"Hmm, has Bege already collapsed? We can't stop, or things will get bad..."
Hawkins heard the commotion behind him from Bege and knew that he had been knocked down by Luo Chen. Even so, he didn't turn around to look at him again and instead tried his best to speed up and walk forward.
"Heh, escaped, huh? Shave it!!"
call out...
Luo Chen shook his head as he looked at Hawkins running desperately ahead, then pushed off with his feet and appeared in front of him in One Flash.
"Oh no, we've been caught..."
Seeing Luo Chen suddenly appear in front of him and block his way, Hawkins stopped in his tracks, gritted his teeth, and placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to draw it to fight back.
"Still not ready to give up? You should know I've already taken all your cards..."
Luo Chen stood in front of Hawkins, looking at him with some surprise. He had thought that after witnessing Hawkins' displayed strength, Hawkins would surrender without hesitation, but the man in front of him still clung to his meaningless pride, unwilling to give up even if it meant fighting him to the death.
"Ha, how could that be? As a fellow Supernovas, how could I submit to you simply because of strength? Come, let me witness the true power of you, the so-called Blasphemer!"
With that, Hawkins, straining against his exhausted body, transformed into Strawman, took a few steps forward, and drew his sword to slash at him.
"Heh, very well then. To show my respect, I'll end this battle with this one strike: Abyss... Dragon Fist!!"
He added powerful Armament Haki to the original Vajra Dragon Fist, radiating an aura like that of an abyss, and slammed it into Hawkins's sword blade.
boom...
Luo Chen's punch was as devastating as a tumbleweed, shattering the straw beast sword that his ability had conjured. Then, with undiminished momentum, it slammed into Hawkins's Strawman, sending him flying.
puff...
call out!!
Struck head-on, his face paled, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. His body then flew backward like a sandbag being casually thrown, crashing into the ground and leaving a deep furrow. He only managed to stop after traveling dozens of meters, by which time he had already lost consciousness and was no longer able to resist Luo Chen.
"... Hello, this is Luo Chen. Vice Admiral Romas, could you please send someone over to take over? At the GR Peninsula Restaurant on the 24th, Magician Hawkins, Gangster Bege, and Glutton Bonney have all been knocked unconscious. Hmm, I still need to find the others and won't be staying here. If you're late and they escape, don't blame me..."
Luo Chen glanced at the spot where the three had been knocked unconscious, then took out a Den Den Mushi ) and dialed the number of the garrison there. He reported to Romas and prepared to leave, but just then, Romas's voice from the other end of the Den Den Mushi stopped him.
"Wait... Mr. Luo Chen!!"
"Hmm, what's up? Is there something else you need?"
Hearing the hurried tone of the voice on the other end, Luo Chen couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, something big just happened, and we hope you can lend a hand."
In the Marine Base commander's office, Romas hurriedly called out to Luo Chen, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as he spoke hastily.
"Hmm, something big? What could be more important than capturing Supernovas?"
Considering that Hawkins and the others had already met, and given Romas's urgent tone, Luo Chen had a guess in his mind. It was possible that the Straw Hat Pirates, specifically Luffy's defeat of the Celestial Dragons, had just happened, which was why he was so anxious. However, Luo Chen did not show it and calmly asked.
"Yes, it's definitely more important than capturing those Supernovas. Just recently, the Straw Hat Pirates landed on the Sabaody Archipelago..."
"Hmm, what's wrong? Isn't it normal for pirates to register? Or do you want me to add them to the hunting list? That won't do; the reward will have to increase accordingly if we add more people. If not, then there's nothing more to say!!"
Before Romas could finish speaking, Luo Chen interrupted him.
"No, that's not what I meant. If it were a normal landing, we could either skip them or hand them over to our navy. But the problem is, they caused a major disaster shortly after landing."
At Auction House Number One, a dispute resulted in the Celestial Dragons Saint Charlos being knocked unconscious, and then causing a great disturbance. This incident even alarmed Headquarters, and it's said that Admiral Kizaru has already arrived. Headquarters wants you to temporarily put aside your missions and go to Area One to hold them off until the Admiral arrives.
After finishing speaking, Romas waited quietly for Luo Chen's reply. He knew he wouldn't miss this opportunity—a chance to directly experience the strength of Admiral.
" Admiral Kizaru, huh? Alright, I'll take this mission. As for capturing the other Supernovas, that's off. I'll still get my reward. Is that acceptable to you?"
As expected, Luo Chen only paused for a moment before readily agreeing.
"Alright, now we'll focus on the Straw Hat Pirates, Kid, and Law San's pirate crew. We can leave the others to handle. You'd better hurry over to Number One, otherwise if they escape, you'll be held responsible!"
Having received instructions from headquarters, Romas naturally agreed to Luo Chen's request and then urged him to go over quickly.
"Okay, I got it. I'll go now. Your navy needs to get here quickly too, otherwise I can't handle holding off five Supernovas by myself!!"
As Luo Chen spoke, he ran towards the auction venue without stopping and gave him instructions.
"Don't worry, the navy will be moved in the end, they won't keep you waiting too long. Okay, bye!!"
Click...
After saying that, Romas hung up the phone.
"Tch, I haven't even mentioned any other conditions. Oh well, just being able to witness a duel between two top masters will make the trip worthwhile..."
Seeing that the other party hung up the phone so quickly, Luo Chen said irritably, but then he felt relieved. He had already achieved his biggest goal for this trip, and other rewards and conditions were not too important. So he put the Den Den Mushi back in his pocket and used his ability to speed up and rush over.
Meanwhile, inside Auction Hall Number One.
"You lowly fish! It's all your fault that my brother and father were so badly injured. I'm going to kill you and see how they can save you then..."
Chaos erupted at the auction. After Luffy knocked Charlos down with a single punch, everyone panicked and ran outside. Soldiers grabbed their weapons and attacked them. At that moment, Charlos's sister Saint Shalria, brought a ladder, stood on it, and coldly pointed a pistol at Camie, the mermaid imprisoned in a tank. She then slightly pulled the trigger, Luffy Camie his crew panicked. They managed to stop her gunfire in time, shouting in alarm.
Buzz...
Just as she was about to fire the gun with a sinister grin, an invisible pressure came from backstage and rushed into her brain. Shalria's consciousness blurred instantly, and then she and the ladder collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Hmm... what... what just happened? How could that guy...?"
Everyone who witnessed this was astonished, and the group asked in bewilderment.
Snap snap...
Bang!!
Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, a pair of Giant hands tore open the barrier in the center of the auction, revealing Giant's massive body and an old man chugging a wine jug. They were the items to be auctioned off: a member of the Giant race and Dark King Rayleigh, who had gambled away his life.
"Hahaha, look, Mr. Giant, wasn't I right? The auction is in complete chaos right now, it's the perfect time to leave!"
Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, the old man, Rayleigh, did not feel uncomfortable at all. He glanced at the chaos in the hall and smiled at the Giant behind him.
"That, that's Rayleigh..."
Just then, Hachi, who was lying injured on the ground, saw the person's face clearly and spoke up.
"Ha... he's the coating craftsman we've been looking for... Rayleigh!!"
Upon hearing Hachi's words, everyone exclaimed in surprise.