"Truly worthy of a great pirate with a bounty of over a billion — really aggressive, aren't you?" Kizaru said with a look of helplessness. Since the other side wouldn't back down, he'd have to fight whether he wanted to or not.
Besides, considering the Marines didn't actually want to go to war with Inazuma, he couldn't go all out in this fight. Letting the conflict escalate would be a huge pain to deal with.
Running away wasn't impossible, but that would mean leaving Gion behind.
"Whether or not to hear your explanation is the Shogun's decision. My job is to send you to meet the Shogun!" Shutendouji swung his blade and charged forward again.
From the very start, he had assumed his oni form. In his Triceratops form, his body was no longer a massive barrel of sake but something far more muscular and well-proportioned.
"Source Flow: Reverse Rakshasa!"
He lunged forward, gripping his blade with both hands, and slashed upward from below in a reverse arc toward Kizaru.
Kizaru immediately swung his sword to block.
In the darkness, silver blade light collided with a golden light-blade, sending bursts of sparkling particles flying in every direction.
"Admiral Borsalino, I'll help you!" Gion gripped Kinubira and was about to rush in when a missile streaked through the sky toward her in the blink of an eye, blocking her path.
"That kind of thing…" Gion watched the burning missile and raised Kinubira to slice it in half.
But the instant she was about to swing, her Observation Haki suddenly screamed danger.
'No — I can't draw my blade!'
'I'll be hurt!'
The thought flashed through her mind, and by then Gion had already lost her timing. The missile shattered through the air and was practically on top of her.
Gion desperately dove aside, narrowly dodging the missile as it grazed past her. The heat of its burning exhaust trail still seemed to linger on her face.
"BOOM!"
The missed missile crashed into the ground and instantly erupted with tremendous force. The shockwave of the explosion made the very earth tremble.
Momousagi: ???
Was this really the power a cannon was supposed to have?
Gion was completely stunned. If she had actually swung her blade at that projectile, she would have had to face that terrifying shockwave with her own face.
"Hmph, don't compare our Inazuma missiles to the Marines' lead bullets," Shutendouji taunted while clashing with Kizaru, keeping an eye on Gion's situation the whole time.
Seeing the opportunity, he immediately started talking trash.
In a situation like this, the more he hyped up his weapons as precious and valuable, the more money he could squeeze out of the World Government later.
After all, these Marines had trespassed into Inazuma's restricted zone uninvited to cause trouble — wasn't it only reasonable to demand compensation?
Though, then again, maybe not. If the Five Elders really put their foot down, Ren wouldn't be able to do much about it. After all, Inazuma was fundamentally pirate territory, and the two sides' identities were inherently in conflict.
Come to think of it, years ago there had been quite a few people within the Marines who argued that Inazuma shouldn't be classified as pirate territory, but that voice had long since disappeared.
Inazuma's development over the years had made the World Government feel threatened, and Ren refused to pay the heavenly tribute. Naturally, the World Government had no goodwill toward Inazuma.
As for Inazuma's military composition, many pirates had joined over the years. The bulk of the Skirmishers' forces were newcomers who had invaded the New World recently.
While Shutendouji was locked in combat with Kizaru, the Autonomous Machines were locking onto Gion one after another, wave after wave.
The situation in Kuri was like this, and Udon wasn't much different. The bait drawing fire in Udon was Kuzan and Garp. And the enemies they faced were Jasmine, Yayoi, Qiyue, and massive Autonomous Machines.
The Ruin Serpent and the Constant Machine Formation.
The former had originally been developed primarily for mining Sea-Prism Stone, but now that the Sea-Prism Stone veins had been relocated, this machine had lost its purpose.
The Constant Machine had actually been intended as a secret weapon given to Doflamingo, to help him deal with Big Mom. But it was never used, so it was returned.
Now deploying it against Garp and Kuzan was putting it to good use.
These two massive machines had extraordinary combat power, and their structural bodies had been improved. Their outer layers were now coated with a new alloy created using the Munch-Munch Fruit.
But even so, it would be hard to withstand Garp's iron fist.
That old man's Armament Haki was truly outrageous.
Fortunately, Ren didn't worry about these two machines being destroyed — he was more worried they wouldn't be destroyed.
The Flower Capital had a completely different atmosphere from Kuri and Udon. After Ayame discovered Vice Admiral Tsuru and Sengoku outside the capital, she chose not to engage them in combat. Instead, she led her forces to escort them to the first floor of Tenshukaku, treating them like honored guests.
Sengoku probably assumed Garp and the others were in a similar situation, so he and Vice Admiral Tsuru were cheerfully eating food and drinking sake while watching a newly released film — Pirates of the Caribbean.
Ayame acted as though she knew nothing about what was happening in Kuri and Udon, chatting and laughing with them.
The reason Ayame chose not to fight was because the Flower Capital was unique.
As the capital city, the Flower Capital was extremely prosperous. It had been expanded several times in recent years, and a major battle could cause enormous damage.
Small-scale skirmishes wouldn't be a problem, but the destructive power of a Marine Admiral was essentially equivalent to a nuclear weapon.
On the other hand, without Ren present, the Flower Capital had no force capable of standing against Sengoku.
Ayame's own strength was roughly on par with Momousagi's from ten years in the future — Vice Admiral Tsuru alone could keep her in check. The Tenryo Bugyo's forces were meaningless against Sengoku.
"What do you two think of film as an art form?" Yuriko was also present, speaking in a tone that suggested she planned to cooperate with the Marines and promote films to the entire world.
Actually, this could really work.
Everyone knew the entertainment industry was genuinely profitable. And if the Celestial Dragons became interested, even better — those people wanted us Inazuma to pay heavenly tribute?
Cough up your own money first!
"It's quite entertaining. It's just… could you make something like Pirates of the Marines?" Sengoku said helplessly.
The movie was genuinely good, but the problem was that the Marines in it were way too incompetent!
If this got out for promotion, wouldn't it tarnish the Marines' dignified image?
"That's easy enough. We can just make a film from the Marines' perspective next time," Yuriko said with a smile.
Sengoku nodded, pondered for a moment, and asked: "This thing called film — it must use the principle of Visual Den Den Mushi, right? Is someone performing at another location?"
In his understanding, even Visual Den Den Mushi could only transmit images in real time, like a live broadcast, with no ability to store footage, let alone edit it.
But regardless, this film thing was quite interesting.
[
Dear Readers,
I need your help. My financial situation is critical, and I can't continue without support.
Despite this, I'm still posting 5 chapters daily across all my fictions because I love what I do and don't want to stop—but I can't sustain this alone.
Support Tiers:
Adventurer ($3/month): 20 chapters ahead + 150 chapters/month across all fics
Warrior ($7/month): 40 chapters ahead + 150 chapters/month
Immortal ($10/month - Best Value): 60 chapters ahead + character images/visuals + bonus content + 150 chapters/month
Important: Subscribe through your browser (not Apple App) to avoid 30% extra fees and 2-3 month payment delays.
Even $3 helps immensely. If you can't subscribe, please share my work with someone who might enjoy it.
Thank you for reading and considering support.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]