overly confident in your own strength, Ron."
Ron smiled calmly, meeting his gaze without avoiding it. "You're confident too, Sengoku. I can see it in your eyes. You think you can take me down one hundred percent."
Ron actually had no certainty whether he could match the current Sengoku.
But when it came to running, he had already confirmed he could escape one hundred percent.
"Hehehe." Sengoku sneered, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. "You say that nicely, but why aren't you acting? Why? Are you afraid? Or just pretending to be brave?"
"Why aren't you acting?" Ron tilted his head, his tone carrying a trace of playfulness. "You clearly want to cut me into ten thousand pieces. What are you afraid of?"
Sengoku frowned and was about to speak, but Ron did not give him the chance to explain. He continued attacking with his mouth.
"Oh. I get it."
Ron dragged out his tone. "As the Celestial Dragons' dog, half of your master's goods have been stolen. You're afraid you won't even be able to protect the last part."
"You..." Sengoku sucked in a breath. He admitted Ron was right, but this guy's mouth was as sweet as honey.
So sweet that it made people want to punch him into the wall so hard he could not be scraped out.
"In that case, let me help you erase your worries," Ron said lightly.
Almost instantly, Ron entered Nine-Tails Mode.
Golden chakra surged out of his body, forming a thin, translucent cloak over his entire body.
His hair grew longer and stood up, changing from black to bright gold like burning flame.
Black tomoe-like patterns appeared on his shoulders, chest, and back, while flame-like chakra drifted around him.
Ron felt the surging power inside him, almost overflowing.
Whoosh!
A golden arm condensed from chakra swung out instantly and smashed into the cabin wall. The iron wall was torn open like paper.
"Hm?"
No seawater rushed in.
Ron froze slightly, then leaned his head toward the hole and glanced outside. There was still corridor beyond it.
"This isn't the edge yet?"
Understanding Ron's intention, Sengoku's brows knitted tightly.
At this moment, he truly felt that Ron was a lunatic.
If he really punched through the hull and seawater rushed in, Ron himself would be the first to suffer.
Unfortunately... Sengoku did not know that Ron was not afraid of seawater at all.
He was also not a Devil Fruit user.
"Madman," Sengoku cursed under his breath. However, he did not stop him. Passively guarding the Heavenly Tribute would only make the situation more and more unfavorable. He needed to find a better opportunity.
And what Ron was doing right now was, in Sengoku's eyes, exactly such an opportunity.
Boom!
Ron swung again. This time, the giant golden fist completely smashed through the outer wall of the warship.
Seawater gushed through the crack like a beast breaking free from its cage, instantly swallowing him whole.
"Heh." Sengoku sneered as he watched the seawater devour Ron. Then he leaped upward. "Play by yourself, Ron!"
Boom!
Sengoku broke through layer after layer of decks until he finally burst through the top deck.
At the same time, his body shone with dazzling golden light, and the golden Buddha rose from the deck.
Then Sengoku sensed the changes around him. As long as Ron jumped out of the seawater, he would not hesitate to strike with his palm and smash him into the seabed, letting him keep company with the stolen Heavenly Tribute.
However, several seconds passed. There was no movement, nor any sign of Ron.
Just then, from the corner of his eye, Sengoku caught sight of a scene that made him burn with rage.
From the side of the warship's main body, a secondary boat slowly sailed out.
Sengoku's eye twitched. Stealing the Heavenly Tribute was one thing, but now they were stealing the secondary boat too?
Did they really think this place was their home?
They could just casually take whatever they wanted?
"Bastards!" Sengoku's voice exploded from the giant Buddha's mouth. "Since you've taken the goods, how about I give you one more gift?"
Sengoku raised the giant golden palm, and the air began to buzz.
At that moment, a light voice suddenly drifted into his ear.
"Hm... getting bigger? What a coincidence. I can do that too."
Sengoku's peripheral vision snapped toward the source of the voice. He saw Ron standing on the sea surface, undergoing a change.
The golden chakra cloak on Ron's body expanded violently and quickly left his human outline.
His head stretched and lengthened, and a fox head took shape within the golden light.
Behind him, one tail, two tails, three tails... nine enormous golden tails shot out at the same time.
Ron's body continued expanding. In the blink of an eye, a nine-tailed fox demon even larger than the World Government warship appeared before Sengoku.