She Held Back Like It Was the Ocean

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

In the pitch-black night.

Califa held Sumer as she leaped swiftly across rows of rooftops, reaching the harbor in just a few minutes.

At the harbor, the Franky Family and the Marines were still locked in battle.

On the warship.

The fight between both sides had reached a stalemate, but Kaku and the other CP9 agents still held the advantage.

Because Kumadori and Fukurou had climbed out of the sea and joined the battle as well.

Meanwhile, Enel and Luffy were both wearing Seastone handcuffs, while Franky's head was still spinning 360 degrees.

Usopp and Chopper had forced themselves to join the fight despite their injuries, but they could only provide support from the outskirts.

"Looks like they really do have plot armor."

Sumer narrowed his eyes as he looked at Franky, who was still alive aboard the warship, as well as Zoro and Sanji, who were fiercely battling Kaku and Jabra.

It had only been a little over ten hours.

Yet Zoro and Sanji's injuries looked more than halfway healed. More importantly, their strength had clearly risen by a huge margin.

Still, he was somewhat disappointed.

He had thought Garp, Dragon, Red-Hair, or Ace had arrived. Instead, it was Franky's Franky Family.

"Lucci, take them all alive."

"Califa, you go too!"

"Yes!"

Lucci vanished with a Soru. After setting Sumer down, Califa stepped through the air with Geppo and charged toward the warship.

"Three-Sword Style: Leopard Hunt."

"Diable Jambe: Finishing Shot."

"Finger Pistol: Nose Gun."

"Finger Pistol: Moonlight Ten-Finger Gun."

Four hysterical roars rang out through the sky as Zoro, Sanji, Kaku, and Jabra unleashed their strongest attacks.

With a thunderous crash.

The violent shockwave made the entire warship shake fiercely. Kaku and Jabra grunted, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths as they were sent flying, smashing through cabins and knocking away countless Marines.

They nearly fell into the sea.

Zoro and Sanji did not fare much better either, both coughing up blood as they staggered backward.

But the crisis had only just begun.

"Not good!"

"Zoro, Sanji, watch out!"

Usopp was the first to spot Rob Lucci and Califa flashing through the night sky.

Luffy shouted as well.

"What?!"

Zoro and Sanji crashed heavily onto the ground. Before they could even catch their breath, a chill shot straight up their spines.

Every hair on their bodies stood on end.

"Pistol: Spot."

"You truly are rude. Saint Germain Sumer already let you go! Death Finger Pistol: Whip."

In a blur.

Rob Lucci appeared behind Zoro, while Califa appeared behind Sanji. Their index and middle fingers were pressed together and held straight, both coated in Armament Haki.

They struck like lightning, detonating the air.

At the last possible instant, Zoro turned and blocked with his swords, but the immense force still sent him flying.

At the same time, Lucci vanished from where he stood and appeared at the other end of the deck. Before Zoro could land, he swept out with a devastating kick.

Crack~

Blood sprayed three feet into the air from Zoro's mouth, and the piercing sound of breaking bones made everyone's scalps tingle.

Zoro's body twisted grotesquely, his face pale and contorted in agony. He flew across the deck, smashed through the warship's railing, and crashed heavily onto the harbor.

Sanji's situation was just as dire.

Though he had dodged the vital point at the critical moment, Califa's Finger Pistol still pierced through his shoulder.

Bang!!!

Califa's long golden hair billowed as she spun 360 degrees in place. Her long legs, clad in black stockings and high heels, then lashed out and struck Sanji hard in the abdomen.

She gave Sanji no chance at all. Her right hand became an afterimage as Finger Pistols struck his body at close range like a machine gun.

"Argh!"

Sanji could not help crying out in pain. His chest was reduced to a bloody mess as torrents of blood sprayed out.

"Zoro!"

"Sanji—!!"

"Stop it~!"

Luffy's heart-rending scream echoed out.

He struggled, drawing strength from nowhere as he staggered toward Califa, trying to save Sanji.

"Even restrained by Seastone, he can still move!"

Lucci appeared like a ghost and drove a Finger Pistol heavily into Luffy's chest, frowning at the same time.

What was wrong with this guy?

He was clearly a Devil Fruit user. He was clearly restrained by Seastone handcuffs. By all rights, he should have been so weak that even moving a finger would be difficult.

"Damn it!"

"If not for these handcuffs..."

Luffy was sent flying and crashed onto the ground, sliding across the deck. Veins bulged across his forehead.

Ignoring the blood spilling from his mouth, he kept struggling, trying to pull his hands free from the Seastone handcuffs.

"Califa, keep an eye on them."

Having effortlessly dealt with Zoro and Luffy, Lucci looked over the chaotic battlefield before stepping through the air with Geppo.

Doll was still intercepting the incoming cannonballs.

Jabra, Kumadori, and Fukurou had taken the initiative to fly onto the Franky Family fleet and unleash a one-sided slaughter.

"Rankyaku!!!"

Aiming at one of the Franky Family's ships, Lucci leaned back and kicked hard with his right leg. A massive vacuum slash more than thirty meters long instantly tore through the air.

Rumble—

Explosions erupted one after another. The ship was cleaved in half from bow to stern by the enormous slash, killing many Franky Family members on the spot.

"Sigh..."

Doll stepped through the air with Geppo and landed on a canvas mast. Watching Lucci, Jabra, and the other CP9 agents massacre everyone in sight, she sighed inwardly.

The situation was lost.

They had been so close.

What she had never expected was that Saint Germain Sumer had apparently anticipated everything.

He had actually left five CP9 agents—Kaku, Jabra, Bruno, Kumadori, and Fukurou—on her ship in advance.

The key was that she had not noticed at all.

Vice Admiral Garp, I did my best—

"What a bunch of rude people. Causing trouble in the middle of the night!"

Califa tossed Luffy and Sanji together like dead dogs, then flew toward the harbor to retrieve Sumer.

Bruno brought Zoro back as well.

Usopp and Chopper followed in Franky's footsteps, their limbs turned into Revolving Doors one after another.

"Zoro, Sanji~"

Chopper's face was covered in tears. He had only just managed to secure his head, but when he saw Zoro and Sanji covered in wounds and constantly vomiting blood, he cried even harder.

Not long after.

Califa landed on the ship's railing while holding Sumer.

"You damned Celestial Dragon! Where are Robin and Nami? What did you do to them?"

The moment Sumer appeared, Luffy and the others glared at him with hatred.

"What tenacity."

Sumer glanced at Franky, then swept his gaze over Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper, all covered in wounds.

Ordinary people would have died long ago.

But these guys had vitality like cockroaches.

Especially Zoro and Sanji. It was absurd. Anyone who did not know better would think they were monkeys too, capable of growing stronger near death or bouncing back from anything.

Suddenly.

Sumer felt that something was off.

Wait.

Someone was missing.

"Where's Enel?"

Sumer looked at Califa and Bruno. If he had not seen wrong earlier, Enel should have been there as well.

It would be troublesome if that guy had escaped.

"I'll look for him—"

Bruno looked around and confirmed that the man with the long earlobes was indeed missing.

Just then.

A large number of Marines appeared at the harbor. Saint Marcus Mars and Aokiji had arrived.

Perfect timing.

The battle had ended as well.

These Franky Family small fries were completely outmatched against Rob Lucci, Jabra, and the other CP9 agents.

Even the slightly larger warships had been effortlessly sliced apart by Rankyaku.

So after the battle ended, when Lucci and the others passed Doll, their faces were filled with suspicion.

Because with Doll's strength as a Marine Headquarters vice admiral, taking down the Franky Family should have been easy.

There was no way she should have let the Straw Hat crew escape from the iron cage in the lower hold, nearly succeeding in fleeing in the end.

She had held back like it was the ocean.