[2715 words]
Might be late on some chapters... Not my fault both the Euro Cup and Copa America are happening at the same time.
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The war approached, and both sides were raring to go at each other.
The Marines had Zephyr, Garp and the Three Admirals: Sengoku, Basara and Kurowashi.
*Clang* *Clang* Over the blue seas was a powerful shockwave that echoed forth. It originated from the ship which houses the five powerhouses, Kurowashi's ship.
The vessel had black sails and wing-like additions to the side. A golden frame coated the exterior with soft white paint, making it a majestic vessel one may confuse with World Nobles.
Upon the raised bow of the ship was a giant, silver bell that carried a noble air.
*Bell Clanging*
The marines roared in joy as their cries harmonized with the bell, like a heartbeat matching a metronome. Its effects went beyond making noise; instead, it had lit a spark in soldiers' spirits!
Shakky sighed as she saw the display, rubbing her forehead.
Damien heard the Voice of All Things and noticed that each time the bell rang, it sent out a wave of mental force, much like Conqueror's Haki, but to reinforce will rather than break it down.
"The Legendary ship that brought justice of the marines to the greatest of foes," Damien thought out loud.
Shakky solemnly nodded at his words, "A beacon of marine naval supremacy… The Ox Lloyd's Warship that houses the fabled Ox Bell!"
The bell rang endlessly, declaring the arrival of Justice!
[Ox Lloyd's Warship and Ox Bell Images (in Discord)]
.
Even without any difference in manpower, Damien was unsure of victory; after all, the three Admirals had come together with Garp and Zephyr.
He also knew that allowing the marine morale to skyrocket would be foolish.
*Thump* *Thump* Damien slowly walked forth and stopped all but a few inches before the railing of the Suicidal Rambo.
Even with the Ox Bell that rang with sounds that hit the very soul of its listeners, all marines still turned their gazes to Damien. The name of the Sin Incarnate had long made its way through the Navy, a pirate known to have disarmed Zephyr and defeated the invincible Basara.
"..." An ominous silence echoed through the marines' minds, forcing the clanging bell to dim into the background.
The infamous pirate slightly narrowed his eyes, and then…
BOOOM!
Like an eruption from a volcano, endless streams of black and red howled out from the young man. They spread out their dark hold in all directions, covering the distance and befalling the sea of Marines.
A dark crimson hue of dense Conqueror's Haki sought to dismantle all hopes and dreams of the tens of thousands of naval soldiers, transforming their desire to fight into the desire to escape.
*Crackle* Black lightning rained down, decorating the chilly morning with its disastrous sight and churning the seas in chaos.
"The Navy thinks they can storm into the New World just because they came with a fleet; give them a pirate's welcome to this hellish sea!"
The powerful words containing the volatile Haki reached the ears of both sides. The 30,000-strong force of pirates bellowed a thunderous roar, loud enough that the ocean began to shake!
Howls of greed, desire for power and rage toward their foes flooded the minds of the Rocks Pirates.
…
[On the Marines' Side]
*Thud* *Slam* *Bam*
Countless navy officers had begun to collapse from Damien's Haki as thousands were shaken to their very core.
Sengoku clicked his tongue in frustration, "He's nothing but trouble!"
"Bwahaha!" a laugh broke out. "He's got quite the fire; I like him!"
Garp cracked his knuckles, not overly worried about the shaken marines since it was expected.
Kurowashi narrowed his eyes, "At least 25,000 pirates have already died from the Festival. We aimed to take down the New World… Now, a few more obstacles remain."
Sol and Rocks were busy with their duel, and Newgate, Roger, Redfield, and Shiki were also occupied. This allowed the Marines to double their catch, from 28,000 to 55,000 pirates, if they took down the Rocks' Fleet. With their death would come peace to the world!
.
*Thump* *Thump* Basara walked up, his boots slamming onto the deck, seemingly with the weight of mountains.
His hand reached his missing eye and muttered, "That pirate has his way of summoning chaos… it will not be an easy fight."
Under the words of the glum Admiral, not many would speak up.
"Bwahahaha! Basara-san, don't be so gloomy; it's a Festival, and you should enjoy it!"
The Mountain was about to respond angrily towards his young colleague; however, another sharp breeze broke out.
"T-They've begun to move!"
Eyes drifted to the center as they saw pirates had commenced the battle!
*Vvooo!* A cold wind picked up as hundreds of pirate ships sailed ahead with no intention of slowing down; a suicidal rush with no visible strategy.
"All ships prepare to fire once they are in range!" Sengoku ordered.
A bright gold hue of Haki followed the Admiral's words. Like the Sin Incarnate, Sengoku spanned his Will through the Naval Fleet, bathing his troops with a sense of spirit and divinity.
"That's right. Otherwise, I'll have to beat you into shape!" Garp followed, cracking his knuckles once more; each crack seemed to echo in tandem with the unleashing of his own Haki of Kings, swamping over the marine masses with a bright burst of blue.
The grace of the Buddha and the Fist was enough to break the soldiers from their trance.
.
The ten Vice Admirals spread throughout the marine ships leading them loud and proud.
*Click* *Clank* Thousands of cannons lowered and aimed at the pirates that inched closer by the passing minute.
Beads of sweat fell off the younger officers as they gulped at the simple uproar from the Rocks Pirates. They were a pack of wolves hunting the distant sheep, clawing their way over the turbulent seas.
They deserved their title as the absolute most fearsome crew of the era!
*Clang!* The Ox Bell continued to ring, reigniting morale while the pirate ships had nearly entered the range of the cannons.
.
Garp suddenly threw his marine coat to the ground; only a simple white shirt and Navy blue pants remained. He pulled back his sleeves, spread out his arms, and demanded, "Bring up my balls!"
Tires screeched as hundreds of racks rolled from the ship's deck to the front. Tens of thousands of cannonballs rested upon them.
The Vice Admiral picked up a ball in each hand and reeled them back:
.
"Genkotsu... Meteor!"
.
Like a bullet, the cannonballs were launched out with enough speed to cut through a mountain, one by one. The sheer speed of Garp was baffling; one hundred projectiles shot out in all but one second.
*Boom!* Garp's precision was impeccable, already sinking three enemy vessels.
Tens of marine ships at the front of the formation also fired, unleashing a rain of black projectiles that skidded across the waters.
…
Damien saw the hail of balls and grinned.
It was well known that the Rocks' Crew did not believe in teamwork; it was a foreign concept to them, and some even tried to eat it.
Most were more wary about being stabbed in the back rather than being hit by a meteor-like cannonball.
Thus, the Fourth Division Commander simply ordered all ships to sail ahead instead of using a tactic or strategy.
"Damien-chan, try not to lose too many ships. The shipbuilders at Myriam Island have been threatened one too many times by Shiki and John to make more ships and can't handle continued 'encouragement,'" Shakky cautioned from behind.
Her request was amusing, sparking a chuckle.
.
Five minutes in, the sea had already seen significant blood and war. One to three ships were damned to fall every minute on both sides, taking down hundreds of lives with them.
"Indra, I'll leave the trump card with you."
*Fwooo* Like the flash of light, a shadow appeared behind Damien. "I won't fail, Commander," Indra calmly answered, his blade ready.
Damien cracked his neck as a smile was etched on his face. He heard a hum from the woman nearby, "You're joining in this early?"
Shakky received a nod from the young pirate. "I recovered enough in the past few hours to fight, so I might as well go now and continue polishing my Haki."
With that, he disappeared from the ship.
Shakky sighed, took out her trusty pistol, and began picking off dozens of marines in every magazine.
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[Marine Side]
The current marine formation had 5 standard ships and 9 warships at the front, 75 standard ships in the center, and another 11 warships at the back.
"S-Something is coming!" a voice yelled out from the leftmost marine warship; it was a man of Commodore rank.
"What is it?" a Rear Admiral asked and arrived at the soldier's side.
The man who had alerted the Rear Admiral was a user of the Sense-Sense Fruit that allowed him to sense attacks that had yet to occur in the immediate five seconds.
The Commodore was about to speak, but no words came out.
A spray of crimson liquid showered onto the Rear Admiral as he saw his subordinate's head being squashed into nothingness, the blood spurting out like a fountain.
Damien had appeared under the horrified eyes of the thousand marines on board. Ryushi was bathed in blood in Crusher configuration.
*Click* *Bang!*
Hundreds of shots followed as the Marines retaliated; they may have been fearful, but they had enough experience not to freeze in this situation.
Yet, much to their dismay, the bullets simply fell to the ground, having barely even touched the pirate but lost all momentum in the process.
"N-Not even a scratch…" a man muttered with an audible gulp.
*Vwooo* Damien didn't respond; instead, he raised the hammer and smashed it forth.
Cracks spread all over, followed by the complete collapse of the ship. The endless depths swallowed all cries of the fallen marines.
The enemy jumped up to the sky, utilizing Moonwalk. Damien's eyes glowed red as two beams of red energy blasted out.
*Zwip!*
They bounced and ricocheted through the air, zapping at awkward angles and leaving a trail of near-microscopic pieces of ruined flesh.
BOOM!
Five standard marine ships, 30 or so meters away, were destroyed as pieces of wood rained down upon the blood-soaked sea to the credit of the Omega Beams.
Damien then extended both hands to his left and right while he floated in the sky, allowing Ryushi to float at his side.
.
"Abyssal Ruin."
.
A broad stream of pulverizing energy shredded the air that surrounded it. The attack zoomed through the air as it met a marine warship.
BOOOOM!
The sails cracked, the floorboards snapped, and the very frame of the ship glowed red.
*Zwip* Sounds of pixelation went off as the behemoth of a ship was reduced to microscopic levels, converting the thousand-strong force into dust.
Meanwhile, Ryushi returned to Damien's hand as it vibrated in delight.
"FIRE!" A yell broke out. It was a marine Vice Admiral who gestured to the marines to fire.
*Bang!*
*BOOM!*
*Vwoom!*
Tens of cannons mounted upon the marine ships went off as the balls zoomed through the air. Damien hummed as a little grin formed on his visage, welcoming the bombardment.
BOOOOM!
A chained explosion went off in the air as nearly 100 cannonballs exploded, having reached the man in the sky.
Significant dust floated around from the shrapnel, leaving a sense of doom at its core.
"D-Did we get him…?" an optimistic voice broke out.
A few thousand eyes glared at the skies slowly cleared of the dust.
A man gulped as he saw two crimson orbs in the loose cloud of dust that peered into his soul.
Damien's untouched body graced the world. His regal attire was long gone, and his body displayed no physical injury.
"R-Ridiculous!"
"That had enough power to take down a thousand pirates!"
They then heard a voice: "Ryushi Combat Arts…"
The weapon in Damien's hand suddenly warped into the shape of something else, the Vanquisher Configuration. Its arrival sent out sizzling mists of crimson energy, shredding the air.
The young pirate grasped the weapon in both hands, and the blade was raised diagonally to his body.
.
"...Broken World."
.
The Supreme Weapon slashed down with infinite momentum in an arc of endless power. The bubble of Ryuo acted as a coating and allowed the attack to shoot through the skies!
It was brighter than the rising sun, lighting up the surrounding sea. *Fwooo!* High-pitched cries of the air screamed as the crimson slash found its way upon three warships at the back of the formation.
Cries of thousands of men burst out as every ship was thinly sliced in a diagonal half, causing them to entirely collapse upon themselves. Yet before it could fully sink, every ship glowed an eerily red before disappearing from the naked eye; reduced to dust.
…
[Twenty Minutes Later]
Thousands had already fallen from both sides.
Charlotte Linlin, aka the Evil Spirit, 'borrowed' the souls of some annoying Rocks members to create some Homies to aid in her attack.
Her children and other minions charged alongside her.
Katakuri's Mochi-Mochi Fruit rained down ranged attacks while Perespero brought down candy arrows upon the marines. The others were busy with the other ships while a few warships attacked in response.
She was about to shoot another bullet when a flash of black crashed into her.
BAM!
A black metallic fist smashed upon her desirable body, and the warm bubble of Emission Haki transferred into her frame.
"Ugh!" a stream of blood escaped the woman's mouth as she felt her entire body shake like a drum.
It took a second for her to process the aching pain. "Seastone!" Linlin growled out.
A figure floated in the air. It had purple hair, a stoic face, and a muscular body, all while sporting a metal arm that glistened with Haki.
.
Katakuri grew somber at the sight. "Vice Admiral Zephyr. He was defeated by Sensei during the Amethyst Kingdom Crisis and lost an arm."
With his Seastone arm, Zephyr was a beacon of power, having taken down hundreds of pirate crews as he showed the capability of a non-fruit wielder to the world.
"Haah!? That Damien cut off your arm, so you came to me instead? Are you saying that I am an easier opponent than him!" Linlin roared out in indignity.
Her lacy bikini somehow held her massive jugs that heaved from her fury.
Zephyr, however, was unphased and rather disdainful, "You come to a battle pregnant; such a woman doesn't deserve to be a mother!"
The Vice Admiral had a lover of his own—a simple and mundane woman whom he cherished with everything. The two recently thought of having a child and seeing the current Linlin left him furious.
*Whizz!* He rushed out and crashed his metal arm onto the unsheathed Napoleon.
BOOM!
…
As for Damien, he had just destroyed another eight ships and was about to aim at another.
He was 30 meters in the air, ready to launch an attack. "!!!" His eyes lit up red as he mapped out the future.
Clang!
Ryushi was raised by reflex to guard Damien's chest and met an attack.
Waves of shock burst out from the exchange as waves of water were generated. The sheer strength of the enemy's attack sent out enough force to level a mountain.
Damien looked ahead and saw that his Supreme Blade struggled to hold under the might of a black fist.
Boom!
The air exploded as his body was launched back with significant momentum and skidded through the air. The Sin Incarante's chest rang with force as his bones shook from the dense Emission Haki dancing within.
Yet suddenly… *Pop* The tremendous force of the punch seemingly ceased as Damien returned to float freely, sending out a dull boom from the excess momentum.
*Purrup* Ryushi bubbled in anger, releasing a hazy crimson mist.
.
"Bwahahaha! That weapon of yours is quite sturdy!"
The Sin Incarnate broke out a grin of his own, "Garp."
The cheerful Vice Admiral raised a black fist, blew on it and polished it with his shirt. "Such talented youths shouldn't be running through the seas unchecked. Let me teach you a quick lesson with my signature Fist of Love!"
To Be Continued…
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Author's Corner.
Zephyr vs Linlin and Damien vs Garp with all the other mess in the background.
Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q
[2700 words]
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Damien locked onto Garp with cautious eyes.
The young pirate had fought many enemies now: he clashed with two Overlords, duelled the likes of Whitebeard and Shiki, butted heads with Big Mom and even took down an Admiral!
Yet in all these fights, he had never fought a master of all colours of Haki—a combination superior to any fruit user.
Garp was clean-shaven, sporting an open white shirt and navy blue trousers. "Bwahahaha!" he laughed and cracked his Haki-infused knuckles.
*Pop* The air popped like a balloon as the Vice Admiral launched toward Damien, roughly 150 meters away.
The famed marine's charge involved little strategy; it was a simple rocket-like rush with his right hand pulled back, ready to bash everything into pieces.
Damien's grip on Ryushi tightened, swarming it with dense Haki.
*Vvoooo!* The air vibrated as the weapon seemed somewhat annoyed by the previous conflict. Damien twirled Ryushi in a red circle, blasting on ahead as well.
Torrents of volatile energy swirled around the young pirate as his body built up vast amounts of momentum and became a flash of red.
.
"Crimson Comet!"
.
Garp saw the incoming meteor and gave out a grin of pure glee. A red bubble was coated around his right fist, black lightning crackling about.
BOOOOOOM!
A flare of crimson energy arched all over the seas as shockwaves with enough power to push the nearby marine ships tens of meters away.
*Fwooo!* Torrents of air currents were generated as the Sin Incarnate and The Fist pushed forth.
Damien's attack was naturally infused with Conqueror's Haki, meeting Garp's attack. A sudden silence arrived, only to be overtaken by the hellish force being generated.
"They're not even touching!" a marine muttered in awe while shielding his face from the mind-numbing wind.
.
'This Armament is ridiculous!' Damien exclaimed with widened eyes, much to Garp's enjoyment.
BOOM!
A secondary explosion went off as the attacks finally connected. Both were uninjured and pushed back a good twenty meters from one another.
"That weapon is as hard as Roger's sword! It makes for a nice nail clipper!" Garp joked. Meanwhile, a screen appeared in Damien's eyes.
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
[Monkey D. Garp]
[Age: 39 years, 14 days]
[Height: 9' 5"] (2.87 m)
[Devil Fruit: None]
[Skills: Overwhelming Strength, Unmatched Talent in Armament Haki, Rokushiki, Will of D, Iron Fist Anatomy, Heroic Haki]
[Haki: Intermediate Mastery of Observation Haki, Armament Haki (Grandmastery (II)), Grandmastery (I) of Conqueror's Haki]
[Strength: Top Tier Yonko]
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
Damien was intrigued: this was his first encounter with a Grandmaster of Armament, something he had yet to attain!
"Take this Fist of Pain!" Garp roared out, his punch coated in absurdly thick Haki.
"Empyrean Release."
Damien readied Ryushi once more. His body was then covered in plates of armour, and crimson mist exuded from it.
Boom! *Clang!* *BAM!* Under the eyes of the marines, the two men went off at great speeds, and collisions occurred every few instances.
Streaks of red and blue flashed throughout like fireworks as the fight continued.
…
[Ox Lloyd's Warship]
Sengoku stood as firm as a mountain. His pure white marine coat draped over his shoulders, and his seagull hat was mounted.
Sengoku looked around and saw the chaos.
On one side was Big Mom against Zephyr. The two had already led to many deaths on both sides from their fight.
Linlin used her Ultimate-Class Fruit as her versatile attacks rained down on the Black Arm. However, she could not fully contain her enemy, leading to a standstill.
The other side had pockets of air that exploded at constant intervals; booms of clashes went off as Damien's Ryushi added with Garp's Armament would release many shockwaves.
And, of course, in the middle was a pure moshpit of marines and pirates; bodies swam lifelessly with rubble and broken ships every here and there.
The cries of tens of thousands of men in fights and injuries were the only thing that persisted.
.
Noting all the fine details, Sengoku raised his afroed snail connected to the higher-ranked marines and ordered, "We will begin the plan; all troops, begin a slow retreat!"
Upon his words, visibly, the functional marine ships started to immediately pull back. Yet, cannons still went off to mask their moves.
...
Ten minutes passed as the Marines had put a gap of at least 300 meters between the ships, continuing the naval battle.
"Now, Basara-san!"
The Admiral exchanged a nod to his fellow marine and slowly raised his hands.
Basara's movement was quick but felt all over the battlefield.
*Rumble* The very sea bathed in fire and war trembled with water ripples slowly growing in intensity. The fight paused for a moment, allowing Basara's hoarse voice to echo the region:
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"Pit of Despair!"
.
A vast shadow engulfed the ships on the outer edges of the naval battle. Rocks Pirates fell as a giant structure rose all around the battlefield—a circular mountain containing the entire warzone!
The seas shook continuously as the circular dome grew and grew, capping off at a friendly kilometer-tall barrier.
Basara then made a few more hand gestures, exercising his domain over the earth below the sea.
.
"Justice Arena!"
.
The seas shook alongside the ships. Wood cracked on the hull of many pirate ships as they started to lift up—Basara moulded the earth to make a full landmass!
It stretched all over the battlefield; the pirate half of the arena was littered with jagged earth and uneven terrain. On the marine side, it was as smooth as a newborn's rear, preserving the vessels for future sailing.
*Rumble* By now, a multi-kilometer-wide land had been erected, encompassing the warzone and beyond.
"Seek cover!" Sengoku's voice was heard from the snails in the hands of Vice and Rear Admirals.
*Rumble*
Basara then raised both arms as he moulded the world. The marine grunted, fueling his spirit into giant swirls of earth that covered the skies.
"..." A deafening silence took over as the forces eyed the rocks above. Tens of thousands, around three meters wide with a sharpened edge, floated with little movement.
.
"Reigning Justice!"
.
Under the command of Basara, slowly but surely, all the boulders in the sky fell with the embrace of gravity. Picking up speed, generating loud whirls as they neared their objective.
[Attack Image (in Discord)]
…
[The Suicidal Rambo]
Shakky clicked her tongue at the sight of the free-falling hell from around 630 meters in the sky. At this rate, the boulders would crash at around 400 km/h speeds (~250 mph)!
"It's quite ruthless," the woman muttered, shaking her head.
Another naval order boomed from Sengoku, reaching her ears, "Open fire!"
An exponential amount of bullets also went off as the Marines unloaded their rifles; hell from above and the front.
"..." After a moment of thought, Shakky used her Roulette-Roulette Fruit and changed the rounds in her pistol.
*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* Tens of bullets hit the broken ships nearby. A weird scene ensued as the small bullets sucked up all the rubble into a portal, leaving nothing but upset dust behind.
.
By now, the Rocks Pirates had regained their wills. They desperately opened fire at the boulders above to lessen the range of attacks.
"Saké Golden Geyser!"
"Blazing Glory!"
"Majin Missile!"
"The Great Depression!"
"Titan Venom!"
"One Sword Style: Beautiful Death."
Damien's Division mates commenced their attacks, creating chains of explosions to encase the rocky skies, fully showcasing quality over quantity.
Shakky then aimed her pistol. With a bang, a single bullet flew out, though what followed was undoubtedly out of the ordinary: it exploded into 50 tinier pellets!
*Fwoo!* Air was displaced as the pellets opened up tiny portals, spitting out the giant rubble pieces at the dust cloud in the sky.
The pirates below weren't stationary either. They unloaded their attacks, including bullets, cannonballs, rockets, sword attacks, and other weapons.
Although the raining hell was somewhat controlled, it did nothing for the bombardment from the marine fleet. Thousands of cannonballs exploded on the ships, shaking all hints of stability on the pirate side.
BOOM! *Rumble*
The boulders, which the pirate onslaught reduced to about a fifteenth of their original number, came crashing down; there were still 3,000 left.
"Auuufh!"
"Owwhh!"
"My leg!"
"Uuugh!"
"Iyaaah!"
Meat paste splashed around as the blood of thousands of pirates leaked out. Broken bones and shattered bodies everywhere. Howls and moans of injured men resounded throughout the seas as only a mess of red was left behind.
Hundreds of ships were cracked and destroyed, with only 40 still functional; the Rocks Pirates Fleet had taken tremendous damage! In a matter of a few hours, 30,000 pirates were reduced to nearly 16,000, while the Marines remained around 23,000 strong.
.
The pirates had no chance to lick their wounds as the marines charged across Basara's arena, their morale sky-high. The advent shook the virgin land, amplifying their morale to skyrocket.
"Meet their attacks!" Shakky's stern voice bellowed.
The pirates that survived showed no fear. They growled angrily and jumped off the ships with little care, weapons raised—savage beasts.
Their bull charge was unforgiving even to their own people! A stampede broke out under the feet of the pirates, running over hundreds of their fellow brothers-in-arms.
Like two tides, the armies clashed.
Bodies swam together as tens of thousands of men began a melee on slaughter.
"Roar!"
"Ssss~!"
Two Ancient Zoans appeared!
Arai, a Titanoboa and Majin, an Ankylosaurus. Yet their appearance was met by another force.
*Clang!* A loud metallic sound broke off as each Ancient Zoan was attacked; marine capes floated around as powerful presences stood tall—Six Rear Admirals!
Kaen and Nomu were a team of drunken fire that mixed rather well. Still, their dyad also met a wall in the form of a veteran Vice Admiral under Kurowashi.
Pablo stood in the back, unloading endless bullets from his twin pistols. He recharged his fellow division mates while taking down a horde of marines with more negative effects.
.
Indra approached the ship's bow and said, "I will go too."
Shakky nodded, continuing her flurry of gunshots.
Indra blasted ahead at incredible speed, beyond what the naked eye could track! He was like a bullet that zoomed around.
A company of marines was shocked as they were picked off one by one. Their shaken eyes traced a black streak that darted from soldier to soldier, blood raining down in its wake.
No wasted slash, no wasted energy and no wasted time; streaks of afterimages were left behind as he continued his slaughter. But like a broken record, he, too, was stopped.
Clang!
His sword was suddenly met to a halt by a large broadsword while taking fire from a distant sniper.
Indra held his ground, glaring at the one clashing with his weapon while casually tilting his head to dodge a bullet clad in Haki.
"It seems that my blade will claim more Vice Admirals…"
…
[In the Skies]
Boom!
In his Empyrean Form, Damien was bombarded with Garp's mighty fists as their fight continued. It had been two hours since their battle began.
The pirate sighed as he saw his losing pirates, not that he cared for them, except for a select few.
"Sengoku is as ruthless as always," Damien commented, blocking a fist.
Garp chuckled, drilling his punch forward, "Hehe, he may be a golden statue, but his mind is only a little sharper than mine!"
Damien's Ryushi slammed on Garp's fist.
Garp continued to talk between their collisions: "You grew a lot from that little fledgling at Mora Island to now. Kong-san's hair turned gray from your mess. Bwahaha!"
Damien slashed down as his attack was met with two fists.
BOOM!
"It's only the beginning!"
Garp grinned at the remark, "Even with you and that giant cake-lover, you stand no chance right now since Newgate, Shiki, and Rocks are busy with their own fights."
*Vvoosh!*
The marine's burly figure suddenly flickered and appeared close to Damien, a speed beyond what a man his size could display.
BAM!
A black punch drilled into Damien's stomach and forced him to spit out air and blood. The pirate was thrown 15 meters back before he regained balance.
"That usually would be enough to crumble a mountain…" Garp muttered, staring at his fist in confusion. Perhaps it was because he missed his daily dose of rice crackers.
.
Damien grinned as a stream of blood flowed down his lips. Garp wasn't wrong in his earlier statement; the fall of the Rocks Fleet seemed inevitable.
Especially considering that both Kurowashi and Sengoku had yet to make a move. But even with such detrimental conditions, the Sin Incarnate had a few other thoughts in mind.
Such thoughts were confirmed as the future flashed in his eyes.
"It's about damn time…"
His gaze drifted to the side as Garp did so as well.
A black shadow could be seen from afar with many smaller ones around it; Garp's jaw dropped.
BOOOM! *Rumble*
Shock spread in the eyes of the marines and even the Three Admirals as they all looked to the far left of the circular mountain range.
A segment of the kilometer-wall had suffered extensive damage, evidenced by the countless cracks spreading through. Giant pieces of rock slid down the slope as the attacked section shattered apart!
It left a gaping hole in the mountain, unveiling tens of shadows.
Damien smirked at Garp, "Five marine powerhouses are quite powerful, but that's the thing, we aren't your only enemy."
The ten shadows cleared; they were ships! Flags reigned proud as the many foresails had words printed on them.
First, a few New World pirate crews:
[I F R I T]
[G O O S E]
[M R ⋅ N O I R]
[B U C K I N G H A M]
[H E N S O]
And a few big names:
[W A N G ⋅ Z H I]
[ G O L ⋅ D ⋅ R O G E R]
[ R O C K S ]
Six pirate crews alongside the Oro Jackson and the Titanic! The latter was around 230 meters tall, eclipsing the rest with its enormous shadow.
The newly arrived forces included around 800 New World pirates alongside the Oro Jackson's fifty or so battle-heartened pirates.
A few powerful presences could be picked up as they were big names over the New World.
On one of the minor ships that sailed with a masked face as the figurehead, the man at its helm wore a red and black attire, his face masked.
A Supernova: Henso 'The Faceless' with a bounty of 𝔅 429,000,000.
Next to his ship was another, led by a towering pirate. "Wawawawa, these Rocks guys are kinda fun to be around!"
It was 'The Crisis' Wang Zhi. Bounty of 𝔅 670,000,000.
"He certainly would fit in rather well," the armoured man commented before turning his attention to the man drowning in alcohol. "John... you seem different."
"Johohoho!" The pink-haired man cackled, licking his lips. "Don't worry about me, ol' friend. I'm actually rather excited!"
'Pirate Bandit' Captain John — 𝔅 469,000,000.
'Blinding Light' Silver Axe — 𝔅 934,000,000.
John swirled his gourd only to lose his balance from a sudden tremor. The man glared at the brooding giant near the side of the Titan, "Kaido, stop slamming that bat of yours!"
The Hundred-Beast ignored the complaint, his eyes glued to the neighbouring ship. "Just you wait, Gaban, I'll tear you apart!"
.
The Oro Jackson was more harmonious; the two commanders at their front stood like beacons of piracy.
"I see you made a friend," a refined voice broke.
The other man twirled around his axes, leaking a wry smile. "Don't tease me, Rayleigh. That kid is annoying as hell!"
'Hundred-Beast' Kaido — 𝔅 961,110,000.
'Twin Axe' Scopper Gaban — 𝔅 1,270,550,000
The complaint from the billion-plus pirate brought a smile to the swordsman.
He had slicked-back golden and circular glasses over a vertical scar across the left eye. The Dark King, sporting a hefty sum of 𝔅 2,208,600,000 on his head.
The unorthodox cavalry was all but the start of a turbulent event that would go down in the annals of history, the war on a scorched sea!
To Be Continued…
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Author's Corner.
More of a set-up chapter for things coming up.
Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q