A large number of Navy warships sailed out of Punk Hazard. The Charlotte Family's expressions turned ugly at the sight before them.
"What exactly is going on? Is this some secret base the Navy set up here?"
"What kind of secret base needs a newly appointed Navy Headquarters Admiral to guard it? I think... we may have stirred up a hornet's nest."
Charlotte Daifuku and Charlotte Oven spoke in tandem, both wearing grave expressions.
A Navy Headquarters Admiral was a supreme powerhouse on par with Charlotte Linlin, captain of the Charlotte Pirates.
Even though this was ten years before the story began, Kizaru had only just become a Navy Headquarters Admiral and had yet to reach his peak. Moreover, the Admirals in the original work were half a step below the Four Emperors. Even so, his strength was absolutely not to be underestimated.
At the very least, Katakuri alone was no match for Kizaru. Even with Charlotte Oven and Charlotte Daifuku added in, they had little chance of winning.
As for fleeing, with such a massive Navy fleet before them, their chances of escape were clearly slim as well.
Minos understood that perfectly well. He certainly did not want his first voyage as a pirate to end with him heading to Impel Down. That would be far too tragic.
He turned to look at the others, his gaze suddenly stopping on Baby5. He frowned slightly as an idea came to him.
They definitely could not win in a fight now. Perhaps they could only make the Navy wary of acting rashly somehow...
After that lightning-fast thought flashed through his mind, Minos looked at Katakuri. Katakuri was briefly taken aback and returned his gaze.
Though these two men, both exceptional in Observation Haki, did not exchange a single word, the instant their eyes met, they had already communicated something.
"Baby5, you can turn into a weapon like a missile, right?" Minos asked in a low voice.
Baby5 had been nervous after seeing Kizaru, but upon hearing Minos's words, she perked up and nodded with complete confidence. "Of course I can! I can turn into a super missile and blast that guy in the sky into—"
"Good, listen to me." Minos interrupted Baby5's wild fantasy. "Turn into a missile immediately and fly to that island in the distance! I'll grab onto you and head there with you!"
"Ah-hehe, together with Master Minos..." Baby5's face flushed red, and she seemed to be sinking into her fantasies again.
Minos rolled his eyes. "Hurry up. We don't have much time."
"Okay, leave it to me!" Baby5 answered energetically. Her entire body transformed into a black missile, shooting off the ship with a whoosh.
Before that, Minos had already grabbed one of the missile's fins. The two of them instantly took off, hurtling toward Punk Hazard.
"This route is closed! Passage forbidden!" Kizaru shouted, light gathering in his hand. But at that moment, a huge black fist was already smashing toward him. It was Katakuri's Mochi Fist!
Left with no choice, Kizaru could only focus first on dealing with Katakuri's attack from below.
A moment later, the missile streaked across the sky and was about to crash into Punk Hazard below. Minos stood atop the missile and jumped with all his strength. The missile hit the ground and exploded with a boom. The fierce blast sent Minos flying another dozen meters before he tumbled across the ground.
"Good..." Minos dusted himself off and looked around. "There do not seem to be any other powerhouses here. I just hope Katakuri can hold Kizaru off for a while longer."
But thinking of Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit, Minos had no confidence in that at all. He could only move even faster.
Fortunately, with the Evil Eye on his forehead, he was uniquely gifted when it came to finding people. Even if he did not know what Vegapunk looked like, all he had to do was head toward wherever the guards were thickest.
This was ten years ago, so Vegapunk should not have created his own clones yet, right?
"Master Minos, what should we do next?" Baby5 had already returned to human form. She looked at Minos and asked.
The explosion from her missile form had not blown Baby5 herself to pieces, but it had drained far too much of her stamina. Baby5, who was only fourteen at the moment, was already panting heavily.
But this was no time to rest. Although most of the Navy soldiers on the island had gone to surround Katakuri and the others, there was still a certain amount of defensive force left behind. If they delayed too long, then even if Kizaru did not return to support them, Minos and Baby5 would still be besieged.
At Minos's current strength, even encountering an elite Navy Headquarters Colonel would likely lead to a hard battle. He was still far from the level where numbers meant nothing.
Besides, the Navy stationed in the New World were elites to begin with. The Navy protecting Vegapunk on Punk Hazard were the elite among elites.
"I'll lead the way. You blast straight through the walls, and I'll go grab that scientist!" Minos said directly.
Baby5 did not know who the scientist Minos was talking about was. For all she knew, she might not even have heard of Vegapunk yet. Still, after hearing Minos's plan, she got to work with boundless energy.
The Arms-Arms Fruit was actually extremely powerful in direct combat, especially in terms of destructive force. Though Baby5 was far weaker than Minos, her destructive power exceeded his by several times. Walls, pillars, doors—one cannon blast was enough to smash them all apart.
Whenever they occasionally encountered Navy soldiers trying to stop them, Minos did not waste a word. One Drawing Sword Slash instantly defeated them all—this speed-focused attack was simply incredibly effective against weak opponents.
Boom, boom, boom! The two advanced at tremendous speed by tearing down walls. The Navy was caught off guard for a moment—who could have expected the enemy not to follow the paths through the research facility, but to smash straight through the walls and charge in?
Halfway there, Minos had Baby5 stop for a moment. He ran into a warehouse, smashed a glass case, and took out a strange-looking pink fruit.
"I didn't expect such an unexpected gain. The Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit... just in time, since I was worried I would not have anything to trade."
After using Clairvoyance to survey the surroundings, Minos estimated that the Navy would need another minute or two to find this place. He immediately told Baby5 to wake him if any enemies came. Then he decisively closed his eyes and went directly to the Golden Scales to make a trade.
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