"R-r-r-rear Admiral! I-I didn't hear anything!"
At the stern, standing guard with his ears covered, the polar bear Beppo saw Rorschach emerge from the captain's quarters and walking in his direction. Beppo instantly tensed up, his fur standing on end in fright.
Before Rorschach could get close, Beppo stammered out an explanation.
I'm done for. He's going to silence me.
With a face full of regret, Beppo wished he had swapped shifts with Pamela.
"What didn't you hear? What are you talking about, Beppo?" Rorschach looked puzzled.
He had just come out because he couldn't sleep and wanted to feel the night breeze.
"N-nothing, Rear Admiral! I'll go check the front!"
Tensing his muscles, Beppo hunched and hurried past Rorschach toward the bow of the ship.
"What's with this bear? Am I really that scary?"
Rorschach shook his head, baffled. Then, with a light leap, he jumped up to the crossbar at the top of the central mast and sat on the furled sail. Leaning against the mast, he stared blankly into the mist outside the ship.
This was the most eerie and mysterious sea in the first half of the Grand Line.
Countless ghost ship legends at sea came from this mist-shrouded area.
This was the Florian Triangle.
It had taken them seven days to sail here from Water 7.
It wasn't that they'd intended to come to this eternally foggy region—it was simply that the sea was so vast and it was a necessary passage on the way to the G2 base.
During the journey, Rorschach had actually been quite excited, hoping to run into Brook and trick the skeletal musician onto his ship. He also wanted to drop by Gecko Moria's Thriller Bark to reclaim the long-lost sword Shusui.
And if possible, maybe give Gecko Moria a bit of a beating.
As for killing Moria, Rorschach wasn't planning on it.
Moria was different from Donquixote Doflamingo.
The guy rarely left the Florian Triangle these days, living like a shut-in in its gloomy corners. He wasn't as much of a threat to the world as some rookie pirates.
Sure, he'd stolen some people's shadows—but most of them belonged to pirates.
The stronger someone was, the more powerful their shadow. So Moria wasn't interested in the weak shadows of ordinary civilians.
He was also relatively weak—ranked at the bottom of the Shichibukai—and easy for the Navy to keep under control.
Eliminating a controllable Shichibukai like him now could mean he'd be replaced by someone far more ambitious.
That wasn't something Rorschach—or the Navy—wanted to see.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Rorschach had sailed through the misty and gloomy sea for two whole days without encountering even a ghost—let alone Brook or Moria.
This place was way bigger than he'd imagined.
If it weren't for the Log Pose pointing toward G2 Island, they might've gotten completely lost in the fog.
Then again, if that had happened, Rorschach could just make the warship fly into the sky.
"Bururururu…"
"Bururururu…"
Suddenly, in the quiet of the night, a special Den Den Mushi began ringing urgently from a hidden compartment below the mast behind him.
Rorschach's expression changed. He leapt down to the deck, reached into the compartment, and picked up a yellow Den Den Mushi.
This kind of Den Den Mushi had only two functions:
Receiving emergency communications from Marine HQ.
Receiving real-time distress signals from other nearby Marine ships.
Normally, HQ would contact his personal Den Den Mushi unless it was something urgent.
Click.
"Moshi Moshi, this is—"
Rorschach had just started to identify himself when a chaotic noise on the other end cut him off.
Through the shouting, clashing weapons, and thunderous cannon fire, a panting, rough voice came through intermittently over the otherwise silent deck.
"Re-requesting backup! This is... Rear Admiral Kadaru of Headquarters. We've been ambushed by the Giant Shark Pirates! P-please... Please…"
The man's voice abruptly cut off.
But the ear-splitting sounds of gunfire and cannon blasts were faithfully echoed by the special Den Den Mushi, echoing nonstop across the silent deck.
Soon, the noise woke up the Navy soldiers aboard.
Even Law rushed out of the cabin, many still half-dressed.
"What happened?" Law asked, gripping his sword Kikoku, eyes on the Den Den Mushi beside Rorschach.
"It's a distress signal. The caller identified himself as Rear Admiral Kadaru of HQ, and they're not far. All hands, listen up! Prepare for battle! Increase ship speed—no, forget that. I'll fly us there directly. Law! Get the side wings deployed and lower the sails. I'll wake up Hibari to guide us!"
Rorschach barked out emergency orders.
"Yes, sir!"
Knowing the urgency, the crew snapped into action without needing further instruction.
Rorschach returned to the captain's quarters and approached Hibari's bed. She was curled up under the bright red quilt, sleeping like a baby, and he hesitated to wake her.
But a comrade's plea for help took precedence.
"Hibari, Hibari, wake up. Something's happened. I need you to get up and guide our heading."
He gently patted the blanket covering her.
Hibari's instincts were sharp—she opened her eyes immediately.
When she heard about the distress signal, she threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, and ran toward the door.
But just as she reached it, she froze, blushing fiercely, and rushed back to the wardrobe. Grabbing a change of clothes, she dashed into the bathroom and slammed the wooden door shut.
Rorschach stood silently for a moment, wiping two hot streams of blood from his nose.
That brief glimpse, when she'd run across the room in her loose princess dress—those bouncing curves beneath the fabric—hit him with a mental impact as overwhelming as a tsunami from the Lacruna Sea.
So bouncy...
He shook off the daze, inhaled deeply, and dashed out onto the deck.
As soon as he landed, his body began to expand—transforming into his blue-scaled Kirin Form, now standing over seven meters tall. His arms lifted upward.
A violent wind burst forth, blowing away the gray fog surrounding the Kirin.
Two massive, 56-meter-long wings unfurled, buoyed by the powerful updraft.
"Lift off!"
RUMBLE!!
With Rorschach's shout and the sound of rushing seawater, the massive warship Thunder Kirin once again spread its great wings and soared off the sea surface, rising rapidly into the sky.
"Hibari!" Rorschach called out.
"Fifteen degrees to starboard—full speed ahead!"
From the special Den Den Mushi's compartment, Hibari's voice rang out.
"Hold on tight! I'm accelerating!"
"Life Return!"
BOOM!
An immense surge of energy burst forth from Rorschach's expanded form.
The raging wind intensified, turning into a hurricane, slamming into the three massive sails now unfurled below.
WHOOSH!
The huge sails immediately swelled with air.
The powerful winds lifted the Kirin's wings and sails, dramatically increasing the ship's airborne speed as it roared through the sky, racing in the direction Hibari had given.
"Rear Admiral Kadaru is a commander of the G2 Marine Branch, and the adjutant of Vice Admiral Gumeel!"
Hibari shouted again.
"Someone actually dared to openly attack a Navy warship… It seems Vice Admiral Gumeel's claims about their precarious situation were true."
Rorschach's brow furrowed.
The Grand Line's Marine branches were powerful.
Each branch base commander was typically a strong Vice Admiral from HQ.
Combined with elite warriors trained at HQ, captains, and heavy warship artillery—They were more than capable of suppressing pirates in their regions.
But now, the situation facing G2 seems to have reached an extremely dire point.
Over a hundred li away, in a certain sea area—
Boom boom boom!
Dazzling flames lit up the dark night, and deafening explosions pierced the silence of the sky.
Blazing firelights streaked across the heavens like torches, roaring from three sailing ships each about twenty to thirty meters long. They cut through the sea relentlessly, bombarding a green battleship trapped in a siege. One after another, shocking craters were blasted open on the heavy hull of the warship.
The massive battleship teetered under the relentless bombardment from three sides, its bulk creaking unbearably like a wounded beast crying out.
On both sides of the ship, the remaining few cannons continued to fire back—
But to little effect.
On the deck, dozens of white-uniformed naval soldiers had already fallen.
Crimson blood soaked the deck, the thick stench of it invading the nostrils, driving the ongoing battle into madness.
"One-sword style Iaido! Kesagiri!"
A blond naval rear admiral with a two-pronged mustache—Kadaru—drew his blade with one hand and roared as he slashed at one of the two pirates surrounding him. A brilliant arc of sword light burst forth from the sheath, cutting through the night like lightning, slashing toward the neck of a pirate over 2.5 meters tall.
Facing such swift swordplay, the pirate dared not take it head-on—
But he didn't dodge either.
"Die!"
Kadaru's bloodshot eyes saw a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough.
If he could cut down the vice-captain of the Great Shark Pirates, Phillip, he might be able to scare off the remaining pirates.
So he added even more force to his strike.
The whistling blade swept across Phillip's neck—his head disappeared in the next instant.
"Excellent!"
Kadaru rejoiced internally—
But quickly froze.
Because Phillip's head wasn't on the ground.
"Hehehe, fool. I'm a turtlefish-man. Retracting my head is an innate talent etched into my bones."
A mocking voice came from Phillip's headless chest.
Then, with a pop, a sleazy, smirking head poked out of his neck.
"What?!"
Kadaru was stunned.
At that moment, a lean pirate next to Phillip lunged, spinning into a pounce. Steel claws mounted on his fingers tore through the air with a sharp howl, slashing toward Kadaru's abdomen.
He intended to disembowel him.
By the time Kadaru snapped out of his shock and tried to dodge, it was too late. He could only use a defensive technique from the Six Styles.
"Iron Body!"
His whole body tensed, muscles swelling and hardening like steel.
Tear—!
Blood sprayed as the pirate's claws ripped open Kadaru's abdomen. He groaned, clutching his wound and retreating quickly.
"Don't just stand there, Captain Phillip! Kill him already! Let's finish these trash marines quickly. Once G2's reinforcements arrive, we'll be in trouble."
The clawed pirate licked the blood from his claws and grinned with jagged teeth, staring cruelly at the pale-faced Kadaru.
From afar, the pirate ships' cannons continued their relentless barrage, suppressing the battleship's firepower and distracting other naval officers.
Fierce fighting raged across the deck—
Navy soldiers battled against pirates several times their number, refusing to retreat even in death.
Boom!
The deck shook. The massive turtlefish-man Phillip charged with a heavy shell on his back, accompanied by his comrade, attacking Kadaru from both sides.
Gritting his teeth, Kadaru released his wounded abdomen and gripped his blade tightly, prepared to counterattack.
But then—
Several naval officers nearby, disregarding their own lives, abandoned their pirate opponents and leapt at Phillip and his comrade to protect Kadaru.
"Don't come! You're no match for them!"
Kadaru screamed hoarsely, quickening his pace.
But the searing pain and blood loss blurred his vision.
He was still too weak.
"No! You handle the others! Leave these two to—"
Kadaru reached out, yelling.
But before he could finish, he saw two of the four naval officers who had charged forward get struck down—bodies caved in, dead on the spot.
The other two slashed their blades while roaring:
"Rear Admiral Kadaru! Run! We'll hold them off! Get back to base—"
Their voices were cut short as two powerful fists pierced their bodies, scattering blood and gore across the deck.
"No!!"
Kadaru's eyes turned blood-red. He roared and charged, letting blood gush freely from his torn abdomen.
"Hmph! Trash marines. Killing you dirty my hands."
Phillip began to pull his arm from the dead officer's chest—
But a blood-covered hand grabbed his own, making him pause.
The dying officer grinned through bloodied gums.
"Die with me!"
"What?!"
In Phillip and his comrade's shocked eyes, both naval officers ripped open belts strapped with explosives—
BOOM!
Two massive fireballs erupted on the deck.
The explosion blasted apart nearly half the warship's deck.
Kadaru hadn't yet reached Phillip before being hurled backward by the shockwave, spitting blood.
But his bloodshot eyes stayed locked on the blast site—
Through the smoke, only a charred turtle shell remained upright.
Then, Phillip's limbs and head poked out again, reappearing before Kadaru.
His comrade had been blown to pieces, dead beyond doubt.
Only the tough shell had saved Phillip from death.
Still alive—but barely—his whole body was blackened, scorched by the flames.
"AAARGH! It hurts! Damn marines! I'll kill you all!"
Screaming in pain, Phillip stomped across the wreckage, charging at Kadaru.
Kadaru, equally crazed, gripped his sword and ran to meet him.
At that moment, the central pirate ship approached.
At its bow stood a giant man over three meters tall, wielding a massive hammer, looking down at Kadaru.
The pressure alone made Kadaru falter mid-charge.
"Captain of the Great Shark Pirates, bounty 68 million—Great Shark Danvers!"
"Tsk, that new vice-captain was worthless. Claimed a 44 million bounty? Human bodies are too fragile. Us fishmen are the perfect race! Phillip, let me stretch a bit with this marine trash."
Danvers' booming voice halted Phillip, who glared at the pale Kadaru.
But Kadaru didn't even look at him—his eyes locked on Danvers preparing to leap over.
"Danvers! Attacking a Navy ship is a capital crime! Vice Admiral Gumiir will hunt you down relentlessly! You're dead!"
Danvers stomped on the ship's prow and sneered:
"Dead? Hahaha! You know I'm a fishman, right? If I can't beat Gumiir, I'll just dive into the sea. What, you humans gonna chase me to ten thousand meters underwater? Even an admiral couldn't touch me!"
With that, Danvers leaped high from the ship—
Just then, a thunderous storm roared across the skies like a dragon's fury.
Danvers, Phillip, Kadaru—they all looked up.
And in the moonlit sky, a massive black shadow emerged, riding the storm clouds, roaring overhead. It blocked what little moonlight remained, casting a vast shadow that enveloped Danvers' pirate ship as it came crashing down—
(End of Chapter)
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