Hearing Admiral Akainu’s words, the five Vice Admirals gazes turned sharp.
The orders had come from above.
They had no choice but to carry them out!
“Jozu! I advise you to step aside! The Straw Hat crew behind you has just committed an unforgivable crime! If you continue to block our way, we won’t hold back!”
Doberman shouted at Jozu, who stood before him.
Upon hearing this, Jozu’s previously disdainful expression froze for a moment.
That disdain soon transformed into fury!
These guys!
Do they even know who he is?!
Since when has the Whitebeard Pirates lost their prestige?
Fine, fine.
If they want a fight…
Then let’s fight!
It’s been a while since he last made a move anyway!
“Hmph! Come on, then! I’d like to see what you Marines are really capable of!”
As he spoke, Jozu leaped into the air, launching himself straight at Doberman!
Seeing this, Doberman’s expression turned grim.
In an instant, he drew the long blade at his waist!
With a swift slash, he swung it at Jozu’s neck.
The pitch-black blade, carrying a formidable force, cut directly towards Jozu’s throat!
But at that moment, Jozu’s entire body erupted with a brilliant light!
A layer of diamond instantly covered his body!
*Clang~!!*
*Boom!!*
The crisp sound of a blade striking stone, followed by a thunderous impact, echoed at the same time!
Jozu delivered a fierce punch directly to Doberman’s chest!
Doberman was sent crashing onto the deck at the bow of the warship!
The immense force nearly tilted the entire ship upright!
The stern lifted high into the air.
From the state of the warship alone, it was clear how powerful Jozu’s strike had been.
After taking that hit, blood sprayed from the corners of Doberman’s mouth!
It was only then that the other Vice Admirals arrived belatedly!
Onigumo and Momonga’s attacks reached Jozu first!
Jozu managed to land another heavy punch on Doberman’s face before being struck and sent flying by the two!
Doberman now looked rather disheveled.
The deep imprint of Jozu’s fist on his face was enough to make anyone shudder.
That…
His facial bones must be shattered, right?
But despite this, Doberman forcibly endured the pain and stood up once more.
From that single exchange, he already had a rough gauge of Jozu’s strength.
Facing this “Diamond Jozu” alone was simply impossible.
It was incredibly difficult to even scratch him.
That guy was as tough as a solid rock.
But he wasn’t their target.
They only needed to keep him occupied.
Their goal was to stall him and capture the entire Straw Hat crew.
Or at least hold him off until Admiral Akainu arrived.
With their course of action set, Doberman, his face visibly contorted, crooked his mouth and shouted, “Three of you, hold him off! The rest… move in!!”
Although his speech was slurred, the others got the message.
They were all Vice Admirals, after all.
It was impossible for them not to grasp the situation.
Apart from Doberman and Onigumo, the other three immediately charged forward!
Doberman, however, had no desire to go another round.
That dent in his face had knocked some sense into him.
Why didn’t he dodge that…
What was he thinking…
He and Onigumo swiftly leaped onto another warship.
The two of them moved at full speed towards the immobilized Going Merry.
From behind, the sounds of clashing metal and fists rang out incessantly.
Seeing this, Jozu started to panic.
These guys…
Damn it!
“Get out of my way!”
Jozu roared!
He then threw a powerful punch at Momonga’s incoming sword!
The overwhelming force sent the flat of the blade smashing into Momonga’s chest.
With a loud *boom*—
Momonga was sent flying far away!
But seeing Doberman getting further away, a look of helplessness appeared on Jozu’s face!
He truly had no way of quickly breaking through the blockade of these three guys.
While they couldn’t inflict serious injuries on him, keeping him occupied was more than enough!
‘Damn it… I’m screwed! I’m definitely going to get blamed for failing this mission!’
But no matter how anxious he was, the situation didn’t change one bit!
On the Going Merry, Luffy and the others were all utterly exhausted.
Their stamina was almost completely drained.
Ten warships.
Enough firepower to wipe out an entire island.
The fact that they had managed to keep the Merry intact was already an incredible feat.
As they watched the incoming warship and the two figures standing on its deck, their expressions turned grim.
“What do we do…”
Usopp panted heavily as he spoke.
Luffy’s face was equally tense.
They really…
Had no way out this time.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
Two loud impacts.
At the same time, two figures landed on the deck at the stern of the Going Merry.
Without a word, the two figures rushed toward the crew at incredible speed!
Their movements were so fast, they were almost a blur.
Then, a series of dull thuds began to echo.
*Thud… thud thud thud!*
With each impact, crew members were sent flying.
One after another, they crashed into the ship’s railings.
Without exception—
Everyone spat out a mouthful of blood.
The immense impact had severely damaged their internal organs.
These two hadn’t held back in the slightest.
Their attacks were ruthless and left no room for escape.
Luffy struggled to get back on his feet.
But his strength was completely drained, leaving him powerless.
Halfway up, he collapsed heavily again.
Doberman stepped forward and snapped a pair of Seastone handcuffs onto him.
Luffy, who had been full of stubborn resistance just moments ago, instantly went limp.
As Luffy fell, the crew on the ship were plunged into despair.
This was it…
It was over.
But the heavens did not pity their despair.
The two Vice Admirals wasted no time.
In no time, everyone had Seastone cuffs locked onto their wrists.
And with that…
A deep, inescapable sense of hopelessness filled their hearts.
But then—
As Doberman did a headcount, he frowned.
“We’re missing one.”
“There’s still a reindeer.”
Just as he finished speaking, Onigumo’s sharp eyes locked onto Chopper, who had been tossed into a corner of the deck.
“He’s a Devil Fruit user too. Put a Seastone cuff on him.”
Hearing this, Doberman retrieved another set of cuffs from his back.
They had come well-prepared this time.
Doberman walked up to Chopper and crouched down.
Just as he was about to snap the cuffs onto the unconscious Chopper…
A rift suddenly tore open in the sky above them!
*CRACKLE!!!*
A deafening explosion rang out!
The sound of space shattering was nearly unbearable.
Everyone’s attention snapped toward the source of the noise.
Doberman instinctively looked up sharply.
At that moment, a figure fell from the gaping rift in the sky!
A figure clad in white—
But his white garments were soaked in blood, turning them crimson!
Through the blood, his face could barely be recognized.
It was none other than Vir, who had just fallen out of the spatial rift…
The moment Luffy and the others saw Vir, a glimmer of hope reignited in their eyes!
They recognized him instantly.
But as they took in his condition, they were struck dumb.
What happened to Vir…?
How did he get so badly injured?
Such severe wounds…!
Could he already be…
A terrible premonition formed in their hearts.
Was it that Marine Admiral?
Did Vir take this beating while holding him off?
Damn it!
Damn it all!
Why are we so weak?!
For Vir to appear now, and in such a critical condition…
The outcome was already clear.
There were still two Vice Admirals waiting here.
Seeing the state he was in—on the verge of death—
Total annihilation seemed inevitable.
Might as well accept it…
At least they’d go down together.
Doberman and Onigumo’s eyes lit up when they saw Vir.
Like starving dogs spotting a juicy bone.
Their eyes practically shot lasers at Vir.
Admiral Akainu had just gone after him.
Yet here he was instead.
It didn’t take much thought to figure out what had happened.
Even Admiral Akainu had failed to capture him!
This! This!
If they could take down this Vir guy and bring him in, it would be a monumental achievement!
Besides, there had been rumors circulating in Marine Headquarters lately—
That Admiral Aokiji had his face ruined by this very man.
Though it was just gossip, it had some credibility.
After all, it was Vice Admiral Garp who blurted it out while munching on rice crackers.
If that was true, then Vir’s strength couldn’t be underestimated.
Capturing him would be a major accomplishment!
Capturing him would definitely earn them a promotion, a raise, and maybe even some beautiful women!
It was all right in front of them!
They were going to strike it rich!
*BOOM!!!*
With a tremendous crash, Vir slammed onto the deck of the Going Merry.
Landing heavily right in front of Robin.
He nearly crushed her beneath him.
He made no movement at all as he fell—
As if he were already dead.
Luffy and the crew felt their hearts tighten at the sight.
Up close, Vir’s injuries were even more gruesome.
Truly horrifying.
A chunk of his lower jaw was missing.
Half his teeth were exposed to the air.
Blood continuously seeped through the gaps between them.
His chest had completely caved in, and he had long since stopped breathing.
He looked completely lifeless.
Robin’s eyes instantly reddened at the sight.
“Vir…”
She murmured, her voice trembling.
Then, she couldn’t hold back any longer.
Large tears began to stream down her face.
The Vir in front of her blurred through her tear-filled eyes.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
She wanted to reach out to touch Vir, but her shaking hands wouldn’t lower.
She was terrified.
Absolutely terrified.
Vir had never been this gravely injured before.
But this time…
He promised he would come back.
But was this how he came back?
Why…
Why did this happen?
Vir…
Are you going to leave me too?
If it was just being imprisoned together with Vir, she might’ve even found that comforting.
But this—
This was clearly death knocking at his door.
He might not even have the chance to be locked up!
And at that moment, things got even worse.
“Doberman, I’m going in first!” Onigumo shouted.
Without waiting, he charged toward Vir at full speed!
Leaving a dumbfounded Doberman behind.
Watching Onigumo rush off, Doberman cursed in his heart.
That bastard!
He was stealing all the credit!
Damn it!
No way!
There was no way he was letting that happen!
With that thought, Doberman immediately swung his sword toward Chopper—
A blade infused with Armament Haki, slashing straight for him…!
—–
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