Support Arrives
The battle at Base Three was particularly fierce, with Katakuri, Laimer, Iris, Oven, four infamous and powerful warriors, locked in a fierce fight.
Their opponents consisted of four Vice Admiral, two of whom were the first reinforcements to arrive. By the time they arrived, one of the Vice Admiral had already been decisively killed by Katakuri.
Katakuri, fighting two opponents at once, still held an absolute advantage. His immense strength, coupled with his Observation Haki allowed him to Future Sight, made him no match for the two Vice Admiral. They were both severely injured and could only struggle to hold on.
Hurricane Homie are raging, and the glutinous Homie have transformed into a gigantic monster, devouring the soldiers one by one.
Both possess Logia abilities, making them immune to physical attacks. Individually, they are comparable to the combat strength of an ordinary Vice Admiral.
Oven and Laimer each took on two other Vice Admiral, fighting back and forth. It was clear to everyone that they had a significant advantage. These pirates, honed in the New World, were all powerful Devil Fruit User.
Both the Heat-Heat Fruit and the Tyrannosaurus Rex Fruit pose a significant threat to these two Vice Admiral.
Iris, the fleet captain of the Flying Pirates, has a spider tattoo on her ample chest. Although she looks beautiful, she is also covered in thorns. The name "Black Widow" is not just for show.
At this moment, the No. 3 base branch was covered with spider webs, all created by Iris. Most of the soldiers were stuck in the spider webs like prey, struggling desperately, but to no avail.
The more you struggle, the more powerless you become.
Only a few people are able to break free.
Moreover, the spider web created by Iris contains a deadly poison. Through contact with the web, the poison enters their bodies, poisoning them one by one. Before long, all the captured soldiers will die.
Iris was dealing with other, stronger soldiers to prevent them from interfering with Katakuri's battle.
They were also secretly observing Katakuri and the others' fighting strength.
Oven's combat strength is among the top in the Big Mom Pirates, and Laimer has already earned the reputation of being a calamity in the Beasts Pirates. She is confident in her own strength, but even if these two are weaker than her, they are not much weaker, and they are still young with the potential to improve further.
Katakuri, on the other hand, is a monster. The power of the Mochi-Mochi Fruit doesn't seem particularly strong, but he has brought it to its fullest potential.
The ability to Future Sight Observation Haki is no secret to the various factions in the New World; it's an ability derived from the ultimate development of Observation Haki.
The two Vice Admiral's every move was under Katakuri's control; they were merely putting up a pointless resistance. Katakuri hadn't been injured once since the start of the battle.
They were already confident of victory, and everything was going very smoothly. Given this, the other two groups' actions shouldn't be any worse.
This relieved Iris, as the heavy weight on her heart eased slightly. The real test would come in the upcoming war, when the World Government would truly intervene, and who knew what methods they might use in secret.
The pressure was suffocating. If the Golden Sea were in the New World, the World Government wouldn't act like this; they would rather swallow their pride. But in the Grand Line...
Otherwise, they wouldn't have planned such a surprise attack, prioritizing eliminating the World Government's coalition forces' combat capabilities.
The plan has a high chance of success, but it could also fail, so no one dares to be cautious.
In case of a leak or something, and they fall into a trap set by the World Government, they might leave many behind. After all, in a crisis, abandoning temporary teammates is normal for pirates.
Everything seems to be going well now.
At Base Four, Juan is under siege by Jhin, Lafitte, and Sylvanas Windrunner, and is struggling to hold on. The heavy damage he suffered earlier is not a good thing for him.
My stamina is rapidly depleting; the more I fight, the less hope I have.
Finally, reinforcements from Base Two arrived. Aboard Marine warship, they spotted the four engaged in battle from afar. The vice Vice Admiral in the lead used Geppo to leap off the warship and quickly traversed the air towards Base Four.
"Have reinforcements arrived? Two Vice Admiral, take them out." Lafitte looked at the two Vice Admiral approaching from afar, flapped his bat wings, and charged straight at them.
Xi also abandoned his attack on Juan and instead targeted the two Vice Admiral who charged at him. Even though Juan was not in good condition, he was still difficult to deal with.
Juan's formidable abilities also made it difficult for them to unleash their full potential.
After such a long battle, their stamina was somewhat depleted, but it didn't significantly affect their fighting ability, since they were Zoan Devil Fruit users.
The two newly arrived Vice Admiral were filled with rage upon seeing the devastated Base 4 and the countless dead and wounded; they felt as if their chests were burning with fury.
They immediately joined the battle, and their arrival gave Juan a moment of relief.
On the other side, a giant Vulture was flapping its wings and flying rapidly towards the Golden Sea.
This is Army Admiral "Vulture." Unexpectedly, an accident forced him to set off ahead of schedule for the Golden Sea, and he is currently flying at full speed.
Base Three, Katakuri wielding his trident, shouts, "Earth Dragon Thrust!"
With a powerful thrust, he aimed directly at Vice Admiral David, who was being held captive by Katakuri's ability. Although it was made of mochi, it made it difficult for Vice Admiral David to break free.
In the short time he was trapped, Katakuri was able to attack him.
"Not good!" Another Vice Admiral's expression changed upon seeing this, and he rushed forward to try to block the attack. If he could block this blow, Lieutenant Vice Admiral David would be able to break free from the rice cake.
However, how could Katakuri not have anticipated his actions? A red light flashed deep in his pupils; Katakuri had already foreseen his move.
However, when they were only halfway there, giant rice cake pillars suddenly bulged out from the ground, trapping four of them inside like a cage.
Katakuri's Devil Fruit has Awakening, turning the entire surrounding area into his domain.
Therefore, the gap in strength between them is an insurmountable distance.
The powerful Earth Dragon Thrust pierced towards Vice Admiral David's head. Moreover, Vice Admiral David was already in poor condition, having suffered serious injuries in the previous battle with Katakuri, with several bones broken.
"Zzz!"
Before Vice Admiral Dikov's eyes, Katakuri pierced directly through Lieutenant Vice Admiral David's throat.
Dikov's body trembled, not just from anger or fear, perhaps both, but mostly from helplessness.
Katakuri was simply too strong; he was no match for him, and all his resistance was futile.
Katakuri's indifferent gaze suggested that he had never taken them seriously.
"Next, it's your turn," Katakuri calmly. Vice Admiral David's head had already drooped; even with the strongest vitality, it was impossible for him to survive with such a fatal wound.
They are still within the realm of humanity, not monsters like Kaido who have become inhuman.
Just as Dikov broke free of the rice cake pillars, another series of rice cake pillars intertwined and trapped him inside.
Being inside Katakuri's territory, how could he possibly be a match for Katakuri, let alone escape?
As long as he has the thought of escaping, Katakuri can restrain him in place before he can act.
Katakuri, who possesses Future Sight Observation Haki the future, showed Dikov what true terror is.
"I'll fight you to the death." Dikov gritted his teeth, a resolute glint in his eyes. His weakened aura surged as he rapidly depleted his stamina and life force to restore himself to peak condition, and it was still improving.
"Will Life Return?" Katakuri couldn't help but be intrigued by Dikov's reaction, and he was also somewhat impressed. After all, it takes a lot of courage to risk one's life and lifespan.
Many naval personnel are willing to Life Return, but very few would actually Life Return so before their own demise.
"I'll give you this chance," Katakuri said calmly. The Hurricane Homie and Mochi Homie that had been raging not far away returned. One of them stood on the trident in Katakuri's hand, increasing the trident's lethality, while the other transformed into a scarf, wrapped around Katakuri's neck and covering Katakuri's gaping mouth.
Katakuri doesn't care what others think of him.
Dikov, panting, glanced into the distance at the two Vice Admiral who were now completely outmatched; one had lost an arm, his entire arm torn off by Laimer.
The other man, covered in burns, was forced to retreat under Oven's scorching fists; even close contact could cause him to suffer from the intense heat.
In addition, they were all poisoned by Iris's spider venom. The toxin had entered their bodies and spread rapidly throughout their bodies during the battle, causing them great harm.
He also had to secretly guard against Iris, who was now free to act. He wanted to help, but he couldn't, because Katakuri would strike first before he could.
"Shigan - Rain of Pear Blossoms." Dikov's figure flashed, and he rushed towards Katakuri.
At an incredibly fast speed, countless finger shadows seemed to pierce through everything, completely covering Katakuri.
However, Katakuri remained unfazed, his body subtly shifting as he weaved through the shadows of his fingers. Dikov's Shigan failed to hit Katakuri even once.
Katakuri had already anticipated Dikov's every move and knew in advance how Vice Admiral Dikov would attack, so he was able to easily evade them.
Even with the use of Life Return, the gap between them remained enormous. Life Return did not significantly improve their strength, and in Katakuri's eyes, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
With a sweeping motion of his trident, he struck Dikov squarely in the abdomen, causing him to cough up blood. Dikov's body crashed into a rice cake pillar that appeared from behind him.
Then, wielding his trident, he thrust it at Dikov. Dikov managed to grab the trident tightly with both hands and block the attack. However, under Katakuri's immense power, Dikov's arms trembled, and his hands were already split open, bleeding profusely.
Katakuri looked at him, then his gaze shifted slightly to the side.
Dikov noticed it and looked to the side as well. In front of him, a black spider claw, like a spear, struck in an instant, piercing his chest directly. Before he could react, his life was over.
This was Iris's move. Spear-like spider legs emerged from deep within her spine. She wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by so easily.
Katakuri didn't comment on this. In his eyes, the result was the most important thing. This operation was a battle against time, and it was about being as fast as possible.
The World Government and navy cannot remain indifferent.
Then Laimer, turning their attention to Oven, Katakuri was already free, and their fate was sealed.
Inside the Navy, the atmosphere was extremely heavy. Vivre Card were being burned to ashes. Combined with the intelligence obtained from the Army, it could be inferred that all five war bases, except for Base Zero, had fallen.
Base Three has suffered more than half its casualties. The Vice Admiral on the front lines are completely overwhelmed by the pirates' attack. Including the two Vice Admiral who came to reinforce, three have already died, and the remaining two will not be able to hold out for much longer.
They could all hear the despair in the voice of the marine who was delivering the message via Den Den Mushi.
But there was nothing they could do but hope that Army Admiral "Vulture" would arrive soon. This wait was agonizing for them; they were restless, agitated, and filled with anger.
Ultimately, the reason was that they were too weak. Despite being Vice Admiral, they were all suppressed by these pirates and killed in a short time.
But when did this pillar of the Vice Admiral become so vulnerable?
It's easy to imagine that if this intelligence became known to the world, Marine Vice Admiral would become a laughing stock, and the deterrent effect would be greatly reduced.
They all shared the same idea: even if the position of Vice Admiral was left vacant, it couldn't be filled arbitrarily.
The decline in the quality of Vice Admiral has led to this outcome, something none of them anticipated.
This also made Sengoku abandon his idea of promoting outstanding naval Commodore and rear admirals such as Mole and Yamakaji to Rear Admiral Vice Admiral. He still needed to hone their skills and accumulate more merits.
Katakuri, Iris, Laimer, and Oven —they chanted these four names in their minds, as if trying to memorize them.
The losses this time were devastating, and it's not over yet. This kind of thing can't be hidden any longer, and it's easy to imagine that their bounty will definitely increase after this.
On the other side, very few people survived at Base Four. Two Vice Admiral had already died, and if reinforcements hadn't arrived, the remaining Juan Vice Admiral Juan would likely have met with certain death.
Bases Two and Five have been completely lost to us; one can only imagine what happened up there.
There were no survivors, and the intelligence indicated that the perpetrators were Gari, Lubite, and Nelson.
After destroying Base 5, instead of going to support the other two captured bases, they went directly to Base 2.
So, what's next?
The Den Den Mushi rang; it was Den Den Mushi from Base One. This made their hearts sink, and they already guessed what had happened.
"It's terrible! Base One has been attacked by Gari of the Night Pirates, as well as Lubite, the Mist Killer of the Flying Pirates. There's also another assassin in the shadows. Vice Admiral Joris is already seriously injured and won't last much longer. We request..." the soldier said anxiously, his voice tinged with fear.
Before the words were finished, the sound abruptly stopped, and from the Den Den Mushi, the sound of a body being pierced could be clearly heard.
"Hehe." The Den Den Mushi transformed, and a stranger's voice came through. Judging from the Den Den Mushi's imitation, he was laughing. "Hello, is this Marine Headquarters?"
The entire naval conference room was extremely quiet and the atmosphere was heavy. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the Den Den Mushi. Sengoku clenched his fists so tightly that his bones cracked.
Staff Officer He took a deep breath. "It's Nelson, isn't it? What exactly does he want?"
"Oh, is that Vice Admiral Tsuru? It seems that Fleet Admiral Sengoku is also present. What an honor to speak with such an important figure," Nelson chuckled from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"We've done something incredible today! We've already killed four Vice Admiral, who were practically defenseless. The fifth one is coming soon. After all, he's Gari's prey. He's already lost a leg, so all we can do is try to excite Gari." Nelson's light and cheerful tone sounded extremely grating to their ears.
The entire conference room was filled with fury among the navy personnel. The overwhelming aura was palpable even to the navy personnel outside, and even Tsuru frowned.
"Don't be so arrogant, brat." Sengoku finally couldn't hold back anymore and yelled at the Den Den Mushi, his body uncontrollably emitting golden light. This was the first time a pirate had ever been so arrogant.
"Uh, are you angry? I'm so sorry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I am indeed a nobody in your presence, but it is a great honor to receive your recognition. I wonder how many people would envy me." Nelson remained calm, unaffected by Sengoku's words. Could Sengoku possibly use the Den Den Mushi to attack him?
"However, there are still nearly 20,000 soldiers on this base. The two islands were wiped out completely. I wonder what to do with this island? Slaughter them all? Slaughter them all? Or slaughter them all?" At this moment, Nelson's tone changed, becoming somewhat cold and mocking.
"What exactly do you want?" Sengoku almost lost control and slapped the Den Den Mushi in front of him to death.
"Oh, just kidding. There are so many people, it would be too much trouble to kill them all. We don't plan on that, after all, we need to save our energy for escaping! Your reinforcements should be arriving soon, right?" Nelson chuckled.
"This chat was quite pleasant. We'll have a drink next time if we have the chance." With that, Nelson hung up the Den Den Mushi, giving Sengoku and the others no chance to speak.
The Den Den Mushi's disconnection left Sengoku frustrated and helpless, but also relieved, as their losses were already heavy, including many of his naval comrades.
At Base Three, with Katakuri now free and Iris having mostly dealt with the other soldiers, the addition of these two meant the remaining two Vice Admiral couldn't hold out for long before being killed.
At that moment, a Den Den Mushi) rang simultaneously on Gari's, Katakuri's, and Marco's sides. It was similar to a pager, with one person speaking inside, and everyone holding the corresponding Den Den Mushi could hear it.
"Hurry, reinforcements are here, an Army Admiral." It was Jhin's voice.
At Base Four, through hypnosis, Lafitte killed another Vice Admiral. Just as he was about to deal with another one, a terrifying aura suddenly came from afar in the sky.
This caused Lafitte and his men to change their expressions. Jin, who was attacking Lieutenant Vice Admiral Juan, immediately abandoned his attack and flew back to Lafitte's side.
Juan was somewhat excited; he knew who had come. Another Vice Admiral, who was also nearing his death, seized the opportunity to run to Juan's side.
"Let's go." Jin was very decisive. The three of them exchanged glances, spread their wings, and quickly flew away from the island. Although it was a bit of a pity, their own lives were more important. Who knew if this Army Admiral had any other top-tier combatants coming after him?
Jhin and his team's decisiveness surprised Vulture. Looking at the dilapidated base and the countless dead and wounded, he angrily wanted to chase after them and teach them a lesson.
However, he suddenly realized that he might not have an advantage over Jin and the others in terms of speed, so he gave up the chase with a dark expression.
Looking down at the two seriously wounded Vice Admiral, he felt a sense of relief; had he arrived any later, they might have perished.
With Juan and another Vice Admiral, Vulture wanted to go to other bases to provide support, but it was too late. Of the fifteen Vice Admiral, apart from the two he had saved, all the rest had been killed. Of the five bases, only the number one base suffered relatively few losses; the number two through four bases were basically wiped out.
Such a loss was unbelievable to the Vulture, and its body trembled involuntarily.
Upon hearing the information from Jin, the members of the other two groups immediately fled without hesitation, quickly flying back to Gaya Island. After all, they had already dealt with their targets and even gained some extra loot.
Marco, who was holding back Admiral Violent Bear, flew away, leaving Violent Bear standing on the deck somewhat helpless. The warship had been completely destroyed in their battle and most of it had sunk into the sea.
On the other side, Chronos, panting, turned and left; his mission was complete.