章節 78: Issho’s Might, Meteor Fall!
Garp's face changed as he urgently tried to evade with Doberman in his arms. The lightning struck the ice, leaving a deep hole. Lightning? Was Sanders unwilling to let them go?
Garp cast a doubtful look at Sanders, who was battling Aokiji. Then, suddenly, another bolt of lightning came his way. This time, Garp managed to catch a glimpse of the lightning's origin with his Observation Haki. He looked up.
In the sky, on a small boat, two women—a taller one and a smaller one—were leaning over the edge, watching the scene below. The lightning had come from the orange-haired girl's hand.
"Nico Robin? And that orange-haired girl—she's Sanders' new crewmate?" But how could she summon lightning?
Noticing Garp looking their way, Nami stuck out her tongue. "Ah, I've been spotted."
"He's a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral. It's not that easy to hit him," Robin said with a sigh. "Besides, with your current control over it, even if you hit him, it's questionable whether it would do much harm."
"Well, they attacked Sanders first! I'm definitely going to train hard so I can at least be a little help to Captain Sanders," Nami huffed, puffing up her cheeks in frustration.
Robin chuckled, patting Nami's head. Her gaze turned distant as she watched the battle unfold. She thought to herself that she should train harder, too. At the very least, she wanted to master Haki so that she wouldn't be completely helpless in situations like this.
"That's Nico Robin from the Thunder God Pirates! Fire at that small boat! Shoot them down!" a Marine Rear Admiral shouted from one of the warships. He knew they couldn't directly assist Vice Admiral Garp or Admiral Aokiji, but against Nico Robin, who had a 93 million bounty, they had some chance.
Cannons thundered, and countless shells flew toward Nami's small boat. Nami's face turned pale, and she immediately pulled the boat higher. Rear Admirals Dalmatian and Strawberry launched themselves toward Robin and Nami using Moonwalk.
Sanders hadn't yet moved, but Issho, who was fighting Garp, immediately took action. The power of his Gravity Fruit spread out, catching the shells in mid-air and pulling them down. Under the influence of gravity, the shells plummeted, exploding on the ice around Dalmatian and Strawberry, covering them in smoke and dirt.
"Is this really how the Marines operate?" Issho emerged from the icy rubble, speaking in a calm tone.
"Hahaha! When dealing with pirates, any method is fair game," Garp laughed. Although he was slightly annoyed at the interference, he couldn't criticize the Marines for trying to capture pirates.
"Is that so? I understand." Issho gave a small nod, seemingly at peace. He lifted his head, sending the power of his Gravity Fruit skyward.
Garp squinted, watching the sky in confusion as he saw no immediate change. Sanders, however, couldn't help but smirk. Through his Observation Haki, he sensed massive objects high above, hurtling down towards them.
Issho's voice was firm as he spoke to himself, "No matter who I was before or what I might become, right now, I'm a pirate. And they… they are my crewmates."
In the Thunder God Pirates, Issho felt truly happy. Being around these young people brought him comfort. Over the past few months, the Thunder God Pirates had saved numerous civilians—from Alabasta to Cocoyasi Village and now the residents of their current base. He greatly admired Sanders' way of doing things. By now, he had fully integrated into the crew.
However, the current Buster Call aimed to destroy everything on the island, and both he and Sanders were being surrounded and attacked. While they could handle their own battles, taking advantage of the fact that they were preoccupied to strike at his defenseless crew members was beyond what he could tolerate.
"Sanders once said something that I now fully understand," Issho said calmly, facing Garp.
"What did he say?" Garp asked, confused.
Just then, a series of shocked cries rang out from the Marines' warships.
"Th-those… are those meteors?"
All the Marines stared wide-eyed at the sky, and Garp looked up as well. Several enormous, flaming meteors were plummeting downwards.
"This is… your doing?!" Garp demanded, looking at Issho with widened eyes.
"He said if we don't teach the Marines a lesson, they might start thinking the Thunder God Pirates are easy to bully," Issho replied coolly.
In the midst of Sanders' battle with Aokiji, Aokiji also looked up at the sky, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
"So, Aokiji, what do you think of my crew now?" Sanders asked with a grin.
"Where on earth did you find a monster like that?" Aokiji muttered, his voice laced with tension.
By now, the meteors were visibly growing in the sky as they hurtled toward the Marines' ships.
"Turn the ships around! Get us out of here!"
"The meteors are falling directly toward us!"
The Marines on the decks were frantically ordering the ships to change course to escape.
"Did Uncle Issho bring down those meteors?" Nami asked, wide-eyed, from the small ship in the sky.
"Maybe…?" Robin replied uncertainly.
"Uncle Issho is amazing. No wonder he's the vice-captain—he can even use his Gravity powers to bring down meteors from the sky!" Nami murmured in awe.
"Yeah, to be recognized as vice-captain by Sanders, he must be incredibly strong," Robin responded softly.
On the battlefield, Garp's expression grew darker. He was well aware of the power of those meteors; if they hit, the ten massive warships in the Buster Call fleet would be obliterated in an instant.
What kind of power was this, that someone could bring meteors down from the heavens?
Realizing the destruction the meteors would cause, Garp immediately broke away from the battle, intent on saving the Marines aboard the ships.
"Mr. Garp, our fight isn't over yet," Issho said calmly.
With his Gravity powers at their peak, Issho intensified the weight around him and Garp, causing the icy ground to sink, forming a large pit.
"Hell Voyage!"
Just as Garp tried to leap out of the pit, he found the gravity around him increased several times over. The ice cracked underfoot, forming a deep depression as he struggled to break free.
"Dammit!" Garp yelled, unleashing his full might in a desperate effort to escape, but he could only manage a powerful leap out of the pit before sprinting toward the ships.
Meanwhile, Aokiji attempted to withdraw from his fight as well. However, Sanders had no intention of letting him go that easily.
"Not so fast, Aokiji!" Sanders called.
He utilized his powers to manipulate the nearby ice, transforming it into towering walls to contain Aokiji.
"300 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!"
A colossal thunder dragon materialized before Sanders and roared, hurtling toward Aokiji. Aokiji had no choice but to block Sanders' powerful strike, knowing he couldn't afford to take it lightly.
At the same time, three Marine vice admirals were approaching the ships. They readied their weapons and braced themselves for the incoming meteors, which were now speeding toward the fleet.
Garp, having finally reached the ships, clenched his fist, unleashing his full power with Armament Haki and his martial arts in a final attempt to intercept one of the meteors.
With a powerful strike, Garp shattered the incoming meteor. Searing fragments splashed into the sea, sizzling as they hit the water. Nearby, three Marine Vice Admirals launched their most powerful attacks, joining forces to destroy another meteor. Aokiji managed to break free from Sanders' attacks and rushed toward the fleet. He unleashed his "Ice Age" technique, but it was already too late. Several meteors crashed into the ships, piercing the decks and snapping the keels. The devastating force obliterated the warships, crushing any unlucky Marines caught in the blast.
Some Marines tried to escape but were flung aside by the intense shockwave, which whipped the sea into towering waves. Countless Marines were lost to the meteors, and only three of the original ten warships remained even remotely intact—though even those were badly damaged by the shockwave. The rest had been reduced to little more than debris.
"This… this is terrifying!" Nami and Robin looked on in shock at the destruction of the Marine fleet. Neither of them could have imagined that Issho, usually so gentle and good-natured, could unleash such catastrophic force.
"Incredible!" Sanders said with admiration, crossing his arms as he hovered in the air and approached Aokiji and the remaining Marines. "So, shall we keep going?"
The faces of the Marines turned grim, especially the Vice Admirals, whose expressions showed a fierce desire to tear into Sanders and Issho.
"Sanders! Many of us are students of Zephyr-sensei, elite Marine officers dedicated to fighting pirates!" Garp yelled, his veins bulging in anger.
"Does that mean anything to me?" Sanders sneered. "I'm a pirate! No matter if you're Marines or pirates, once you're out at sea, you'd better be prepared to risk everything! Did you think this was some kind of game?"
"Instead of wasting time arguing with me, you should be gathering your forces and leaving while you still can!" Sanders added. This time, he had done nothing, yet this fleet had come right to his base, fully prepared to take him down. Even if Issho hadn't acted, he would have destroyed this fleet anyway. Did they really think that just because he had once been a Marine, he wouldn't strike against ordinary Marines?
"You little brat…" Garp growled, his fists clenched as he charged at Sanders with a terrifying Iron Fist.
Sanders met him head-on with a Conqueror's Haki-infused Thunder Fist, refusing to back down. The impact of their clash sent both of them skidding backward.
"Still going strong, Garp, even at your age! Let's hope when both of your grandsons become pirates, you'll fight this hard!" Sanders mocked with a cold smile.
Garp's face darkened. "My grandsons would never become pirates! They're destined to be fine Marines!" he retorted angrily.
"Is that so? I'll be waiting to see them become Marines," Sanders replied, then turned away from the grim-faced Garp, floating back to join Issho. Issho rose from the ice, and under the watchful eyes of the Marines, the two quickly made their way to the small boat where Nami was waiting.
"Uncle Issho, you were amazing! You went toe-to-toe with Garp, the Marine Hero, and even pulled down meteors from the sky!" Nami cheered, throwing her hands in the air in excitement.
Issho simply smiled, remaining silent. But Sanders, pretending to be hurt, teased, "And what about me? Wasn't I impressive?"
"Of course! You were awesome too, Captain! You had Admiral Aokiji on the ropes, and you took out a Vice Admiral with a single punch!" Nami laughed, her admiration clear.
"See that, Robin? The Buster Call means nothing in the face of true strength," Sanders said, glancing at Robin with a smile.
"Yes," Robin replied calmly, nodding as she looked down at the wreckage of the warships, feeling the shadows of her past beginning to lift.
"Sanders, are you sure it's okay to reveal your powers to the Marines?" Robin asked, a hint of concern in her voice after a pause. During this battle, Sanders had used his Float-Float Fruit ability openly, lifting the island. Nami had even unleashed two lightning strikes against a Vice Admiral, revealing her Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers. The clever Marines would definitely piece things together.
"It doesn't matter. Even if the Marines figure it out, so what?" Sanders replied casually, waving his hand dismissively. "Even if they send their entire force, they still won't be able to do anything to us."
With the Float-Float Fruit ability, the Marines and World Government had no chance of tracking him down. Even if the World Government had the power to wipe an island off the map, he wasn't some sitting duck waiting to be attacked.
As they neared the island, Robin looked thoughtful before finally nodding. Once they reached it, Sanders raised the island high into the sky, at an altitude of ten thousand meters, and then began drifting towards the Grand Line.
Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Garp and the other Marines were busy retrieving any survivors. They had arrived with five Vice Admirals, an Admiral, and over ten thousand elite Marines. But by the time they left, one Vice Admiral was critically injured and unconscious, and only about four thousand elite Marines remained—a devastating loss.
At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku quickly received news of this catastrophe.
--------------
T/N:
Access 30 chapters in advance on my P@treon: p@treon.com/OneFic
創作者的想法 
OneFic
OneFic Dear Reader, if you’ve enjoyed this story, consider donating your power Stones to help continue the adventure! Add this book to your collection and be part of the journey!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票