Attack

Only when he looked back at Locke again did he realize Locke was no longer there.

"Men, raise the sails! We're setting off!" Locke roared at Big Bear and the others as he turned around.

"Yeah!" Howling excitedly, they each returned to their proper positions. With everyone working together, the Phantom slowly left the Baratie restaurant.

Originally, when Locke and his crew were about to attack the Navy's 16th Branch, they should have gone there quietly. Unexpectedly, just as they were about to arrive, they ran into Baratie, the restaurant that constantly traveled across the East Blue.

Locke still remembered that when the restaurant had first opened, it had appeared in the newspaper. Carmen had held that newspaper and told Locke that one of the people in it was a major reason she had learned cooking.

When Locke heard that, he had felt rather bitter. But after thinking about it, he recalled that in the original anime, Carmen and Sanji had held a competition in Loguetown. At the time, Carmen seemed to have mentioned why she had learned cooking.

So when Locke encountered the Baratie sea restaurant, he naturally thought of that matter and, in Carmen's place, directly challenged Sanji to a match.

This could be considered Locke's small selfish wish. Since coming to this world and meeting Carmen, aside from offering her a few suggestions about cooking, Locke had given her nothing else. Running into Baratie this time counted as a small bit of compensation for Carmen.

"What's wrong, kid? Want to head out to sea?" Zeff had somehow come to Sanji's side and spoke to him as he stared blankly at the Phantom, which was gradually sailing away.

"Old man, I said I won't leave before you die!" Sanji came back to his senses and shouted at Zeff.

"Hmph!" Zeff merely snorted and turned to leave the deck.

Watching Zeff return to the cabin, Sanji glanced in the Phantom's direction once more. Though he still did not understand what Locke's parting words meant, he had deeply engraved them in his heart.

But just as Sanji was preparing to go back into the restaurant, a Navy warship slowly sailed in from another direction.

When the warship stopped beside the restaurant, a Navy officer with two cigars in his mouth stepped down from it. Behind him followed a girl wearing glasses and carrying a katana.

Another day arrived. Dark clouds filled the sky, as though foretelling that something was about to happen.

On the Phantom, Locke had stopped training and come to the deck, where he slowly wiped down the Tang Dao in his hand. Annie was not making a fuss either; she sat quietly on Locke's shoulder, silently watching him.

The Phantom's crew also made their preparations, ready to face the battle that would soon arrive.

In at most two hours, Locke and his crew would land at the Navy's 16th Branch. Though it was merely a Navy branch in the East Blue, utterly incomparable in combat strength to the Navy branches on the Grand Line, it still housed a large number of Marines.

Earlier, Locke had instructed them that this operation would focus on decapitation. It had little to do with the ordinary Marine soldiers; if possible, they were not to kill them. After all, Locke and his crew were not bloodthirsty demons.

The purpose of this operation was revenge, and their targets were Navy officers. Ordinary Marines merely followed orders, so there was no need to deliberately slaughter them.

Of course, Locke was not some kind-hearted person either. If those Marines sought death themselves and insisted on charging at him, then Locke could only apologize.

"Get ready! The battle is about to begin!" The island ahead had appeared on the horizon. Locke shouted over his shoulder, and then a flash of purple light swept by as the Phantom vanished directly from the sea.

Soon, the Phantom stopped not far from the island. Locke led Yun Zhinnan, the three Bear brothers, and Annie, who was still seated on his shoulder, charging toward the distant Navy 16th Branch.

As for Carmen, she stayed behind to guard the ship this time, lest the Navy seize control of it like they had on Bisi Island. If anything unexpected happened, even retreating would become difficult.

When Locke and the others revealed themselves on the island, a song called Counterattack began playing beside Locke.

"Kill!"

At Locke's command, they all rushed toward the Marines, who were looking around in confusion because of the sudden music.

"Phantom: Fall!"

With Locke's loud roar, a purple meteor formed in the sky and smashed viciously toward the 16th Branch. With a tremendous boom, the entire island shook.

The pirate crew charged into the Marines. Any Marine who looked like an officer was dealt a lethal blow. As for the ordinary Marines, let alone organizing a defense, they had been terrified by Locke's meteor descending like divine judgment and scattered in every direction.

But soon, the three Big Bear brothers at the front were each stopped by several majors and fell into hard battles. After all, it was still a Navy branch. No matter how weak it was, there were limits, and capable people remained.

As for Yun Zhinnan, his speed was too great. He had already torn straight through the Navy branch and reached the other side, where the Navy gate stood.

Yun Zhinnan looked at the Navy gate and wanted to destroy it with one kick. But unexpectedly, the Marine who had been standing there guarding it blocked his kick and sent Yun Zhinnan flying before he could react.

"Who are you?" Yun Zhinnan asked the Marine who had stopped him as he flew back.

"Me? I'm just an old man guarding the gate. You can call me Old Qin." The Marine slowly turned around, revealing his already graying hair.

As Yun Zhinnan looked at Old Qin before him, his expression gradually turned grave.

Meanwhile, Locke paid no attention to his crew members trapped in difficult fights. He continuously used his ability to launch wide-area attacks, destroying every Navy building he could see around him. As for whether there were people inside, that was not something Locke could think about at the moment.

The Marines charging at Locke were all stopped by Annie, who remained seated on his shoulder. Before they could even approach Locke, they collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

Annie's ability was indeed extremely useful. Against people with weak willpower, it was practically a terrifying harvesting machine. As long as someone entered a certain range around Annie, they would immediately be affected by her ability.

Then they would fall into an endless nightmare.