A Bitter Battle with Vergo

"The Navy has arrived. Every pirate on this island will face justice."

"Follow this path forward and you'll see the warships. Someone will treat you when you get there."

Vergo seemed unconvinced of nothing. After speaking, he stepped aside and cleared the way.

Rosinante forced out an extremely strained smile and walked past him with a stiff resolve.

"Thank you, Navy officer!"

Van thanked him in a mocking tone, then signaled Drake to follow.

The group continued onward through the wind and snow, but Vergo stared fixedly at their backs and pulled a Den Den Mushi from his coat.

"Buru buru..."

Once the call connected, Doflamingo's cold voice came from the Den Den Mushi. "Did you find anything?"

"I saw Rosinante on the southwest coast. Three others were with him, and one of them was a child who seemed seriously ill."

Vergo paused before asking, "Was that Law?"

"That's right! Stop them! Fuffuffuffuffu!"

Doflamingo gave an evil laugh and explained, "We arrived too late. Those idiots on the island were poisoned, and the Op-Op Fruit is gone too."

"Is that so? Understood. Send someone to pick them up as soon as possible, so the Navy doesn't find them."

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Vergo leaped into the air and shot toward Van's group like an arrow.

This was one of the Six Powers, Geppo. It allowed him to run through the air, making him far faster than anyone running across the snow.

"Not good! That guy's coming after us!"

Van had been keeping an eye on what was happening behind them. The moment he noticed Vergo giving chase, he pushed his speed to the limit.

But that was nowhere near enough. They would definitely be caught before they found the Navy's surveillance ship.

As for the reinforcements Sengoku had arranged, no one knew when they would arrive, and even if they did, they might not be able to beat Vergo.

"You go first. I'll stay behind and buy you time!"

Rosinante stopped and called out to Van with a smile. "Don't forget what you promised me. You have to cure Law and let him live properly."

"Have you lost your mind? Why would those Navy soldiers believe us? And how could they possibly just sail away?"

"Now isn't the time to be stupid. You need to make sure the surveillance ship can leave safely before Doflamingo arrives, or none of us will escape."

With that, Van spread out his Operation Room and forcibly transferred Rosinante beside Drake.

"Remember what I told you before!"

Drake understood immediately and grabbed Rosinante, breaking into a sprint.

He was a Zoan Devil Fruit user. Though he had not trained much, his strength was astonishing, and Rosinante could not break free at all.

"So it still came to this." Van looked miserable. "I wonder if I can hold out?"

With things having reached this point, he had no better choice but to stay behind and cover their retreat.

Fortunately, Vergo was not that strong yet. At most, he was a B-rank fighter. Van could still stall him with the Op-Op Fruit.

"Staying behind to die?" Vergo swept a disdainful glance over Van. "I'll deal with you later!"

"Who the hell are you looking down on? Get down here!"

Van's expression darkened as his power rapidly expanded to its limit, covering nearly a hundred meters of the coastline in diameter.

The instant he entered the Operation Room, Vergo felt an invisible resistance.

His brows furrowed slightly, and suspicion quickly arose in his mind. "You're... a Devil Fruit user?"

Shambles: Amputate!

Van waved his hand, and the space within the Operation Room shifted out of alignment, producing several terrifying cutting forces.

"Hm?"

Sensing danger with Observation Haki, Vergo immediately activated Armament Haki.

In an instant, his entire body turned dark and gleaming, like an iron-blooded warrior from Africa.

The power of space swept over him, but it could only cut open his clothes, leaving not even a trace of blood.

"Just as I thought. This is troublesome."

Van's expression changed slightly as he continued driving the cutting force, slicing at Vergo from every direction.

In the blink of an eye, Vergo had become an exhibitionist, with nothing left on his body but strips of tattered cloth.

It was blatant humiliation. He landed hard enough to leave a shallow pit beneath his feet, then walked toward Van with killing intent radiating from his body. "Have you had enough?"

Van did not answer. He raised his hand and fired twice, emptying the revolver's cylinder.

Bang! Bang!

His aim was excellent, but the power was lacking. The bullets were knocked away, failing to harm even a single hair.

"You're courting death!"

Vergo flew into a rage on the spot. He leaned forward and unleashed one of the Six Powers, Soru.

He was incredibly fast. Ordinary people could not have reacted at all, but within the Operation Room, Van was the ruler.

Scan!

Van's body vanished instantly, leaving only a stone behind, which was smashed to pieces by Vergo's darkened fist.

Without hesitation, Vergo attacked Van again, but his strike still missed.

Unwilling to accept it, he kept trying like a mad dog, desperately attempting to catch Van.

Their figures crossed back and forth at a terrifying frequency.

In less than three minutes, Van began panting heavily from the rapid drain on his stamina.

Yet his power could not hurt Vergo while the latter's entire body was covered in Armament Haki. He could only keep dodging, and even escaping was difficult.

"So this is what gave you the nerve to stay behind? The Op-Op Fruit?" Vergo sneered. "Once you've exhausted your strength, let's see how you keep dodging!"

Van was more than happy to stall for time and immediately mocked him. "You should think about how you'll show your face later. The Donquixote Family's first Corazon—if your wanted poster ends up being a nude picture, I'm sure you'll become famous across the world soon enough."

"Rosinante even told you that? Then I can't let you escape."

As soon as he finished speaking, Vergo attacked again, punching away the revolver Van had left behind.

"I can't keep doing this. I need to save enough stamina and leave myself a way out."

Van groaned inwardly and began thinking of a way to escape.

Just then, Rosinante arrived with a group of Navy officers and soldiers.

"Save him!"

"Don't worry! We will never let Vergo hurt Rosinante's friend."

Before entering the Operation Room, the Navy colonel leading them had already started shouting.

"Vergo! Your conspiracy with the Donquixote Family has been exposed. Admiral Sengoku has ordered that you be arrested and brought back to Headquarters for trial."

"If you don't want to add to your crimes, stop immediately. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rough!"

Vergo's expression turned ugly as he snapped, "What gives trash like you the right to be rough with me?"

He clearly did not think much of these Navy officers and soldiers, but someone had to make a sacrifice now.

Better dead Navy soldiers than himself.

Van clenched his raised hand as though gripping something, then hurled it violently forward.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Caught off guard, Vergo was bound by an invisible force of space, and his body was forced backward beyond his control.

But Haki surged through his body. He quickly withstood the pressure, regained control, and planted his feet firmly on the ground.

However, Van had already seized the chance to dismiss the Operation Room, while the Navy officers and soldiers swiftly surrounded Vergo.

These men truly deserved to be called elites transferred from a New World base. Their charge was incredibly imposing, and several of them even used Geppo to soar into the air.

The colonel who had shouted earlier had even mastered Armament Haki. He did not seem much weaker than Vergo.