章 14: Mission - Save yourselves! (2)
The dust was still settling from the destruction of the execution platform, and Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, stood on the platform's remnants, his face twisted into a mask of controlled fury. His sharp and calculating eyes scanned the battlefield, immediately locking onto the figures of Blake and Ace in the distance.
"They managed to destroy the platform..." Sengoku muttered under his breath, his mind already calculating the next steps. Ace was loose, but the battle was far from over. "We can't let him escape."
Sengoku's gaze shifted toward Akainu, who was advancing toward Blake and Ace from across the battlefield. The Admiral's magma fists were already scorching the air as he launched a long-range attack, molten rocks flying toward their position.
Without missing a beat, Sengoku tapped the Den Den Mushi at his side, commanding the Marines. "Deploy all forces in the surrounding area. Encircle them. Do not let Ace get away. Prioritize recapture!"
The Marines sprang into action, the battle shifting with Sengoku's orders. The tension on the battlefield thickened as all eyes turned toward Blake, Ace, and their attempt to escape.
From afar, Akainu was closing the distance fast, his eyes locked on Ace like a predator stalking its prey. His molten fists left trails of smoke in their wake, the ground bubbling beneath his feet as he marched forward. With a grim expression, he launched a massive magma fist toward Blake and Ace, the searing attack streaking across the battlefield like a comet.
Blake saw the attack coming—his future sight flashing the image of Akainu's deadly blow before it even left the Admiral's hand. He needed to act fast.
Before Blake could react, a loud, exaggerated voice echoed across the battlefield.
"The great Captain Buggy has arrived! I will save the day!" Buggy shouted, his dramatic pose entirely at odds with the chaos around him. His hands were on his hips, chest puffed out, as he stood amidst the destruction like he was the show's star.
Blake's eyebrow twitched in disbelief.
"What is this clown doing now?" he muttered.
But Buggy's antics weren't entirely foolish. While he played up his drama queen role for the crowd, his followers—those ragtag prisoners and pirates who had somehow decided Buggy was their savior—were drawn in by his performance. They cheered for him loudly enough that their noise created a brief distraction.
"The Marines are trembling at the sight of me! The great Buggy, future Pirate King!" Buggy yelled, his arms flailing dramatically.
Blake couldn't help but smirk. "He's an idiot... but it's working."
The Marines closest to Buggy were momentarily caught off guard by the sheer absurdity of his bravado, their attention diverted. Even some of the higher-ranking Marines paused to give Buggy a skeptical look.
"Fine," Blake muttered, "I'll use this distraction."
As Akainu's attack closed in, Blake darted his gaze toward Ace, who had collapsed to the ground, his shackled hands raised, offering Mr. 3 access to the cuffs. Mr. 3, with his wax powers active, was working feverishly to unlock the seastone shackles.
His hands trembled as he carefully shaped a wax key, hovering just above the seastone cuffs without daring to touch them directly. "Why do I always end up in these situations?" Mr. 3 muttered to himself, sweat dripping down his face.
Blake crouched beside Ace, alerting his senses for any incoming attacks. "Faster, Wax Man," Blake urged, his tone calm but commanding. "We don't have much time."
Mr. 3 glared up at Blake, clearly frustrated but not about to argue. "You try making a key for seastone shackles while an Admiral is throwing magma at you!" he snapped, though his hands kept moving. Blake chuckled softly.
"Yeah, but I'm not the one who specializes in wax sculptures, am I?"
Ace smirked despite the situation, his eyes following the long-range attack still barreling toward them. "Hurry up, or we're all gonna be toast."
Mr. 3's hands trembled even more as the pressure mounted, but finally, the wax key began to take shape. "Almost... got it," he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to calm his shaking hands.
Blake had only moments to act, with Akainu's attack still coming at them afar. His Mirror Knight card had proven worthwhile, but Blake had been itching to try something new. He's aware that he can reflect light, but he still hasn't attempted to deflect another element. Mirrors are typically made out of glass. All the elements other than light can damage a glass-like mirror, but his mirrors are peculiar. He assumed for now that only high-frequency vibration could shatter his ability.
Blake glanced down at Ace.
"Hold tight. This might get a little tricky."
He focused, summoning three new mirrors around him. This time, instead of using them for pure reflection or illusion, Blake angled them in a precise formation. He'd been experimenting with the mirrors' refractive properties, and now he wanted to see if they could redirect energy.
Akainu's magma fist soared through the air, aimed directly at them. But as the attack neared, Blake triggered the mirrors.
The mirrors shimmered, catching the molten heat on their surfaces. With a sharp, precise movement, Blake angled the mirrors to redirect the magma. The attack veered off course, and the molten rock split into several smaller streams that flew harmlessly into the sky.
It wasn't perfect—some of the attack's heat still reached them, scorching the ground nearby—but it had worked. Blake had diverted Akainu's attack without needing to deflect it head-on.
Blake let out a low whistle, impressed by his handiwork. "Guess I'm getting the hang of this."
Ace, despite the situation, cracked a slight grin. "Not bad for a guy who didn't know that seastone shackles were possible a minute ago."
Blake gave him a sideways glance, his lips twitching into a smirk.
"I learn fast."
With the bullet sea stone in his stash, he would have realized fast that the one who created this technology, if he can call it that, would diversify its use.
Behind them, Buggy was still shouting at the top of his lungs, now attracting the attention of some low-level Marines who were trying to contain the chaos.
"Fear me, Marines! For I am Buggy, the unkillable, the unstoppable!" Buggy's voice rose over the din of the battle, his followers chanting his name like a victorious warlord.
Blake rolled his eyes, and the corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement.
"That guy's going to get himself killed if he keeps this up."
"Or crowned emperor," Ace added dryly.
"Honestly, it could go either way," Blake replied, shaking his head as he prepared for the next move.
But their moment of humor was short-lived. The Vice Admirals and some of the Marine forces that had regrouped after Sengoku's orders were closing in again. Blake knew they couldn't hold them off forever, even with his new tricks.
Blake summoned another mirror burst, scattering illusory copies of himself and Ace moving across the battlefield. The mirrors flickered with deceptive energy, confusing the approaching Marines as they struggled to determine which version of Blake and Ace was real.
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