The war came so suddenly. Just yesterday, various powers in the New World were murmuring about the unusually bold actions of the Marines, and today, the fires of war had already been ignited.
In the outer seas of Totto Land incessantly transmitted radio signals, attempting to drive away the invading ships. However, they were all ignored.
On the deck of the battleship, Aokiji, dressed in a blue shirt and a white coat, stood at the forefront.
"Oh my, are there hyenas coming to sniff around?" He remarked, scanning the horizon from his position as tiny black dots rapidly grew larger between the sea and sky.
Those people were here to gather information, and naturally, if the situation allowed, they wouldn't mind stirring up trouble with the Marines.
Don't think that being a Yonko means you can rule the New World with an iron fist. Once you leave your own territory, nobody cares who you are.
Only pirates who are obsessed with becoming the Pirate King would think that the New World belongs only to the Yonko because their targets can only be the Yonko, whom they cannot avoid competing with.
"Drive them out, Aokiji!"
Simulating Sengoku's stern old face, a Den Den Mushi in the Headquarters office issued orders through surveillance Den Den Mushi: "The Gorosei (Five Elder Stars) only need an external war to ease the tensions in the Holy Land. Letting these guys take advantage of the situation will only escalate into complete chaos!"
"Understood!" Aokiji saluted calmly.
Both publicly and privately, he would not allow these hyenas to run wild. Sengoku's orders happened to align with his own wishes.
But he wondered, "What extent can you reach, Rowen?"
Aokiji turned back to glance, and the movement of the Zipper Thunder was very noticeable, even from here.
The Gorosei (Five Elder Stars) wanted to use Rowen's "drunken antics" to divert the conflicts in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. Marines also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to gauge the Yonko's strength.
In this era of Marine dominance, the Yonko had already been included in Sengoku's strategic layout. It was unclear whether they would act during his tenure or leave it to the next Marine Fleet Admiral.
If Rowen had the ability to defeat BIG MOM, perhaps... Aokiji thought with an ambiguous expression, then suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I'm really getting old! What am I even thinking about?!"
In the Red Hair Pirates' territory in the New World...
"Marines have taken action?"
Shanks was surprised and couldn't help but stand up.
As a Yonko, Shanks had more than a few informants. Almost as soon as Rowen rushed into Totto Land, someone had passed the message to him.
"How could they...?!!"
"I don't know the reason yet, but judging from the Marines' deployment, it seems they're not prepared to completely annihilate the BIG MOM Pirates." Beckman spoke solemnly after taking a puff of his cigar.
The disadvantage of fighting on enemy territory was obvious. Even if their forces were twice as large as the enemy's, achieving total annihilation was not easy.
Marines' deployment clearly understood this, and Aokiji's strategy of surrounding without attacking was the best proof.
But they still chose to take action.
The reason for this action, like BIG MOM's, was incomprehensible to anyone.
Knowing they can't win but still choosing to fight... What madness is this?
"Should we intervene, Shanks? Rayleigh San is probably secretly detained by them. If we can use this as leverage, maybe we can save him." Beckman asked.
Previously, due to the incident of the theft of the Holy Land, the government's reputation was tarnished, and the war between the Marines and Rayleigh was therefore hidden. Only those who participated in the battle and had sufficient status were informed.
Later, when Shanks didn't find Rayleigh's body, he found out through Shakky that Rayleigh's Vivre Card hadn't completely burned out and still held some life.
Even if he was alive, he was probably a wreck.
"No!"
After pondering for a moment, reason prevailed, and Shanks shook his head with difficulty. "The recent uproar hasn't settled yet. If we act now, even if we rescue Rayleigh, we'll become the government's primary target."
The world is not black and white, and Shanks knew very well why the Gorosei (Five Elder Stars) tolerated his existence.
Beckman didn't know why Shanks was hiding something from him, but since he was unwilling to tell him, there must be a reason.
So, after nodding silently, he didn't say anything and silently supported all of his decisions.
In the New World, Totto Land...
The battle had entered a white-hot phase from the very beginning.
Led by Zero, the forces rushed into the interior lands of Totto Land. Although they were outnumbered and had a taste of being surrounded, they relied on the firepower advantage of the Plasma Cannon and Aircraft Force to suppress the defending forces of Totto Land's islands.
The situation only began to improve when the vanguard force of the Anger Legion arrived. After suffering significant casualties, they forcibly closed the distance, and then both sides engaged in intense combat with their White Blade techniques.
"Have we reached Cake Island already?"
Due to Zero's delay of the Anger Legion's main force, Rowen encountered no interference and proceeded unhindered, effectively cutting through half of Totto Land's territory.
If anyone were to carefully study the map, they would be shocked to discover that along the straight line traversed by Rowen, not a single island was spared; they were all destroyed, aligning perfectly with Kizaru's speculation.
In fact, if Rowen hadn't remembered BIG MOM as his main target, he would have undoubtedly destroyed even more islands. This newfound ability to wreak havoc with just the flick of a finger was so intoxicating that his desire for thunderous destruction disrupted his thoughts, making it even harder for Rowen to restrain himself.
But Rowen was well aware that once he lost himself completely, it would be game over! He certainly didn't want to become the next Monet.
The appearance of Cake Island relieved Rowen, who quickly used Observation Haki to survey the area, then exclaimed, "Are you so eager to meet your end, BIG MOM?"
Swish!
As soon as the words left his mouth, a massive black shadow shot straight out from the center of the Seducing Woods, carrying the seven-colored Thunder Cloud, Zeus, floating above its shoulder, Prometheus emanating scorching waves of heat, and the reformed Napoleon held in its hand.
Rowen made no attempt to conceal his whereabouts, so BIG MOM naturally spotted him first.
"Soryu!!!"
Meeting her enemy face to face only fueled the flames of hatred in her heart. Upon noticing Rowen's solitary advance, BIG MOM roared in anger, and flames from Prometheus entwining around the blade, instantly forming a burning greatsword!
Emperor Blade: Hahaba - Blade of Destruction!
"Return my son's life!" She demanded.
"Son? Haha, didn't you play around with that thing yourself?" Rowen sneered, his eyes burning with anger, as he reached back to touch... and found nothing.
Well, that was embarrassing! Suddenly, Rowen remembered that upon receiving the message, he immediately set off, leaving his Thunder Dragon Crescent-sided Halberd behind in Alabasta.
BIG MOM was startled by Rowen's actions. That weapon, which came from the hands of Vegapunk and was as sharp as a Saijo O Wazamono, left a "deep" impression on her in the previous battle.
However, noticing Rowen's empty-handed gesture and the fleeting unnatural expression on his face, BIG MOM instantly became ecstatic.
"Take this!" She exclaimed.
Boom!
The flaming greatsword came crashing down, sounding more like the dull thud of a blunted weapon than the sharp strike of a blade.
Prometheus and BIG MOM synchronized their thoughts, erupting with full force upon collision.
Whoosh! Boom!
The raging flames transformed into a hundred-meter-wide fire dragon, resembling high-pressure water guns, instantly carving out a path of scorching waves between the sea and sky, then blasting open a bottomless abyss with a deafening explosion.
"Did I actually hit him?!" BIG MOM wondered, feeling puzzled. How could someone like Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit) user, renowned for their speed, be so easily hit?
"Tch! That was close!"
Zap!
At that moment, a soft exhalation snapped her back to reality, as the explosive lightning zeroed in on her, prompting BIG MOM to quickly retreat.
Emerging from the thunder-filled sky, BIG MOM's pupils constricted as she beheld Rowen holding a blazing white spear. She couldn't help but gasp in awe.
"Awakening of the Fruit!" She exclaimed.
"You got it right!" Rowen smirked, emitting a pervasive killing intent. Holding the gleaming white spear high in the sky, he was surrounded by a myriad of thunder serpents and miles of black clouds, shrouding the sun. He seemed both divine and demonic.
(End of chapter)
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