"Did… did the two Vice Admirals get taken down?!"
A Marine colonel cried out in shock.
The flashing lightning and terrifying waves from moments ago were still pounding in his mind.
"No. I can still sense their presence…" Momonga said.
But before he could finish, his expression subtly changed.
The auras below were unstable—clearly, the two had suffered serious damage.
Still, saying that out loud would only cause panic, so Momonga kept it to himself.
He turned his head and exchanged a glance with Yamakaji, signaling him silently—
Watch the timing. If Onigumo and Doberman can't get out on their own, go rescue them.
Yamakaji gave a slight nod in response.
"You two are flirting with your eyes right in front of me—do you think I'm blind?"
Jin's voice drifted over lazily.
"I'm talking about you. That half-bald guy."
Momonga: ???
Half… bald?
"Damn it! This is a Mohawk!" Momonga roared.
He was furious.
What do you mean half-bald, damn it?!
"Oh, sorry—so it's a Mohawk."
"…He actually apologized?"
Momonga's anger instantly deflated, leaving him momentarily speechless.
"Then that Mohawk guy—stop making eyes at people."
Momonga: !!!
His temper flared up again instantly.
Not far away, Yamakaji nearly burst out laughing, barely managing to hold it in for the sake of his comrade's dignity.
"And you," Jin added casually,
"that squinty-eyed one."
Yamakaji: ???
Squinty… eyes?
"And that guy over there whose skull's about to grow into the sky,"
Jin glanced toward the farthest warship.
"Didn't you see the Mohawk's expression? Or is it because only your skull is showing?"
Strawberry: ...
Strawberry stared at Jin expressionlessly.
He could see it clearly now—this man was deliberately trying to provoke them.
"Trying to anger us with such cheap taunts?" Strawberry snorted.
"You're far too naive."
He turned away, continuing to command his troops' movement.
Momonga and Yamakaji exchanged a glance again, then calmly looked away as if nothing had happened.
"So it was noticed~" Jin said with amusement.
"But still…"
"On this sea right in front of me—do you really think you can safely carry out the Buster Call bombardment?"
"You don't seriously think you've already killed those two, do you?" Strawberry mocked.
"Brat, don't underestimate Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters!"
As his words fell, a flying slash burst out from the fleet—
Momonga had made his move.
"Whoosh—!"
With the Sharingan's extraordinary dynamic vision, Jin clearly tracked the incoming slash.
He flipped backward, narrowly avoiding it, and clapped his hands midair.
"I've never underestimated anyone!"
"Water Release — Triple Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"BOOM!!"
Three massive water dragons suddenly surged violently—
Then burst from the sea, roaring toward the fleet!
Their target—
The area where the three Vice Admirals stood.
"ROAR!"
The pressure from the dragons alone sent panic through the ships.
"Damn it, they're coming straight for us!"
"Prepare the cannons!"
"No time!"
"Don't panic—leave it to us!" Yamakaji shouted.
He drew his blade, Armament Haki spreading instantly, and slashed forward.
"One-Sword Style — Flaming Mountain!"
A Haki-coated, flame-wreathed flying slash tore through the air!
"One-Sword Style — Rat Gale!" Momonga followed with his own attack!
"Tch. So that's your plan?" Strawberry sneered.
"You think seawater alone can destroy Navy warships? I've seen through your trick!"
Armament Haki coated both of his blades as he struck without hesitation.
"Two-Sword Style — Soaring Sky Slash!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
The three attacks collided head-on with the water dragons—
The dragon heads were cleaved apart, exploding into massive sprays of water!
"Crash—!"
The shattered dragons turned into torrents that slammed across the warships.
But because their momentum had been disrupted, the damage was limited.
Aside from a few unlucky Marines knocked flying by the waves, most suffered only minor impact.
Still—
Remembering what had happened to Onigumo and Doberman, all three Vice Admirals activated Geppo almost simultaneously, leaping into the air to avoid any follow-up lightning.
This time, however, Jin didn't use Lightning Release.
That made Strawberry frown—but Yamakaji seemed to realize something.
Because his flaming slash had evaporated much of the water, his ship was the least soaked—
And that allowed him to notice Jin's real intention.
"You're trying to soak the warships… to render the cannon shells useless?" Yamakaji narrowed his eyes.
"Tch. That's your goal?" Strawberry landed on a dry section of deck.
"Then you've miscalculated."
To handle the extreme weather of the Grand Line and the New World, Navy warships were specially constructed.
Even heavy waves couldn't easily soak the interior.
Unless the hull itself was damaged, seawater could not reach the powder storage.
So in Strawberry's eyes, this move was meaningless.
"Heh. Is that so?"
Standing calmly atop the sea, Jin's expression didn't change at all—
As if he had already anticipated this response.
That calmness instead made unease rise in Strawberry's chest.
He didn't know what other methods this man still had—
But it was definitely not over.
At that moment, Momonga noticed something drifting across the sea.
Red.
"…Blood?" His pupils shrank.
Damn it—was that Onigumo's blood?
That much blood… what in the world was happening beneath the sea?!
Wait—
His Observation Haki picked something else up.
A Sea King… beneath them?!
Was the blood from the Vice Admirals—
Or from that Sea King?
Yamakaji glanced at the surface and instinctively prepared to dive down—
But he abruptly stopped.
Two figures were rapidly surging upward from below.
Thank goodness—they're alive!
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
Two bodies burst out of the sea.
One of them had lost his right arm entirely, blood pouring freely—
Yet he paid no attention to his injury.
Together with his companion, he launched a sudden attack!
"We got him!!"
"Shhk!"
"Shhk!"
"Shhk!"
Three blades pierced straight through Jin's body!
"Jin!!"
Witnessing this scene, Nicole Robin's pupils shrank in disbelief.
That powerful man—
He'd been stabbed by the two Vice Admirals?!
"Relax," Blueno said calmly.
"He's fine."
Robin: ???
She turned to look at Blueno.
His expression hadn't changed at all.
Could it be…
Was Jin unharmed?
Beside her, Nami suddenly realized something and whispered instinctively:
"…A clone?"
But—
Why was one of the Vice Admirals missing an arm?
And what exactly had happened beneath the sea?
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