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A sea in the New World.
Several pirate ships sailed across the sea, their flag was instantly recognizable across these waters.
It was the Jolly Roger of the Emperor Big Mom!
But at this moment, these very ships, which struck fear into the hearts of countless pirates across the Grand Line, were in a pathetic retreat.
Not a single ship was undamaged. All bore the scars of cannonballs, gunfire, and the impact of massive boulders.
Not far behind them, a fleet of numerous Marine warships pursued relentlessly.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The Navy's most formidable battleships continuously bombarded the fleeing Big Mom pirate ships.
Fortunately, the helmsmen of the Big Mom Pirates were no amateurs, skillfully maneuvering their ships to dodge the incoming cannonballs—which splashed into the sea, kicking up massive waves.
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"Sister Smoothie, are you alright?"
Charlotte Panna asked worriedly, looking at Smoothie, who was now covered in numerous bandages.
"I'm fine," As the number one "most popular older sister" in the Charlotte family, Smoothie was always kind to her siblings. She gave Panna a reassuring smile.
But as Smoothie looked back at the pursuing Marine fleet, her expression turned incredibly dark.
DAMMIT!
That blind, new Marine Admiral... his power is ridiculous!
Not only could he summon meteorites, but he could also infuse gravity directly into his slashes, creating horrifying gravity-based attacks.
If a pirate ship was hit by one of those terrifying gravity slashes, it would be instantly crushed under the immense force.
Smoothie had figured out the power of this new Admiral.
A user of the Press-Press Fruit—one of the most powerful Paramecia abilities. A Gravity Human capable of manipulating gravity.
With this Devil Fruit alone, this man possessed the combat strength to crush her completely.
MARINE ADMIRALS TRULY WERE A BUNCH OF MONSTERS!
Smoothie cursed inwardly.
Facing a Marine HQ Admiral, forget her alone—even if all three Sweet Commanders were present, their only option would be to flee.
Smoothie now clearly understood that although the Commanders were hailed as the top officers of an Emperor's crew, they were not in the same league as a Marine Admiral.
In their Big Mom Pirates, the only one who could fight an Admiral was Big Mom herself.
When Smoothie first encountered this Admiral, she had tried to resist, but was ruthlessly crushed by his horrifying strength. It was only through the desperate, life-sacrificing efforts of several of her sisters that she had managed to escape, beginning this humiliating retreat...
The reason she had dared to fight Fujitora in the first place was that she had always lived under Big Mom's protection.
As a top commander, Admirals wouldn't normally hunt her down.
And before Sky Sovereign's meteoric rise, these seas had been in a state of balance between—Marine HQ, the Warlords, and the Four Emperors.
A balance meant few major conflicts.
With the Emperors and Admirals not acting, in clashes with other pirate crews and the Navy, the Sweet Commanders were among the strongest in the New World. Smoothie, naturally, was proud.
Furthermore, during Sky Sovereign's rise, his successive defeats of Aokiji and Akainu, had skewed Smoothie's assessment of the Admirals' strength.
After all, at that time, Sky Sovereign wasn't yet an Emperor.
So, facing a new Marine Admiral, this man codenamed Fujitora, whom she had never even seen before on the seas—
—Smoothie had arrogantly thought, 'Me? A top commander of an Emperor's crew, run from him??'
And so, she was pathetically routed, suffering severe injuries...
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"Smoothie, what do we do? The ship is about to give out," Charlotte Cornstarch looked towards her sister.
Though Cornstarch was older than Smoothie, in the pirate world, strength always spoke loudest. She naturally deferred to Smoothie.
Their situation was now extremely critical.
Under the pursuit of this Admiral, their pirate ship was reaching its limit. Many of their sisters were Devil Fruit users—if this continued, they would truly be buried at sea.
"Find a larger island, make a stand, and wait for reinforcements," Smoothie said through gritted teeth, her voice strained.
They were at a disadvantage in combat strength—their best option was to flee by sea, but the Navy's warships had superior firepower, and Fujitora's troublesome ability meant their ships were already failing. If they continued to run aimlessly, they would sink before help could arrive.
Their only choice now was to find a large island and hold out.
Cornstarch and the others could only agree. They had no other options.
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"Slurp! Slurp!"
Unlike the pathetically fleeing Big Mom Pirates, aboard the Marine warship, Fujitora was slurping noodles.
"Admiral Fujitora, as planned, we have forced them towards the northwest. There is only one island there where they can make a stand and wait for reinforcements," Reported Vice Admiral Dalmatian, user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dalmatian, saluting Fujitora.
"REMEMBER, FUJITORA! YOU MUST FORCE BIG MOM OUT!"
A Transponder Snail before Fujitora projected Akainu's image.
"These villains annihilated the G-5 Branch. I will do my utmost," Fujitora replied, stopping his slurping, his aura instantly becoming immense.
If not for Akainu's orders and the Navy's battle plan, with Fujitora's combat strength and the influence of his Devil Fruit on the seas, Smoothie's fleet would have long since been sunk by his attacks.
After disconnecting the call with Akainu, Fujitora stood up and walked to the foremost part of the deck.
—A flashback to his conversation with Akainu played out.
"But, the civilians have been confirmed evacuated, correct?" Fujitora's voice was deep, revealing an uncompromising resolve.
"What do a few sacrifices matter! As long as Justice is served!" Akainu's voice had been iron-blooded and grim.
His justice was absolute—as long as Justice could be served, he would not hesitate to raise his blade even against civilians. Just like in the Ohara Incident, when he unhesitatingly fired on the civilian evacuation ship.
"If the civilians are not evacuated, I will absolutely not allow that place to become a battlefield!" Fujitora had roared back, veins bulging on his forehead.
Fujitora's justice was a gentle justice; more than hunting pirates, he cared about the safety of civilians.
"HMPH!!! ARE YOU QUESTIONING ME? FUJITORA??" Akainu had flared up, but Tsuru, commanding strategy from the side, had intervened.
"The civilians have been evacuated. Do what you must, Fujitora," Tsuru's voice came through the Transponder Snail.
As the Great Staff Officer, she naturally took the personalities of her key assets into account.
"I understand," Fujitora had replied seriously, hearing the civilians were evacuated.
"Hmph! If you mess up this mission, don't bother coming back to Marine HQ, Fujitora!" Akainu had snorted coldly.
Fujitora's stubbornness, his refusal to completely obey his orders, infuriated Akainu. 'If not for Admiral-level combatants being so crucial right now, I wouldn't be so good-tempered... Evacuate civilians?? Any factor that delays the mission must be completely eliminated!'
"You need not worry, Fleet Admiral." Fujitora had then disconnected the call.
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"Continue the bombardment. Force them onto that island! Then, launch the attack. Push them to the brink... that's the strategy, isn't it?" Fujitora stated gravely.
"YES!" Dalmatian and the other Marine officers saluted Fujitora, their eyes filled with immense respect.
Though Fujitora was promoted to Admiral through the World Military Draft, with no record of him on the seas before, after becoming an Admiral, his gentle justice, his concern for civilians over hunting pirates, had earned him the recognition and loyalty of many Marines.
Especially now, with the 'Dove' faction leader Aokiji dead, and the Navy leaning heavily towards the 'Hawk' faction, Fujitora's appearance provided a spiritual sanctuary for the 'Dove' faction.
"Also, try not to damage the civilians' homes. If it's unavoidable, be sure to record it. The Navy will provide compensation later," Fujitora added.
"Sir... the Fleet Admiral probably won't agree," Dalmatian said, somewhat troubled.
"If he doesn't agree, use my salary and bonuses. I'll take an advance and repay it slowly," Fujitora replied seriously.
"How could we let you pay alone, sir! We will contribute as well!" Dalmatian and the others exchanged glances, their voices filled with admiration.
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"Something's wrong... Where are the civilians?"
Smoothie and the other Big Mom Pirates, forced onto the island, immediately noticed something was amiss.
The island wasn't small; otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen it as a defensive position.
But after landing, there wasn't a single civilian, only empty houses...
In war, especially between pirates and the Navy, civilians were often taken as hostages. Though the Big Mom Pirates had their pride and usually disdained such tactics, when pushed to the brink, they too would use any means necessary.
Unfortunately, by the time they reached this village, it was already empty.
"Could they have seen our pirate ship and run away?" Panna suggested.
"They left too cleanly for that," Cornstarch commented coldly. A hasty evacuation would have left signs of chaos. This was clearly pre-planned.
"The Navy wanted to force us onto this island. What are they trying to do?" Charlotte Citron wondered.
"Trying to use us as bait to besiege our reinforcements?" Smoothie instantly grasped the key point.
"Sister, what do we do then? Do we tell the reinforcements not to come?" Citron grew anxious.
The other daughters of Big Mom were also filled with anxiety. Facing a Marine siege, without reinforcements, they were certain to die. Either completely annihilated by the Navy—or captured and thrown into Impel Down.
"Hmph! Trying to besiege us? Let's see if you have the appetite for it!" Smoothie snorted coldly.
Through a Transponder Snail, she reported the situation.
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"Admiral Fujitora! The enemy's resistance is fierce! We can't break through!" At this moment, Smoothie and the others were holding a key location.
They were still core members of an Emperor's crew—average Marines were no match for them. And after landing, the Marine warships' cannons couldn't accurately strike this area.
As for all-out fire coverage, it was vetoed under Fujitora's insistence because it would cause widespread damage to civilian homes.
"Vetoing fire coverage was my decision. Resolving this situation is, of course, my responsibility,"
Fujitora stated, holding his cane sword—a seemingly unremarkable blade, but actually one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, Yakuza Kasen—and walked towards the location where Smoothie and the others were holding out.
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"FUJITORA!"
Seeing the figure approaching, Smoothie's forehead was beaded with veins, her expression utterly grim.
It was this man who had forced them into such a desperate situation.
"ADMIRAL FUJITORA!" The Marines, seeing Fujitora, immediately cheered.
CLANG!
One of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, Yakuza Kasen, was unsheathed.
WHOOSH!
Fujitora swung his blade violently. Rings of gravity waves began to ripple outwards—then shot towards the sky.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A moment later, guided by these gravity waves, a meteorite from outer space, trailing a terrifying tail of fire—smashed down towards the Big Mom Pirates' defensive line.
"IT'S-IT'S TOO BIG! BIGGER THAN THE LAST ONE!" Citron screamed in terror, looking at the descending meteorite.
"He was holding back before!" Smoothie's face was incredibly grim.
There was no need for further speculation, this man's earlier attacks were only to force them here, so he hadn't used his full power, avoiding sinking their ship completely.
"DAMN IT! LOOKING DOWN ON ME!" Smoothie roared, her body rapidly expanding.
Juice Giant Form.
Under Smoothie's furious power, she managed to barely catch the meteorite.
"As expected of one of Big Mom's Sweet Commanders. However..." Fujitora swung his sword again.
"Gravity Blade: Raging Tiger——!"
Yakuza Kasen unleashed a blue-purple slash.
Space itself seemed to distort layer by layer... this was the physical manifestation of this space's gravity being completely warped!
A frightening gravity slash spread towards Smoothie and the others.
Feeling the aura from this gravity blade, Smoothie and the others' eyes filled with bloodshot rage.
Too strong...
This was not a power they could contend with!
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"Ikoku Sovereignty——!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A terrifyingly immense sword aura was unleashed!
A blast of pure destructive energy intercepted and shattered Fujitora's attack.
"Hm?" Fujitora, holding Yakuza Kasen, felt the presence of the newcomer with his super-strong Observation Haki.
Very strong. And... very savage!
There was only one person who would come to their rescue with such a presence...
"MAMA!" Smoothie and the others cried out in joyous surprise, looking up at the sky.
"MAMAMAMA!" A signature laugh echoed.
Big Mom stood atop a thundercloud, with a sun Homie beside her, her hand holding a pirate hat Homie transformed into a longsword, her expression utterly ferocious.
"You're Fujitora, right? You were pretty arrogant just now," Big Mom glared down at Fujitora, her eyes promising a gruesome death.
"Nice to meet you. Emperor Big Mom."
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