One-Shot the Chicken, Dog, and Monkey! Kill Three Celestial Dragons First
"Great Eruption!"
Sakazuki felt insulted and roared as his right arm turned into magma.
The scorching magma became a terrifying fist of flames and shot toward Rono.
"Sakazuki, I told you not to be impulsive. We're only here to buy time. We never planned to fight them head-on."
"Honestly, there's just no getting through to him."
Kuzan, standing nearby, was also speechless at Sakazuki's impulsiveness.
The original plan was for the three of them to simply buy time and hinder the Seventh Division's advance.
They had to hold out until the World Government's reinforcements arrived!
After all, they were up against a Great Pirate with a 1.5-billion-berry bounty!
Charging in so recklessly, like forcing a fight, would definitely cost them dearly.
Though he said that, Kuzan still joined the attack without hesitation.
After all, he had some confidence in his own strength!
He acknowledged that Rono was a Great Pirate, but there were three of them on their side!
Sakazuki and Borsalino were both every bit as strong as he was!
Even if the three of them couldn't win, they should at least be able to hold out until CP0 arrived.
Thinking this, Kuzan made his move.
"Ice Age!"
A pillar of ice shot out from his palm at tremendous speed, radiating terrifying cold.
Anyone who touched it would instantly be frozen solid.
"How scary~ Rono, the Seventh Division Commander of the Rocks Pirates."
"Have you ever tried a Lightspeed Kick?"
Next up was Borsalino!
Though Kizaru in the original story was quite laid-back, the Kizaru of this era was still a passionate young man.
Having been insulted to his face by Rono, he was quite displeased too.
He thrust out his long leg, unleashing a Lightspeed Kick powerful enough to chop a large tree in half!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three gave it their all, magma, pillars of ice, and lasers roaring toward the Seventh Division Commander with undiminished force.
"Fine. I'll show you the difference between people."
Rono gave a scornful smile and swung his sword forward.
Whoosh!
A fierce torrent of Sword Aura surged up from the ground, instantly swallowing the three attacks that had seemed certain to hit!
"What...!?"
"How is that possible!"
"Our attacks!"
The three were instantly stunned!
Their all-out attacks had been blocked by Rono with casual ease!
"Damn it! We're all rookies, too."
Sakazuki reined in his temper and calmed down.
Rono was clearly around the same age as him, or even younger.
Yet the gap between their strengths was like heaven and earth.
"The gap is far greater than I'd imagined."
Kuzan was also breaking out in a cold sweat.
He had thought the three of them, all at Vice Admiral level, could trade a few blows and buy some time.
But the gap between reality and his expectations was far greater than he'd imagined.
"This is bad! Not good!"
As for the old slacker Borsalino, he realized something was wrong and immediately used the Glint-Glint Fruit to flee, flashing dozens of meters away in an instant.
Not far off, Tsuru was too shocked to speak.
Three Monster Rookies whose strength was equivalent to that of Vice Admirals were like chickens and dogs before Rono, utterly powerless to resist!
"My turn to attack, isn't it?"
Rono said, utterly calm. He held Kotetsu, a cold glint flashing in his eyes!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
He swung Kotetsu three times.
Three waves of Sword Aura cut through the air, racing toward Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino!
"Damn it, there's no time to dodge!"
"Turn into our elements in advance!"
The three weren't inexperienced fighters. Realizing they wouldn't make it in time, they immediately transformed their bodies into their elements, hoping to evade the attack.
"How... can this be!"
The next moment, their faces changed drastically!
The slash was clearly still some distance away, yet they felt as though someone had stabbed them in the stomach!
Then all three fell to the ground in the same pose, blood gushing from their bodies!
All three were gravely injured and unable to get back up!
What had happened?!
The slash was clearly still some distance away, so why had they been hit?
"Conqueror's Haki Coating!"
Nearby, Tsuru was breaking out in a cold sweat. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her, and she couldn't speak for a long moment!
That attack, which had struck from a distance, was undoubtedly Conqueror's Haki Coating!
Only Conqueror's Coating could cause damage without making contact with the enemy!
Damn it!
Tsuru was screaming inside!
Conqueror's Haki Coating was an attack that only Emperor-Admiral Level powerhouses could use!
Or rather!
Rono had already learned Conqueror's Haki Coating, a technique that only Emperor-Admiral Level powerhouses could use!
Had his strength... already reached Emperor-Admiral Level?
How could that be?
He had only joined the Rocks Pirates three months ago!
"To prevent you from becoming Celestial Dragons' lackeys in the future, I'll finish you off here."
Rono raised Kotetsu and flashed in front of Sakazuki, ready to run him through.
In Rono's view, Marine Admirals were undoubtedly Celestial Dragons' lackeys too. They deserved to die!
Just then, inside Golden City.
A large group of people suddenly appeared.
"Quick... get out of here!"
"Protect the Celestial Dragons. Don't let them get hurt!"
On the outside were several hundred fully armed people, wearing Battle Helmets from head to toe and equipped as if they were ready for anything.
At the center were nineteen Celestial Dragons!
"Damn it, what a useless bunch of Marines!"
"Exactly! You actually let the Rocks Pirates break through!"
"We've spent all these years paying for the military, and this is the bunch of worthless trash we get!"
The Celestial Dragons were cursing angrily, clearly displeased at having been disturbed.
After all, the nineteen families had gathered in Golden City to discuss an important matter concerning the Celestial Dragon families.
Now these worthless Marines had nearly let the Rocks Pirates break through!
And the battle between the Rocks Pirates and the Marines was simply too intense.
The fighting between Emperor-Admiral Level powerhouses like Rocks, Garp, Zephyr, Sengoku, Golden Lion, Shiki, and Kong had already left the Golden City Ship on the verge of collapse!
If they stayed any longer, the entire ship might be capsized!
For their own safety, the nineteen Celestial Dragons decided to withdraw.
As they retreated, they didn't forget to curse the Marines for being a bunch of useless trash.
"You've finally decided to show yourselves, Celestial Dragons!"
The moment Rono saw the Celestial Dragons, he gave up on Sakazuki right in front of him.
His Observation Haki had already foreseen that someone was about to appear and stop him.
This person was quite powerful.
If he wasted time killing Sakazuki first, he might not have time to kill the Celestial Dragons.
Faced with the choice between killing a dog and killing a Celestial Dragon, the obvious choice was clear!
"I'm saved..."
Sakazuki, lying helpless on the ground, let out a long breath of relief!
He had almost died here!
[Most Evil Criminal] Rono was terrifying!
"Get out of my way!"
Rono roared, then strode furiously toward the enormous crowd.
One sword strike!
Whoosh!
A cold flash shot up from the ground!
The dozens of Guards, who had practically armed themselves to the teeth, were instantly sent flying!
Three Celestial Dragons appeared right in front of Rono!
One was short and fat with a gourd-shaped face, one had uneven eyes and a watermelon-rind haircut, and the other was cross-eyed with buck teeth. They were obviously the products of close relatives.
"Bastard, you... you Commoner! What... what are you trying to do?!"
"Stop this Commoner at once! You useless trash!"
"Wait! He... he... isn't he the [Most Evil Criminal]?!"
Facing Rono, the three ugly Celestial Dragons retreated as they cursed!
When they realized that Rono was the [Most Evil Criminal] who had killed Saint Charlos some time ago, their teeth started chattering, and they scrambled to flee.
In the hearts of the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, [Most Evil Criminal] Rono was a Devil second only to Rocks!
This guy really did kill people!
"You're in luck. I don't have time to torture you now, so die, Swine!"
Rono roared and thrust his sword through the heart of the short, fat, gourd-faced Celestial Dragon before him!
"There's still time!"
His Observation Haki Future Sight had kicked in again. It would be about a second before someone showed up to stop him.
In that case!
"Die!"
Rono seized the moment, roared, and drew his sword at the speed of light, cutting the other two Celestial Dragons—the one with uneven eyes and a watermelon-rind haircut, and the one with buck teeth and crossed eyes-in half at the waist!
First, kill three Celestial Dragons!