As far back as when he killed the Celestial Dragons, a faint aura had awakened in Figo's chest.
His Conqueror's Haki had awakened to Level 1: Sprout.
Later, the Conqueror's Haki reward from Jellal's Character Event had raised his Haki to Level 2: Lower Conqueror's Haki.
At that point, if something happened that stirred his emotions intensely, Figo could unconsciously unleash a shockwave of Conqueror's Haki. Unfortunately, in all the years since, he hadn't had the chance.
When he cursed the Five Elders and fought Raul, the aura in his chest grew stronger. But Raul wasn't strong enough, and Figo's Conqueror's Haki stalled at over 900 points, just short of Level 3.
Not until this very moment—when Miya was thrown toward him—did that aura awaken in Figo's chest once more, surging forward in a sudden burst!
Conqueror's Haki: 2891
Level 3: Middle Conqueror's Haki!
Figo could now unleash Conqueror's Haki at will. He was roughly on par with Luffy after two years of training: unbeatable against cannon fodder, and, combined with his own strength and presence, useful even in a fight against strong opponents!
His identity also made his Conqueror's Haki all the more unexpected.
Among the Marines throughout history, there had been few with the potential to awaken Conqueror's Haki under the World Government.
In seven hundred years, among the hundreds of Admirals and Fleet Admirals, those with Conqueror's Haki could practically be counted on one hand. In the original story, Sengoku was the only Marine shown to possess it!
The Marines' identity and rules seemed to restrain their aura. By contrast, more of the pirates standing at the top awakened it.
Marine Admirals had better foundations, more room to grow, and more resources to seek out Devil Fruits suited to them. They had the upper hand over the strongest pirates in every respect, but when it came to Conqueror's Haki, they were always at a disadvantage. That kept the gap between the two sides narrow. More often than not, the strongest pirates held the edge—and sometimes one of them would become the strongest of an entire era!
That very element of surprise had bought Figo five precious seconds. He had knocked Jackson, the Hell Pirates' First Mate, into the sea, rescued Miya and the other captured Marines, and sent them sailing more than a hundred meters back toward the Marine line before Rebrus reacted.
His expression darkened, and fury blazed in his eyes.
Purple-black flames spread around him. Tony, the other First Mate of the Hell Pirates—a huge, fat man—rushed toward him. The instant Tony made contact, he transformed into a pair of metal wings that grew from Rebrus's back.
"Get out of the way! The boss is furious!"
"Damn it, how dare he do that to First Mate Jackson..."
"Boss, take him out!"
Amid the pirates' shouts, Rebrus beat his wings and took flight. Cloaked in purple flames, he truly looked like a fiend from hell as he hurtled toward Figo's little boat at incredible speed!
On the warship, Doug didn't waste a moment either. He bellowed, "Take aim! Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A barrage of cannon fire erupted!
With Buster Call-class heavy cannons and the elite Marines' expert gunnery, Rebrus was instantly swallowed by a dense storm of cannonballs as he shot into the air, trapped in the barrage!
His metal wings folded inward.
The force of the explosions rumbled through the sky, halting Rebrus's advance. Smoke billowed, and the sea churned. The towering waves sped Figo's return to the Marine line.
But a sudden gale scattered the cannon smoke, revealing Rebrus's metal wings and body completely unharmed!
Tony Toa, the Shield of Hell, was a Shield-Shield Fruit User. He had developed his Fruit to an advanced degree, earning a reputation for being able to defend against any attack. He had even devised an unconventional but practical technique called "Glide Shield."
Doug showed no hesitation. His voice rang out, brimming with murderous intent. "Fire! Fire again!"
One barrage after another continued to hold Rebrus back, buying Figo another dozen seconds. But before Figo could bring Miya and the others back to the Marine line, Rebrus caught up.
Purple flames swept toward the little boat!
Figo kept paddling for his life.
At some point, the Seastone Handcuffs on Sapphire's hands had come off. She drew the sword at her waist and slashed upward. A blizzard burst from her blade, its extreme cold instantly dropping the temperature by dozens of degrees. It froze the air, extinguished the purple flames, and collided with Rebrus!
"Blind Witch?!" Rebrus cried, startled and furious.
Seizing the opportunity, Figo leaped up and slammed a powerful rising punch into Rebrus's metal wings, sending him spinning backward with a thunderous crash.
Then Figo plunged into the water, swam beneath the boat, and heaved it up with one hand before flinging it forward. He sent the entire boat, wounded passengers and all, soaring toward the warship, which was no longer far away. "Hold him off for two seconds!"
Sapphire manifested snowy-white wings and beat them as she rose into the air, colliding with Rebrus as he dived at her again. White and purple streaks of light swirled as they struggled for a moment. Rebrus roared in fury.
"You're helping the Marines?!"
Boom!
The purple flames swelled, swallowing the snow!
Sapphire's body vanished, scattering into flakes of snow that swept swiftly backward. Only after reaching the warship did she reform. The hand gripping her sword trembled slightly; the flames had clearly burned her, though only lightly.
She didn't answer. She stood alongside Doug and the other four Vice Admirals, facing Rebrus in the sky. Miya and the others, whom Figo had tossed back ahead of her, had already been caught and taken to safety.
The hostage rescue had succeeded.
Rebrus glared at Sapphire in fury, then suddenly let out a soft grunt. Where had that guy gone?
His Observation Haki caught something, and he abruptly turned around.
Figo had quietly swum in the opposite direction for a stretch. Once Rebrus spotted him, he leaped straight out of the water and started running across the sea again. His target was the pirate ship in the distance, following behind their boss, Rebrus!
"What the hell is he trying to do?!" Rebrus didn't stop to think. He banked sharply and gave chase at full speed.
But Figo's legs only moved faster and faster! Waves fanned out with a rush on either side of him. His figure blurred, and Rebrus, flying through the air, couldn't catch up!
The Hell Pirates' crew, who had been cursing the Blind Witch just a moment ago, noticed him coming and braced themselves.
"What's he trying to do?!"
"He hasn't even drawn his sword yet! He took out First Mate Jackson with his fists alone. Stay sharp!"
"You don't need to tell us!"
"Fire!"
This time, the situation was reversed. The Hell Pirates' ship was well built, but its guns were nowhere near as powerful as those on a Buster Call warship. They had only one ship, and Figo was a smaller target than Rebrus, making him hard to hit.
The cannonballs didn't slow Figo down at all. The pirates' swordsmen and sharpshooters only managed to slow him slightly with their slashes and gunfire.
He was getting closer and closer to the pirate ship.
Yet he showed no sign of slowing down!
The pirates aboard gradually realized what he intended to do, and their faces filled with shock and fury. One of them screamed, "He's crazy! Hell, smash him to pieces!"
Only Rebrus, who had just clashed with Figo, knew that the little runt, barely two meters and eighty centimeters tall, was hiding an absurd amount of strength.
He roared, "You bastard, stop!"
Stop? As if!
With the pirate ship right before him, Figo's arms swelled and thickened in an instant. He clenched both fists tight!
"Life Return—War God Thrust!"
His arms, now twice their usual thickness and wrapped in flowing Armament Haki, smashed into the oncoming Hell!
A tremendous roar erupted!
Compared with the several-hundred-ton ship, Figo looked impossibly small. Yet when the two collided, the moving vessel ground to a halt in an instant!
Then a penetrating force spread from Figo's fists. The keel snapped with a crack, and the force tore through the ship for over a hundred meters. Though the impact struck at the bow, a huge hole burst open at the stern!
Then came a continuous series of cracking, splintering sounds.
As the Hell Pirates watched in horror, the deck shattered and flew up, sending countless pirates tumbling through the air in terror, limbs flailing!
The stronger pirate officers steadied themselves and scrambled for a place to stand, only to discover that their ship's interior had already collapsed. It was sinking steadily toward the seafloor, beyond saving!
"That bastard!"
"What the hell did he do?!"
Rebrus was even more shocked and furious. His purple-flame-wreathed fist crashed into Figo's shoulder while Figo was momentarily rigid and unable to dodge. With a thump, Figo was sent flying like a cannonball. He skipped across the sea for hundreds of meters before sinking beneath the surface.
But Rebrus couldn't pursue him. He clenched his teeth in fury, swept his wings around several officers who were about to sink, and carried them over the warship from high above before landing on Witch Island.
The rest of the pirates fell into the sea.
Blub, blub—
In the distance, Figo blew a few bubbles before his head emerged from the water. He looked toward the scene.
The raid had succeeded.
Many of the Hell Pirates were Ability Users, and Devil Fruit Users were always vulnerable to the sea and Seastone. Once the pirate ship was wrecked, many of those who fell into the water lost the ability to fight back!
Rebrus had only managed to save a few of the crew's key officers and get them onto dry land on the island. The rest of the pirates' forces had been cut in half by that one strike.
But the most troublesome part was still to come.
At the edge of Witch Island, purple flames burned even more fiercely around Rebrus, who looked like a demon. The Conqueror's Haki he unleashed even dimmed the sky a little!
The numb, aching pain in his shoulder served as a warning to Figo, too: that man's strength and physique were probably a little greater than his own right now!
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