The Rout of an Army, Fifth Gear Luffy

On the battlefield of Whole Cake Chateau:

As the top officers of the Blackbeard Pirates fell one by one, the battle began to rapidly tilt in favor of the Straw Hat crew and the Charlotte Family.

"Chop, slice, rice cake!"

Katakuri's arm transformed into a giant spiked club as he swung it. The attack, covered in Armament Haki and even wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, crashed down with jet-black Inazuma!

Faced with such a powerful attack, the 'Fighting Champion' Gizasu Burgess, his body gleaming with a jet-black metallic sheen, crossed his arms above his head to block. The 'Steel-Steel Fruit' he obtained from Blackbeard granted him incredibly strong defensive capabilities; he believed he could at least withstand the attack, even if he couldn't win...

Boom!!

The entire battlefield suddenly trembled, but no dust rose. Instead, the ground sank sharply downwards, centered on Burgess, causing many of those engaged in combat to lose their footing. Some used Geppo to ascend into the air, while others immediately wrapped their waists with Haki to stabilize themselves.

When everyone looked closely, they saw that where Burgess had been, there was now a shallow, circular pit several hundred meters wide, with cracks extending in all directions from the edge of the pit. In the center of the pit, most of Burgess's body was deeply embedded in the ground, his upper body still in a blocking posture, but his face was blank, as if he had lost his soul.

Click,

?

Click, click—

The next second, Burgess's tall, jet-black body, like a statue that had endured thousands of years of wind and rain, rapidly collapsed into scattered fragments amidst an explosion. It was actually blasted into dust by Katakuri's enraged attack!

"Who's next?"

Faced with Katakuri, who had blasted their own captain to pieces, the Blackbeard Pirates' officers and captains all retreated.

After all, Katakuri himself is a fighter with a bounty of 1.057 billion Beli, a top-tier powerhouse second only to the Four Emperors. He previously annihilated over a dozen executives with bounties exceeding 100 million Berries in a single blow, and now he has even pulverized the 'Fighting Champion' Gizas Burgess. Facing such a terrifying enemy:

As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn!

Those who understand the times are wise!

I'm outta here!

As the top officers of the Blackbeard Pirates fell one by one, the remaining Blackbeard officers in the battle began to dart around nervously, their hands moving more defensively than offensively, and their feet increasingly shifting towards the open sea. After all, they were just pirates attracted by Blackbeard's strength and 'freedom'; were they really going to fight to the death for Teach?

What a joke! If that guy can't lead everyone to victory, who would be willing to fight for him?

This is what 'foundation' means, especially for veteran Four Emperors. They might not fight until they're completely out of ammunition and supplies, but they'll never retreat as long as their leader isn't completely defeated. Unlike these Blackbeard Pirates officers who, after being blasted into the ground by Roman's cannon, immediately try to slip away—

Thump!

With a splash, an officer who had moved to the shore launched a fierce attack, forcing Charlotte Moscato to retreat. Then, he turned and leaped into the sea like a fish, disappearing from sight.

Although he doesn't have Rayleigh's stamina to swim shirtless across the Calm Belt, swimming out of the Whole Cake Island is no problem at all.

"This····"

Charlotte Moscato, holding the ice cream knife handle, was momentarily stunned. It has to be said that he was quite lucky. He survived when Big Mom took away his lifespan, and he also survived the siege by the Vinsmoke family. Then, he survived the invasion by the Blackbeard Pirates.

"Fine," the middle-aged man scratched his pink and blue hair, then drew his sword and lunged at a Blackbeard Pirates officer who was fighting alongside his family members.

??

What a rip-off!

The Blackbeard Pirates officer who was targeted cursed, and it was clean and swift:

Turning around, I stepped onto the sea, the ripples rushing by!

This run inspired a large area:

"The battle is going badly. I'll go check on the brothers on the outer perimeter; they haven't come to our aid yet—"

Those who can't bring themselves to leave can at least make up an excuse beforehand, but most will just jump into the sea and say, "You Give Road Oil." They're too lazy to even bother with polite words; anyway:

They joined Blackbeard hoping he would lead them to wealth, but now that things are not going well, it's only natural for them to turn back.

"These guys,"

'Crescent Moon Hunter' Katrin Demi glanced disapprovingly at the fleeing officers and captains, while her opponent Robin smiled sweetly.

"Aren't you the same?"

"Or perhaps, the other you I encountered in the 'treasure trove' below was also a 'clone'?"

····

During the fierce battle, Robin had already created numerous Flower Clones to search for the fourth red 'Poneglyph'. The battle was crucial, but if the enemy managed to steal the Road Poneglyph, Luffy's dream of becoming the King of the Pirates would face another setback. Result:

Her clone encountered another 'Katerin Demi' in the underground vault, and the fact that the other was transferring the treasure indicated that she was not someone who would fight to the death for Blackbeard.

"Hmm, hoho~~ This is what pirates are like."

The heavily made-up, outlandishly dressed, and long-nosed female pirate laughed indifferently.

"It is wise to always prepare a way out for yourself—I know you want to say that the Poneglyph is yours, and the treasure is mine."

"Make a deal,"

As Robin nodded in agreement, 'Katarina Demi,' who was fighting her on the battlefield, suddenly exploded, leaving only a tail in the smoke.

On a pirate crew far from the battlefield,

"Change course! Let's go—"

"Boss, those treasures..."

Faced with her subordinates' unwilling inquiries, the tall female pirate shook her head.

"My clone will use the treasure to distract the enemy. Greed won't get you far. I need to see how the upcoming world war unfolds; I can't possibly get captured now, hmph!"

Zoan, Mythical Zoan, Dog-Dog Fruit, Nine-Tailed Fox Form

Her Devil Fruit doesn't just allow her to transform into other people; it can also create nine identical clones of herself, each without any Devil Fruit abilities. It is precisely because of these clones that Katrin Demi is known as the 'world's most dangerous female pirate'.

Nine fearless sword masters are carrying out an infiltration and assassination. Are you scared?

"The Straw Hat crew, not bad, really not bad!!"

When faced with Teach, who was carried up from the bottomless lava pit by thunderclouds, Nami (Roman) ignored his anger and instead sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"You powerful individuals are all like unkillable cockroaches, making things very difficult for us ordinary people!"

"Nami, wouldn't someone like you, who is proficient in Six Powers power techniques and Two-Color Haki, raise the average level of 'ordinary people'?"

Nami muttered to herself, then looked up at Teach across from her. —After being hit by the "Heavenly God's Destruction Cannon," Teach, already quite dark-skinned, was practically as dark as coal. Coupled with the Dark-Dark Fruit ability emanating from his entire body, he truly lived up to his name:

Greatest Non-African!

"Who told you to go against us? You can only blame your bad luck."

Faced with Roman's complaints, Teach glanced at his men, whose army was collapsing because he had been blasted deep into the island, and his eyes flickered.

Those useless bunch of trash! They couldn't even handle a mere ten or so Straw Hat crew, plus the remnants of Charlotte family! But if they let those guys free up their hands to attack me, I'm afraid...

"Roman... that's your real name, right?"

After Luffy's constant shouting, Roman had long since given up hope of concealing his identity. In fact, if the battle hadn't been so intense, someone should have realized what was going on by now.

"The name Roman is rarely heard on the high seas. But it just so happens—"

Teach and a certain other leader share some similarities; both are prone to complacency when things are going well and fierce determination when things are going badly. Facing the Straw Hat crew members who had gained the upper hand and were now free to fight, he deliberately Satori loudly, "I've finally realized!"

"I know one,"

"Candidate Admiral 'White Dove' Roman!"

Teach glanced at the Straw Hat crew members whose expressions had changed, Teach mind started to race: There's hope.

"Rumor has it that the candidate Admiral was also a teenager, who also used Devil Fruit ability similar to paper, and was also—"

With a thick, carrot-like index finger pointing at Nami's shoulder, he said, "You're the culprit!"

"I like using white doves as my ability creations!"

·······

"Hahaha~~~ Straw Hat crew, you've all been fooled!!"

"Now the navy warships are surrounding us. It turns out their target isn't just me, but you guys too!"

In an instant, Teach 'figured it all out.' The situation was about to reverse! Under his barrage of words:

"Your staff officer is from the Navy, and he wants to take everyone down—"

"We know that~~"

?!

Looking at Luffy, refreshed after finishing his meal, casually picking his nose and interrupting everyone, not only Teach but even the rest of the Charlotte Family couldn't help but glance at him Luffy.

If Blackbeard is right, then the Straw Hat crew's strategist is actually candidate Admiral? And you, the captain, are so calm about it...

"So what? My grandfather was in the navy too. It's normal for Roman to be in the navy too!"

?!

In an instant, the battlefield, which had been bustling with activity just moments before, fell into a deathly silence. Faced with Luffy's statement that "I'm one of the Marines," the group exchanged glances.

Let's get out of here! They're in cahoots with the navy! What's the point of fighting anymore? They might just get ambushed from the inside!

Come to think of it, the Straw Hat crew has been fighting against Great Pirates all along their journey... It's terrifying to think about!

"Idiot! Do you know what you're saying?!"

Blackbeard was furious. Of course he knew Luffy's grandfather was Vice Admiral Garp Marine Hero... no, it could be said that no intelligence-conscious force on the entire sea could be unaware of this. But:

"Do you know what Laugh Tale is? What does the King of the Pirates mean?!"

"Let me tell you! Laugh Tale holds Greatest Treasure that can be used to defeat the Celestial Dragons. If you dare to touch that treasure, you will become the mortal enemy of the Navy and the World Government! Even your grandfather can't protect you!"

"So what? All I care about is becoming the King of the Pirates! I don't care about anything else!"

??!!

Teach was furious at Luffy's capricious answer! What he had planned his entire life was being discussed by Luffy as if it were child's play:

Boom!

On one side, Dark-Dark Fruit ability soared into the sky, while on the other side, various elemental abilities swirled and danced. The Tremor-Tremor light from his fists shattered the surrounding air like glass, and his domineering Haki surged like smoke from a wolf's tail!

"Enough! You don't understand anything at all—"

"You're the one who doesn't understand, Teach."

However, Luffy on the other side simply adjusted his straw Straw Hat, his serious gaze sweeping over the two giant craters between the battlefield.

"I'm going to travel to Laugh Tale with my crew, and I'm going to become the King of the Pirates!"

"This is my dream, and anything that stands in the way of my dream will be crushed!"

"Whether it's the Navy, pirates, or some god..."

As he spoke Luffy placed his fist on the ground.

Fifth gear!