The Admiral Is Dead

"The Admiral is dead!!!"

The entire battlefield fell silent. Everyone looked up at the sky, where a figure stood in midair.

It was Kaya.

More importantly, Kaya was holding a person—or, to be precise, a mangled corpse. The corpse still clutched a broken sword.

Who wouldn't recognize him? That was Admiral Black Python!

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

"The Admiral... the Admiral was killed in battle!"

"You've got to be kidding! This has to be a joke!"

"Impossible! That's a fake!"

"Admiral Bright!!!"

"Aaaaaah~~"

The Marines' cries of grief rang through the sky. The blow was enough to rob them of the will to fight in an instant.

Was it a fake? Of course not.

"How could this happen..."

Sengoku was drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with horror.

Though Bright's body was mangled, Sengoku recognized the sword. When he and the others had first arrived at Marine Headquarters, Bright had been the one to welcome them.

He, Garp, Zephyr, and the others had distinguished themselves and been selected by their respective Marine branches, then sent to Marine Headquarters to train together.

Back then, they had all been fresh recruits, while Bright had already been a Marine Vice Admiral.

And now Bright had died a gruesome death before his eyes...

"Bastard!!"

Zephyr flew into a rage and unleashed a blow that sent Maron, who stood in his way, reeling back.

Then he stood atop a pile of bones and raised his fist. "The Admiral is dead, but his heroic spirit lives on! The Marines will fight on over the bodies of their comrades!"

"All Marines, listen up! Let every one of us spill our scorching blood into this sea!"

"Until evil is eradicated, justice will never cease!"

"The Marines... will prevail!!!"

"Ooooooh-!"

The Marines' morale, which had just begun to flag, suddenly soared. Their fervent fighting spirit seemed to gather as one.

Would the Admiral's death make them lose the will to fight?

Wrong!

The Admiral and countless Marines had died because of pirates, sacrificing themselves to uphold justice.

All the more reason for them to fight to the very end!

"I meant to deal you a blow, but instead your morale's even higher," Kaya muttered to himself.

The mood across the battlefield had changed. If the Marines had only been thinking of rescuing Kong before, now they had abandoned any thought of retreat, every last one of them fighting desperately!

The pirates facing them could feel the change most keenly.

"Hey, hey, hey! Something's not right!"

"A Marine Admiral just died, so why are these guys acting like they've gone crazy?"

"Hey! You've already lost! Stop struggling!"

"Damn it... Aaaaah!"

Some pirates still couldn't understand what was happening and were caught off guard and slain by the Marines, whose fighting spirit was soaring. More pirates didn't care; if there was a fight, they would keep fighting.

No one knew how many had died. Pirate and Marine corpses lay piled together, and the air reeked of blood.

This development seemed to have caught everyone off guard.

"Well, Rocks? At least fighting alongside Marines like these is better than fighting alongside a villain like you!"

A vast area had been cleared around Harald and Rocks, with no one else remaining inside it.

And now, with the sudden change on the battlefield, Rocks, who had just been telling Harald that he had already won, didn't know what to say.

In response to Harald's words, Rocks shouted irritably, "Shut up! The Marines and the World Government aren't exactly the same thing! Don't you understand?!"

"Hmph! There's nothing more to say to someone like you. Out of my way!" Harald swung his sword with all his might, Conqueror's Haki coiling around it.

The blow actually drove Rocks back.

There was a reason for that.

Rocks felt inexplicably restless. Even he couldn't say why; he just had a feeling that something he hadn't anticipated was about to happen.

But he had no time to dwell on it. Seeing Harald move past him toward another part of the battlefield, he quickly followed.

"Harald! Stop right there!"

"Get out of my way, Rocks!"

The two of them moved across the battlefield as they fought.

For everyone else, their passage was undoubtedly a disaster. It was no exaggeration to say so.

Calling them moving natural disasters wouldn't have been overstating it in the least!

"What do we do, Sengoku?"

"Do we keep fighting like this?"

"But we can't break through at all!"

"..."

Faced with the questions from the Vice Admirals around him, Sengoku, a Vice Admiral himself, remained calm, giving them someone to rely on.

He looked at John, Ganzui, and the others ahead of him. He knew they had him tied down and that he couldn't deal with them quickly. The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for the Marines. Ultimately, the Marines simply didn't have enough fighting strength.

If only the World Government had been willing to send people...

Sengoku shook his head, driving the thought away. Without a doubt, he was far less calm inside than he appeared.

He was angry. If the World Government had sent more reinforcements, they might have rescued Kong by now.

"Focus on the battle in front of us first. As for Admiral Kong... someone will go and rescue him."

Sengoku's words steadied his colleagues' nerves.

Suddenly, they felt the ground shake and the mountains tremble. Was this island on an earthquake belt? Why were there earthquakes so often?

They turned and saw a massive figure approaching. Every step he took sent tremors through the ground.

"It's the Giant King!"

"And... Rocks!"

"They're both coming this way!"

The Vice Admirals tensed. A thought flashed through Sengoku's mind: perhaps he could make use of Harald.

At the same time, John and the others saw Harald and Rocks pursuing each other. It wasn't a welcome sight.

"Damn it! When is this war going to end?! I'm done playing!" Ganzui cursed.

"What's the rush? As long as the Marines haven't rescued Kong, we can't lose. Besides, didn't Kaya just kill another Admiral?" John, on the other hand, was in no hurry.

"Hmph! John, you should explain why you..." Maron retreated to their side and was about to question him coldly, only to be interrupted.

"Hey, hey! Forget about me for now. Where's Zephyr? How come you're over here?" John shot back.

"Couldn't hold him back," Maron said flatly.

"Fuck!" John cursed.

As they spoke, Harald reached them first and recognized them at a glance.

But Harald had no intention of greeting them—or rather, the greatsword he raised, and the black-and-red lightning crackling over it, was his greeting.

He called out no technique name. He simply brought the sword down!

"Watch out! Use Blut Vene, quickly!" Maron cried in alarm.

"I'm not a fucking Quincy!" Ganzui roared.

"Forget it, I'm activating my Vollständig first!" John decisively unleashed his ultimate power, and a pillar of blue light erupted from the ground.

Boom!!

The terrifying might behind Harald's slash seemed ready to split Hachinosu in two!

A chasm opened in the ground, swallowing pirates whole. Many Marines, though they weren't the direct targets, couldn't withstand it either and were blown away by the violent winds it stirred up.

"He really is a monster!"

Sengoku's eyes gleamed. In his Buddha Form, he managed to keep his footing amid the tremors.

But then a figure appeared above him.

Alarm bells rang in his head. Without thinking, he raised his palm and fired a shockwave straight up.

But the next instant, the shockwave was shattered. The long sword came crashing down on him, smashing even his indomitable golden body!

Sengoku spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes fixed on Rocks, whose expression was hidden in shadow.

He suddenly realized that the two of them being freed up might not be entirely bad; at least it made the battle's outcome less certain.