"Phew... phew... now you can have some peace and quiet! All that's left is to get you back to the ship!!"
Califo was a little unsteady on his feet. After taking a couple of rapid breaths, he looked at the scene he had created and spoke to Catherine. Then he withdrew his power, transformed into human form, and walked towards her.
Tap tap tap...
Just then, a hazy figure stood up amidst the smoke and dust and ran straight towards him.
"Hmm... You haven't given up yet? Then let me teach you a lesson one more time..."
Califo looked at her and spoke calmly, then reached out and grabbed Catherine's right arm, which was holding the knife, subduing her.
"Hateful..."
Catherine struggled to break free from his Bind, but it was no use. Her entire body was firmly held in Califo's grip, and with his strength, there was no way Catherine could break free.
"Just give this old man a moment's peace..."
Bang...
After saying that, Califo bent his right knee and slammed it into her abdomen.
"Cough... cough..."
Thump...
Catherine coughed up several mouthfuls of blood from his powerful blow, then collapsed to the ground, her consciousness fading.
"Finally fallen? Then come back with me!!"
Upon seeing Catherine fall to the ground, Califo's eyes flickered, and then he reached out to grab her.
Swoosh...
Just as his hand was about to touch Catherine, a blood-red arrow arrived in an instant, carrying unparalleled power as it shot towards his arm.
"Hmm... who is it?!"
Califo reacted quickly, instantly coating his arms with Armament Haki and forcefully blocking the attack.
Thump...
The arrow struck Califo's hand, which gleamed with a black light, producing a sharp, piercing roar. An invisible wave swept in all directions, creating vortexes and storms within a hundred meters of their collision.
Bang...
After a brief stalemate, Califo exerted a slight force with his arm, shattering the arrows, which then scattered into a shower of crimson light all around.
"Who are you? Do you also want to interfere with the Celestial Dragons ' affairs?"
After deflecting the arrow, Califo turned his gaze to the direction from which it had come, and saw a handsome, unfamiliar man with dark hair standing there, pointing a finger that had not yet been withdrawn.
He looked directly into the man's eyes and questioned him sternly.
"Heh, Celestial Dragons? Sorry, I didn't know what you're doing had anything to do with the Celestial Dragons, but could you please retract that claw?"
After all, I was entrusted with protecting her. If I let you take Catherine away in front of me, wouldn't I be breaking my promise?"
Upon hearing Califo invoke the Celestial Dragons as his backer, Luo Chen simply shook his head at him and smiled.
"Hmph, what can you do if I don't take it back?!"
Swoosh...
Seeing that Luo Chen looked inexperienced and green, Califo didn't think that Luo Chen could pose any obstacle to him, so he transformed his right arm into a lion's claw Extreme Speed grabbed at Catherine, who had fainted on the ground.
Swoosh...
"I already told you to take your hand back, didn't you hear me?"
boom...
Seeing that Califo was ignoring his warnings and was still attacking Catherine, he slightly stepped back with his heels, his body flying towards him like a cannonball, while simultaneously blocking Califo's attack.
"Hmm... Drink up!! Pretty strong, huh? Kid, but don't think you can take Miss Catherine away from Vice Admiral with that..."
Califo met Luo Chen's fist with one hand, increasing the force of his grip while commenting on Luo Chen's attack.
"Pour yourself down for me... Drink!!"
Califo's expression turned serious as he spoke loudly. Then, with a shout, a powerful force emanated from his body and slammed into Luo Chen's arm, sending him flying.
boom...
Luo Chen flew backward and crashed into a famous residence, knocking down the wall and engulfing him in dust.
"I never expected anyone would be willing to help you! Miss Catherine... But, isn't it ironic that the young man doesn't seem to be from the Navy?!"
Not far away, Orange stepped into the battle circle, walked up to Catherine, looked down at her, and said.
"Cough cough... Is it him?"
Catherine slowly woke up at this moment. Hearing Orange's words, she recalled Luo Chen's figure in her mind and murmured.
"... Thorn Thrust!!"
"Um... dangerous, Saint Orange, please forgive me..."
A faint male voice came from the ruins. Califo reacted at the same moment, said "excuse me" and grabbed Orange's hand, using Geppo to leave the spot.
The moment he stepped into the air, streaks of blood-red thorns suddenly sprang up from beneath their feet, attempting to pierce him.
"Tch, didn't work? Yeah, if he were defeated so easily, he wouldn't deserve the title of Vice Admiral..."
Amidst the ruins, Luo Chen stood up again. Seeing that his attack had failed, he scoffed.
Swoosh...
Swoosh...
Swoosh...
"Please stand here, Saint Orange. Wait until I've dealt with him before you come over..."
Califo carried Orange to a spot far from the battlefield Geppo, set him down, and respectfully addressed him.
"Hmm... that man seems quite extraordinary as well. Califo, you need to be careful too. I'll wait here for your good news..."
Orange nodded to him, and then spoke with concern.
"Yes... Please rest assured, I will end this battle very soon..."
Upon hearing his concern, Califo responded with even greater respect and gratitude, then turned and flew back towards Luo Chen.
Swoosh...
"Prepare to die, you insolent scoundrel! In the name of Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, I sentence you to death for offending the esteemed Celestial Dragons, and I will carry out the execution..."
Califo, using Geppo Extreme Speed towards Luo Chen. At the same time, his body suddenly transformed, turning back into a lion-shaped beastman. He uttered a series of despicable flattering sounds and brandished his black, gleaming claws, aiming for Luo Chen's face.
"Even in the Marine Headquarters, there are people like you who fawn over the Celestial Dragons? It seems even Headquarters has its share of filth..."
Thump...
As Luo Chen spoke, he placed his hands above his head, and with a thought, Armament Haki instantly enveloped his arms, blocking the powerful attack.
"Ignorant fool. The Navy exists precisely for the sake of you Celestial Dragons, to protect Celestial Dragons. It is only right that I do this..."
How could a greenhorn like you possibly understand my thoughts?
Califo poured a continuous stream of powerful force into his lion's paws, refuting what Luo Chen had said.
"Is that so? You're just trying to cover up your true, pathetic, and begging nature. How dare you insult other professions that hold this title in such high regard?!"
Luo Chen was not to be outdone, and he also channeled energy into his hand to resist the attack, while verbally attacking him.
"Hehehe... When I defeat you and send you to Enies Lobby for trial, you won't be so stubborn anymore..."
Hearing Luo Chen's sarcastic remarks, Califo appeared unaffected by his words, still smiling and chuckling at Luo Chen.
Then, the boost from his Zoan quickly manifested itself in him. Suddenly, an unstoppable burst of power erupted from Califo's body, blasting Luo Chen away from his spot.
Bang...
Bang...
Bang...
Luo Chen couldn't withstand his sudden burst of force, and his body flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into several houses before finally coming to a stop.
Fortunately, most of the residential buildings here were uninhabited, and even before they arrived,
Sengoku had already dispatched his soldiers to remove all nearby people, intending not to get involved in the affairs of the Celestial Dragons.
brush...
"It seems that without using this ability, it will be difficult to defeat Marine Vice Admiral like you..."
Inside the collapsed house, Luo Chen stood up again, looked at Califo, and muttered something under his breath.
Then his body underwent a dramatic transformation. White bone armor pierced through his clothes, and in a short while, a blood-red Shura radiating a demonic aura appeared before them.
"Um... this is... Mythical Zoan? Like the ability of Fleet Admiral Sengoku..."
Califo stared in shock at the demon god— Shura— that Luo Chen had transformed into.
"Hmph, so what? Can you completely control this ability? Aren't you afraid of being dominated by your animalistic instincts?"
After looking at it for a while, Califo withdrew his own and snorted as he spoke to him.
Clearly, Luo Chen's use of this ability caused quite a stir among him, but his strong mentality allowed him to quickly recover, and he spoke to the Shura that Luo Chen had transformed into with a hint of disdain.
Of course, you could also detect a hint of sourness in his tone; compared to his own ordinary abilities,
The abilities Luo Chen was displaying at this moment were enough to make him a world-class powerhouse, which made the somewhat old Califo extremely envious and Envy.
"Haha, you don't need to worry about that. I just need to defeat you as soon as possible..."
Although transforming into this form filled him with various negative emotions, even though he wasn't usually bloodthirsty, he stared at Califo with bloodshot eyes and said...
"If you can do it, then give it a try. Let this old man see what abilities your rare Zoan -type Devil Fruit possesses to reach the level of a super-powerful one..."
Upon hearing Luo Chen's words, Califo felt utterly disdainful and burst into laughter. Then, he stared directly into Luo Chen's crimson eyes and spoke, word by word.
Swoosh...
"Then you'll see for yourself what Mythical Zoan really looks like... Shave!!"
Luo Chen smiled and then used Shave to disappear from Califo's sight at lightning Extreme Speed.
Armament Haki Envelopment... Crimson Breath Dragon Fist!!
boom...
Before Califo could even turn his eyes, Luo Chen's voice rang out in front of him. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before him, his right fist wreathed in Armament Haki, and he unleashed a powerful punch at Califo's stomach.