Chapter 77

*Hoo~*

Before this puff of smoke had dissipated, he had already glimpsed Kuina flashing overhead, her sword light bright as snow, pointing directly at Dalmatian.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

Dalmatian raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "Coming straight for me the moment you appear? Isn't this a bit..."

"Too arrogant! Pirate!"

Kuina's blade was about to strike his throat, but with a flash of red in his eyes, he jerked his head to the side to avoid it. His half-beast dog claws, already wrapped in dense Armament Haki, grabbed back at her wrist—

*Clang!*

Amidst the explosive sound of metal colliding, Kuina parried with her sword, borrowed the force to flip backward, drew sparks from the ground with her blade tip, and landed gracefully.

Dalmatian was also shaken back two steps.

He looked down at his claws, and on the hard-as-steel finger bones, there was a thick white mark spanning all five fingers.

"A bit interesting..." He licked his sharp canine teeth. "Little girl, your swordsmanship is not bad, but unfortunately, your strength is still lacking."

Kuina didn't answer, just slowly adjusted her breathing. Her thumb and forefinger were faintly numb, but the hand holding the sword remained steady as a rock.

"So..." Dalmatian suddenly hunched slightly, his leg muscles tensing like springs. "Just this much isn't enough to look at!"

*Swish!*

His figure suddenly disappeared, leaving only an afterimage in place.

Kuina's pupils shrank. Although she hadn't mastered Observation Haki, the keen intuition of a master swordsman still allowed her to make a judgment in the first instance—

Left side!

*Clang!*

The blade of Wado Ichimonji narrowly blocked the incoming claws, and the huge impact made her slide back several meters.

Dalmatian reappeared, his offensive not slowing down, his claws attacking like a rainstorm.

*Ding! Ding! Ding!*

The sound of metal collisions was continuous, sparks flew everywhere, and Kuina's swordsmanship was like flowing water, blocking every strike precisely, yet she was forced back step by step by the aftermath.

"Hey! What's wrong?!"

Dalmatian sneered, "Only capable of passive defense? Where did that momentum from just now go?"

*Smack!* His tail suddenly whipped out, fast and ruthless.

Kuina's attention was entirely on his claws, and in her hasty dodge, she was still grazed on the waist. A sharp, burning pain hit her, and she stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

Fortunately, at this moment.

Nojiko finally broke through the joint blockade of several Marine Captains and arrived nearby.

"I'm here to help you!"

Blue light suddenly surged on her mithril gloves, and her right fist boomed toward Dalmatian's side ribs like a cannonball!

"—Ripple Fist: Extreme Collapse!"

"Hmm?"

Dalmatian's dog ears twitched slightly, his offensive stalled, and his left claw returned to block.

The moment fist and claw collided, Kuina seized the opening, her blade sweeping diagonally from bottom to top: "Counter-Wind Cut!"

*Rip!*

Dalmatian's military green suit was slashed open, and a bloodstain extended from his abdomen to his chest.

In pain, he roared in fury, his right claw suddenly clenched into a fist and smashed toward Nojiko's face!

Nojiko didn't hesitate to retract her fist, crossing her arms to block in front of her. *Hum!* Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly covered her entire arms.

*Thud!*

With a muffled sound, she was sent flying backward by the punch, rolling several times on the ground before instantly steadying herself with a kip-up.

She shook her numb but unscathed arms, a look of excitement curling the corners of her mouth.

"Not bad strength, big doggy." She flexed her wrists, her knuckles cracking. "But—this is what makes it fun!"

A year ago, in Cocoyasi Village, when her fist technique was at a critical breakthrough, Siano had served as her all-weather sparring partner for a period.

The opponent's strength seemed to be about the same as her brother's back then, maybe even a little weaker?

She could adapt perfectly!

"...?"

Dalmatian looked down at the wound on his chest, blood slowly seeping out. This unacceptable scene instantly made the fierce light in his eyes flare up.

"Two little brats who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"

His figure began to swell, his hair grew wildly, and in the blink of an eye, he fully beast-transformed into a giant black-and-white spotted dog, over five meters long, significantly more robust than Gin.

"Since that's the case, let me show you the true strength of a veteran Vice Admiral from Headquarters!"

Kuina and Nojiko stood back-to-back, the two turning their heads to exchange a tacit look.

"As discussed, I'll take the lead."

The girl with the black high ponytail said in a low voice.

"Understood."

The blue-haired girl slammed her fists together. "I'll help you create opportunities from the flank."

"Roar—!"

Dalmatian kicked off the ground with his hind legs, and the solid road surface of the pier instantly cracked.

His massive body moved with astonishing speed, and in the blink of an eye, he had lunged in front of the two.

His fangs reflected the sunlight like mirrors, reflecting the two girls looking up simultaneously, their eyes filled with determination.

At the same time, it also reflected the battlefield on the other side—

"White Fist!"

"Shoulder Meat Shoot!"

*Thud!*

Smoker and Zeff repelled the Marines surrounding them from left and right, landed on the ground, and stood side-by-side.

Both their gazes locked onto the alluring figure wearing a justice coat not far ahead.

Vice Admiral Bumaia was lightly licking the tip of her syringe with the tip of her tongue, her eyes flashing with pathological excitement.

"Hey, old man."

Smoker bit his cigar and said in a low voice, "This woman doesn't look right, and her fruit ability is weird too. Be careful."

"I've lived for so many years, what kind of crazy person haven't I seen?"

Zeff grinned, his right leg slightly raised, the joints of his steel prosthetic leg making a *click* sound. "As for you, Smoker kid, don't drag me down."

"Heh..." Smoker curled his lip, stopped talking, held his Jitte horizontally, and quietly covered it with Armament Haki.

"Ya-ho-ho, this is really exciting~"

Bumaia suddenly covered her mouth and giggled, "Are two big men going to come at me together? Great, great. Actually, I, I like... stabbing tough guys like you into sieves, little by little!"

*Swish!*

She stepped on the air with Moon Walk and soared into the sky, her figure flickering, and when she reappeared, she was already above Smoker's head, her syringe stabbing down like a spear!

"Time for a shot, little ones!" she giggled.

*Shave!*

Smoker dodged instantly, and the ground where he had been standing was pierced by the syringe, actually corroding into a charred pit in an instant.

"Poison?!"

Zeff's pupils shrank, and he roared, "Be careful, Smoker, this guy's syringe can release deadly poison!"

"Only noticed now? Too late~"

Bumaia's figure appeared behind Zeff like a ghost, her syringe sweeping toward his neck.

"Is that so!" Zeff's eyes turned ferocious, and he didn't hesitate to pull back and kick.

Just a sneak attack of this level, did she really think he was senile and couldn't react?!

*Clang!*

His steel prosthetic leg, wrapped in Armament Haki, kicked the syringe away with a whip kick!

Bumaia was also repelled, but she giggled, relentless. While still in mid-air and not yet landed, the tip of her syringe suddenly rotated at high speed, spraying a cloud of pink mist!

"Healer's Benevolence: Sweet Fragrance Wind!"

This pink mist rushed straight toward Zeff and Smoker. Although it carried a warm and sweet fragrance, it made both of them change color instantly, and just as they were about to retreat—

*Crackle!*

A dazzling lightning bolt suddenly lit up, and a semi-circular lightning field like a dome instantly enveloped the two.

"Nice work, Gin!"

Seeing this familiar scene, Zeff turned his head and roared.

"Awoo—!"

Gin flashed past from the flank, charging through everything, unstoppable.

The two Rear Admirals wanted to stop it, but even working together, they were still struggling and unable to resist, only barely managing to contain it.

If not for this, Gin wouldn't have been able to spare the time to help his partners here.

*Zzz~*

The lightning field continued to expand, not only isolating the pink mist but also bouncing it back.

The mist spread rapidly with the sea breeze, and in a short while, it enveloped many Marines nearby.

"Bad!"

A Marine Captain's face changed drastically, and he shouted sharply, "It's Vice Admiral Bumaia's ability, hold your breath and retreat to the periphery!"

Many people were shocked and reacted, but in the end, a considerable number of people were caught off guard and inhaled it.

"Die, die!"

"Who are you? Die too!"

The Marines who inhaled the pink smoke instantly breathed heavily, their eyes turning red, as if they regarded everyone around them as mortal enemies, waving their swords and blades frantically at anyone they saw.

The Marine's encirclement was instantly torn open, and the scene was in chaos.

"Good opportunity, Nami! Break out from here and prepare to board the ship!"

"Understood, Uncle Zeff!"

The orange-haired figure rushed toward the *Rakumu* at the shore. Several Marine Captains wanted to stop her, but were blocked by a sudden wave of fire.

"Hiss... so hot!"

"Damn it, where did the fire come from? Is that giant wolf playing tricks again!!"

It's me!

Nami, who was about to break out of the encirclement, was having a mental breakdown.

What's wrong with these guys?

Lightning is lightning, fire is fire, and they're actually saying something about Gin...

Are they all blind? Can't they see where the fire is being launched from!

*Zzz—Pop!*

At the same time, the lightning field finally collapsed.

Zeff's steel prosthetic leg stepped heavily on the ground, and the air wave lifted the remaining mist away. He looked up at the female Vice Admiral opposite:

"Thanks to the opportunity you created. It's a good thing your so-called 'Healer's Benevolence' doesn't even spare your own people."

Bumaia's smile froze on her face for the first time.

She turned her head abruptly and looked behind her.

Those Marines who had fallen into hallucinations were still attacking each other, and the scope of the influence was constantly expanding.

Chaos spread through the military formation like a plague. The Marines who hadn't been affected were forced to parry while retreating, and the encirclement in this direction had completely collapsed.

"Hey, you trash, do you know you've made me lose face!"

She screamed hysterically, her syringe suddenly deforming and lengthening, but the needle tip expanded sharply.

"Just get back to normal, you idiots! If you won't recover, then let me give you relief—"

"Healer's Benevolence: Big Cleanup!"

Hundreds of tiny poison needles shot toward the out-of-control Marines like a rainstorm, and for a time, they all foamed at the mouth and fell to the ground.

And those Marines on the periphery, although they had been saved by her, all cast terrified glances at her.

"Crazy woman!"

Smoker's face changed drastically, and he couldn't help but curse, "Hey! You bastard, by doing this, are you still worthy of the word 'justice' on your back?!"

As a defector from the Marines, he tried his best to use his smoke ability to make the low-level Marines who came to stop him suffocate and pass out, losing their combat effectiveness, rarely killing them directly.

And this woman...

As a dignified Marine Vice Admiral, she was so insane that she didn't even have the awareness to care about the lives of her subordinates!

With this round of poison needle sweeping, at least a hundred Marines died for no reason... how could she do it?

Crazy!

Another crazy person similar to Onigumo!

Fortunately, he had made his own choice in Loguetown.

If he continued to work with such insects, how could he have the face to talk about "justice"?!

"What are you muttering about, Mr. Defector Marine, justice?"

Bumaia flashed over again, "This doesn't seem like something you're qualified to talk about now, right? As long as it helps Mr. Sakazuki, eliminating you pirates, what does sacrificing a few grunts matter..."

*Boom—!!!*

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted in the northern sky, and the entire island was trembling.

Both sides were slightly startled and looked up subconsciously.

In the distance, crimson magma poured down like a rainstorm, dyeing the distant clouds a dark red.

What a terrifying commotion.

As expected of Mr. Sakazuki...

Bumaia's eyes instantly became blurred, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural flush, and even the hand holding the syringe trembled slightly.

"Now, why don't you just put down your weapons and surrender obediently? That way, when big sister gives you a shot later, I'll use a little less force."

She suddenly said in a sweet, sticky voice, tilted her head, and showed a strange smile at Smoker:

"Didn't you see? Mr. Sakazuki is already angry. Your Captain is about to become charcoal..."

————

"Six Powers Secret Technique: Mountain-Blowing Ripple Dash!"

*Boom!*

The moment this punch was thrown, a huge air wave lifted the surrounding ground, and not far away, the natural stone bridge nearly a hundred meters long completely collapsed and broke.

And Akainu, who was close at hand, had his face twitching violently like water waves, raising layers of ripple-like wrinkles.

Wrong!

His pupils shrank suddenly.

This move seemed to be the peak of this brat's body technique, and it also used the internal destruction technique of Armament Haki. He shouldn't have—

Just as the thought arose, the terrifying impact had already penetrated his body!

*Crack!*

A clear sound of bone cracking came from Akainu's chest, and the clothes on his upper body were instantly shattered.

He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through several giant reefs along the way, and finally slammed heavily into the cliffside by the coast!

*Rumble—*

The entire cliff collapsed under the impact, and tons of rubble poured down, completely burying Akainu's figure.

*Splash*, the sea waves were also lifted into giant waves tens of meters high by the shockwave, then turned into a rainstorm, pouring down on the pile of rubble.

"Hoo, hoo..."

Siano maintained his punching posture, his fist steaming with scorching white gas. He panted violently, his eyes fixed on the ruins below.

*Splash!*

A giant hand covered in magma suddenly broke through the rubble!

Akainu stood up slowly, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and his chest was slightly sunken, but other than that, there were no injuries on his body, and his aura was still as strong as ever.

"..."

Did he actually bleed?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and for a moment, he couldn't remember when the last time he saw his own blood was.

Anyway, it had been many years...

Akainu didn't wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, just looked up expressionlessly and met Siano's gaze from above the cliff.

"What are you looking at?"

Siano grinned. "My offensive isn't over yet!"

Is this a Marine Admiral?

The blow that completely defeated Crocodile just now only made the opponent bleed a little and make a fool of himself that no one saw?

It really is damn hard!!!

As soon as the words fell, Siano's figure had disappeared!

*Shave!*

This time the speed was faster than before, and the moment he left an afterimage on Akainu's retina, his fist, wrapped in mountain-blowing ripples, had already boomed toward his temple!

"Useless, the same move can only be effective once."

Akainu said in a low voice, his Observation Haki having already predicted it, and his head instantly elementalized, letting the punch pass through.

At the same time, his right knee lifted violently, and the magma-covered knee went straight for Siano's abdomen!

"Iron Body!"

Siano didn't dodge or retreat, his abdominal muscles instantly tensed like iron. While taking this knee strike, his hands each joined fingers, like a rainstorm, stabbing straight at Akainu's chest!

"Finger Pistol: Wave Rain!"

*Swish, swish, swish*, Siano's Finger Pistol was impossible to see with the naked eye, but Akainu's figure was like a willow leaf in the wind, dodging almost all of them.

This is the embodiment of Paper Art practiced to the top level.

Stepping up step by step from a recruit in the Headquarters training camp, his Six Powers were also at the world's top level!

*Thud!*

*Thud!!*

*Thud!!!*

Muffled explosions echoed along the coast, stirring up heart-pounding echoes.

Before they knew it, the two had already exchanged dozens of rounds.

The more they fought, the more their anger seemed to grow. Later on, both sides gradually gave up dodging and fought head-on with pure physical strength.

The ripples stirred up by magma and fist wind collided constantly, exploding into circles of visible shockwaves.

The entire coastline was constantly collapsing under the fierce battle, and seawater poured into the newly formed pits, only to be instantly evaporated into rolling white mist by the high temperature of the magma.

"To be able to fight me until now, as a brat of only ten-something years old, you can indeed be proud."

Amidst the rapidly intersecting figures, Akainu said in a low voice, "But, it's about time to end this."

At this moment, his clothes were tattered, and there were many bruises on the surface of his exposed body.

The Marine cap he had worn for many years was gone.

He looked a bit disheveled.

But compared to Siano opposite, it was nothing.

At this moment, the black-haired boy was covered in shocking burns, and in some places, you could even see charred flesh curled up, emitting hot white smoke.

But the most serious were the sides of his waist and abdomen, where white bones were exposed.

Although the wounds pierced by magma were slowly healing, new blood seeped out with every movement.

Besides that, his left arm was hanging unnaturally.

Clearly, when blocking a heavy blow, the strength was unequal, and he failed to unload all the impact, causing a fracture that was difficult to recover from in a short time.

If not for the opponent's physique being strong enough and showing amazing self-healing ability.

In this series of high-intensity close-range clashes just now, he should have been defeated long ago.

"Cough, cough..."

Siano panted violently, and his aura was rapidly weakening.

*Boom!* Another punch clashed with Akainu. The former was just shaken back several steps, while he was directly boomed into the ground.

*Crack, crack.*

Spiderweb-like cracks spread densely. Akainu landed on the edge of the deep pit, looking expressionlessly at the figure that stumbled and finally climbed out of the smoke.

"Only good at talking big, old man?"

Siano's face was pale, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his mouth grinned to his ears. "We've been fighting for over half an hour. You said the same thing half an hour ago. What about now? Haven't you still failed to take me down!!!"

"..."

Akainu's gaze darkened slightly, but he was unable to refute this.

Although the opponent only caused damage to him with very few strikes, he had been suppressed and beaten by him the rest of the time.

But just as this brat said, it had been a full half-hour, and he still hadn't been able to make the opponent fall completely.

For him, as a Marine Admiral, this was undoubtedly a humiliation.

"This kind of desperate fighting style that doesn't care about injuries, not many people on the sea can do it. To be precise, below the Four Emperors level pirates, there is only one Marco, and now I can barely add you."

Akainu said in a low voice, "You really made me look at you with admiration, brat..."

"But in the end, this fighting style of yours still needs physical strength to support it, right?"

"Now, your aura is so weak, your physical strength should be at its limit soon, so I wasn't wrong, it really should end. Including your companions, do you still think that in this state, you can continue to hold on until your accomplices escape..."

Just at this moment.

*Pop!*

On the distant sea, an orange-yellow flame pillar suddenly rose, exploding in the high sky like fireworks.

"Oh?"

Witnessing this scene, Siano's eyes lit up, and he suddenly giggled, "Looks like they really did it?"

What?

Cold light burst from Akainu's eyes, and he used Moon Walk to reach a high place.

Looking into the distance, he saw the ship of the Rakumu Pirates had already left the port and was galloping toward the open sea.

His face darkened completely.

Dalmatian, Bumaia, two Vice Admirals from Headquarters, plus several Captains, and over two thousand elite Marines...

With such a scale of combat power, they couldn't keep the opponent in the port?

What the hell are these useless trash doing?!

*Hum—!*

Akainu's lower body suddenly elementalized, and magma emitting rolling thick smoke sprayed backward, intending to use this recoil force to fly directly to the southern port.

But before he had flown more than a few meters, his vision blurred, and a figure suddenly flashed to his head, kicking down from top to bottom.

"Get—"

Siano grinned ferociously, a battle-axe-style downward kick smashing onto Akainu's shoulder!

"Down!!!"

*Boom—!!!*

Akainu's pupils shrank, but his body couldn't react in time, falling rapidly from hundreds of meters high like a meteorite, slamming heavily into the rocky beach below!

The terrifying impact made the entire coast tremble, rubble splashed, smoke and dust rose into the sky, and the sea surface was lifted into giant waves tens of meters high by the aftermath!

"Cough..."

Akainu propped himself up from the deep pit, coughing continuously several times, his magma-fied body dripping constantly, looking up at the sky in disbelief.

Such speed, such power, it was clearly what the opponent could only exert when he was at his peak state at the beginning. How could this be?

"What are you thinking, old man, your opponent is me!"

The black-haired boy's loud laughter reached his ears, and he seemed to be chewing something in his mouth, *crunch, crunch*. "We've come this far, how could I give up halfway and let you go stop my companions!"