Chapter 176: The Ghost, The World's Divergence
"Brother, in your eyes, do you really think that four Headquarters Vice Admirals, working together, can't beat that guy?"
The man codenamed [Chaton] (Brown Pig), Tokikake, was dressed and spoke in a way that was far less serious than the other Vice Admirals. He was rather flippant, and his personality seemed lazy, almost like a shadow of Kizaru. But Kaito Shirogane could not underestimate him. The so-called [Admiral Candidates] were, by definition, a special class of officer recognized as being stronger than all other Vice Admirals (with the exception of Garp). If an Admiral position were to become vacant, one of them would be the next to fill it.
Whether it was his physical arts, his physical body, his Haki, or his mastery of Rokushiki, this man was on a level above the other Vice Admirals. In Kaito's estimation, in the Nexus's power system, this guy was probably at the [Strong - Upper] tier of power. Give him enough time, and being a one-man-army would be a simple task. And as a physical combatant in the One Piece world—a world that emphasized physical stats—his defensive and survival abilities were also terrifying. He was a true, living weapon.
"Heh. I haven't seen much of the world…"
Tokikake waved his hand, signaling Kaito to cut the useless flattery. He didn't care about the Marines' "face." If you could win, you could win. If you couldn't, you couldn't.
Kaito, who also wasn't a humble person by nature, found this kind of polite posturing to be just another form of lying. Seeing that the man wanted the truth, he suddenly smiled, a strange look in his eye.
"Vice Admiral Tokikake… if you want my honest opinion…"
"You will all die."
"That guy's Devil Fruit ability... even among Logia types, it is one of the most terrifying."
"Sir, if you must, it would be better to treat him as an enemy on the same level as a Marine Admiral…"
Tokikake's expression didn't change. The Headquarters Vice Admirals were the pillars of the sea. Almost every one of them had clashed with the strongest monsters, had faced the invincible Whitebeard, had participated in the hunt for the beast Kaido. No one knew the power of the world's strongest better than them. They were strong, but they also respected strength.
And it was precisely because of this that they were even more aware of just how powerful their own [Marine] faction was. No matter how strong a pirate crew was, it could never match the full might of the Marines. If the Marines decided to eradicate you, they would bring an overwhelming, absolute advantage in power. The Four Emperors were strong, but they were individuals. The Marines were a colossal organization.
Was Whitebeard strong? Could he defeat all three Admirals at once? Could he defeat Sengoku and Garp, together?
Did Whitebeard have many commanders? Did he have more than the Marines had Vice Admirals?
Tokikake stood up and walked to the bow of the ship. From the moment he had appeared, even the arrogant Gion had to follow his orders. "Gion, you don't mind if we sacrifice your ship, do you?"
Gion nodded, understanding his intent, and immediately ordered all her men to cross the gangplank to Dalmatian's ship.
Tokikake shrugged his Justice coat from his shoulders. He vanished. The next moment, a massive force erupted from the sea behind them.
Kaito, having leaped onto Dalmatian's ship, watched as Tokikake stood in the ocean, his two hands pushing the hundred-meter-long warship, which began to move forward at a high speed. Kaito's eyelid twitched, and a look of joy appeared on his face. This… this is the kind of power I want…
Tokikake didn't know how to pilot the ship, but at the same time, he wasn't willing to let other Marines risk their lives with him. So he had chosen to push it.
Kaito had told him that Enel's Observation Haki was profound, that he would know exactly how many people were on the ship. But Tokikake had insisted. In this, he was demonstrating a classic trait of the powerhouses in this world: a strange, stubborn insistence on their own way of doing things. Every single one of them, from Whitebeard's desire for a "family" to Kaido's obsession with a grand death, was driven by a unique, unyielding desire.
Kaito wasn't sure if this abnormal psychology was in some way linked to their great strength, but he was certain that this Admiral Candidate was one of them.
Splash!
The warship cut through the waves, quickly leaving the rest of the fleet behind. After it had built up enough speed, Tokikake leaped back onto the deck. He looked up at the sky and roared.
"Enel! Surrender and be captured!" His voice echoed across the sea.
Gion and the others were watching from ten nautical miles away, ready to intervene. At the same time, Vergo and his men had already split off, preparing to infiltrate Skuld Island under the cover of the battle to investigate the [City of Gold]. This was the Marines' initial plan.
Kaito was indifferent. He knew that Headquarters, under pressure from the World Government, needed to confirm if [El Dorado] was real before they committed to a full-scale operation. But this strategy was just a dangerous gamble. If Tokikake was defeated quickly, this entire elite fleet would be annihilated.
RUMBLE…
The sky began to thunder.
Dalmatian's feet transformed into canine paws. He had activated his Devil Fruit, entering his man-beast form. All of them were staring at the sky. In their Observation Haki, a sense of extreme danger was enveloping them.
BZZT!
The next moment, blue-white electricity began to crackle in the air. Tokikake looked up, his eyes scanning the sky. He saw it. A massive bolt of lightning, formed from the sky itself, was descending.
He vanished.
CRACKLE!
A blinding light white-washed their vision.
"Marines. It seems you have not yet learned how to respect a God."
Enel's form flickered, then solidified. He was bare-chested, the great tomoe-drums on his back, his earlobes hanging to his chest. He was sitting cross-legged in the air, his expression one of pure indifference. He was not surprised by their arrival.
WHOOSH!
Tokikake instantly appeared in front of Enel, his fist, blackened with Armament Haki, flying toward his chest.
BZZT!
Enel's body dissolved into electricity. Tokikake, his feet pumping against the air dozens of times, instantly appeared in the path of a retreating bolt of lightning. Enel, who had just reformed, saw the fist coming.
BOOM!
The air itself exploded as Tokikake's punch landed, and Enel's head shattered.
In the distance, the other Vice Admirals saw this. "Did he get him?!" Dalmatian was about to move in to support, but in the next second, an intense flash of lightning exploded.
Tokikake, his body smoking and charred, was sent falling from the sky.
Kaito turned away. He calmly walked to the side of the ship, grabbed a lifeboat, and tossed it into the sea.
Hina frowned. "You're going to the island?"
Kaito nodded. He then looked at the ambitious woman. "If the Marines are going to launch a full-scale assault, you should advise them to wait... seven days."
He then followed Vergo's infiltration team, leaping from the ship and disappearing into the sea-mist that had been generated by the electrical storm.
In the distance, Tokikake, having fallen into the ocean, shot back up into the air. He was fleeing, but his face was calm. This Enel's Devil Fruit was too powerful. Even with his level of Armament, he had almost been killed instantly.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The other Vice Admirals appeared, using Moonwalk to join him. Tokikake knew his own strength was roughly on par with a Warlord, perhaps stronger than the weakest, but weaker than the top-tier. He had known, after hearing Doflamingo had been defeated, that he couldn't win one-on-one. But he hadn't been alone. The Marines… had always been masters of overwhelming their opponents.
BOOM!
Dalmatian charged, his fist punching a hole in the air, and then he was gone. Gion's hair came alive, her [Life Return] technique pulling multiple swords from their sheaths as she unleashed a flurry of flying-sword attacks. The Vice Admirals' Observation Haki was strong, and their movements were fast. Enel's lightning strikes were all dodged.
Enel, finding his mind-reading ability less effective in a group fight, was getting annoyed. He spread his arms.
"Sixty Million Volts. El Thor!"
A massive sphere of electricity enveloped the area. The Vice Admirals instantly used Moonwalk to escape, but Enel had already used the opening to gain distance. He raised his right hand. The electrical particles from all his missed attacks, which were still lingering in the air, began to glow.
Tokikake, sensing this, remembered Hina and Kaito's warning. "Look out! It's that attack!"
Dalmatian's heart sank. The range of this ability… among all the Logia users he had ever seen, only Admiral Aokiji could compare. The Vice Admirals exchanged a look. They all kicked off the air and dove, straight into the ocean.
SPLASH!
The moment they hit the water, the terrifying [Raigo] descended, and the entire sea, for dozens of nautical miles, was electrolyzed.
For a normal lightning strike, being in the water would be useless. But against this, it was their only chance. A Logia user's attack could affect the sea, but their elemental body could not enter it. Just as Aokiji could freeze the ocean but not become it, Enel's lightning could not spread beneath the surface.
Diving into the sea, they were still hit by the conducted electricity, but they were not flash-broiled by the atmospheric plasma. Dalmatian, as a Devil Fruit user, instantly lost his strength. Gion grabbed him, and the others, their Armament HTaki flaring, shielded him.
CRACKLE!
The lightning surged through the water. They all seized up, but they did not lose consciousness. The next moment, they kicked off the water and shot back into the air. Dalmatian, though weakened, quickly recovered.
Enel, seeing them all still alive, his face turned dark. "Don't you mortals know that it is a mercy to die by the will of God?"
To Tokikake's horror, Enel raised his hand again. The electrical particles in the air began to glow. "This ability… it has no limit?!"
At the same time, Enel laughed. "Did you really think that by keeping me busy, those bugs you sent to the island would have a good ending? Did that woman Hina not tell you… about the legend of the ghosts? Yahahahaha…"
CRACKLE! BOOM!
Kaito, rowing his raft, once again approached the beach. He looked back at the incandescent light that was once again washing out his vision, then turned and left. Perhaps, next time, they really will send an Admiral.
He suppressed his heartbeat, his breathing, and his pulse, entering his "hidden" state. But at that moment, a new, cold wind began to blow. A thick, white fog, which was not from the lightning strike, was rolling in from the open sea, as if to swallow the entire world.
KAccesshe fog, and his vision was instantly obscured. Vergo and his elite team, who had been on the same beach, had vanished. Not just from his sight. Even his acute hearing could no longer detect their presence.
Hooo…
Kaito let out a small breath. A white mist appeared. The temperature here was abnormally low.
He blinked. And then he saw a familiar figure condensing in the fog. It was "Captain Coby." But this time, he was not alone. Behind him, in the mist, Kaito could see hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other ghosts, all following the fog, all marching toward the mountain that held the city of gold.
Kaito's eyes narrowed.
This world… has a serious problem.
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Guys We cross the 200 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 300 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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