Breakthrough

Jozu had been keeping an eye on Rono. He had no habit of leaving his back to strangers. He leaped forward, his diamond-transformed swinging punch carrying a rush of wind. Rono narrowed his eyes. Steam surged from Flowing Fire, and a red halo rose from above. "Mm—" Amid the hiss of steam, Rono's and Jozu's fists collided. Bang! A ring of Force Qi spread out, sending the civilians who had not escaped in time flying.

Crack. Rono's Bone Claws snapped. His expression turned solemn. He set Gelu on the ground. "Go find your Uncle Sairona and play." His Bone Claws rapidly regenerated.

Jozu looked at the small piece of diamond that had fallen from his fist and grew more vigilant. Although he had not used his full strength and had underestimated his opponent, those bones were far too hard.

Shave! Rono, covered head to toe in Scarlet Armament, appeared beside Jozu amid the steam. Observation Haki caught Rono's movement. Jozu's entire body transformed into diamond, and he smashed out with a fist. Rono's pupils contracted. The muscles in his leg split open, and his body retreated slightly. Boom! A fist far more violent than the last slammed into the ground, leaving a crater over three meters in diameter.

No. If I get hit, I could lose my fighting ability. I can't use Scarlet Armament. Thoughts raced through Rono's mind. He activated Bone Planting Armor, and the Scarlet Armament faded away.

"Let's see if this method works." Some of the skin on Rono's arm peeled away, only to quickly regenerate. Damn it. I'll have to try again. This hardness can only be broken with Scarlet Armament.

Jozu was enormous, yet incredibly fast. He charged toward Rono in just a few strides and slammed his shoulder at him. Rono had no time to think and raised both hands. Crack! His bones shattered, and the Finger Bone Armor around his arms broke apart. However, protected by Flowing Fire, his arms themselves were barely injured. Rono twisted his waist, covered his right foot with Armament Haki, and kicked Jozu in the abdomen. Jozu slid backward, plowing a charred trail into the ground.

"Come on. I'm almost there." The skin on Rono's arm peeled away and regenerated again, but the regeneration gradually slowed.

Jozu glanced back at the Execution Platform. Marco's situation was not good. Aokiji was engaging him at close range, while Sairona, armed with a rifle, was firing from a distance with astonishing accuracy. The bullets were intermittently infused with Armament Haki and Seastone Bullets, leaving him in a sorry state. The members of Divisions One and Two were locked in a fierce battle with the Marines, while Blackbeard had been acting steadily and had revealed no openings.

"Mm—whoosh!" Bang! A red halo withdrew from outside the Flowing Fire. The charge was complete. Five Times Punch Power—Partial Scarlet Bone Planting Armament! The muscles in Rono's arm exploded with a bang, and the punch struck Jozu amid the sound of Void Breaker.

Jozu tilted his head slightly, bringing his shoulder up to block Rono's attack.

Bang—crack, crack! The first sound was Rono's Bone Planting Armor shattering, revealing his right fist half-wrapped in Flowing Fire. Three bone spikes from it were embedded in Jozu's shoulder. The second sounds were the cracks spreading through Jozu's diamond-transformed shoulder, fissures crawling through his arm like a spiderweb.

"Your Armament Haki is actually this powerful." Jozu clutched his arm, visibly shocked. He had used Armament Haki as well—he could even block a strike from Hawk Eyes. Yet this youth had broken through it.

Jozu yanked the Bone Claws from his shoulder. Seeing Rono panting heavily, he led with his left hand, hunched over, and charged. If the blow landed, Rono would be crippled even if it didn't kill him. Rono had nearly exhausted his stamina after activating so many modes and could only grit his teeth and maintain Bone Planting Armor. I can't dodge this... Then I'll meet it head-on! "I am a Berserker! Roar—!" Bone Planting Armor faded away. Scarlet Bone Planting Armament activated on one of Rono's hands. As Jozu charged sideways toward him, the Bone Claws on Rono's fist melted and spread across the back of his hand, forming countless tiny spikes. Rono turned sideways and adopted a shot-put stance. The muscles in his hand surged incessantly, and steam billowed, obscuring his face and revealing only his bright red hair, soaked and dripping with water. Jozu charged right up to him. Rono roared, and his arm met Jozu's shoulder at a speed several degrees faster than Jozu's charge. Force Qi tore the earth apart as dirt flew everywhere, sending both men hurtling away. Boom—bang—bang! Seeing this, Marco pushed his ability to its limit, sending flames toward the civilians. "Shameless." Aokiji cursed under his breath, but since he was already fighting two opponents at once, he truly couldn't shout it aloud.

Aokiji hurried to rescue the civilians. Marco grabbed Ace. Seeing that the Division members had already carried Jozu away, he let out a birdcall. "Retreat! Aokiji, if you pursue us, I'll burn this entire place to the ground."

At that moment, Sairona had no time to fire. With the Sniper Rifle on his back, he found the unconscious Rono among the ruins and breathed a sigh of relief.

Marco stayed behind to cover their retreat, while the others boarded the ships that had been prepared in advance.

Aokiji's face was livid. This time, they had truly suffered losses on both sides. Sairona supported Rono as he came over and hurriedly said, "You can't renege on your promise."

Aokiji glanced at Sairona without replying, then flung off his Marine cloak and walked toward the Command Room. He had to report what had happened here. In the New World, Whitebeard was clearly forming an alliance with Red-Haired, so why had one of his Division Captains come here?

Sairona helped Rono lie down properly. There was no need to examine his injuries—he healed faster on his own than anyone could check him. Gelu stood nearby, tears continuously streaming down his face. He had been frightened by the momentum of the two men's battle and had not been able to do anything. No amount of Sairona's comforting helped.

Sairona sighed. This trip had really been a pain. No, I need to find something to vent my frustration on. Then he had an idea. That's right. Didn't Jinbe say earlier that he was going to make a move? I heard there's also a Fish-Man pirate crew in the East Blue. Hmm, I'll wipe them out directly, then have Jinbe come looking for trouble. I'll deal with them all at once. "Whoosh—" Sairona ran through the plan in his mind. He only needed to wait for Rono to wake up before carrying it out. Just thinking about it made him feel much better. Sure enough, causing trouble was the only true principle.

In Cocoyasi Village, the Orange Haired Girl was counting the day's earnings. "Strange. Why have there been so many fewer pirates these past few days? When will I be able to save up enough money? How much longer will the two people in the village have to suffer?"

Meanwhile, in the Arlong Empire, Arlong sneezed. Strange. With his noble Fishman Physique, how could he catch colds just like those weak humans? He then remembered Rono, who had annihilated the Shark Pirates, and gnashed his teeth. "Damn Red Devil. I'll kill you sooner or later. Jinbe Big Brother will also help avenge Brandt Hyde. Hachi, raise the village taxes by ten percent." Since he could not defeat Rono, he would vent his anger on Rono's kind instead.

"Arlong Big Brother, that's not a good idea. I think they already can't afford the taxes. If you raise them again, they won't be able to gather enough," Hachi said, unable to bear it.

"Hachi, remember that you are a Fishman. It doesn't matter if those lowly humans all die. Just listen to my orders and carry them out."

"Th-then... all right." Hachi lowered his head and walked outside.

He did not know that someone else was also planning to vent their anger on him.