Tactics Are What Make the Game

"Have the two Vice Admirals been taken out?!" a Navy colonel cried in alarm.

The flashing lightning and terrifying waves just now had shaken him to the core.

"No, I can still sense their presence..." Momonga said.

Momonga did not finish his sentence, because he noticed that the auras of those two below were somewhat unstable. They had clearly suffered some sort of blow.

But saying that aloud could easily cause panic, so Momonga kept his mouth shut.

He turned to exchange a look with T-Bone, signaling for him to act when the time was right. If Onigumo and Doberman could not get out by their own strength, they would go down and save people.

T-Bone nodded, indicating that he understood.

"You two are making eyes at each other right in front of me. Do you think I'm blind?" Xi Yan said. "I'm talking about you, the half-bald guy."

Momonga: ???

Half... half-bald?

"Bastard, this is a Mohawk Head!" Momonga snapped.

Momonga was furious. What the hell did he mean by half-bald, bastard?!

"Oh, sorry. So it's a Mohawk Head."

"He actually apologized..."

Momonga's anger vanished in an instant, leaving him momentarily speechless.

"Then you, Mohawk Head, stop making eyes at people."

Momonga: !!!

Momonga's temper flared up again with a whoosh.

Not far away, T-Bone nearly burst out laughing, but for the sake of his companion's dignity, he forcibly held it in.

"Did you think I wasn't talking about you too, Slit-eyes?"

T-Bone: ???

Slit... Slit-eyes?

"And that guy over there whose skull looks like it's about to grow into the sky." Xi Yan glanced at the warship at the very edge. "Didn't you see Mohawk Head's look, or is it because the only thing exposed is your skull?"

Strawberry: ...

Strawberry stared expressionlessly at Xi Yan. He had figured it out—this guy was trying to provoke them.

"You think you can anger us with such a pathetic provocation?" Strawberry snorted coldly. "You're too naïve!"

He then ignored Xi Yan and continued directing his subordinates to reposition.

Momonga and T-Bone exchanged another glance, then casually looked away as though nothing had happened.

"So you noticed after all~" Xi Yan said with a playful expression. "But..."

"On this sea before me, do you still think you can safely carry out the Buster Call bombardment mission?"

"You don't think you've already taken those two out, do you?" Strawberry mocked. "Kid, don't underestimate the Vice Admirals of Navy Headquarters!"

As Strawberry's words fell, a Flying Slash shot out from the cluster of warships—it was Momonga making his move!

"Whoosh~"

With the powerful Dynamic vision of the Sharinggan, Xi Yan could clearly see the Flying Slash drawing closer and closer.

After dodging the Flying Slash with a backflip, Xi Yan clapped his hands together as he flipped backward.

"I have never underestimated anyone!"

"Water Release: Triple Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Boom!!"

The three massive water dragons suddenly trembled, then rose from the sea at incredible speed and charged toward the distant cluster of warships.

Their target was precisely the area where the three Navy Vice Admirals stood!

"Roar!"

The three water dragons were terrifyingly imposing, and their enormous bodies sent the Navy soldiers aboard the warships into panic.

"Damn it, they're coming for us!"

"Quick, prepare the cannons!"

"No, it's too late!"

"Don't panic, leave it to us!" T-Bone shouted.

While speaking, he drew his long blade. Armament Haki swiftly spread over it, and he then swung out a Flying Slash!

"One-Sword Style: Flame Mountain!!"

The Haki-wreathed slash burned with flames as it shot straight toward the water dragon!

"One-Sword Style: Rat Wind!" Momonga refused to be outdone as well, sending out a Flying Slash!

"Brat, did you think you could destroy Navy warships just by relying on seawater?!" Strawberry sneered. "I've already seen through your scheme!"

Armament Haki swiftly spread across Strawberry's twin blades, and he launched his attack without hesitation.

"Two-Sword Style: Flying Slash!"

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

The attacks of the three men collided head-on with Xi Yan's Water Dragon Bullet, forcibly cleaving the dragon's head into a spray of water!!

"Wah-la-la~"

Having lost its head, the Water Dragon Bullet turned into a downpour of water that crashed toward the Navy warships. However, because of the three men's attacks, the water had lost its original Impact Force and did not cause much damage.

Other than a few unlucky guys who were struck head-on by the seawater, most suffered only a minor impact.

But with Onigumo and the other man serving as a Lesson from the past, the three Vice Admirals nearly all used Geppo at the same time to rush into the sky, afraid of being struck by a follow-up lightning attack.

However, Xi Yan did not use Lightning Release this time, which left Strawberry somewhat puzzled. T-Bone, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed something.

Because his slash was rather special, his warship had been soaked the least by the seawater. Yet that also allowed him to perceive Xi Yan's intentions.

"Are you planning to soak the warships with seawater and render all our Cannonballs useless?" T-Bone said with narrowed eyes.

"Tch, is that your goal?" Strawberry said as he landed on a dry area of the warship. "Then you've miscalculated."

In order to deal with the various harsh climates of the first half of the Grand Line and the New World, Navy warships were built in a highly specialized manner!

Even if waves struck a warship, they might not necessarily soak the various Cannonballs stored inside.

Unless a section of the warship was damaged, seawater could not enter the Powder Magazine.

So Strawberry did not believe the other party's move would work.

"Heh, is that so?"

Standing atop the sea, Xi Yan's expression did not change in the slightest, as though he had anticipated this outcome long ago.

That calm demeanor instead stirred unease in Strawberry's heart. He did not know what other methods the other party had, but this was definitely not the end of it!

At that moment, Momonga noticed red blood appearing on the surface of the sea. His pupils shrank as he said, "Blood?"

Damn it, could it be Onigumo and the others' blood?

With that horrifying amount of bleeding... what had they experienced beneath the sea?

Wait... the information fed back by Observation Haki indicated that there was actually a Sea King below?

Was it Onigumo and the others' blood, or the blood of that Sea King?

T-Bone swept his gaze over the sea. He instinctively wanted to rush down and check the situation, but when he sensed two people charging toward the surface at incredible speed, he forcibly halted himself.

Great, they're all right!

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

Two figures burst out of the sea. One of them had lost his right arm, and blood poured from the wound!

Yet the man paid no attention to his injuries and instead launched a surprise attack alongside his companion!

"Got him!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Three long blades pierced straight through Xi Yan's body!!

"Xi Yan!!"

Nico Robin's pupils contracted as she witnessed it with her own eyes, her face filled with disbelief.

That powerful man had actually been struck down by those two Vice Admirals...

"Don't worry," Blueno said flatly. "He's fine."

Nico Robin: ???

Nico Robin turned to glance at Blueno and found that his expression was still exactly the same as before. Could it be... Xi Yan was unharmed?

Nami, as though she had realized something, instinctively said, "Is that... a clone?"

But why was that Navy officer missing an arm? What exactly had happened beneath the sea...?