A Sword Cleaves the Marines

The island villagers, who had been worried sick, were left staring in stunned disbelief at the sight.

It was too astonishing!

The Scythe-Head Man's attack had been so powerful that it had carved streak after streak across the sea.

Yet Moonlight, a member of the Straw Hat Crew, was even stronger. He had forcibly blocked such a fierce attack with his body alone! Were they even human?

"As expected of a man with a 50 million bounty. His bounty is even higher than his captain's. What's going on?"

The Marine colonel's eyes gleamed as he watched the scene, deeply shaken.

"Impossible! How can this be happening?!"

But at that moment, no one was more shocked than Erik! His all-out, sure-kill strike had been blocked just like that?

And with his bare body alone—he had not even used a sword! What kind of joke was this? How could such a thing be possible?! He was a Scythe-Scythe Fruit user!

"This ends here!"

At that moment, Moonlight's gaze turned cold.

With a flick of one hand—"Armament Haki!"

Bang!

Erik was flung far away like a cannonball.

He shot across dozens of meters and slammed into the Marine flagship, smashing a huge hole straight through it.

When he finally came to a stop, he coughed up a mouthful of blood!

He was seriously injured!

His insides had already been badly damaged by Haki!

"Fire!"

The Marine colonel's expression changed drastically. He had not expected Erik to be defeated so easily. He immediately gave the order! Cannons opened fire from all twenty ships, and in an instant, at least fifty cannonballs came screaming through the air!

In particular, atop the flagship, a massive, pitch-black cannon muzzle aimed at Moonlight. "Super Large Iron Cannon!"

The Marine colonel gave the order without hesitation.

A solid iron shell three times larger than the others immediately blasted toward him amid the barrage! "Iai Slash!"

Moonlight struck again! A crescent-shaped Sword Aura spread outward from him in a fan-shaped slash! Hummm!

Every cannonball flying through the air was sliced in half and fell into the sea! Even the flagship's massive shell was cut apart!

Moonlight's strike was terrifyingly sharp!

"He cut them apart! He cut apart the Marine bombardment!"

"Is he really human?"

"My god!"

The island villagers, already stunned, were even more shocked by what they saw! He was far too powerful!

He had withstood that Marine expert's terrifying attack with his body and cut through the Marine bombardment with a single sword strike. No ordinary human could possibly do that! "So he's this powerful? I refuse to believe you can keep cutting through my bombardment endlessly! Everyone, keep firing! Blast him until he runs out of strength!"

The Marine colonel was also stunned. With swordsmanship this terrifying, it was no wonder his bounty exceeded that of their captain.

At first, he had thought there had been a mistake on the wanted poster. Now it seemed that he had been the one who was wrong! But so what? They had more than twenty cannons and more than enough ammunition for an unending bombardment!

No matter how strong you are, can you withstand a nonstop barrage? Immediately, cannon fire erupted in a chaotic barrage of boom boom boom, shaking the entire sea into a roaring frenzy! Endless cannon fire came crashing down! At that moment, the Marines displayed the overwhelming firepower that allowed them to dominate the seas!

Every cannon began concentrating its fire. Under the ferocious bombardment, towering waves erupted across a hundred-meter stretch of sea, surging wildly!

The sea now churned as if ravaged by a Category 10 typhoon.

Though Moonlight struck again and again, just as the Marine colonel had said, no matter how strong one man's swordsmanship was, how could he withstand dozens of cannons firing at once?

Back in Loguetown, the other members of the Straw Hat Crew had been there to help. Now that he was alone, what could he do?

"This is bad! The Marine bombardment is too fierce. Lord Moonlight can't handle it alone!"

"As expected of the Marines. With these ships and cannonballs, they dominate the seas—no pirate can compare. But I don't want Lord Moonlight to die, because he saved Apis!"

"Damn it, how can this be so terrifying?!"

Everyone on the island wore grave expressions, their hearts full of worry.

But as they watched, they could do nothing! They were only ordinary people. Even an ordinary Marine Soldier could fight ten men alone—how could they possibly be a match? All they could do now was worry helplessly!

"The firepower is too dense. Are they planning to wear me down like this?"

Moonlight repeatedly unleashed Iai Slash, cutting down every cannonball.

Though the sea surged in violent waves, the Going Merry behind him remained completely unharmed!

He was fighting defensively precisely to keep the Going Merry from being hit.

Without that concern, the Marines might have been strong, but they would not have been able to withstand a single strike from him! But until Luffy returned, this was his only option!

"Moonlight!"

At that moment, a loud shout suddenly rang out from the hillside on the island.

Moonlight's heart stirred. He saw Luffy and the others sliding down the mountain, with Apis among them—and behind them was an enormous, enormous dragon!

"So they really found it?"

Moonlight's pupils contracted. This was a dragon!

A Millennium Dragon! A creature of legend!

"What is that?"

"My god, a dragon!"

"Do dragons really exist in this world?"

All the Marines were drawn to it as well. When they saw the Millennium Dragon behind Luffy, they were all stunned! Even the Marine colonel's body shook violently!

This was a creature of legend!

Everyone had heard of them, but no one had ever seen one!

My god! "So the legend is true. Dragons really exist in this world. As long as I obtain the Dragon Bone, I can live forever!"

Erik pushed himself upright against the mast. Although Moonlight had injured him, his recovery as a Devil Fruit user was astounding, and he had already regained some mobility. But his eyes were now fixed on the Millennium Dragon behind Luffy and the others, blazing with desire! As long as he obtained the Dragon Bone, he could live forever!

Then he would become the strongest man on these seas! "What a perfect chance!"

At that moment, seeing that everyone's attention had been drawn to the Millennium Dragon and the bombardment had paused, Moonlight sneered inwardly! He raised his sword! "Void-Shattering... Iai Slash!"

Moonlight shouted!

A crescent-shaped Sword Aura condensed into a spherical crescent on the Kusanagi Sword! After charging for three seconds, he swung his sword! A massive crescent-shaped sword aura, fifty meters in diameter and spanning a hundred meters, slashed outward!

Crack!

Before everyone's dumbfounded, utterly shocked eyes, the twenty Marine ships dozens of meters ahead—including the flagship—were all cut in two by that single slash! Cabins split apart, masts snapped, and endless seawater surged in. Countless Marine Soldiers fell into the sea, and even the Marine colonel plunged into the water! One sword strike cleaved the Marines!

At that moment, heaven and earth fell utterly silent!