Hachinosu Island.
This is a breeding ground for evil, Paradise for pirates.
The island's architecture is chaotic and disorganized; giant skulls serve as houses, and wrecked shipwrecks form the walls of taverns. The air is perpetually filled with the pungent smell of cheap rum, gunpowder, and dried blood.
At this moment, a bloody hunt is unfolding on a main road in the center of the island.
"Bang! Bang bang!"
The intense gunfire tore through the noise, and the smoke and dust mingled together, making the already dimly lit street even more oppressive.
Nearly a hundred soldiers in naval uniforms stood with their backs against a makeshift wall made of rubble and garbage, putting up a last stand.
Their uniforms were stained beyond recognition with blood and filth, and each of them bore wounds of varying depths, yet even so, they held their guns high, pointing forward.
Opposite them was a vast, dark mass of pirates.
The pirates, with cruel and mocking smiles on their faces, brandished blood-stained weapons and approached the Marines with ferocious expressions.
This naval force originally came to rescue the "kidnapped" royal family of Puertovia, but little did they know that it was an elaborate deception, and they, who came to rescue them, became the prey of pirates.
By the time they realized that the Pudovia royal family was in cahoots with the pirates, it was too late.
Pirates swarmed in from all directions, cutting off all their escape routes and trapping them in this narrow street.
"Colonel, we're almost out of ammunition!" A soldier said, his voice weak from blood loss as he changed magazines.
The man addressed as Colonel had his left arm wrapped in thick bandages, from which blood continued to seep. He dragged his injured leg, using his sword for support, yet his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's.
Watching the pirates closing in, enjoying the thrill of a cat -Axe-Hand Morgan, the colonel took a deep breath, his eyes rekindling with a fierce fighting spirit.
Because the Den Den Mushi in his pocket had just ended its communication, Captain Morgan, a member of the Marshal's personal guard, gave him his last hope.
"Brothers, hold on!" The colonel shouted with all his might, his voice drowning out the gunfire and the pirates' shouts, " Marshal Captain Morgan, has just made contact with me!"
The colonel paused, then suddenly raised his voice and shouted, " The Lord Marshal has come to rescue us!"
Your Lord Marshal!
These four words were like a candle flame, instantly dispelling the darkness surrounding the naval soldiers!
Despair, exhaustion, and pain vanished in that instant. In their place surged a powerful fighting spirit!
"Whoosh!"
All the naval soldiers who could still stand seemed to have been injected with boundless strength, and they all straightened their backs in unison.
Immediately afterwards, they discarded their empty guns and drew their swords from their waists.
"Loyalty!"
A unified and powerful roar erupted from the mouths of the remaining soldiers, and their fearless spirit caused the surging pirate tide in front of them to pause for a moment.
The one-eyed pirate captain at the forefront was stunned.
"What's going on? Have these navy guys gone mad? They're about to die, why won't they give up?"
A burly man beside him, wielding a spiked club, licked his lips and sneered, "Just a desperate struggle! No matter how loud they scream, it won't change their fate of being torn to pieces!"
"Brothers! Follow me!" The burly man raised his spiked club and roared like a wild beast, "Kill all these navy men! We can't let them escape and report back!"
"Oh oh oh oh!"
The pirates roared once more, like a pack of ravenous wolves, and pounced on them with ferocious rage.
Faced with the surging tide of death, the surviving naval soldiers showed no fear. They tacitly gathered behind the colonel, forming a final wedge formation.
The colonel took the lead, raising his long sword high, the blade pointing straight ahead.
"For the Lord Marshal! For justice!"
"Brothers, follow me and kill them!"
"Kill!"
Two torrents collided violently!
Swords flashed, blood and flesh flew everywhere.
The naval soldiers displayed astonishing fighting prowess, each strike delivered with all their might, every swing imbued with the resolve to perish together with the enemy.
However, the difference in numbers was simply too great.
In just one engagement, more than a dozen naval soldiers fell in pools of blood.
A young soldier was pierced by three curved blades simultaneously, but before dying, he clung tightly to a pirate's leg and bit through his throat. Another naval soldier, surrounded by four or five pirates, resolutely pulled the pin on his slingshot.
"Colonel!" The adjutant, having slashed down a pirate with his sword, leaned against the colonel, panting, "At this rate, we probably won't be able to hold out until the Lord Marshal arrives! We must find a way to retreat!"
"We have nowhere to turn!" The colonel parried the giant axe that was about to strike him with his sword, and then slashed open the other man's chest with his own, splattering blood all over his face.
He wiped his face and roared, "What we need to do is not wait for the Lord Marshal to arrive and provide support!"
"But we want the Lord Marshal to see our loyalty and fearlessness when he arrives here!!"
Upon hearing this, the adjutant's body jolted violently.
As he watched his fallen comrades and the colonel's bloodied and battered figure, a surge of adrenaline rushed to his head, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
"Damn pirates!"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
After two rounds of attacks, the navy was left with only a colonel, his adjutant, and a dozen or so soldiers who could still barely hold a knife.
They were compressed into an even smaller encirclement, covered in blood, like a few rocks in a raging storm, ready to be swallowed up at any moment.
Meanwhile, reinforcements kept arriving for the pirates.
Their numbers not only did not decrease, but increased exponentially, completely blocking the street.
The pirates were densely packed, their eyes gleaming red, as if admiring their prey in a cage, their faces filled with cruel pleasure.
"That was exhilarating! So exhilarating!" A pirate captain, missing an arm, laughed maniacally, holding a blood-dripping battle axe in his remaining hand. "It's been so long since I've had such a satisfying killing session, ha ha--"
"Hmph, without that Navy Marshal, the navy is a bunch of useless trash! They're not even enough for us to kill!" Another leader with a scar on his face spat disdainfully.
"Stop talking nonsense!" A short, stout leader, sounding impatient, strode forward menacingly. "Hurry up and kill these guys, then we'll go back for drinks!"
Having said that, he picked up two short axes and stepped out from the crowd, ready to crush the last remaining navy in one fell swoop.
at the same time.
On the deck of the training ship.
Upon entering the waters around Hachinosu Island, Akira immediately unleashed his Observation Haki.
The ultimate Observation Haki surged forth silently, like an invisible tide, instantly enveloping the entire Hachinosu Island and the surrounding sea.
He captured clearly the blood-soaked street, the soldiers who were ready to die, their screams, and the pirates' madness.
Upon discovering that the island's navy was nearing its end, Akira's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Then, he turned to look at the group of interns behind him, who were already bursting with fighting spirit and could no longer contain themselves, and said in a deep voice, "It's your turn to step up!"
Before he could finish speaking, Akira suddenly raised his hand and grabbed at the air.
"Why?"
Caught completely off guard Luffy felt an irresistible force lift him up into the air, and the next second, Akira swiftly and cleanly flung him into the sky.
As the feeling of weightlessness washed over him, Luffy showed no panic. Instead, he excitedly spread his limbs in the air.
"Hahaha! It's flying!"
Amidst laughter, Luffy's figure shot through the air like a cannonball, tracing an exaggerated parabola as he hurtled towards the heart of Hachinosu Island.
Following them were Ace, Sabo Zoro, Sanji, Hawkins, Trafalgar Law, Franky, Brook...
One after another, figures rose into the air from the deck of the training ship, like shooting stars streaking across the sky.
--