Chapter 270: The Jin Shizi Attacks

Night fell.

Beneath the Mayor's Tower of Seven Waters City.

A tall bonfire rose.

A crowd of civilians excitedly threw everything they could find nearby into it, venting their long-suppressed despair.

Flames roared with cheers, growing fiercer and taller—just as the hearts of the crowd did.

"The pirates around Seven Waters City have descended into civil war over the Nika design schematics; this disaster has finally reached its end."

"It's wonderful… truly wonderful—I'm still alive…"

"According to the soldiers, everything will be over in just a few more days."

"Wu… wu… wu… wu…"

Sobs, screams, cheers…

All these sounds intertwined with flickering flames, releasing the long-buried despair in their hearts—and now, everything seemed to be reaching its end.

Sitting aside, Aokiji and T-Bone stared at the murky wine in their cups, their faces betraying faint, relieved smiles.

Gulp~!

A mouthful of sour, bitter barley wine went down.

T-Bone exhaled deeply; the pressure he had carried for so long was finally released:

"With this, even Sakazuki won't have any reason to keep fighting."

"The pirates are in civil war, the Holy War order is about to be revoked, Seven Waters City will be reborn—and all of this was brought about by that man."

Aokiji naturally knew who T-Bone meant, but at this moment, what returned to his mind was T-Bone's earlier question:

"Then…"

"Do you now think they're marines or pirates?!"

T-Bone froze, then fell silent.

He turned his head to look at the cheering crowd around him; his answer grew clearer.

If he had merely harbored doubts before,

then Aokiji's ambiguous attitude, combined with Gao Wen's group's actions—radically different from the Marines, yet converging with the very ideals T-Bone held—had already given him the answer.

A few breaths later,

T-Bone's lips curled:

"Does it even matter if they're marines or pirates?!"

"Ah la~"

Aokiji smiled faintly:

"It doesn't matter."

"Master Zephyr said: what determines whether you're just isn't the uniform you wear or the flag flying on your ship—it's the heart beating in your chest."

"They are undoubtedly a group of righteous… marines!"

"Hahahaha…!"

The two exchanged glances; all was understood without words.

The central bonfire burned even brighter, nearly lighting the surroundings as bright as day.

The cold wind howled, making the flames sway violently.

Aokiji's gaze sharpened; an inexplicable unease stirred within him, and his smile vanished.

"Something's wrong!"

"We've overlooked something—something terrifying is about to—!!!"

Aokiji snapped his head upward.

His line of sight reached upward.

The clouds gathering high above suddenly parted.

Moonlight poured down.

Several floating islands hung in the sky, like swords poised above Seven Waters City.

"Is this… floating islands?!"

T-Bone, equally realizing something was wrong, grabbed his sword hilt—but found it hard to breathe.

"An attack?!"

"At a time like this, who still dares strike Seven Waters City?!"

"Why?!"

"Just pure slaughter?!"

T-Bone's questions received no answer; he instinctively turned to Aokiji beside him—and saw only a face frozen in utter shock!

"Wait, wait, wait—is this real?!"

"In my memory, only one man could do something like this."

"This is bad."

Cold sweat slid down Aokiji's forehead; memories of fighting alongside Karp resurfaced.

The Jin Shizi's strength was unquestionable—he was the man who had driven Roger to the brink multiple times!

More deadly still was the Jin Shizi's ability—nearly unbeatable in naval combat, even more so than Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi.

Without hesitation, Aokiji roared:

"Retreat!"

"Fall back to the underground beneath the Mayor's Tower!"

"Quick!"

Whoosh—!

The wind between heaven and earth suddenly grew tumultuous at this moment.

The flames burning in the center of the crowd danced wildly in the wind, even igniting the hair of those near the fire source.

The joy on everyone's faces froze completely in that instant; they surged backward with a roar, like a flock of startled sheep.

Despair, wailing, trampling each other...

Everything just now seemed like an illusion at this moment; what awaited this city ahead seemed to be nothing but despair forever.

But Qing Zhi's warning was ultimately a step too late.

Two figures radiating a wild, fierce aura stood side by side in the high sky, looking down from above upon everything in Water Seven.

"Truly weak..."

Shichibukai Shiki's gaze was indifferent; the look in his eyes as he stared down at the crowd below was like looking at a group of ants.

And he, such a powerful existence, would dwell high above the nine heavens, gazing down upon all living beings like a god.

"Then let's say hello!"

"Little ones, the hunt begins!"

The words fell to the ground.

The floating island in the high sky suddenly grew restless.

Countless massive beasts with blood-red eyes, IQ Beasts, leaped down from the floating island, falling into Water Seven like raindrops.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Continuous booming sounds erupted everywhere, and dust and smoke filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.

Only rows of exceptionally tall, fearsome beast shadows appeared and disappeared within the smoke and dust.

"What is that—!"

A guard swallowed hard, feeling sheer terror; driven by the instinctive fear of living creatures, he subconsciously wanted to abandon everything and flee.

But when his gaze touched upon the panicked crowd behind him, his steps suddenly halted.

If I run... then what about them?!

Sss!

He slashed his own arm with a blade, using the pain to overcome his inner fear, mustered his courage again to face the monsters in the distant smoke, yet his pupils suddenly contracted in the next instant:

"What kind of monster is this?!"

A giant claw shot out from the dust and smoke; with a mere flick, it raised a gust of wind that blew the surrounding dust and smoke away.

A black giant bear, over twenty meters tall with long arms, stood silently in the distance; its eyes were blood-red, its posture wild and fearsome!

And what made the guard even more horrified was that behind the giant bear, there were countless other giant beasts of the same size as him, or even larger!

"Run!"

"Run quickly!"

"I—!"

Boom!

The giant bear slammed its palm down, crushing this guard, along with his courage and cowardice, into mush.

Its nose twitched slightly, sensing the scent of blood coming from its palm, and its mood became increasingly frantic and uneasy.

"Roar!"

The giant bear let out a roar, then charged wildly toward the crowd in the distance, slaughtering indiscriminately.

And at this moment, the ones attacking Water Seven were far from just this single giant bear; dense masses of giant beasts surged in from all directions, enjoying this feast of gluttony.

The entire city instantly plunged into unprecedented chaos!

Even if it was merely a probe, the crisis Shiki triggered posed a far greater threat than the countless pirate attacks on the city before!

"So these are the so-called IQ Beasts?!"

Big Mom looked down at the massive beasts below, comparable in size to giants, with extremely ferocious tempers that even ordinary Navy officers would struggle to subdue; a glimmer of greed flashed in her eyes.

Such giant beasts already possessed the strength to contend with ordinary giants.

And the giant beasts living on Shiki's floating island probably numbered close to five figures.

This force was even sufficient to help him tear off a large chunk of meat in the New World where the Four Emperors' forces currently operated; one could say that if Shiki wanted, the New World could have a fifth Emperor.

What he lacked was merely some high-level combat power to serve as lieutenants.

"Are you selling them?!"

"Let's talk about that after this matter is settled."

Shiki raised his hand to remove the cigar from his mouth, a hint of pride subtly visible in his eyes.

But this hint of pride turned to shock in the next instant:

"That guy is... the brat who used to follow Garp?!"

Big Mom followed Shiki's line of sight and looked down.

She saw a slender figure with both hands pressed against the ground; freezing energy spread, instantly turning the approaching fierce beasts into ice sculptures.

Furthermore, an ice wall dozens of meters high rose from the ground, blocking countless fierce beasts on the outer perimeter.

"This is... Kuzan?!"

Big Mom instantly recognized that person's identity:

Don't underestimate that guy.

Twenty years have passed; Zeff has retired, and Sengoku has been promoted to Admiral of the Navy; the brat who once followed Karp's heels has now inherited the position of Vice Admiral.

There are even rumors that the Navy's Three Admirals of this era may be the strongest in history!

And he is one of them!

Huh?!

Jin Shizi raised his eyebrows, his eyes gleaming with eagerness.

He was about to act when he noticed several figures speeding toward him from afar.

The leader had a pair of wings on his back, his aura churning violently, faintly summoning crimson lightning in the void.

It was Gao Wen and his group, responding to the alarm and rushing to reinforce!

Jin Shizi instantly shifted his target and flew toward Gao Wen:

You handle Kuzan; I'll try tonight's main course!

Are you kidding?!

That guy is mine!

Big Mom flew into a rage and was about to chase after him, when several ice spikes shot past her side; her expression instantly turned icy:

Even a Navy Admiral should know what the title "Emperor" means on this sea!

Since you're seeking death, I'll grant it to you!

Zeus!

The words had barely left her lips.

The thundercloud supporting Big Mom twisted and reshaped, instantly becoming a massive lightning blade, which she gripped and swung down with full force toward Kuzan!

Mingguang Sword!

The imperial, domineering attack was upon him; lightning filled nearly everything within sight.

Yet Kuzan's eyes held not a trace of fear; by now, he had no path left to retreat.

No.

Behind him were the civilians of Water Seven; he was not without a path to retreat—he could not retreat!

If we're going to make a mess, let's turn the world upside down!

Kuzan completely shed the constraints of his title; even facing an Emperor, he showed not the slightest intention to yield.

Cold currents surged, condensing and gathering the moisture in the air, and from behind Kuzan's body, a giant ice bird with a wingspan nearing a hundred meters rapidly coalesced.

The ice bird flapped its wings and slammed headlong into the incoming lightning.

Baozhi Zhui!

Lightning and ice collided in midair!

Boom!

After a deafening explosion, countless steam rose, obscuring everything within view.

But this steam, enough to blind ordinary people, held no meaning for the two who mastered Kenbunshoku.

The battle erupted instantly!

The lightning blade and ice sword clashed dozens of times in midair; the residual force cracked the ground beneath them, fissures spreading hundreds of meters in all directions.

Is that real?!

Is that guy really this strong?!

Franky, who had just entered the battlefield and barely pushed back a IQ beast, stared at the clash between Kuzan and Big Mom, utterly stunned into silence.

Beside him, Bari's pupils contracted slightly:

Come to think of it, I feel like I've seen that face somewhere before…

Wait!

I remember!

It's Kuzan!

Navy Admiral Kuzan, one of the Navy's three supreme combatants, a monster said to have fought—and even repelled—Emperors!

Is Mr. Xia Luote really from the Navy?

Did we misunderstand?!

Boom!

A mantis, no smaller than a grizzly bear, rose upright as it swept through the air; its forelimbs, like giant swords, tore through the earth.

Franky and Bari immediately dropped their conversation and focused on the enemy before them, yet were still utterly overwhelmed.

What the hell are these beasts?!

This kind of power far surpasses even the pirates we've fought with bounties of ten or nearly a hundred million, and their numbers are terrifyingly numerous.

Franky spat out a mouthful of saliva, his body weakening; his once-erect airplane hair slumped, as if his bones had been pulled out.

Damn it, we're running out of cola as an energy source!

The words had barely left his lips.

A shadow lunged at Franky—it was the giant mantis that had just passed; its razor-sharp forelimbs sliced toward him like a swift blade.

If this strike landed, even his cyborg body couldn't withstand it!

Franky!

Bari cried out in alarm, already picturing Franky dying before his eyes.

But at that moment.

Huh—

A sharp wind streaked through the air, leaving countless crisscrossing scars upon the earth.

Before Barry could even see who had struck, the giant mantis attacking Franky snapped into several pieces mid-air.

Splash!

Foul-smelling bodily fluids sprayed, covering Franky entirely, yet a faint smile touched the corner of his mouth:

"Have they arrived?!"

"You lot!"

"Of course."

Jin, covered in white bones, led the officers of the Gao Wen Pirate Crew into the battle.

Bullets flew, slashes soared, leopards charged, and kicks burned...

With several top performers joining forces, they halted the beasts' assault in an instant, buying time for the civilians to retreat.

"Wait!"

"Your bodies are too exhausted; you should not continue fighting. Leave the rest to us."

Chopper looked at Franky and Barry, unable to help but speak up to advise them.

As he spoke,

Chopper's well-developed pectoral muscles trembled slightly, radiating an increasingly formidable aura from his entire body.

He slammed a charging giant ape IQ beast to the ground, pinning it down so tightly that no matter how fiercely it struggled, it could not move a fraction.

Then, Chopper exerted force with both hands, directly snapping the giant beast's spine.

The bizarre scene even made Franky momentarily unable to distinguish who the enemy was.

He shook his head, casting the absurd thought from his mind, and asked Chopper:

"Do you have any cola?!"

"I am a cyborg; cola is my energy source. With just two bottles of cola, I can fully restore my mobility!"

(End of Chapter)