"Everyone, run!"
As the Pacifistas were about to explode, Sentomaru was the first to retreat rapidly, shouting at the top of his lungs to the others.
The others didn't need his warning—they already understood how dangerous the situation was. They had witnessed firsthand the terrifying destructive power of a single Pacifista's explosion, let alone eight of them detonating simultaneously.
So, they had already begun fleeing frantically, wishing their parents had given them a few extra legs.
But before they could get far—
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of deafening explosions erupted, and towering mushroom clouds rose almost simultaneously over the island.
For a moment, it felt as if the sky had shattered and the earth had split apart. The entire island was directly blown apart and sank into the sea. The shockwaves from the explosions even dispersed the clouds in the sky.
As the island collapsed, massive amounts of seawater surged inward, forming terrifying tidal waves that swept toward the surrounding islands!
A long time later, a battered Sentomaru appeared on a nearby island, coughing up blood repeatedly.
Clearly, though he had managed to escape at the last moment, he had suffered severe injuries from the explosion.
After him, a few more people stumbled onto the island, but their conditions were even worse.
Yet, they were the lucky ones.
Because the others hadn't escaped at all—they had been blown to pieces in the explosion, reduced to ashes.
Perhaps there were other survivors who had fled in different directions, but their numbers would be negligible.
Fortunately, the panic caused by the Celestial Dragons' capture, as well as the earlier battles, had already driven all the civilians off the island.
The remaining Marines had been evacuated by Sentomaru before they surrounded Lin Xuan.
The ones who had been killed in the blast were several hundred elite Marines, including many officers of captain and commander rank—even the commanding officer of Sabaody Archipelago's garrison, Lieutenant Colonel Blackbeard, had perished!
The most tragic part was that they had died to explosions from the World Government's own weapons of war. If this got out, the Marines would become a laughingstock!
"Did that guy... die?!"
Sentomaru clutched the horrific wound on his shoulder, his gaze fixed on the smoke-covered area where the explosions had occurred.
Right now, all he could hope for was that Lin Xuan had been killed in the blast—at least then the sacrifices of so many elite Marines wouldn't have been in vain.
But at the same time, he was conflicted. The three Celestial Dragons of the Roshwan family were still on that island. If they had also been blown to bits, the Marines would undoubtedly face the World Government's most severe punishment!
After turning it over in his mind, Sentomaru felt a headache coming on.
Damn it, it's all because of those two lunatics! Why did they have to do something so insane?!
Just then, a flash of yellow light suddenly appeared near Sentomaru and the others, materializing into a tall man in a yellow-striped suit.
Kizaru!
"Admiral!"
The moment Sentomaru and the others saw Kizaru, they shouted in excitement.
But immediately afterward, their expressions changed drastically.
Because what they saw was Kizaru in an utterly miserable state—covered in gruesome wounds, blood streaming from his body!
Clearly, while they had been fighting Lin Xuan, Kizaru had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Madara Uchiha!
Still, seeing Kizaru appear before them now, they couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
"Did the Admiral manage to take down Madara Uchiha?"
Kizaru seemed to read their thoughts and gave them a bitter smile before turning his gaze in a certain direction.
Sentomaru and the others immediately followed his line of sight—and their pupils shrank violently.
"How is this possible?!"
What they saw was Madara Uchiha striding toward them!
Even worse, Madara didn't have a single scratch on him!
In other words, the battle between Kizaru and Madara hadn't gone the way they imagined. The real outcome was that Kizaru had been completely defeated!
This was something that shattered their understanding of the world. Some of the already severely injured Marines, unable to handle the shock, passed out on the spot.
And then, something even more unacceptable happened.
"Whoosh!"
A faint sound echoed as a golden figure shot out from the smoke-covered sea and landed on the island where they stood.
This golden figure was none other than Lin Xuan's golden Susanoo!
As for Lin Xuan himself, safely inside the Susanoo, he was completely unharmed. The three Celestial Dragons were still clutched in his grasp, having also survived the ordeal.
When Madara saw Lin Xuan's golden Susanoo, he was visibly surprised.
He murmured to himself, "A golden Susanoo? I've never heard of such a thing."
Of course, only he could hear his own words.
At the same time—
"Thud!"
When Sentomaru saw Lin Xuan appear, the final blow to his morale landed. His injuries flared up, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Lin Xuan glanced at him and shook his head in disappointment.
"So this is the mighty Marine force? Pathetic."
Madara nodded in agreement.
"Truly a disappointment."
Hearing this, Kizaru and the few remaining conscious Marines clenched their fists in fury.
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T/N:
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