Buster Call Defeated, Blame-Shifting Report

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed through the sky, but the scorch marks left by the flames were quickly healed by its life force. It simply would not catch fire!

Just how terrifying was that regenerative power?!

The thought flashed through Akainu's mind, but he had no better option.

Before Roya, Spandam felt cold sweat covering his forehead!

He had witnessed Akainu's attack just now, and he had seen it even more clearly.

The moment the attack landed, it had not merely failed to shake it—even the slightest ripple had not appeared before it was repaired in the blink of an eye!

At this moment, his eyes were filled with terror.

How was Roya stupid?! This was confidence in his own strength!

Thinking of this, Spandam kept backing away before suddenly scrambling to his feet and running toward the shore.

He had to flee. There was no way he could withstand such a terrifying monster!

Watching Spandam flee in such a miserable state, Roya's eyes flashed with contempt!

Run? Where could he possibly run to?!

Clang!

Roya drew Ryujin Jakka. The blade's hum rang softly through the air. "All things in the universe, turn to ashes. Ryujin Jakka!"

As Roya's words fell, Olvia and Robin saw bursts of firelight flickering before their eyes.

The next second, Heaven-Raging Flame surged into the sky!

Mixed within it was terrifying spiritual pressure, hundreds, even thousands of times stronger than before!

To those people's senses, that spiritual pressure took on the tangible form of Conqueror's Haki!

Roya took a step forward, and the ground cracked inch by inch. Terrifying spiritual pressure gathered around the razor-sharp blade as it tore through the air, its friction with the atmosphere producing explosive sounds while it carved a perfect downward arc!

"Ryujin Jakka, First Form—Caressing Slash!"

Blade light flashed, and spiritual pressure surged!

Heaven-Raging Flame came roaring forth!

A massive slash appeared in Aokiji and Akainu's eyes.

Their pupils contracted sharply. Without the slightest hesitation, they unleashed their strongest techniques, hoping to withstand Roya's attack!

They could not break through his defenses, but they at least had to block this slash!

Otherwise, the ten warships behind them would definitely be reduced to wreckage!

"Ice Age!"

"Meteor Volcano!"

Not only them—the remaining three vice admirals also went all out, trying to lend Aokiji and Akainu a hand!

Boom!

Yet even the combined full-force attacks of all the vice admirals were swallowed by Roya's flaming slash the instant they touched it, becoming fuel that made the flames swell even further!

Boom!

Another thunderous explosion rang out. The slash passed directly through Spandam, who had not run very far, before crashing heavily into Aokiji, Akainu, and the other three vice admirals!

Even Akainu, who had eaten the Magma-Magma Fruit, could not withstand the searing heat carried by Roya's slash!

They were all sent flying by Roya's attack! Under Roya's extraordinary control, the flaming slash shot straight toward the warships beyond the island.

In an instant, the warships shattered. The flaming slash swept up tens of thousands of tons of seawater, carrying it into the sky before it fell as torrential rain!

The seawater landed across the island, washing away the smell of smoke and fire.

The island returned to its former tranquility and clarity.

Olvia's lips trembled. As one of the few people from Ohara who had ever left the island,

she felt that Roya was stronger than everyone she had ever seen!

"S-So strong!"

Light shimmered in Olvia's eyes. To her, Roya was dazzling beyond measure at that moment!

Out at sea.

Roya's earlier attack had stirred up undercurrents throughout the ocean.

Countless warship fragments floated on the surface.

Enduring the pain in his body, Spandam miserably dragged Aokiji and Akainu onto a wooden plank.

"Aokiji, Akainu! You two are nothing but dead weight! You couldn't even beat one person, and you couldn't even break through his defense! How can you call yourselves admiral candidates? You're absolute trash!!!"

Spandam cursed nonstop, yet he still desperately dragged the severely injured Aokiji and Akainu along!

Fortunately, Roya's slash had been aimed at Aokiji and Akainu.

Because Spandam had reacted quickly, the flames had only grazed his back, leaving a large burn across it!

Unlike Aokiji and Akainu, who had been severely injured and knocked unconscious, they were Devil Fruit users. In the sea, all their abilities and strength seemed to have been sealed away.

If Spandam ignored them and let the two die like this, his own head would probably not remain on his shoulders either!

After going through tremendous hardship, Spandam finally reported the outcome of this operation to the Five Elders.

As a member of the Special Intelligence Department, Spandam had the authority to speak directly with the Five Elders.

And in order to lessen his own responsibility, Spandam exaggerated Roya's strength to the heavens!

At the same time, he constantly shifted the blame onto the Marines, tattling on them at every turn.

"My lords, the Buster Call has failed. My subordinates all died while putting up a valiant resistance. The Tree of Knowledge in Ohara suddenly came back to life, and the Buster Call was defeated in a single move by a man who used flames! Even Vice Admiral Akainu, who ate the Magma-Magma Fruit, was injured by those flames!"

"And those Marine bastards are completely useless, every last one of them more cowardly than the next! They fought without any coordination, collapsed at the first sign of trouble, and fled in all directions. Every warship was destroyed, and countless people were severely injured! The Marines sent such a pathetic force, showing no regard whatsoever for this Buster Call. This is simply disrespectful to you!"

What Spandam meant was that the enemy had been too powerful, but they had still resisted bravely. The Marines had dragged them down, so he hoped the Five Elders would show mercy!

Listening to Spandam through the Den Den Mushi, the Five Elders frowned deeply.

They did not fully believe Spandam's words.

If things had truly been as Spandam described, he would not have survived either.

What truly made them uneasy, however, was the Tree of Knowledge that Spandam claimed had suddenly come back to life, along with those heaven-reaching flames!

About three days earlier, heaven-reaching flames had also risen from Seagull Island and seized the Op-Op Fruit.

Both incidents had involved a single strike, the same despair that made people feel utterly unable to resist!

They could basically confirm that the heaven-reaching flames from both incidents had come from the same person!

"Who exactly is this person?! What is his true objective?!"

Facing an enemy of unknown identity and immense strength who opposed them at every turn, fury surged within them.

But they did not even know who their opponent was. How could they make a move?!

Bang!

A bald member of the Five Elders slammed his hand down in rage, shattering the table before him into powder!

"I believe we should deploy more forces to investigate this person's whereabouts. We have far too little information. Forget whether we know his appearance or abilities—we do not even know his true objective! As for Ohara, we can only suppress the news that the Buster Call failed!"

The failure of the Buster Call would absolutely encourage the pirates and criminals across the sea. It had to be suppressed and could never be allowed to spread!

The bald Five Elder said, "Raise the bounty to three billion Belly! Anyone who provides intelligence will be rewarded with one hundred million Belly! Have intelligence agents stationed throughout the seas gather information on this person while carrying out their regular missions. I refuse to believe he can escape the all-encompassing net of our World Government!"

"As for Ohara, leave it alone for now. If any Ohara natives are found outside the island, slaughter them all. Also, thoroughly investigate what happened to the Tree of Knowledge. How could it suddenly come back to life?! And it is time for the Marines to undergo some changes as well!"

After the Five Elders finished discussing their countermeasures, they immediately issued their orders.

Meanwhile, the failure of the Marine Buster Call, the mysterious powerhouse's second appearance, and the revival of Ohara's Tree of Knowledge spread across the seas without anyone needing to publicize them...