On the surface of the sea, Jack, his chin encased in iron rings, had a look of indifference in his eyes. He stood at the forefront of *The Mammoth*'s wide deck, wielding two weapons – a lower-body straight blade and an upper-body scythe-like blade.
"Hmph! Foolish things that don't know their place!"
A submarine under Jack's attack didn't withstand a single blow before it exploded into a dazzling display. Government soldiers who had luckily survived lay on the battered metal, looking at the pirates under Jack's banner with despair. The pirates grinned and raised their firearms, taking aim and pulling the triggers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ah!!"
"You wicked pirates!"
Facing the mighty *Hundred Beasts* pirate crew, a single submarine was no match at all! But it wasn't the only one here; after the explosion, more submarines swiftly reacted, firing torpedoes toward *The Mammoth*.
Gū lū lū…
The torpedoes ripped through the waves, their swift trajectory producing trails of white bubbles. Seen from above, they resembled white water dragons rolling beneath the surface, charging straight toward *The Mammoth*.
"The sheer arrogance of these insects!!"
Jack instantly sensed the danger. While these things might not be enough to kill him, they were certainly capable of destroying *The Mammoth*.
"Being so presumptuous on Kaido-sama's territory! Do you wish to die?!"
With a furious roar, Jack raised his shovel blade, his aura surging. He swung his weapon, and a fierce wind dragon instantly formed, viciously rushing toward the sea.
This wasn't a Devil Fruit ability; it was purely the explosive force of his muscles creating wind pressure. The power even created a semicircular depression on the sea's surface, hundreds of meters wide!
Bang!!
The torpedoes collided with the wind dragon, and they were immediately blown into the air and detonated, creating bursts of fireworks. Most of the torpedoes were destroyed by Jack's attack, with only a few managing to escape, crashing into *The Mammoth*.
Gā… squeak…!
"Jack-Sama, there's water flooding the lower compartments!"
The power of the Marine's new weaponry was on full display at this moment. *The Mammoth* emitted a mournful cry, swaying heavily amidst the intense explosions. Panicked pirates rushed to the deck to report the situation, and upon hearing these words, fear-filled expressions appeared on everyone's faces.
Flooding compartments?
This was the harbinger of a ship sinking!
"Jack-Sama, we should leave this place quickly!"
It was clear that the opponents were from the World Government's forces. Though they didn't know why there was such a massive gathering here, compared to their formidable warships, their pirate ship seemed minuscule and completely outmatched!
If they didn't escape now, once the opponents reacted and cannons fired in unison, relying solely on Jack wouldn't be enough! The changes in the Marines over the past two years hadn't escaped the notice of the First Half pirates, and even New World pirates feared them.
The unreasonable concept of "Justice has range" had truly challenged the war-related understanding of these pirates, whose cultural level wasn't particularly high.
"Why panic?!"
Suddenly, Jack's thunderous roar silenced the noisy deck.
Jack was quite satisfied with his intimidating presence. After a cold snort, he said, "Coincidentally, Kaido-Sama is quite interested in the Marine's new equipment! Let's go and seize a couple of those to give to Kaido-Sama!"
The pirates: "Huh???!"
Seize submarines?!
Had he gone mad?
However, looking at Jack's eager expression, the pirates knew he wasn't joking.
He truly intended to seize a couple of them!
This side of Jack's personality was now clearly visible! Faced with enemies several times their number, in an utterly unfavorable situation, he wasn't thinking about retreating immediately. Instead, he planned to snatch a couple as spoils of war.
One had to admit, he was very brave. His audacity was so great that even Rowen felt a sense of admiration!
"Caesar Clown didn't defect, Doflamingo has been dealt with… with no artificial Devil Fruits left, Kaido's attention has turned to the Marine's new equipment… huh?"
Racing through the thunder, Rowen contemplated, "It seems like a good idea to discuss this with that cunning old fox Fleet Admiral. This might be an opportunity to exploit!"
"However, I should deal with the trouble before me first…"
Rowen looked up, his gaze falling on Lirisk in the distance and he appeared somewhat helpless.
The speed of Supercharged Travel was measured in kilometers per second, and normal Geppo wasn't even close. But at this moment, the Geppo speed Lirisk was demonstrating was so terrifying that Rowen couldn't help but feel a shiver of awe. Even after three seconds of chasing, he hadn't caught up to him.
Clearly, Lirisk was absolutely furious!
That fist, continuously accelerating and gathering power, emitted a boundless aura of menace. Lirisk's vertical pupils locked onto the tallest figure on the deck, teeth clenched tightly.
"Rebels who disturb my duel, perish!!"
"Ah, let's cooperate a bit… what if we end up killing him?"
Rowen pondered silently. Suddenly, a pitch-black electric sphere as deep as an abyss emerged in his clenched palm.
Though the process sounded lengthy, it had actually taken less than five seconds. Amidst his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) alert, Jack on the deck immediately turned his head to face the oncoming lizardman, his expression one of astonishment.
"What is this thing?"
Following this, the fist shot straight towards Jack's head, and he immediately understood.
An enemy!!
"Where did this little thing come from, foolishly ignorant!"
Jack didn't understand why this person was attacking him, but that didn't stop him from retaliating. His shotel blade rapidly spun, about to thrust upwards to slash Lirisk's throat.
But at this moment, Rowen struck from behind!
Raigo – Thunder Greeting Rasengan!!
"Simp, licking until you've got nothing left. Don't you realize it?"
The pitch-black electric sphere pressed ruthlessly against Jack's waist, instantly obliterating a large chunk of flesh and blood! Amidst Jack's incredulous gaze, Rowen let out a fierce grin and swiftly spun around.
"Offer your life!!"
Not giving Jack much time to react, almost simultaneously, Lirisk's fist, which he had been charging for a long time, heavily slammed into Jack's face! The two attacks hit Jack in rapid succession, one after the other, with a difference of milliseconds, and then they explosively detonated!
Bang! Boom!
The pirates on the ship couldn't put up any effective resistance, immediately getting pulverized by the brutal Thunderlight and the highly compressed air blades. The massive *The Mammoth* shattered, transforming into countless splinters that were engulfed by flames in the blink of an eye!
Bang! Roar!
Licking until you've got nothing left…
Hello, Jack. Goodbye, Jack.
Zī Zī…
In mid-air, Rowen coalesced from Elementalization, casting a glance at Lirisk beside him, who looked a bit disheveled while maintaining his Geppo stance.
Rowen could easily avoid irrelevant explosions with Elementalization, but Lirisk had to rely solely on his scale armor to endure them. Under the joint assault of the two, Jack had suffered a great loss due to his lack of preparation. However, the explosive impact had also taken its toll on Lirisk.
Exhaling deeply, Lirisk calmed his agitated blood and asked, "Jack the Drought of the *Hundred Beasts* pirate crew… Do you think we've killed him?"
With their joint attack, few could have survived.
Strangely, though Lirisk was posing a question, his expression remained unusually calm.
Seeing this, Rowen smirked and spoke. "Lirisk, you already had the answer in your heart, didn't you?"
If it were so easy to kill Jack, he wouldn't have survived repeated battles against Yonko and the Marines. While Rowen's Raigo – Thunder Greeting and Lirisk's devastating punches were powerful, they fell just short of being able to kill Jack.
At the peak of his power, I'm at eight-tenths… maybe boosted to nine-tenths…
Through his battle with Lirisk, Rowen assessed his current level.
He might feel confident to duel a top-tier combatant under a Yonko's banner, but that didn't mean he stood above the Deputy, let alone being able to instantly defeat him.
The sea is incredibly vast; who can say that the "peak" he establishes now won't be the "starting point" for the next stage?
Lirisk wasn't satisfied with this answer, but he knew it was the truth. Waving his hand, he gestured to Zero, who was also using Geppo in the distance, to swiftly approach. After a few whispered words, Zero respectfully nodded.
"Yes, sir!"
(End of Chapter)
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