Chapter 262: We Attack! The Wrath of the Curtain Call!
So, it's finally come to this!
"FIRE!"
At Smoker's command, the cannons of the twenty-plus ships of the Curtain Call fleet roared to life. Their firepower was no match for the Charlotte family's, but the volley still sent nearly a hundred cannonballs screaming across the sky, creating a wall of fire in front of the advancing armada.
But... the enemy formation didn't even flinch. Aboard the Queen Mama Chanter, Katakuri, having already seen the trajectory of the cannonballs, had ordered the fleet to shift into an assault formation, and they had dodged the barrage with ease.
"To be able to predict the future... what a terrifying Haki," Smoker grumbled, tapping the ash from his cigar.
"Which is why we're sticking to the original plan," Kuina said, tying her hair back with a ribbon she'd been holding in her mouth. "A naval battle with the Charlotte family? There's no need for that." Knowing one's weaknesses was not a source of shame. When you were outmatched in firepower, experience, and numbers... only a fool would take that fight head-on.
"Nojiko!" she called out. "It's all you!"
"No problem!" a cheerful voice replied, and a slender, blue-haired figure leaped from the rear deck, diving headfirst toward the sea.
...
"That girl..." Katakuri's eyes flashed red. "All vanguard ships, slow down! Now!"
The order was strange, but his authority was absolute. The fleet, which had been charging at full speed, began to slow.
In the next instant, just before she hit the water, Nojiko smiled and thrust her hands forward.
"ICE AGE!!!"
A wave of absolute zero swept across the sea. The churning waves froze solid in an instant, and the sixty-plus tart-shaped warships were trapped in the ice, including the massive Queen Mama Chanter.
So that's the power that can reshape the battlefield... Katakuri thought, his eyes narrowed. To be able to do that with such ease... as expected of his sister.
"That was close!" a "Bishop"-ranked combatant on one of the tart ships said, peering over the side. The front edge of the ice was a wall of sharp, jagged spikes. If they hadn't slowed down... "All hands, disembark! Prepare for a ground battle!"
His eyes scanned the approaching enemy, looking for a worthy opponent. Above him in the hierarchy were the "Knights," and the only one who had come on this expedition... was Baron Tamago, with a bounty of 429,000,000 Belly.
"What an unpleasant ability~" the Baron said in his gentlemanly voice, adjusting his glasses. "But a worthy challenge. I shall handle this..."
He never finished his sentence. A silver blur shot out from a fissure in the ice and slammed into his side, sending him flying into the hull of the Queen Mama Chanter.
"...Lord Baron?" the Bishop stared in disbelief. The silver blur... was a massive, four-meter-long wolf.
"Nice one, Gin!" Nojiko laughed. "He's been cooped up for too long! Alright, everyone! Let's not fall behind!" she yelled to the flagship.
"Here we come!"
"Don't worry!"
"We've been waiting for this!"
A chorus of voices roared back, and a dozen figures leaped from the deck.
Zoro, his two swords drawn, ran across the ice, the blades carving twin trails behind him. Sanji, his legs wreathed in flames, was right beside him. Tashigi, her hand on her own sword, glanced at Kuina, then charged forward as well. From the other ships, the captains of the Combat Corps divisions followed, a wave of elite warriors surging toward the enemy.
"Hey, wait for me!" Chopper cried, fumbling in his medical bag for a Rumble Ball. But before he could eat it, a slender, white hand plucked it from his hoof.
"Eh? Robin?"
"Don't be a fool," she said with a smile, ruffling his fur. "You've been busy treating the people in our new territory. You haven't had time to train. The front lines are too dangerous for you. Leave the fighting to us."
...
"Achoo!" Law, who was charging across the ice, suddenly sneezed.
"Captain!" Bepo cried, rushing to his side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "Just... not used to the cold, I guess."
"Hey, you little punk from the Curtain Call!" a voice sneered from the side. A man with a neck as long as a snake's lunged at him.
"I'll help you, Captain!" Bepo yelled.
"I can handle this one myself," Law said, drawing his cursed sword, Kikoku. He glanced at Bepo.
"Charlotte Mascarpone, the 34th son, bounty 69 million," Bepo said, reading from a stack of wanted posters.
"Is that what you call helping?!" Law roared.
"How dare you ignore me!" Mascarpone shrieked, his longsword striking like a viper.
Law just looked at him with cold, indifferent eyes. "ROOM. SHAMBLES."
The blue dome expanded, and Mascarpone's body was instantly sliced into a dozen floating pieces.
"You may have grown up in the New World," Law said, sheathing his sword, "but your Haki... is pathetic." Any of the Charlotte children with a bounty under 100 million... in his ROOM, they were just fish in a barrel.
"Bepo," he said, a glint in his eye. "You know, your intel is actually pretty useful. Point out every single officer with a bounty under 100 million. They're all mine." He was a pragmatist. Why waste time on a difficult fight when he could be taking out dozens of their mid-tier officers?
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