At Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Sengoku, after hearing the report, held his forehead with a grim expression.
"Is it that brat again? Always causing trouble. What exactly is going on with that family?!"
Angering the Celestial Dragons meant another Admiral had to be dispatched. Sengoku felt helpless about wasting Admiral-level combat power on such matters.
A nearby officer replied, "According to intelligence, besides Straw Hat Luffy, there are also Eustass Kid, Trafalgar Law, and more than five other pirates with bounties over 100 million Berries present at the scene."
"…"
After hearing the report, Borsalino, who was sitting nearby, leisurely took a sip of tea.
"No matter what, attacking the World Nobles is something we can't ignore, can we, Sengoku-san?"
Hearing the voice, Sengoku turned in disbelief, looking at Borsalino who was standing up.
Could it be that this guy, who usually only knew how to clock in and out, and was always looking for excuses to take leave, had finally come to his senses today!?
Sengoku felt a surge of excitement. This was great. At this critical juncture, Borsalino was finally stepping up.
Borsalino said, "I'll go. I'll be back soon, don't worry."
Without a second thought, Sengoku immediately approved.
Borsalino gave a mysterious smile, then slowly walked out of the room.
...
At the border between Zone 2 and Zone 1.
Renji and Miguel flew by quickly. With the Heavenly Six Eyes upgraded to Lv. 3, long-duration aerial flight was now possible.
"There are actually pirates who dare to attack the Celestial Dragons. What do you think, boss?"
As Miguel exclaimed, he suddenly caught sight of a huge boulder hurtling towards them.
"Boss, watch out!"
Renji grabbed Miguel and vanished with a "Swish!" in mid-air.
On the ground in the distance, a figure resembling a small giant maintained the posture of having just thrown a boulder. Behind him were white wings.
Urouge laughed. "This flying Marine actually dodged it."
"It's my first time seeing a flying Marine. As expected, places close to Marineford are different."
Miguel, who had landed back on the ground, finally got a clear look at the person who had attacked them, and his expression instantly became extremely serious.
"He is the pirate, 'Mad Monk' Urouge, with a bounty of 180,000,000 Berries."
"Boss, watch…"
Swallowing the rest of his words, Miguel, who was about to remind Renji, immediately felt he was overthinking it. Renji had just solo-killed Scratchmen Apoo without taking any damage. That guy's bounty was even 18,000,000 Berries higher than Mad Monk Urouge's.
Renji remained silent, merely walking towards Urouge with a slightly darkened expression. He had just managed to show off, and this idiot interrupted him.
Are the people in this world really this crazy?
An Admiral was coming, and they weren't running. Instead, they had the leisure to attack a small Marine like him?
But then again…
"A bounty of 180,000,000 Berries, huh? He's practically delivering himself to me."
Renji smiled faintly, choosing to magnanimously forgive Urouge.
"Haha! What did you say? You look young, but your tone isn't small. Are you implying that a mere Petty Officer intends to arrest me?" Urouge laughed, clearly not taking Renji seriously.
This was normal. As a pirate with a bounty nearing 200 million Berries, the number of Marine Petty Officers he had killed was countless. How could he consider Renji an opponent?
Renji didn't answer, merely staring coldly at the man before him. He wouldn't let go of this walking 18,000 bounty points for anything.
This guy's ability seemed to be some kind of cause and effect?
Renji couldn't quite remember, only recalling that he grew stronger when taking damage, and this guy looked tough. Even a seemingly scrawny Supernova like Apoo was incredibly resilient, this guy was probably even more absurd.
Luffy was still waiting to be arrested, so he couldn't waste too much time here.
With that thought, Renji extended a finger, a dazzling red light suddenyl glowing. Immense Cursed Energy instantly surged through the area.
Renji's heart stirred at the sight. The power after this upgrade… the effect seemed quite good.
The red glow gradually intensified. Urouge chuckled, raised his fist, and charged towards Renji.
"Kid, no one is stupid enough to just stand there and wait for you to make your move."
Before he could finish speaking, the red orb had already flashed out. Its speed was so great that even a Supernova like Urouge had no time to react.
In less than a blink of an eye, Red had already entered Urouge's body.
The next second, Urouge's eyes widened. The blinding red light completely engulfed his mountain-like body, and an incredibly violent roar echoed throughout the entire area.
Boom!
Gale winds swept through, and the earth trembled.
The howling winds even blew Miguel, who was behind Renji, back a few steps. However, Renji himself, protected by Infinity, was completely unaffected.
"This… Is this the move that blew away Vice Admiral Yamakaji?!"
Miguel looked at the swirling winds through the gaps in his fingers in astonishment. After being knocked out by Renji at the training camp that day, he hadn't witnessed Red's power.
Now it seemed that Vice Admiral Yamakaji, who faced that blow, was indeed a true man. It was just a pity his beard was burned off.
The raging smoke and wind did not obstruct Renji's vision. Through the observation of his Heavenly Six Eyes, he could clearly see Urouge lying on the ground, gasping for breath, with a bloody chest and erratic aura. He was clearly severely injured.
The power of the instantly cast Red (Lv. 3) had exceeded the maximum output of Red (Lv. 2) and back then, it had the 50% boost from Innate Fighter. According to Renji's estimation, even a Marineford Vice Admiral would find it hard to dodge the current Red, at least Yamakaji couldn't.
Just as Renji was about to deliver the finishing blow, within the perception range of his Heavenly Six Eyes, a figure with a somewhat familiar aura quietly approached.
[Ding! Detecting Host's current situation, new selection has appeared!]
[Choice One: You, supremely confident in your strength, immediately kill Urouge and also kill Basil Hawkins who is rushing over.
Reward: Swordsmanship level increased to Lv. 2]
[Choice Two: You feel the odds are not great, choose to spare Urouge, and turn to kill Basil Hawkins who is rushing over.
Reward: Combat Instinct (Lv. 1)]
[Choice Three: You feel now is not the time to show off your strength, and choose to retreat.
Reward: Prestige level drops to 1]
Looking at the last option, Renji chuckled.
Who would be stupid enough to choose that?