Zangjing Makes His Move!

[Boom!]

The sky was overcast and rain was pouring down; the Navy's G-3 Branch had become a complete battlefield.

The fortress's hundreds of cannons continuously spewed out scorching flames, and red-hot iron balls traced white steam trajectories through the rain as they slammed into the seven pirate ships that had invaded the harbor.

[Bang bang.]

On the other side, the Flying Pirates' seven warships completely ignored the bombardment from the fortress cannons, allowing their officers on deck to intercept the cannonballs.

At the same time, the ten cannons on the side of the ship, along with the seven ships and seventy cannons in total, bombarded the rear of the port square, causing the navy in that area to wail and be engulfed in flames.

Several thousand troops from both sides were mixed between the fortress and warships, fighting fiercely with bloodshot eyes amidst flying cannonballs and bullets. Blood, corpses, shockwaves, and flashing blades intertwined, accompanied by deafening battle cries that soared into the sky.

The ground beneath their feet, which had been cleaned day and night by countless laborers, was already stained with blood. Even the torrential rain could only wash it away, turning it into pools of blood.

"Kill!--"

A two-meter-tall Lieutenant Colonel, clad in Justice Coat, roared as he swept his left axe horizontally and cleaved his right axe vertically, slaughtering the bandits like a madman. Countless drops of blood and rain splattered with his movements.

"Pirates deserve to die!!"

"You're the one who's going to die."

[Clang!!]

In an instant, a long, dark-bladed sword flashed out and blocked the double axes.

A shell exploded nearby, the raging flames illuminating the rain-soaked landscape, and a pirate with a mocking expression came into the Lieutenant Colonel's view.

But the latter, upon seeing the former's height, curled his lip and sarcastically remarked, "Shorty~"

"You're asking for it!!"

The pirate, who was only about 1.8 meters tall, broke through his defenses instantly. His face was contorted with rage, as if he had been stung. He shook off his double axes with his long sword, which then transformed into a dense barrage of blade light that enveloped the area.

"Shave!"

The double-axe Lieutenant Colonel didn't act recklessly. With a stomp of his foot, countless drops of blood splattered, and he vanished from his spot, his blade flashing.

But when he appeared in another place, a bright, Flying Slash came straight at him, which made his expression change drastically.

"Impossible!"

The strike was clearly aimed directly at that spot.

But no matter how unbelievable it was, he still had to face reality, and with no other choice, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Tekkai!"

[Puff--]

"Ugh."

The Lieutenant Colonel stared in agony at the long gash in his chest, blood gushing from his wound as he flew backward.

"Die!"

The pirate fiercely broke through the rain and leaped forward, his long sword gleaming coldly as he thrust it towards the heart.

[Swish! Swish! Swish!]

At that moment, three sharp sounds tore through the air and exploded as the pirate with the sword contracted his pupils, withdrew his long sword, and tilted his head back. He saw a long leg wrapped in blue pants sweep past him.

[Splash--]

That wasn't all. He used the backward leaning motion to perform a somersault, dodging the attack from below once again. However, this left him with nowhere to stand in mid-air.

"Shadow of the Dancing Leaf! Konoha Great Whirlwind!"

[Bang!!]

The sword-wielding pirate first felt a gust of wind rushing towards him from behind, followed by a powerful blow to his back. He was sent flying forward for about ten meters, coughing up blood, before finally coming to a stop after rolling around in the blood several times.

As he struggled to his feet, he finally saw the three men who had attacked him.

"Ahem, no coat?"

When this junior officer, who was directly in Second Governor the Zangjing, saw three unarmed men dressed from head to toe in black boots, blue trousers, white shirts, and navy caps—looking exactly like lowly soldiers—his expression became even more unpleasant.

"Are you kidding me? These guys aren't even officers, how could they have such speed and leg strength!"

On the other side, he glanced over and was shocked to see that the Lieutenant Colonel with the double axes, whose chest he had slashed open, was taking two green beans out of his coat pocket and stuffing them into his mouth.

Soon, a faint green light appeared on his body, and not only did the bleeding stop, but his complexion also became rosy.

"What is that thing?"

At the port, on a warship with a flying pirate skull printed on its purple sails, Zangjing's dark penguin eyes watched the situation on the battlefield with dissatisfaction.

He let his ancient-style purple robe, embroidered with many deep purple patterns, flutter in the wind and rain, without even glancing at the countless cannonballs flying overhead.

Standing at a mere 1.7 meters tall, barely 1.8 meters tall, his imposing presence alone, standing at the bow of the ship, made the surrounding pirates dare not look directly at this human-shaped penguin.

Everyone in the Flying Pirates knows that this Second Governor is a Fish-Man Race, because he himself has confirmed it.

"It's been an hour! A full hour! These idiots haven't even breached the fortress gates!"

The Zangjing are extremely sensitive to time; they can calculate time in seconds almost without looking at a watch. So if they say one hour, it must be exactly sixty minutes, not a second earlier or later.

"And what's going on with these naval forces? Their tactics seem a bit strange."

He squinted and scanned the area. The marines in the rain, facing the attack of their elite pirates, did not rush in to fight as they had done before.

Instead, they formed a continuous battle formation, with three rows of swordsmen in front, working together in a marvelous way to block, parry, and thrust, managing to withstand the pirates' powerful and heavy sword strikes.

Even if they are just tools of low-ranking officers with some reputation, they can work together in groups of three or five to take over, and when they are exhausted or injured, they will quickly switch lines with the marines in the back row.

Following the three rows were two rows of musketeers carrying rainproof Fire Pistol.

Wave after wave of bullets and flashes of light came from those rows of gun barrels, aimed specifically at the pirates' faces, forcing them to shield themselves with their weapons.

However, this also made it difficult for them to defend themselves from the insidious stabs and cuts of the marines in front.

At the same time, the Zangjing noticed that a large number of marines, almost a huge number, had emerged from the navy's ranks, capable of rivaling the lower-ranking officers.

They were a group of young figures moving swiftly in the torrential rain. They weren't wearing the overcoats that signified officers; at most, they were wearing white navy vests, and many of them didn't even have weapons.

But they were able to engage in fierce battles with the cadres by virtue of their swift speed, powerful leg techniques, and coordinated teamwork in groups of three.

No wonder the Zangjing mistook these Senior Sergeants and Lieutenants for marines, because in the eyes of many pirates, any marine without an overcoat was just a lowly soldier or a lackey, and of no value whatsoever.

In the past, these so-called Captains Senior Sergeants were just a group of high-ranking soldiers who had no skills and were only physically stronger than ordinary marines.

However, with Vidal creating the Konoha Style Body Technique and it being mastered by these frontline Marines in the New World, it was as if these lower-ranking officers were equipped with a complete skill tree that could be upgraded.

Even if you only learn the three most basic moves, 'Shadow of the Dancing Leaf', 'Konoha Whirlwind', and 'Konoha Gale', your combat power will be greatly enhanced.

They possessed excellent physical abilities, but apart from basic swordsmanship and basic combat skills, they lacked any explosive techniques.

These three techniques perfectly compensate for this deficiency!

Furthermore, the existence of the Three-Three System Tactics has enabled naval officers and enlisted men to challenge or counter opponents at the captain level through group cooperation.

Therefore, the greatest beneficiaries of Vidal's two skills are not the officers or the lowest-ranking third-level marines, but the middle-ranking lieutenants and sergeants.

Now they are finally showing a significant difference from their lower-ranking marines.

Just like the Six Powers and Armament Haki are the Haki of officers and generals.

"Ahhh, I can't wait any longer! I have to rescue the Helandou within three hours. That's the time I set, and I have to finish on time!"

With a penguin-like upper body but two human legs, Zangjing frantically stomped on the bow of the ship, and his entire body shot into the sky like a purple arrow.

"Time is money, and you've wasted far too much of my money."

Suddenly, a gale surged, and the surrounding rain transformed into swirling waves that converged into the dark fist.

"Pay with your life!!"