Clang!
Onigumo unleashed his Life Return, his hair interweaving into steel-like "arms." He wielded eight blades, creating a storm of Sword Energy akin to a raging tempest.
Yamakaji, Dalmatian, and Vice Admiral Momonga provided support from the sides, waiting for a chance to strike King fiercely. At this moment, regardless of being in the War Faction, Peace Faction, or the "Garp Faction," they all united against a common enemy.
As Vice Admirals, they had collaborated countless times before, and their coordination was seamless.
Faced with the four-man onslaught, even King's flames couldn't break through the encirclement.
Following this, Tsuru acted as backup. While her Wash-Wash Fruit couldn't pierce through King's protective flames directly, the flames he left behind on objects had less resistance.
No matter how terrifying the attack was, as long as it was out of King's control, Tsuru could easily cleanse it, thus minimizing the damage.
Was this a case of the Five Kages ganging up on Madara, or the Five Rats Causing Havoc in the Eastern Capital? Rowen couldn't decide.
Regardless, he definitely didn't want to be involved in such a battle.
The Five Headquarters Vice Admirals, perfectly synchronized with no weak points, were ganging up on one person. Even if Rowen were in King's place, he might not have done better.
At most, he could rely on his speed advantage to instantly create distance and avoid being surrounded.
"Report! Vice Admiral Rowen, there's a call from Headquarters!" At this moment, a Lieutenant Commander entered the mess hall, striding up to Rowen and saluting before he spoke with a grave expression on his face.
Rowen turned to him curiously before taking the Den Den Mushi from his hand.
"For me?"
"It's for contacting Vice Admiral Tsuru, but right now…"
The Lieutenant Commander smiled bitterly as he glanced outside at the battlefield where occasional bursts of fire illuminated the horizon.
"Alright, I think I understand…"
In this war, the highest authority was Fleet Admiral Sengoku. The on-site supervision was led by Tsuru, followed by Admirals Aokiji and Akainu.
After deducing the situation, the person most qualified to answer the call from Headquarters became Rowen, who was holding the rear.
After all, he was the Commander of the Aircraft Force!
He was the commanding General of an independent division!
Even though they had been wiped out…
"Rowen, how's the situation now?"
The Den Den Mushi projected an old face filled with furrowed brows. The silver hair was depicted perfectly, but the once jovial expression was nowhere to be seen. The voice on the other end was composed and serious.
Marine Hero, "Iron Fist" Garp!!
'Oh? Does this mean that the thing has already been delivered?' Rowen's gaze sharpened, a faint smile gracing his lips.
"Aircraft Force has been annihilated, and all the Marine and the Battleships have entered a full-scale boarding battle… Kaido has been intercepted by Admiral Akainu and Admiral Aokiji working together. 'King the Conflagration' has been blocked by Vice Admiral Tsuru and the other four Vice Admirals!" Rowen quickly reported the information and continued, "The good news is that I've defeated 'Jack the Drought'. Their combat power has taken a significant hit because of thay. I'm currently recovering my stamina to take over for Vice Admiral Tsuru and the others."
In an undisclosed room, Garp's solemn expression froze for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"What? You say you killed who?!"
"Jack the Drought…"
Pfft!
"Cough, Cough… Cough, Cough, Cough!"
Garp narrowly avoided choking on his own saliva, coughing continuously.
After a long while, he looked at the Den Den Mushi with a disgruntled expression on his face before speaking slowly, "So, even if I don't make it in time, it seems like you guys won't have any problems on your own."
The main force of the Hundred Beasts Pirates was Kaido and his Three Disasters. Rowen had directly killed one, severely weakening their combat power. Their failure was only a matter of time.
'I'm the trump card!'
'Why do I feel like it doesn't matter that much?!'
'Is the opponent really the Hundred Beasts Pirates?'
'Why do they seem so easily defeated?!'
"According to military orders, Vice Admiral Garp, if you don't make it to the battlefield within a day, you would face a court-martial." Rowen rolled his eyes and chuckled. Then, his expression turned serious.
"And, the situation isn't as optimistic as you might think… 'Queen the Plague' is missing. There's a good chance he's planning something significant. Although 'King the Conflagration' is held up, he's inflicted immense casualties on our front lines…"
"To be honest, I don't have any confidence in killing him!"
Even if Jack respectfully called him Big Brother, judging by the Hundred Beasts Pirates' style, King's strength was beyond doubt.
Even if Rowen were at his peak with 80% of his combat power restored, the odds would still be at most 50-50!
"King the Conflagration… He really is a tough nut to crack!"
Recalling past experiences of battling the Hundred Beasts Pirates, Garp nodded in agreement, looking somewhat solemn.
"Tsuru and the others, they're having some trouble holding off King. So… you come up here, and I'll go down to deal with him!"
Rowen: "What??"
In an instant, he looked up, his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) condensing into a beam, probing the sky.
After a moment, Rowen's pupils contracted.
"What is this? Vegapunk's new toy?!"
In his perception, a colossal behemoth hung high in the sky! Dense cannons stood erect in fortress-like Battery Forts. Rowen had no doubt that if all these cannons fired at once, they could utterly destroy a small island! And most importantly, it was enormous!
The Marine Battleship War Behemoth that Rowen had seen was already the largest war weapon he knew of. Even if you pulled out one, it would only be slightly larger than a typical small island. It could be called a Maritime Land!
But this colossal monstrosity's size was startlingly larger than ten linked War Behemoths put together!
A beast of this magnitude floating in the air would not even draw attention to its shadow. Why? Because it was too big! Its immense size cast shadows large enough to darken the sunlight, but people would dismiss it as a passing cloud, not something artificial.
In astonishment, Rowen murmured to himself, "Did you guys kidnap Gold Lion?"
In his memory, only Gold Lion's Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Float-Float Fruit) could achieve such a high-altitude flight with a behemoth of this scale.
The Den Den Mushi perfectly mimicked Rowen's astonished expression, while Garp chuckled and said nothing.
…
At this moment, on the battlefield, neither the Marines nor the pirates were aware that a giant beast had silently descended. Akainu and Aokiji relentlessly attacked, pressuring Kaido to move further away from the center of the battle.
But Kaido, known as the Undying Beast, faced attacks from Admirals. No matter what hit him, at most, it would leave him bruised and battered. He grinned, swinging his club, continuously dispersing magma and Ice Mass. The two Admirals, instead of gaining the upper hand, felt like they were being pressured to fight.
This was the confidence that allowed Kaido, the Yonko, to stand tall! No one could kill him!
And he could kill anyone! Faced with such a monster, Aokiji and Akainu could only focus on containment, delaying until the Marines defeated the Hundred Beasts Pirates, and then gathering all their strength to defeat him…
After all, how do you kill the Undying? Even if they managed to defeat him, they could only wait for him to recover and escape.
On the other side of the battlefield, the five Vice Admirals and King were locked in a fierce battle. King's flames were of an extremely high temperature, and unlike magma, the flames could continuously condense, enhancing their power, much like Rowen's lightning.
Vice Admiral Momonga was unlucky enough to take a hit, his entire body scorched black. If it weren't for Tsuru quickly washing away the flames on him, he might have been writing his last words by now.
"It's almost time!"
Tsuru had been calculating the time in her mind. She believed that in such a crucial matter, Rowen wouldn't dare to stand her up. At this moment, she reached out and grabbed Yamakaji and Onigumo's capes, tossing them backward like pulling a bedsheet.
Sizzle… Clang!
Sharp sword blades wrapped in fierce flames rained down, splashing forth waves of towering infernos. However, facing Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit, these flames didn't even get a chance to touch the three men. At the first contact, they slid off their bodies like oil dripping onto water.
"So fast?!"
Onigumo was a bit surprised. After all, Rowen had just undergone a major battle, and even with strong restoration abilities, it had only been a little over ten minutes!
As a seasoned Vice Admiral, he used to be a bit skeptical of Rowen, this up-and-coming star of the Garp Faction. But now, when he compared, Onigumo realized he had been too narrow-minded. The sea ultimately belonged to the younger generation…
For a moment, Onigumo inexplicably entered a state of contemplation.
As if speaking of the devil, just as the three were evading the sea of flames unleashed by Ash, a figure shot down like a bolt of lightning from the sky!
Ash was momentarily stunned, turning his head to use flames to block the attack. But the opponent's momentum was too fierce; would he even give Ash a chance to retaliate?
A jet-black Busoshoku Haki-covered hand caught the blade, flicking it outwards. With a sinister grin, Issho clenched his fist, striking Ash's Half Beastified face with extreme force.
Zi Zi… Bang!
(End of this chapter)
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