The Fall

"Whoosh!!!"

Something fell from the sky.

The thick, pitch-black clouds had begun to dissipate. Clouds were essentially tiny droplets of water condensed in the air. When the moisture content became too high, they would gather together and form rain.

And if the clouds were suddenly heated to an extremely high temperature, even they would be blown apart.

What fell from the sky was just such a thing: a terrifying attack capable of easily changing the weather.

"Magma! It's magma, right? Did a volcano erupt somewhere?"

Shak, the pirate, was sweating profusely. "That can't be right! There aren't any islands nearby! Could it be an underwater volcano? Is there really an underwater volcano that powerful? One that can send magma up through the deep sea and into the sky?"

"It's a Devil Fruit user!"

The seasoned Viper Snake furrowed his brow. "Another monster from the Navy, just like the ice earlier. Their strength is terrifying!"

"Another Devil Fruit user?"

Shak gritted his teeth. "Another power like a natural disaster! Damn the Navy—they've been getting out of hand lately! Are all their rookies monsters like this?"

"Turn the rudder!! Turn the rudder!! Hard to starboard! Avoid it!! Avoid it!!"

Louis roared.

The small boat was nimble, and it suddenly veered off course.

"Boom!!"

The waves grew incredibly rough. A magma ball even larger than the ship plummeted from the sky, crashing into the sea like a meteor. The enormous spray it sent up was no less impressive than the storm from before.

"The seawater's boiling!"

Sword leaned against the railing. He stared at the boiling water below and the schools of dead fish floating belly-up on the surface, then swallowed and licked his lips. His voice was hoarse. "What power! Even among Admiral Golden Lion's officers, only Lord Soren, who stands at the very top, could match him."

"I'm starting to feel lucky we're still some distance from the sea at the center of the bombardment."

Shak patted his chest.

"Damn it."

Louis raised his head and stared at the sky. They were still some distance from the sea being hit by the magma balls. After all, Louis had already sailed for a while and had more or less left the waters where the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Grand Fleet were fighting. That was the main target of the bombardment. The problem was that to escape the Navy's pursuit, they had to pass through those waters.

"Should we go around?"

Aokiji had sealed off the sea on both sides with ice. If they went around, they would have to abandon the ship. They could escape by running across the ice, sure, but what then? What would they do once they were past the ice? Fly?

"Mr. Mario,"

Snake asked, "what should we do?"

Everyone on deck looked to Louis. Since they had begun fleeing the Navy, ten more people had joined the ship. There were now twenty-nine powerful pirates aboard the little boat, including Louis, and every one of them was worth at least ten million. There was no doubt that this boat's strength far surpassed that of the Blood Hand Pirates before.

But the pirates from different crews didn't trust one another much. Louis, the man who had saved their lives, was the sole exception.

Everyone was waiting for him to decide.

"There's no other way, is there?"

Louis smiled faintly. Pirates had always admired the strong, whether for their actual strength or their extraordinary courage. "We charge through!"

"That's our only choice!"

Sword laughed. "We don't have another option."

"Ha! So, everyone, we were once comrades in the Golden Lion Grand Fleet. Now we're all shipmates aboard the same boat. There's no way any one of us can escape this crisis alone! We have to work together! We need to bring all our strength to bear!"

Louis turned around and called out, "Lend me your strength!"

"Hahaha, if you need it,"

Mr. Shak, the first person Louis had rescued, laughed heartily. "Then take all you want!"

"If it's you, Mr. Mario, no problem!"

"Hahaha, we're counting on you, Mario!"

"Lead the way, Lord Mario!"

"Then give us your orders, Captain,"

Snake said with a faint smile.

"Understood. I'll take it from here!"

Louis swept his hand through the air. This was an excellent result. There was no way he could escape on his own. He needed help—the more, the better.

"Set sail! Full speed ahead!"

Louis's voice rang with confidence. If the leader wasn't confident, his subordinates certainly wouldn't be either. "The Navy's interference has probably made everyone lose their appetite for fighting. We'll go straight through!"

"Keep an eye on what's happening in the sea. We need more hands! There's no telling what we'll run into next, so the more fighters we have, the better!"

"Understood!"

Shak nodded firmly.

Louis turned to look behind them. They still hadn't shaken off the Navy warships. As far as ships went, nothing on these seas could compare with the Navy. Their firepower and speed were both impeccable.

This situation was bad. Louis thought to himself that the Den Den Mushi communications were being disrupted. If he didn't report in and confirm his status within a certain amount of time, he would automatically be classified as a deserter. Then he'd be hunted down without end.

The problem was that the Cipher Pol series used an encrypted communications channel, which ordinary Den Den Mushi couldn't access. Louis didn't have the numbers of any other members, either. Even if he found a new Den Den Mushi, he still wouldn't be able to report in.

"There's only one way!"

Louis narrowed his eyes. "He shouldn't mind, right? It's only a small favor."

There was one more person who could help him contact Cipher Pol, but now wasn't the time to bring that up. They could deal with contacting anyone later. The more urgent matter was getting out of here. If he died, it wouldn't matter what else he had to say.

"Did it stop?"

Shak asked excitedly. "Did they run out of stamina? That makes sense. Even a Logia user couldn't keep up such a wide-ranging, nonstop attack for long!"

Just before the boat entered the central waters where the battle was raging, the massive magma balls raining from the sky finally stopped. The sea was completely boiling, bubbles rose constantly, and dead fish were everywhere.

"We're lucky! Then let's not hesitate!"

Louis shouted, "Full speed—"

"Boom!!"

A huge column of water erupted beside the boat. It shook violently and nearly capsized. Louis almost lost his footing, instinctively grabbing the railing beside him to steady himself. The pirates on deck had all been knocked to the ground.

"Cannon fire! It's the Navy's cannons!!"

Shak shouted from the mast, where he had been keeping watch. "The Navy's firing!!! They're here!!!!"

"So this is only the beginning?"

Louis drew the long sword at his waist. "Get ready! This is the real test! Don't let a single cannonball so much as touch our ship!"

"Yeah!!!"

With their lives on the line, no one held back.

"Ha!"

Louis gave a mighty shout and leapt into the air. He swung his sword hard, sending a slash whistling through the sky and cutting apart several cannonballs.

"Flying Slash? Is Mr. Mario a master swordsman too?"

Sword, who was also a swordsman, had cut down a number of cannonballs with a slash of his own. Seeing what Louis could do, he exclaimed with delight, "Let's spar later!"

Louis's swordsmanship was decent, but he was nowhere near understanding the Breath of All Things and reaching the level of cutting steel to unleash a Flying Slash. But he could use Rankyaku techniques in its place. He could even send out slashes with his hair.

"We'll talk about that later!"

Louis said solemnly, "Don't let your guard down!"

"Leave it to us!"

Snake moved like a phantom, leaping back and forth across the deck. The two curved blades in his hands carved brilliant arcs through the air, splitting the cannonballs one after another.

"Hey!! Wh-what's that—"

Suddenly, the sky went dark. Shak looked up, and in an instant, his eyes widened. His mouth fell open, and he could barely speak. "What is that!!!!"

"What?"

Louis raised his head. His pupils suddenly contracted. An island was falling from the sky.

That was the Golden Lion's supremacy!