As soon as the Marine warships appeared, Totto Land immediately entered first-level wartime alert.
With the forward scouts constantly sending back updates, Shiki and Dragon, who were seated in the command room, both frowned.
It seemed the Marines who had arrived were not their main force—there were only five medium-sized warships.
However, these five warships clearly prioritized speed. No one knew what technology they were using, but their speed was actually twice that of ordinary Marine vessels.
It didn't take long before they were about to reach the edge of Totto Land's waters.
But there at the border, Totto Land already had its first defensive line set up, and the Marine ships were quickly intercepted!
The ones in charge of intercepting this Marine detachment were Creed's Third Division.
"Ha ha! Didn't expect we'd get stopped here already. That brat Creed came prepared, huh? But for me, it's useless!"
On the foremost Marine warship, a middle-aged man wearing a striped yellow suit and a coat of justice suddenly appeared on deck.
Marine Admiral Kizaru.
The next moment, he raised a hand and lightly pointed. Several laser beams shot out, aiming to sink the Third Division's ships in one blow.
Kizaru had no intention of getting bogged down here. He was carrying the mission of scouting the overall situation.
The Marine main force was still behind. If he could obtain the defensive layout of Totto Land ahead of time, it would be of tremendous help to the Marines' next full-scale offensive.
"Bōgyo Shouheki (Defense Barrier)!"
Just as the laser beams were about to blow those ships apart, a transparent barrier suddenly rose up, blocking them.
Because the division's ships were arranged in a shuttle-like formation, Kizaru's lasers had been concentrated into a relatively narrow area. As soon as that massive barrier appeared, it completely intercepted all of the beams.
"Boom!"
Yellow light flared, and a hundred meters of sea surface were forced down several meters by an invisible shockwave.
"Hmm? What a tough and sturdy Devil Fruit ability."
Kizaru had thought that even if his lasers were blocked, he should at least be able to sink one or two ships. To his surprise, they had been fully stopped with no damage at all.
A power like this was something an ordinary elite Vice Admiral couldn't pull off.
So Kizaru did not hesitate to offer praise.
"Heh heh, interesting."
The next instant, his body turned into golden light and shot forward, appearing above Bartolomeo in a flash, shocking the latter out of his wits.
Kizaru's speed was far too fast; clearly there had still been two to three miles between them, yet he had erased the distance in a single instant!
"Admiral Kizaru!"
Bartolomeo finally got a clear look at his opponent's face and couldn't help but gasp.
An Admiral acting as the vanguard—this was practically unheard of.
"Oi, brat, have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Looking at Bartolomeo's terrified expression, Kizaru gave a mocking smile, then unleashed a dazzling golden light-speed kick, intending to boot Bartolomeo straight into the sea.
However—
"ROOM Shouheki-kyu (Barrier Sphere)!"
Bartolomeo crossed his arms, overlapping his index and middle fingers. A transparent sphere instantly expanded around his entire body.
"Bang!"
Kizaru's light-speed kick slammed into the transparent sphere. It didn't break through the barrier, but it still sent Bartolomeo and his sphere flying away.
"Gyaaa!"
"Boom!"
Bartolomeo shot out like a missile, blasting straight through the cabin of his own ship.
Kizaru's light-speed kick was terrifying. This level of power was something he absolutely could not contend with.
"Hmm? What an interesting ability."
Kizaru exclaimed in genuine surprise.
Although Bartolomeo had been shaken around so hard inside the transparent sphere that he felt the world spinning, he was not injured in the slightest.
That proved just how incredible the barrier's defensive power was.
"Too bad I don't have time to play with you."
He had no time to waste on Bartolomeo. His mission this time was to fully probe the situation inside Totto Land, then deliver the intel to Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Commander-in-Chief Kong.
Turning back into golden light, he quickly streaked past Bartolomeo and the others, racing into the distance.
The five Marine warships, meanwhile, immediately began retreating, not daring to linger any longer.
"Purururu…"
On Bartolomeo's side, he hurried to report the situation via Den Den Mushi at once.
In the command room on Whole Cake Island, Shiki and Dragon both froze for a moment when they received Bartolomeo's transmission, then quickly understood why the enemy had sent Kizaru.
"In that case, we'll need ten people to pin down Kizaru and keep him from scouting our deployments," Dragon said, drumming his fingers on the table.
"When it comes to speed alone, no one can match Kizaru, and his attack power is also freakishly high. The Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) is extremely troublesome. Hm… I could intercept him myself. I've got the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Float-Float Fruit), I can fly—but my speed still can't keep up with his."
Shiki's head was beginning to ache.
He hadn't expected the enemy to send an Admiral-level scout. This was basically starting the war with a decisive clash right out of the gate.
"Maybe my Kaze Kaze no Mi (Wind-Wind Fruit) can match him."
Dragon was tempted to make his move.
When faced with absolute speed, he felt that he might be the only one on their side who had a chance of stopping Kizaru.
Of course, Creed, who also possessed the power of the Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit), could also intercept Kizaru. But Creed was the overall commander of this war; there could be no mistakes involving him. How could they let their trump card be forced onto the field at the very start?
"Report! Kizaru has already broken through three defensive lines. He's currently heading toward the fourth line—Ice Island!"
"Report, Commander! Our Second Division Captain has been shot down, and the entire unit is heavily injured!"
In just ten minutes or so, Den Den Mushi reports from the front kept coming in, leaving Dragon and Shiki both shocked and uneasy.
No one could stop Kizaru.
The Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) was incredibly powerful. Not only did it grant absolute speed, it also possessed frightening destructive power. It truly was top-class in both speed and offense. On top of that, Kizaru could use Yata no Kagami (Eight-Mirror Light Path) to sustain his acceleration and cross long distances. Ordinary powerhouses couldn't even touch the hem of his coat.
"I'll go stop him. We can't let him get a clear read on our situation on Whole Cake Island."
After thinking for a moment, Dragon decided he had to take the field himself.
His Kaze Kaze no Mi (Wind-Wind Fruit) was, aside from the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit), one of the very few abilities that could compete with the Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) in terms of speed.
Shiki could only nod.
It was still far too early to send their own supreme commander into battle.
Just then—
"Report! At the fifth defensive line, Kizaru has been stopped by Captain Ain—no, by Falkor-sama!"
Another urgent update came from the front, leaving the two men stunned.
"A clash of lightning and light… what a pity I can't go watch," Shiki said, clapping his hands with a longing look on his face.
Both Falkor and Ain wielded lightning powers. With the two of them working together, they could naturally block Kizaru's advance.
"Good. Then it's our turn to counterattack. Before they figure out our situation, we're going to give them a nasty surprise."
Dragon gritted his teeth.
As long as they could pin down Kizaru, they would have a chance to launch a surprise attack on the Marine main force.
"Get me in contact with Sixth Division Captain Law."
Dragon gave the order.
"Not a bad idea," Shiki agreed readily.
The Polar Tang, with its special submersible functions, was the perfect weapon for launching a surprise attack.
(End of Chapter)
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