Vice Admiral Gion

Sal and Rayleigh watched the naval warship several nautical miles away. They had not expected a warship to intercept them on their way to Marineford. Perhaps it was there to scout the movements of the Whitebeard Pirates; after all, only a few hours remained until the execution.

"Go around it. Try not to fight the Navy. It isn't time to expose ourselves yet."

"Boom... Boom..."

Before Sal and the others could change course, the warship attacked first. Nine cannons aboard the massive vessel fired simultaneously, their shells shooting toward the small boat like meteors, intent on sinking the suspicious ship in one blow.

Sal did not even know how to complain. Today might have been the day of war, but they could not just sink passing vessels at will, could they? Was there no law? No justice?

As the shells drew near, the Supreme Conqueror's Haki within Sal erupted instantly, spreading outward like sound waves and detonating every shell it touched.

Rayleigh had already drawn his sword and swung it at the warship. A pale blue slash tore across the sea, cleaving the warship cleanly in half.

The steel deck was effortlessly ripped apart. A warship that had cost 200 million Beli to build was scrapped just like that.

Witnessing the warship sink, the Marines hurriedly fled in small boats. To them, a powerhouse who could sink a warship with one strike was no different from a demon.

Sal and Rayleigh had no intention of finishing them off and continued toward their destination.

Several nautical miles away, a massive Vice Admiral-class warship was heading toward the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. A beautiful woman stood at the bow, wearing a black Japanese-style hairstyle, a short pink dress, and a Justice cloak, with a spider tattoo on her left leg.

Her features were exquisite, her captivating eyes as clear as autumn water. A beauty mark beside her lips made her seem mature and alluring.

Suddenly, a Marine approached to report.

"Vice Admiral Momousagi, the warship that sent us a signal has suddenly gone out of contact. Should we send someone to investigate?"

Hearing this, Gion's willow-leaf brows furrowed. Her assignment was to temporarily garrison the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, preventing ill-intentioned people from attacking it once the war began. It was an order from the Five Elders.

She had wanted to take part in the Marineford War, yet she had been reassigned and was already full of anger. Naturally, she did not care if she arrived at Mary Geoise a little later. She immediately waved her hand.

"Head over and see what happened. A large warship costs 200 million Beli to build, and the Marines aboard are even more valuable."

They quickly crossed the few nautical miles. Seeing the wreckage of the sunken ship and several boats full of Marines drifting on the sea, Gion was immediately filled with fury.

"They attacked Marines right in front of me and still think they can run? Men, pick up the other Marines! We're going to capture that criminal!"

Ordering the ship to advance at full speed, Gion revealed an excited smile. Rather than sitting around bored in Mary Geoise, she would rather pursue an enemy. She had heard that the enemy had split a warship in half from a nautical mile away with a single slash. Such strength was undoubtedly at the level of a great swordsman.

Gion, who was also a great swordsman, greatly anticipated fighting another one.

As a top powerhouse close to Admiral level, Gion's personal warship vastly outperformed ordinary warships. Before long, they spotted a tiny sailboat on the horizon.

Unaware of anything, Sal and Rayleigh were caught by the warship charging at full speed.

By the time the leisurely pair noticed the approaching enemy, only around a kilometer remained between them. At that distance, they could not shake the pursuer even if they wanted to.

A Vice Admiral-class warship was recognizable at a glance. But in Sal's eyes, aside from that old man's dog-headed warship, he did not think much of any other Vice Admiral.

Sal patted Rayleigh on the shoulder and gestured to him.

"Rayleigh, it's up to you. I've been steering for so long that I'm already tired."

Rayleigh was not about to indulge him. He casually put on his mask and lay down on the deck, looking as though Sal could handle it himself if he wanted to fight.

With no other choice, Sal put on his own mask, drew his sword, and stood at the bow. They could not let the Navy learn of their movements, or the World Government might squeeze out more reinforcements.

After all, the Dark King Rayleigh's reputation was not much weaker than that of the Four Emperors. He was also a legendary pirate, and the destruction he could cause was not to be underestimated.

"Sea Severing!"

Armament Haki compressed to the limit coated the sword as Sal swung, unleashing a massive black slash that tore straight toward the warship with unstoppable force.

A figure leaped from the warship and swung out a slash of her own, canceling Sal's sword aura. The valiant figure returned to the bow, staring excitedly at her two prey.

"..."

Sal quickly recognized the valiant beauty, so he kicked Rayleigh, who was still lying there asleep.

"Hey, Rayleigh, wake up. A troublesome woman is here."

"Oh? A female Marine you consider troublesome? Then this old man would like to see who it is."

Rayleigh stood back up, narrowed his eyes to see the approaching person clearly, and spoke with a hint of surprise.

"Oh, she really is troublesome. Isn't she that little girl who followed behind that old woman Tsuru? I heard her record is quite impressive."

As Sal watched the warship draw closer, he could feel her fighting spirit even from this far away. And Rayleigh, were you really any younger than Tsuru? How could he have the nerve to call someone else old?

"She's troublesome. Put it this way: she's no weaker than Marco."

"Then she's truly strong. Making this old man face such a terrifying enemy will wear me to death."

The female Vice Admiral's real name was Gion, and her alias was Momousagi. She was around forty years old. Although she was still a Vice Admiral, two years later she and Chaton would be known as Admiral candidates. Her strength was absolutely above the level of an Emperor's commander.

Facing an opponent like this, failing to go all out could easily lead to disaster. Sal immediately used the Magic Necklace to strengthen himself.

[Level: 59 (91/76000) +5]

[Strength: Advanced (Vice Admiral) Temporary]

[Constitution: Advanced (Vice Admiral) Temporary]

[Agility: Advanced (Vice Admiral) Temporary]

The magic enhancement only raised his level by five. It seemed the necklace would soon become useless.

"Rayleigh, I'll hold this woman back. Find an opportunity to sink their warship. Otherwise, you can deal with her."

"Mm, fine. Don't worry."

Rayleigh casually picked at his ear as he made the promise. As for joining forces to defeat her, setting aside his pride as a senior, he truly felt embarrassed to shamelessly gang up on an old acquaintance's junior.

Besides, Gion was extremely strong as well. Unless it became a fight to the death, even if the two of them shamelessly ganged up on her, they would not be able to defeat her in a short time.

Using Geppo, Sal swiftly rushed toward Gion, his sword turning completely black.

"Clang..."

Holding his sword with both hands, Sal blocked Gion's sudden blade. They attacked each other's vital points from every tricky angle, their two black weapons constantly colliding and throwing off sparks.

Gion's fighting style was more like a dance, giving onlookers a sense of elegance. But that was only an observer's view. Sal, who was fighting her, was under enormous pressure.

His sword slashed toward Gion's neck, but she easily dodged by turning sideways, the blade gliding along the full curve of her chest. Her long blade then slashed toward his lower body, forcing Sal to hastily withdraw his force and defend.

"Clang... Crack..."

A strange sound came from the blade, giving Sal a bad feeling. Only then did he realize the trouble. This fine sword barely qualified as a Skillful Grade Blade, but he had continuously used it to channel Conqueror's Coating. The intense battle had pushed the sword close to its limit.

This time, it collided with Kompira, a famed blade among the twenty-one Great Grade Blades and one of the finest of its rank. Her Armament Haki was also stronger than his. With all those factors combined, his weapon finally broke down.

Weapons in this world were roughly divided into four grades. At the bottom were ordinary weapons, followed by Skillful Grade Blades, of which there were fifty; Great Grade Blades, of which there were twenty-one; and finally Supreme Grade Blades, of which there were twelve.