Chapter Forty-Nine: Fall

"Whoosh!!!"

Something fell from the sky.

The originally dense, dark clouds seemed to be starting to dissipate. Clouds were essentially tiny water droplets condensed in the air, and when the water vapor content became too rich, they would merge to form rain.

If the clouds were suddenly subjected to extremely high-intensity heating, even the clouds would be scattered.

What fell from the sky was such a thing, a terrifying technique capable of easily changing the weather.

"Lava! It's lava, right? Did a volcano erupt somewhere?"

Pirate Shak was covered in cold sweat. "That's not right either! There are no islands around here! Could it be an underwater volcano? Is there such a powerful underwater volcano? That it could break through the deep sea and send lava into the sky?"

"It's an ability user!"

The seasoned Viper Snake's brow furrowed. "A monster from the Navy, just like the ice from before, another terrifyingly strong monster!"

"Another ability user?"

Shak gritted his teeth. "Another disaster-like ability! Damn the Navy, they've been getting quite something lately! Are all the newcomers like this monster?"

"Turn the ship!! Turn the ship!! Hard to starboard! Dodge!! Dodge!"

Louis roared loudly.

The small boat, meaning agility, sharply changed direction.

"Boom!!"

The waves became incredibly turbulent. A lava bomb, larger than the ship, fell from the sky. It plunged into the sea like a meteorite, and the huge splash it created was no less impressive than the previous storm.

"The seawater is boiling!"

Swordsman Sword leaned against the ship's side, looking at the boiling seawater below and the fish floating belly-up on the surface. He swallowed and licked his lips, his voice quite dry. "What power. Even among Admiral Golden Lion's subordinates, only Lord Soren at the very top possesses comparable strength."

"I'm starting to feel fortunate that we're still some distance away from the center of the bombing."

Shak patted his chest.

"Damn it."

Louis looked up at the sky. They were still some distance from the area being bombed by lava. After all, Louis had been sailing for quite some time, roughly escaping the area where the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Grand Fleet were fighting, which was the main bombing zone. But the problem was, to escape the Navy's pursuit, they now had to pass through that area.

"Should we go around?"

The sea on both sides was sealed by Aokiji's ice. If they were to go around, they would have to abandon the ship. While they could step on the ice to escape after abandoning the ship, what then? What about after they were out of the ice's range? Fly?

"Mr. Mario,"

Snake inquired, "What should we do?"

All eyes on the deck were on Louis. After they began to escape the Navy's pursuit, ten more people had joined them. Now, this small boat carried twenty-nine powerful pirates, including Louis, each at least a millionaire bounty. Undoubtedly, the strength of this single boat far surpassed that of the previous Blood Hand Pirates.

However, the pirates from different crews didn't quite trust each other. Louis, their savior, was the only exception.

Everyone was waiting for his decision.

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

Louis revealed a slight smile. Pirates were always creatures who worshipped strength, whether it was actual power or extraordinary spirit. "We're charging through!"

"That's the only way!"

Sword laughed. "No other choice."

"Ha, so, everyone, we were comrades of the Golden Lion Grand Fleet before. Now we are comrades on the same ship. It's absolutely impossible to escape the current crisis through one person's strength alone! So, everyone, we need to unite! We need to utilize everyone's strength!"

Louis turned back and said loudly, "Lend me your strength!!"

"Hahaha, if you need it,"

Mr. Shak, the first person Louis saved, was the first to laugh heartily. "Just take it!"

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

"Hahaha, then it's up to you! Mario!"

"Lead us, Lord Mario!"

"Then, please give your orders now,"

Snake smiled slightly. "Captain."

"Understood, leave it to me from now on!"

Louis waved his hand. This outcome was excellent. To escape from here, he couldn't do it alone. He needed help, the more the better.

"Lower the sails! Full speed ahead!"

Louis's voice was full of confidence. If the leader lacked confidence, his subordinates certainly wouldn't be confident. "The Navy's disruption probably means no one wants to continue fighting anymore. We'll just break through!"

"Watch out for movement in the sea. We need more manpower! No one can say what will happen next. The more combat power, the better!"

"Understood!"

Shak nodded heavily.

Louis turned back and looked in the direction behind them. The Navy's warships still couldn't be shaken off. In terms of ship quality, nothing on this sea could compare to the Navy. Their firepower and speed were both impeccable.

The current situation is not good, Louis thought. The Den Den Mushi communication was blocked. If he didn't receive confirmation within a certain time, he would be automatically judged as a deserter, and then he would face endless pursuit.

But the troublesome thing was that the CP series communication channel was encrypted, and normal Den Den Mushi could not intervene. Louis didn't have the Den Den Mushi numbers of other internal members. Even if he found a new Den Den Mushi, he wouldn't be able to report back.

"There's only one way!"

Louis narrowed his eyes slightly. "He shouldn't mind, right? It's just a small request."

There was still one person who could help him contact CP, but now was not the time to talk about it. He would deal with contacting people later. The more important thing now was to escape this place. If he died here, all his words would be useless.

"It stopped?"

Shak exclaimed in surprise. "Ran out of stamina? That's right, such large-scale, continuous attacks would be hard to sustain even for a Logia-type ability user!"

Just before the small boat sailed into the center of the battle, the giant magma bombs constantly falling from the sky finally stopped. The sea surface was completely boiling, bubbles were rising everywhere, and dead fish were scattered all over.

"What good luck! Then don't hesitate!"

Louis shouted, "Full speed!"

"Boom!!"

A huge water column splashed up on the side of the ship. The small boat shook violently, almost capsizing. Louis almost lost his footing and instinctively grabbed the ship's side to keep his balance. Pirates were already lying all over the deck.

"Cannon fire! It's Navy cannon fire!!"

Shak, who was watching from the mast, shouted loudly, "The Navy is firing cannons!!! Here they come!!!!"

"Is this where it really begins?"

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

"Ooooh!!!"

When their lives were at stake, no one held back.

"Ha!"

Louis let out a roar, leaped into the air, and swung his sword heavily. A slash whistled out, cutting through several cannonballs in mid-air.

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

Sword, also a swordsman, cut down quite a few cannonballs with a slash. Seeing Louis's performance, he exclaimed in surprise, "Let's spar later."

Louis's swordsmanship could only be described as passable. He was far from reaching the realm of cutting iron by understanding the breath of all things to unleash a Flying Slash. However, he could use the technique of Rankyaku to compensate. After all, he could even unleash slashes with his hair.

"We'll talk about it later!"

Louis said in a deep voice, "Don't relax now!"

"Leave it to us!"

Snake moved like a phantom, leaping back and forth on the deck. The two curved blades in his hands drew brilliant trajectories, and cannonballs were sliced apart in droves.

"Hey!! What is that..."

Suddenly, the sky darkened. Shak looked up, and in an instant, his eyes widened, his mouth agape, almost unable to speak. "What is that!!!!"

"What?"

Louis looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. In the sky, an island was falling.

That was the Golden Lion's hegemony!