Lucci Makes His Move, Capturing Momonosuke Alive!
At this point, it was no longer just Hoshigaki and the Momonga who were involved.
Ortolan's mission objective was to capture them alive if possible, because the previous shelling was more about coercion and gaining the initiative. If the goal was to annihilate them without contact, the warships would not allow such poorly equipped small boats to get close.
Stainless and Kaisa had already boarded the deck of the pirate ship.
Stolobey did not take any action. If several Vice Admiral were to take action, then there must be one who remains calm and composed, sitting in the fleet, overseeing the overall situation, and dealing with any unforeseen circumstances.
Therefore, Stolobey, who also wanted to make a move, immediately made a decision after seeing that Stainless and Kaisa had already boarded the pirate ship using Geppo: he had to take over the entire fleet.
This demonstrates the tacit understanding and cooperation within the Marines. The vice Vice Admiral need not say much; they are perfectly aware of what to do and when to do it.
As soon as Stainless landed on the deck, Raizo, who was guarding Kozuki Momonosuke, threw dozens of shuriken, which flew towards him in a barrage.
Stainless didn't dodge. He slightly raised his chin, hooked his arms around his waist, and chuckled softly, "Tekkai!"
As the saying goes, the better you Tekkai, the faster you die.
Those who are superstitious about Tekkai have basically suffered great losses because of Tekkai.
However, this time Stainless was not breached. Several shurikens struck his body, making a metallic clanging sound.
In that instant, Kaisa lunged at Raizo, her sword wielding an aura of Haki power as she slashed down.
Kin'emon, Raizo nearby, reacted quickly, raising his hand and blocking Kaisa's attack with a slash. Then, O-Nami grabbed Momonosuke's arm and pulled him away from the battle area, quickly hiding in the cabin.
For a time, the battle on the pirate ship was quite lively. Stainless and Raizo were gaining the upper hand, but Kaisa and Kin'emon were locked in a stalemate. It was clear that Kin'emon was quite strong.
"With me here, I will never let you harm a single hair on Young Master's head. This is loyalty!!!" Kanjuro, deflected Kaisa's longsword with a single strike and said in a deep voice.
On the other side, in the sea, neither Inuarashi nor Nekomamushi are Devil Fruit users. After falling into the sea, Inuarashi quickly swam back up and floated on the surface of the sea, watching the Momonga in the air.
"That guy is weird!" Nekomamushi cursed. "How could someone possibly use multiple Devil Fruit abilities?"
"Could it be something like genetic modification, or a superpowered being?" Inuarashi hesitated for a moment.
"You've been reading too many comics from the North Blue, haven't you? How could such a thing really exist?" Nekomamushi glared at Inuarashi, then said, "Let's all go together and finish this guy off as soon as possible. Otherwise, we don't know if Kin'emon and the others can hold out."
The moment the words fell, Nekomamushi shot out of the sea like an arrow. Inuarashi, seeing this, did not hesitate and chased after it from the sea as well. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, arrived at the sides of Momonga's body almost at the same time.
"Cat and Dog Battle!" Nekomamushi shouted.
There is no doubt that Nekomamushi and Inuarashi have great potential. If they grow up normally, Momonga might not be able to keep them in check.
After all, these two guys performed quite well in the original story, they played in the peak match, and together they defeated Kaido's henchman Jack.
But now, their situation has changed a lot. Originally, they had not traveled through time and space, so they were able to use time to improve their strength and such.
Right now, they are still in their adolescence, and their strength has not yet grown at all; they can only be described as being decent.
In contrast, Momonga Momonga currently at an epic level of strength. Not only did he eat the Gulp-Gulp Fruit, but because he is extremely wealthy (high-ranking admirals in the New World Marines enjoy the right to possess multiple Devil Fruit powers, allowing him to use multiple abilities at any time. Furthermore, he has been following Ortolan's side, allowing him to further develop his abilities. Moreover Shanks Red-Hair: the Famous Sword, the Griffin.
If Momonga continues to collect more powerful Devil Fruit items, it's not impossible for him to become Admiral in the future!
The Gulp-Gulp Fruit is indeed an incredibly powerful thing, which explains why Teach chose to snatch it immediately in the original story.
In conclusion, the Nekomamushi and Inuarashi currently in power are not strong, but the Momonga is exceptionally powerful!
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi attacked the Momonga from the left and right, respectively, while the Momonga showed no fear whatsoever, its face remaining calm as it unleashed a flurry of various abilities, including defense, speed, attack, and energy.
Within a short span of a dozen breaths, Smoker saw at least ten different Devil Fruit powers appear in the sky in a dazzling display!
Before Smoker could even count the abilities, the Momonga had already grabbed Nekomamushi by the neck, stomped on the air, and unleashed tremendous propulsion, hurtling towards the warship!
At this moment, the Momonga's arms were very strong... no, it shouldn't be called arms, but rather that the Momonga, who was already quite well-proportioned and had a good figure, had now transformed into a wild, muscular hunk.
He was at least 3.5 meters tall. Fortunately, his suit seemed to be specially made and had some elasticity, otherwise it would have ripped open.
That's right, the ability that the Momonga is using at this moment is the Paramecia Muscle-Muscle Fruit.
In a sense, it can be considered a lower-level variety of the Chikara Chikara no Mi, as it still greatly enhances a person's strength.
The Momonga grabbed the Nekomamushi by the neck, immobilizing him, thanks to the sudden burst of superhuman strength!
"Smoker!" the Momonga hissed.
Smoker quickly came to his senses and, without saying a word, released a large amount of Smoke-Smoke on the deck.
"A sea of smoke!!!"
With a bang, the next second, the Momonga, pressing down on the Nekomamushi's head, slammed it into the sea of smoke. The warship trembled, but thanks to Smoker's abilities, the deck was protected and the ship wasn't pierced through.
As soon as the impact rang out, the shockwave dispersed the surrounding dust, and Smoker was able to see what was happening ahead.
The Nekomamushi was covered in blood, its limbs limp and hanging down, its eyes rolled back, and it was spitting out foul blood. It was clear that it had been rendered useless by the Momonga's attack.
The Momonga, like the Hulk, stood behind the Nekomamushi, its hand gripping the back of his neck.
Even though the Momonga had grown to over three meters tall, it was still smaller than the Nekomamushi, making the scene look somewhat comical.
"Here you go." The Momonga glanced at Smoker, casually gave the order, then used Geppo to turn around and go deal with Inuarashi, who had just been knocked back into the sea.
Meanwhile, on the pirate ship, Kaisa was also getting a little irritated. But being irritable wouldn't solve anything; Kin'emon was indeed a man of some skill.
However, just as Kin'emon was suppressing Kaisa again, a painful howl came from the back of the cabin. Then the cabin door was smashed open, and a figure rolled on the deck, spraying a lot of blood, before finally stopping at Kin'emon's feet.
"O-Nami!?" Kin'emon exclaimed in surprise as he watched this scene, "Where's Shinobu?"
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard in the cabin, and then a young man wearing a black suit, Justice Cloak, and a small top hat, with a pigeon perched on his colonel's epaulettes, walked out.
He still had Kozuki Saku's neck in his hand, dragging Momoko Saku like a dead dog onto the deck.
Without a doubt, this boy with icy eyes is Rob Lucci!
"Is this the 'youngster' you're talking about, this piece of trash?" Lucci asked calmly.
Then, before Kin'emon could speak, Lucci continued, "I'll count to three. Put down your weapons, give up resistance, and surrender unconditionally, or I'll tear your throat apart, you piece of trash..."
As he said this, Lucci tightened his grip slightly, his fingertips gripping Momo's throat as if he might tear out his throat at any moment, making it difficult for Momo to speak, yet he appeared to be in great pain.