Chapter 51
Adrian stood high in the sky, looking down at me, and said, "That's right, it's me! Vice Admiral Sakazuki of the 'Justice' Navy! What, you can't take me down, so you want to have a chat?"
"No! I'm just confirming the criminal's identity!"
With a grim face, Sakazuki leaped into the air and charged toward Adrian, throwing a punch at the same time.
Adrian remained expressionless and released another group of Ghost.
Thinking that these Ghost were just "weak and powerless" bombs like before, Sakazuki, relying on the powerful passive effect of the Magma-Magma Fruit, completely ignored the Ghost and threw a punch straight at Adrian.
However, when the Ghost passed through his body, Sakazuki only felt a moment of mental disorientation.
Negative Hollow!
His body suddenly lost all strength, and he fell from the air to the ground, kneeling on both knees, supporting himself with his hands, his head hanging low, muttering dejectedly:
"If there is an afterlife, I want to be a dog..."
Great opportunity!
Adrian's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he pounced towards the spot where Sakazuki was kneeling with lightning speed, while simultaneously unleashing his Yubashiri.
"Not good!"
With his Steadfast Will and a sharp, premonition of danger, Sakazuki barely managed to recover from the terrifying influence of the Negative Hollow. However, by then, Yubashiri was already upon him.
Laugh--!
A sharp blade covered in Armament Haki slashed across, and a string of hot red blood spurted from Sakazuki's face. It was Yubashiri had slashed a huge scar on his left cheek, which stretched from the corner of his mouth to his ear. The flesh rolled back at the wound where the blade had cut.
If Sakazuki hadn't dodged in time, that Yubashiri would probably have sliced through his throat!
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, the 'Justice,' how does your own blood taste?"
[Chapter 91. A Battle That Started Strong but Ended Weak]
Faced with Adrian's sarcasm, Sakazuki remained silent and quietly activated the Life Return.
The flesh and blood on his face writhed rapidly, the torn skin and flesh glued back together, and the bleeding stopped. Only a large, ugly, bald new scar remained where Yubashiri open.
This wasn't the most serious injury Sakazuki had ever suffered, but it was the one that left the deepest impression on him!
Especially that bizarre and inexplicable Ghost ability!
Sakazuki forced himself not to recall his humiliating performance when he was struck by Negative Hollow...
The effects of Paramecia Devil Fruit are incredibly diverse, and Sakazuki has encountered them before in his battles with Pirates.
There's only one way to deal with such an enemy: prevent them from using their abilities!
"The Hell Hound!"
The scorching magma arm struck Adrian again.
The attack was extremely fast, but a flash of red light appeared in Adrian's eyes. His Observation Haki transmitted the precise trajectory of the magma, and he raised his arm to block it with his sword.
Whoosh!
The dark red magma arm was cleaved in two by Yubashiri, who was covered in Armament Haki. The front half turned into scalding magma and fell to the ground, surging and scorching the earth.
As a Monster Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, Sakazuki's Observation Haki is also quite strong. He also sensed Yubashiri's attack in advance and dodged it by splitting his elemental body.
Sizzle!
At that very moment, the lava that had fallen onto the ground to Adrian's left suddenly materialized into the form of Sakazuki.
His lower body merged with the magma, while his upper body entered a completely natural state. His eyes held a cold, ruthless glint as he struck Adrian's face with another magma hand.
Clang--!
The lava struck the edge of Yubashiri's sword, instantly scattering everywhere.
Adrian gripped the hilt of Yubashiri's sword with both hands, and with a flick and sweep forward, a burst of snow-white Sword Aura energy erupted, slashing fiercely forward.
Sakazuki once again used his elemental transformation to dodge Adrian's attack. His upper body fell diagonally to the ground, while his lower body quickly coalesced into a human form.
"Dog Biting Crimson Lotus!"
Sakazuki gave Adrian no chance to react, waving his arm to enter a magma-like state. In the dark red semi-solid flow, it transformed into the image of a ferocious lava hound, lunging at the latter.
Adrian stepped forward, twisted his body with his waist and abdomen, and once again swung his sword to block the lava dog's head.
Sakazuki's eyes turned icy, his fists clenched, and he suddenly swung his fist at Adrian.
The lava instantly transformed into countless gigantic fist shadows, pouring down like a torrential downpour.
With a thought, Adrian once again used the Demon Swordsman's ability to replace his original position with an innocent White Hollow, instantly appearing in the sky.
Sakazuki looked up at Adrian, a sinister smile spreading across his face, and roared:
"Meteor Volcano!"
In an instant, the entire ground was replaced by scorching magma, bursting forth with terrifying waves that shot into the sky, resembling the earth-shaking scene of a volcanic eruption. Countless boulders of magma liquid spewed into the air, then, following the law of universal gravitation, poured down from the sky, as if to bury Adrian under this monstrous eruption!
"Are you insane, Sakazuki! Such a large-scale lava attack—are you trying to destroy the entire town? There's no one in the town who can withstand such an attack!"
Sakazuki's face was grim, Adrian anger unwavering. "They sacrificed themselves for Justice!"
No longer engaging in pointless verbal arguing, Adrian gritted his teeth and created one Giant Hollow after another to intercept the falling lava meteorites before they reached the town, blasting them into pieces in mid-air. The scarlet lava rained down on the ground, scorching countless blackened holes.
"I shouldn't have messed with you, you mad dog!"
Adrian, quite unusually, swore. Had he known that Akainu was so inhumane at this moment, he would have moved the Battlefield to a more distant location!
Sakazuki remained silent, using Geppo to ascend into the air, and once again unleashed his Magma Fist in attack.
After Adrian used Demon Swordsman to switch positions again, he simply stopped using Swordplay to fight and instead kept releasing White Ghost to harass Sakazuki.
Still reeling from the terrifying Ghost of the recent encounter with the negative Negative Hollow, Sakazuki was now absolutely unwilling to come into contact with them.
He also entered a natural state, using his ability to constantly shift positions within the magma to desperately evade these White Hollow, the exact nature of which was anyone's guess.
As time went by, the battle began to fizzle out.
With his Observation Haki fully utilized, Sakazuki completely evaded the Ghost created by Adrian, but he also had almost no strength left to retaliate.
Adrian easily dodged the occasional bursts of lava released by Sakazuki.
As for Adrian, he didn't know what to do with Akainu for the time being.
With the Negative Hollow being deliberately guarded against, the chances of them harming Sakazuki again are extremely slim, and the other Ghost don't have much effect on Magma-Magma Fruit that can naturally form.
Moreover, this place is too close to the town. If Sakazuki goes berserk again and uses his massive magma abilities, he'll have to spare some attention to protect the town's Commoner...
Damn it, what kind of world is this? Pirate Hunter are actually trying to prevent the Navy from killing hostages!
Adrian was extremely frustrated.
Little did anyone know that Sakazuki was also feeling extremely frustrated at that moment, but his expression remained stiff, and he didn't easily show it.
Since successfully graduating from Zephyr 'Admiral elite training camp, Sakazuki has been constantly on the front lines of hunting down Pirates. If it weren't for the World Government's orders, he would still be battling Pirates in the Grand Line right now!
I thought coming to the South Blue to carry out a mission wouldn't be too difficult, but I never expected to run into such a troublesome "White Ghost"!
Users with flight abilities are inherently difficult to deal with. While Geppo allows one to "fly" into the sky, it cannot be sustained for long, and the Magma-Magma Fruit's anti-air capabilities are not strong either...
But that's not the whole story about the White Ghost!
The main point is the terrifying Emotion Ghosts he created that can easily influence the minds and wills of others!
Even now, Sakazuki was still unsure whether Armament Haki could actually withstand those Ghost, and dared not try it rashly.
If it successfully blocks the attack, great; if it doesn't work...
Wouldn't that leave behind a dark history that could cast a shadow over one's entire life?
Recalling the scene just now, Sakazuki felt a chill run down his spine.
[Chapter 91 The Meeting]
On the Dorea Island.
The encounter between Adrian and Sakazuki lasted for half a day, with neither able to gain the upper hand, and neither able to completely determine a victor until the very end.
Due to this unexpected intervention, the search operation on Dorea Island was forced to come to a halt.
However, the impact of this battle did not stop there.
The Grand Line, Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the bright, spacious office, the Fleet Admiral Kong sat at the head of the conference table, his gaze fixed intently on the elite naval officers gathered around his desk.
"The detailed meeting materials have been distributed to everyone, and I believe you are all aware of the recent events," Fleet Admiral Kong said in a deep voice. "Regarding the South Blue, does anyone have any good ideas?"
At the right-hand seat of the conference table, a burly man with purple hair, wearing a purple suit and frameless glasses, said with a look of disgust, "If you ask me, the Navy should never have agreed to the World Government's order in the first place! I don't know how the Commoner in the South Blue will view our Navy now! Justice? Such a large-scale massacre..."
"Watch your words, Zephyr!" Fleet Admiral Kong interrupted Zephyr. "No matter what, the Navy belongs to the World Government! The World Government's orders cannot be refused!"
Although he had been retired from the front lines of combat for several years, apart from the frameless glasses on his nose, Zephyr did not possess much of the demeanor of a teacher.
Zephyr frowned, looking quite displeased, and said, "That's my opinion anyway! If the Marine Headquarters still wants to receive new recruits from the South Blue, then it's best to stop joint operations with the World Government in the South Blue!"
"Besides, does the son of the Pirate King necessarily become the next Pirate King?"
There was a moment of awkward silence in the meeting room.
It's common knowledge among almost all the high-ranking officers in the Navy Headquarters that, in Admiral Zephyr's heart, [family] and [children] are forever an indelible source of pain!
"Cough cough!"
Fleet Admiral Kong cleared his throat, forcibly changing the subject, "Actually, headquarters is also aware of the strong reaction from the South Blue..."
He gave Sengoku, who was sitting to his lower left, a wink.
Marine Admiral Sengoku the Sengoku the Buddha, wearing round glasses, nodded knowingly, picked up a stack of reports, and read aloud:
"Since the start of the joint operation, a total of xx incidents of obstruction have occurred in the South Blue. In addition to spontaneous resistance from South Blue Commoner, a small number of these incidents have come from Neutral Pirate Hunter who originally made their living by hunting Pirates. The most prominent example of this was the battle that took place yesterday on Dorea Island."
After a pause, Sengoku adjusted his glasses and continued:
"The Pirate Hunter [White Ghost] from the West Blue, after accidentally witnessing a joint search by Marine soldiers and World Government Agent, intervened directly. He first defeated Colonel Doberman, then used his Devil Fruit ability to render all the Marine soldiers and government Agent on the island unconscious. Finally, after a battle with Vice Admiral Sakazuki, he easily left."
"Specific battle intelligence is as follows: Doberman is seriously wounded, Vice Admiral Sakazuki is slightly wounded. The enemy... suffered no casualties!"
A slight commotion suddenly arose in the conference room.
Unlike Doberman, who just graduated from the Elite Training Camp last year, Vice Admiral Sakazuki was among the first batch of graduates from the Marine Elite Training Camp. He had accumulated enough merits several years ago to successfully rise to the rank of Headquarters Vice Admiral.
With his superior physical skills, excellent Two-Color Haki, and especially the Magma-Magma Fruit whose attack power and destructive force are almost like Calamity, Vice Admiral Sakazuki is definitely one of the most outstanding vice admirals in the Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral at this moment!
It's hard to imagine that Vice Admiral Sakazuki, with such formidable strength, would be injured, even slightly, by an unknown West Blue Pirate Hunter!
"Excuse me, Admiral Sengoku! Please allow me to interrupt for a moment!" A tall, thin man with black, curly hair raised his hand and said in a firm voice, "I wonder about the condition of the naval soldiers on Dorea Island?"
Sengoku's expression flickered strangely for a moment. "Vice Admiral Kuzan, if you had paid close attention to the report, you would have noticed that, apart from Colonel Doberman and Vice Admiral Sakazuki, no one else was injured in this battle. The naval soldiers and government Agent involved, after careful examination by local Doctor, were found to be merely in a deep coma..."
Kuzan paused, withdrew his arm, and scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. "Just asleep? No one else was injured?"
Beside Kuzan, Borsalino, dressed in a white striped suit and a black top hat, was flipping through a report with great interest, saying, "Yes~ what terrifying control~ it didn't even affect Sakazuki's magma..."
Sengoku cleared his throat and continued reciting:
"White Ghost, real name Adrian, age unknown, Ghost- Devil Fruit User, suspected Swordmaster, has been making his mark in the West Blue since two years ago. Notable experiences include... According to feedback from the West Blue branch Marine Base, White Ghost treats Commoner very well and acts in a style close to the Navy, but shows no mercy to Pirates and Gangster."
After everyone in the conference room had finished processing the information, Fleet Admiral Kong said, "Alright, Sengoku has finished speaking. Now, let's discuss our thoughts on this person."
A Hawk Faction Marines admiral spoke first, "Regardless of White Ghost's past behavior, he is now directly hindering the actions of the Navy and the World Government. I suggest issuing an arrest warrant and nipping this threat in the bud!"
Zephyr scoffed, "What's the reason for issuing this arrest warrant? To stop the World Government and the Navy from slaughtering innocent Commoner?"
Borsalino chimed in with a smile, "I also think this approach isn't quite appropriate."
Another Hawk Faction Marines officer shouted, "But White Ghost's actions have already damaged the prestige of the World Government and the Navy. We should eliminate this potential threat completely to prevent future troubles!"
A debate seemed imminent.
Just then, Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been silent all along, looked through the intelligence sheet in his hand for a while, sighed, and said:
"Swordplay at the level of Swordmaster, Armament Haki at the [Ryuo] level, then presumably Observation Haki as well, plus the unpredictable Hollow-Hollow Fruit ability, a flight ability user... If a wanted poster is issued for such a character, which Admiral is prepared to make another trip to the South Blue?"
The naval commanders, who had been arguing, suddenly froze, and came to their senses.
Yes, if even Vice Admiral Sakazuki couldn't do anything to White Ghost, then these people are equally incapable of harming him.
In other words, dealing with White Ghost might require the intervention of Admiral- level being!
But where would headquarters find Admiral- level combat personnel at this time?!
Fleet Admiral Kong was in charge of handling affairs, Admiral Zephyr was in charge of training new recruits, Sengoku was in charge of overseeing the New World...