Setting Sail

"Heh heh heh heh... This era really is far too exciting..."

As soon as the words fell, Doflamingo waved both hands and threw his head back with a wicked grin. One of the giant marines instantly felt his body slip out of his control, and he swung his massive axe at his own comrade.

"Nani..."

The other giant had no time to react at all before his own comrade struck him. Blood gushed in an instant, and his huge, mountain-like body toppled down, crushing countless buildings beneath it.

"This is our chance... Everyone, charge..."

Everyone who saw this grew even more excited. The faster ones had already climbed aboard their own pirate ships...

And just then, a streak of golden light appeared in the sky behind Doflamingo.

"How frightening, the rookies these days... So, Doflamingo, have you ever been kicked at the speed of light...?"

Cold sweat instantly poured down Doflamingo's entire body. He turned his head with difficulty and looked at Kizaru, who had appeared behind him.

"Damn it..."

And just then, with a flash of lightning, another somewhat unruly voice rang out as well.

"Hey... That's the line I wanted to ask you... Marine..."

"Oh... Vice Captain Enel of the Sky Pirates... You again..."

Kizaru's face remained calm, but in the end, that lightspeed kick did not come down.

"That's right... Yellow Monkey... We should be able to fight to our hearts' content now, shouldn't we...?"

The two of them faced off in midair. Seeing this, Doflamingo grew even more excited.

"Looks like I escaped disaster... Heh heh heh heh heh... Sky Pirates, I'll let the matter of you stealing my slaves slide... We'll meet in the New World..."

In an instant, Doflamingo's figure flew through the air toward his own pirate crew.

Seeing this, Kizaru waited until Doflamingo had left, then turned and instantly kicked at Enel at the speed of light.

"You really are dangerous elements... In that case, I absolutely can't let you leave unchecked..."

Enel refused to be outdone and answered with a strike of his own.

Boom...

In an instant, lightning and flash collided.

The impact from the violent explosion, with the two of them at its center, spread outward like waves, stirring up roaring winds and surging waves across all of Loguetown and the sea.

"Oh, your strength seems to have increased..."

Although he had not used his full strength, in this clash of power, Kizaru could clearly feel that Enel's strength had risen.

Enel gave an unruly grin and said, "I really have to thank you marines for that. Those techniques called the Six Powers are truly very interesting. They can actually gather the body's strength together, and by accelerating the flow of blood, they can also speed up muscle movement. That's why my strength was able to rise so much in such a short time..."

"Oh... I see... But if I remember correctly, it's only been fifteen days, hasn't it? To think you mastered the Six Powers so quickly... You really are a dangerous guy. In that case, I have even more reason not to let you escape..."

"Ama no Murakumo Sword..."

"If you can keep us here, then try it..."

Enel, too, swung the golden staff in his hand with great interest.

In an instant, lightning and light flashed above the sky like thunderbolts on a clear day, sending out continuous rumbling booms.

On the Twin Goddesses, Tiger was busy steering the ship, preparing to leave this place.

Freya held Baby-5 in her arms, staring dumbstruck at the battle in the sky.

Every collision between Enel and Kizaru was enough to shake heaven and earth. This monster-level battle power finally made Freya understand what Ye Mu had meant when he said that in the battles to come, she would not be able to interfere at all.

"Lord Enel... So amazing..."

"So amazing... Is this your true strength...? You're practically monsters..."

Ye Mu looked speechlessly at his new crew member and his head chef, then said, "What do you mean, 'you'? From now on, we're grasshoppers tied to the same rope..."

"R-right... I'm sorry... I'm still not used to it... But do we really not need to go help...?"

"No need. In terms of speed, even I can't stop Enel... And besides, the real trouble hasn't appeared yet..."

"The real trouble...?"

Freya froze.

"That's right."

"But..."

Freya looked around. She found that as the battle continued, many people had already boarded their own pirate ships and begun rushing out toward the sea.

"What other trouble could there be...? Everyone has already escaped onto the sea. How can the marines still stop these pirates...?"

Ye Mu smiled and said, "This is the marines' real plan... They deliberately let us onto the sea. That way, they can avoid accidentally injuring civilians. After all, at this moment, as long as you set out to sea, it already means you've become a pirate... And that means the marines can kill us as they please..."

"But we've already escaped onto the sea. Even if the Marines have more men, they don't have that many warships. There's no way they can catch up to this many people all at once, right?"

"Who told you they were going to use warships...?"

"!!!!"

At that moment, Freya was about to ask more, but Ye Mu suddenly said, "It's coming..."

"Coming...? What's coming...?"

Before Freya could react, a somewhat familiar voice rang in her ears.

"Ah la la... that should be about enough. In that case, we can begin Admiral Sengoku's encirclement plan..."

"You pirates can all stay right here."

"Ice Age..."

In nearly an instant, the sweltering summer heat was swallowed by a chill like the depths of winter.

Freya had no idea what was happening. She only felt as if the world before her eyes had been replaced.

The sea that had been roiling with wind and waves turned at a glance into a snow-white frozen world. As far as the eye could see, the entire ocean had been frozen solid.

When she finally realized what had happened, Freya clutched baby-5 in her arms and screamed in terror.

"Eh!!!"

"The sea's frozen over!!!"

"How is that possible...?"

Just as terrified as Freya were the other pirates. They stared at their pirate ships, frozen into the ice beneath their feet in an instant, then looked in horror toward the center of the Marines, at the man wreathed in cold air.

"So this is the Marines' strength..."

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

"Can a person really cause that kind of power...?"

"Mom... I don't want to go to sea anymore... I want to go home..."

On the Donquixote Family Pirates' ship.

Doflamingo stared at the sea that had been frozen in an instant and the pirate ships that could no longer move an inch. He was shocked, but more than that, he was excited.

Beside him, Seka, the Stone-Stone Fruit user, saw this and was about to jump down to smash open the ice, but Doflamingo stopped him.

"Don't be hasty. Someone still hasn't made a move yet... The era is about to boil over... Fufufufufu."

The moment his voice fell, all the pirates frozen on the sea, shivering in the bitter cold, suddenly felt an aura even warmer and hotter than the sun.

They looked in the direction the warmth was coming from, and all of them were startled.

"That... that's the sun..."