Cannon fire still raged!
Cannonballs poured down like a torrential rain, dense black shadows obscured the sky, and the entire night sky was completely swallowed by the cannon fire!
Zoro stood on the deck, his figure as steady as a mountain, his wado ichimonji in hand, unleashing flying slashes that cut through the cannonballs.
Sanji used "Moonwalk" to weave through the air.
His flame-wreathed Diable Jambe transformed into a furious gale of fire, meeting the incoming cannonballs, which exploded with a roar in the midst of the flames!
On the deck, Lin Ning held his halberd.
Sharp slashes, like streaks of light, instantly cut through, precisely destroying any cannonballs that slipped through!
But... the more than three hundred cannons of the Marine base showed no sign of stopping!
Round after round!
They relentlessly, mercilessly, like tireless behemoths, surged towards the going merry!
Just then—
"We're almost there! The fortress gate!"
Nami's surprised voice made everyone look up sharply!
In the distance, an enormous steel gate stood majestically ahead!
—Like a slumbering steel beast!
It spanned the exit to the sea, blocking the only passage from the Marine fortress to the ocean!
Usopp took one look and shuddered with fright!
"This gate... it's just too big, isn't it?!"
But at this moment, no one had the mind to pay attention to his complaints!
Cannonballs continued their relentless bombardment, fire and explosion shockwaves surged wildly, and the Marine's offensive showed no signs of stopping!
"It's endless!"
An angry voice boomed out!
—That was Luffy's voice!
The next moment!
"Boom—!!!"
A vast Conqueror's Haki, like a volcanic eruption, suddenly swept out from the going merry!!!
Black and red lightning raged!
The violent Haki swept across the heavens and earth!
—Instantly! Time and space seemed to freeze!!!
The incoming cannonballs stopped mid-air!
As if confined by some invisible force, the cannonballs floated in the air, completely halted!
In that instant, the entire world seemed to fall silent!
—And then!
Boom!!!
All the cannonballs suspended in the air actually exploded directly under the impact of the Conqueror's Haki!!!
The violent explosions were like thunder.
The bursting flames bloomed with incredibly brilliant fire in mid-air.
Like a hundred flowers blooming, but carrying destructive shockwaves!
Rolling shockwaves surged in all directions!
A fierce storm swept across the entire fortress, and the surrounding rock walls trembled violently.
Terrifying cracks appeared in the hard stone walls!
"Crack! Crack!!"
The huge circular stone wall of the Marine fortress, under this Haki impact, actually began to crack over large areas!
Rumble!!!
Rocks fell, huge debris like a meteor shower, plummeting from high above!
Vice Admiral Jonathan's gaze suddenly froze!
"Conqueror's Haki...!"
His pupils sharply contracted, staring intently at the figure on the going merry!
Beneath that straw hat, a pair of fiery eyes burned like flames!
Luffy slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the towering steel giant gate!
Rumble!!!
Violent Conqueror's Haki surged outwards!
The surrounding sea was shaken, stirring up monstrous waves!
The steel gate of the Marine fortress also began to tremble violently!
Jonathan's gaze sharpened, he took a deep breath, his face completely changed.
"Straw Hat Luffy... he's truly a monster!!"
...At this moment, the world seemed to fall into a deathly silence!
The shelling... stopped!
The surging waves... ceased!
The raging wind howls vanished without a trace, replaced by...
An indescribable, heavy sense of oppression, enveloping the entire Navarone Marine Fortress!
It was a... king's might, transcending heaven and earth!
—"Thud!"
"Thud! Thud! Thud..."
One Marine Soldier after another rolled their eyes back, falling one after another without any power to resist!
Whether it was the gunners operating the cannons, or the snipers on alert.
Even the officers commanding the shelling, all seemed to be struck by an invisible heavy hammer.
They all fell to the ground, completely losing consciousness!
This was a complete and utter Conqueror's Haki suppression!
Thousands of Marine Soldiers in the entire Navarone Fortress were all knocked unconscious by the Conqueror's Haki in an instant, none spared!
The only one still standing... was Vice Admiral Jonathan!
But even this experienced Marine Fortress Commander couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, his entire body tense!
He slowly raised his head, looking at the figure standing at the very front of the going merry's deck—
Monkey D. Luffy!
That straw hat swayed slightly in the howling night wind, almost slipping from his head.
Luffy reached out and casually pressed the brim of his hat.
He slowly stepped forward, walking towards the bow of the going merry.
"Thump."
"Thump."
"Thump."
With each step, the entire world trembled!
With each step he took, the Haki impact in the air grew stronger.
Transforming into tangible black and red lightning, raging and roaring in mid-air!
"Crackle—!"
The black and red lightning, like wild serpents, slithered through the night, making the entire Navarone Fortress appear as if the end of the world had arrived!
Jonathan's pupils sharply contracted, his heart pounded, and his face showed unprecedented shock!
The power of this Conqueror's Haki... was actually this formidable?!
He had been in the military for many years and had seen countless strong individuals, even the Marine Hero Garp of yesteryear.
Or Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the World Government, and even many legendary pirates famous across the seas... But to exhibit such terrifying Conqueror's Haki at this age... he had never seen it!
"What terrifying Aura...!"
Jonathan murmured involuntarily in a low voice.
He stared intently at Luffy on the deck, his expression solemn, his voice filled with deep shock:
"This Conqueror's Haki... is unbelievably strong... Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy..."
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled a few words—
"As expected of Vice Admiral Garp's grandson!"
"To have mastered such powerful Conqueror's Haki at such a young age..."
"Perhaps... even the 'Three Admirals' of yesteryear were no match at this age..."
"A monstrous talent..."
"Or rather..."
"He is destined to stir up a storm across the entire world!!"
Beneath the night sky, black and red lightning still raged!
The entire Navarone Fortress was completely enveloped in Luffy's unparalleled Conqueror's Haki!
On the deck, Luffy took a deep breath.
His legs sank, his entire body's muscles tensed, and his Battle Intent surged!
"Armament—"
"Rocket!"
With a deafening roar, Luffy's right arm instantly stretched, and a violent Aura swept out!
Ink-black Armament Haki covered his fist and entire right arm!
With world-destroying power, he punched furiously towards the fortress's giant steel gate!
Boom—!!
A punch pierced through!
The gate shattered!
The several-meter-thick steel gate, under this single blow, actually crumbled like paper!
Not only that—
The residual force of Luffy's punch continued to surge forward, directly tearing through the rock wall behind the gate, stirring up a sky full of debris!
Countless fragments, mixed with huge door panels, flew hundreds of meters away with a roar, crashing heavily into the sea!
A wide and boundless exit to the sea suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes!
"Everyone, let's go!!"