The Deep Waters of Sabaody!
On the sea outside the port of the Large District 70 the Sabaody Archipelago, four large headquarters-class warships lined up sideways, staring intently at the area where the Flying Pirates' fleet was located, like sea beasts baring their fangs.
A First-Class Seaman rushed over and shouted, "Reporting, Commodore, all artillery pieces are aimed. Shall we fire?"
The sounds of fighting coming from the port were so chaotic, along with the crashing waves at sea, that he had to raise his voice.
"No, the order is to not fire." Brigadier General Eller put the Den Den Mushi back into his coat pocket, glanced at the dozen or so ships in the distance against the sea breeze, and said again, "This is the base commander's order."
Just now, he also asked Vidal whether to fire the cannons, but none of the Flying Pirates' ships showed any sign of moving. Aren't they perfect sitting ducks?
However, the latter's order forbade it, saying that if the ship were blown up, how troublesome would it be to salvage the treasure on board?
That's the total income of the world's top pirate crews in the first half of the Grand Line in a year!
"Order Lieutenant Colonel Sashun to come aboard with us and board them from behind, coordinating with our colleagues on the island to launch a pincer attack. The other two warships shall remain on standby to block any ships leaving port!"
"Yes!"
After hearing the order, the marine first gave a crisp salute, then turned and left.
Soon the four warships separated, with two of them slowly approaching the area where Kinoshita Kamakura was located. This made the latter's face turn even more ashen, but he had already guessed the general situation of these ships.
"Special Paramecia, the Woods-Woods Fruit. The highest-ranking plant-type Devil Fruit, huh? It's incredible how it can control the ship so completely!"
Although Vidal's previous record was quite impressive, in terms of Devil Fruit ability alone, Kinoshita Kamakura didn't really see anything special about it. It's just the ability to control plant growth, right?
But now it seems that in a world where almost all ships are made of wood, this ability is simply the nemesis of all pirate crews, no, all people, and all forces on the seas!
But what about the Vidal people?
Kinoshita Kamakura scanned his surroundings several times, unleashing his full Observation Haki, but he still couldn't detect Vidal's figure or presence.
"Could it be that he didn't even come at all!"
Just then, Commodore Eller led two warships and approached the Flying Pirates' fleet from both sides. Soon, several long planks slid down from the deck.
On the pirate ship, which was much smaller than a warship, the pirates responsible for guarding it could only watch helplessly as marines, armed with swords and guns, surged forward on the long wooden planks.
The pirate ship beneath their feet was so difficult to sail that even the windows of the gun emplacements couldn't be opened. Left with no other option, they could only wait for the warships to approach or occasionally launch weak Fire Pistol attacks with their muskets.
Now, the pirates have no choice but to face the Navy head-on!
Brigadier General Eller had no intention of standing idly by; he directly handed over the task of commanding the troops in battle to Lieutenant General Sassoon, while he himself rapidly approached the location of Kinoshita Kamakura.
In his view, as long as he could capture the mid-level officer of this Flying Pirates as soon as possible, he could not only end the battle quickly, but also make a great contribution. Perhaps he would even have a chance to be promoted from his rank of Commodore general!
The word "Commodore bribery general" sounds a bit off, Rear Admiral " sounds much better.
As he approached, the pirates along the way were completely unable to stop Commodore Eller in the slightest. With his superb swordsmanship and proficient use of the Six Powers of the Navy, he didn't even need to use the power of Haki to easily cut down one strange-looking pirate after another with different body sizes. He looked like an invincible warrior who was frantically mowing grass on the ship!
[Clang!]
Finally, Brigadier General Eller's blade clashed with Kinoshita Kamakura's left-hand longsword. The former used both hands and his expression was slightly ferocious, while the latter used only one hand and calmly looked at the former.
"Commodore Eller, I know you. You've been on this island for four years now. A mediocre high-ranking henchman like you shouldn't have overly high ambitions if you want to live a long life."
How... how is that possible?
Brigadier General Eller's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Kinoshita Kamakura to be so strong. Of course, he also knew the other party's identity. Wasn't he just the head of the Flying Pirates, a manager in charge of finances?
As for the 210 million bounty on the other party, it wasn't that high for him. As a Commodore, he had taken down pirates with bounties of over 100 million before. Based on his experience, as long as the bounty was below 300 million, he was fully capable of dealing with them!
But no matter how hard he tried, even covering his sword with Armament Haki, Kinoshita Kamakura remained completely still.
"Strength, domineering aura, this guy is above me!" Brigadier General Eller's mood instantly soured.
Since that's the case
He no longer engaged in a direct clash with Kinoshita Kamakura, but instead used his longsword to create afterimages at various treacherous angles, unleashing a torrential downpour.
"Kill!"
Brigadier General Eller roared to encourage himself.
"Roll!"
Kinoshita Kamakura had no intention of offering guidance as a senior swordsman. Relying on his superior Armament Haki, he directly used full Armament Haki to block all of Brigadier General Eller's blades.
Immediately afterwards, the dual swords, which had also turned black, surged with red light, tearing apart all subsequent attacks in the blink of an eye. Finally, the red light exploded in front of Brigadier General Eller's chest, sending him flying backward while spitting blood.
With a deafening roar, it crashed headfirst into the gun turret of another pirate ship!
"Cough! Cough cough. Hiss--"
A disheveled Brigadier General Eller lay on the ground, glanced at the broken blade, clutched his aching chest, and slowly got up, blood from the corner of his mouth beginning to soak his suit collar.
"This level of strength, cough, there's no mistake."
Meanwhile, Major Rogers, who had been struck by two Flying Slashes from Kinoshita Kamakura, was struggling to get up from the ground littered with corpses and pools of blood. The round shield in his hand was deeply marked with Xs, a result of Hardening it with Armament Haki; otherwise, it would have been completely destroyed by now.
Suddenly, the round shield emitted a faint green light, which spread along his arm and throughout his body, like a warm stream of water easing his pain and injuries.
But Major Rogers' attention wasn't on the shield, because the 'Guiwu' he had previously knocked away was charging towards him with a murderous intent, sword in hand!
Just as Major Rogers braced himself for a fierce battle, the ground in front of him suddenly cracked open, and a tree grew rapidly. When it reached a height of about three meters, it began another miraculous transformation until it completely transformed into a person standing before him.
The two large, bold characters of "Justice" on that wide, white overcoat were so reassuring.
"Eh, Vice Admiral- level combatant? It's really asking too much of you to handle this yourselves."
Vidal turned his head and smiled as he spoke.
He originally didn't want to take action, but Kinoshita Kamakura's strength seemed to exceed his subordinates' capabilities.
However, he was pondering a question: since the Flying Pirates had a Vice Admiral -level leader and two "Guiwu" with at least Commodore- level strength in the Sabaody Archipelago, what about the other forces?
At that moment, 'Guiwu' truly slashed at Vidal like a bloodthirsty demon.
"Die!!"