Twenty Minutes

Just as all the pirates were subdued and everyone was preparing to cheer in celebration, a figure plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the port.

Gravel scattered, and dust billowed.

The dull thud of impact resonated as if exploding in everyone's hearts.

It stunned everyone into stillness.

Countless gazes followed the direction of the sound's source...

They saw a corpse lying like a puddle of mud on the shattered floor.

The mangled remains made it impossible to identify anyone, but the familiar Marine coat clearly indicated it was a coat worn only by a Vice Admiral!

Was it Vice Admiral Akita?

A Vice Admiral was dead?

Everyone's hearts leaped. That was a Vice Admiral! To everyone, a Vice Admiral was an unparalleled powerhouse.

Aside from Admiral Sengoku, they were Marine Headquarters' strongest force!

The scene fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Eyes were filled with disbelief.

Even Morito was quite surprised; in his memory, there hadn't been a plotline where a Vice Admiral died in battle. Had there?

Indeed, before the Great Pirate Era began, the era of the Pirate King's ascent was the most dangerous and brutal.

"Boss Bourne won, that Vice Admiral was taken down!"

"Kill all these guys!"

"Hahaha!"

The subdued pirate grunts snapped out of their brief shock and became restless again. Some even erupted, launching surprise attacks on the Marines beside them.

The scene descended into chaos.

More and more subdued pirates broke free from their ropes.

The Marines shielded the civilians, retreating backward.

However, this was not the end.

The death of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral had pushed the Marines and civilians to the brink of collapse.

What finally snapped the taut string in their hearts was the appearance of two tall figures emerging from atop the cliff!

Twin Blade Bourne, with a bounty of 290 million Berries.

Big Barrel Basque Shot, with a bounty of 176 million Berries.

Shot held a head in his hand, bloodstains obscuring its features.

But it was not difficult to identify the person: it was Colonel Doug, Vice Admiral Akita's adjutant. With Vice Admiral Akita dead, Colonel Doug naturally could not escape his fate.

Everyone should have expected it, should have been mentally prepared.

But when they truly saw Colonel Doug's bloody head, their hearts lurched violently.

The commander and his adjutant on a warship were both dead; what were they, the survivors, supposed to do?

Although the Marines held an overwhelming numerical advantage, against pirates of Bourne and Shot's caliber, numbers were utterly useless.

In the face of true powerhouses, numbers were merely a digit.

A digit reflecting the strength of the powerful.

"Retreat, all troops, retreat!"

Second Lieutenant Jimmy, who had reacted, yelled with all his might.

With the current Marine strength on Frances Island, they were absolutely no match for Bourne and Shot. They wouldn't even be enough to tickle them.

However, they still had a warship; that was their last hope.

What they could do now was retreat to the warship in the shortest possible time, save as many Marines as they could, and rescue as many civilians as possible.

As for the others...

"Retreat? If you let them escape, the Golden Lion will be angry."

Bourne curled his lips coldly.

Marine Headquarters intended to launch a major battle to weaken the Flying Pirates' forces and regain the prestige lost from the complete annihilation of the Marine G5 Branch.

Hadn't the Golden Lion also wanted to use this battle to declare the Flying Pirates' dominance to the world?

Marine Headquarters wanted to win, and the Golden Lion wanted to win spectacularly!

"It looks like they've been completely played. The Golden Lion has likely fully grasped Marine Headquarters' operational plans."

Morito frowned slightly as he glanced at the over a hundred pirates blocking the port.

If he wanted to escape in the ensuing chaos, it would be quite easy.

Seeing Second Lieutenant Jimmy, who was still standing at the forefront despite his injuries, Morito suddenly felt that the Navy wasn't entirely useless.

"How long will it take to board the ships?"

Morito's voice suddenly rang out.

Second Lieutenant Jimmy was taken aback and instinctively replied, "At least one, no, half an hour. Twenty minutes should be enough!"

"Twenty minutes?"

Morito glanced at him doubtfully. There were at least ten thousand people here.

Twenty minutes wouldn't be enough, would it?

Did Second Lieutenant Jimmy only plan to evacuate the Navy and disregard the lives of these civilians?

As if sensing Morito's confusion, Second Lieutenant Jimmy explained, "The warships can't fit that many people. We can only get women and children on board as much as possible."

"The others..."

"I'll hold off those two. You try to get everyone else on board!"

Morito hadn't fought a Vice Admiral before, nor was he sure of Bourne and Jotte's combat strength, but he felt he could probably hold them off for a while.

Ever since Morito had instantly killed August, the Bourne Pirates' battle captain, Second Lieutenant Jimmy had begun to guess Morito's identity.

Now, seeing Morito step forward, he was even more certain of his thoughts.

A Reserve Navy soldier facing two pirates with bounties over a hundred million alone?

That was simply suicidal.

But if he were a student of Elite Class Admiral Zephyr, the outcome would be different.

Second Lieutenant Jimmy's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. It wasn't that he didn't trust Morito, but he asked with some concern, "You alone?"

"Have Kazan stay behind to support me."

Morito thought for a moment and replied.

Kazan's strength was not weak. To be safe, Morito decided to keep him.

Upon hearing this, Second Lieutenant Jimmy's eyes lit up. Kazan must be a student of Elite Class Admiral Zephyr, just like Morito!

With these two, holding off Bourne and Jotte for a while would be no problem!

"Alright, we just need to buy twenty minutes!"

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Second Lieutenant Jimmy didn't hesitate and directly issued the evacuation order.

The Navy regrouped their forces to charge the remaining Bourne Pirates. As long as Bourne and Jotte didn't intervene, these hundred-plus pirates wouldn't be able to stop a single charge from the Navy.

Noticing the Navy's movements, Bourne was somewhat surprised.

In his opinion, the Navy, seeing that the situation was lost, should have been disheartened and offered no resistance.

Why would they organize a counter-charge?

"What's wrong with these guys?" Bourne wondered.

"Why bother thinking about it? Just kill them all,"

Jotte, reeking of alcohol, took a swig of fine wine. He looked on the verge of passing out, yet his words were incredibly cruel.

Bourne glanced sideways at Jotte. This drunkard was dangerous.

Although Jotte had been playing support during the previous battle, the fatal wounds on Vice Admiral Akita were all inflicted by Jotte.

"Alright, let's move!"

Just as Bourne and Jotte were about to charge into the crowd and wreak havoc.

Suddenly!

With two swift sounds.

Two young Marines in Reserve Navy uniforms used Geppo to ascend the hillside, blocking Bourne and Jotte's path. Morito and Kazan stood before them.