Peach Rabbit could hardly believe the force inside the fortress dared to fire on her, a Vice Admiral.
And that only made her more determined to uncover the truth about this fortress.
Despite the looming threat of the colossal cannon, she refused to leave.
Seeing their Vice Admiral unmoved, the Marines behind her swallowed hard, praying a battle wouldn't break out.
If it did, not even nine lives would save them from that monstrosity of a cannon.
Peach Rabbit stepped forward again and raised her voice:
"Sir, please show some leniency! Just speak with me for a moment!"
The fortress offered no reply.
Its silence made its stance clear—
Rejection.
Her irritation spiked.
As a general candidate, a respected top-tier commander, she wasn't used to being ignored — especially not twice.
She could tolerate being brushed aside once.
But this fortress had ignored her again and again, in front of her own troops, not giving her an ounce of face.
What infuriated her more was—
When Doflamingo and Marco were here, the fortress didn't fire. But the moment she arrived, it immediately threatened her with cannon fire.
Blatant discrimination.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
Her tone hardened:
"I am hereby announcing, in my capacity as Vice Admiral of the Navy — I will investigate this fortress!"
"If you refuse, the Navy will brand you as evil!"
After declaring this, she turned to her soldiers:
"Advance!"
"T–T–Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit… are you serious?"
Her adjutant trembled.
That oversized, pitch-black cannon mouth looked like a guillotine hanging over their necks.
"Are you doubting my strength?"
Peach Rabbit's voice went cold.
The adjutant didn't dare speak again.
"Advance! Investigate the fortress!"
Then—
BOOOOM!!!
A thunderous roar tore through the sea.
Everyone's hearts lurched.
Marco whipped his head toward the fortress, stunned:
"T—they really fired…"
"They actually have the nerve to attack a Marine Vice Admiral?"
Mork's decisiveness shocked Marco.
To strike a Vice Admiral meant outright hostility toward the Navy.
Now he was even more curious about the fortress — and the cannon's true power.
Doflamingo, on the other hand, looked utterly helpless.
He told her to back off.
She didn't.
Now things were spiraling out of control — and his long-term plans might all unravel.
He quickly ordered his officers to move their ship farther away to avoid getting caught in the blast.
On the Marine ship, Peach Rabbit's face darkened.
"They actually dared to fire…"
"Are they really unafraid of the Navy?"
"Bastards!"
But it wasn't the time to complain — survival came first.
Her Marines were pale, trembling as the massive projectile barreled toward them.
Their puny ship cannons couldn't do anything against that.
"Vice Admiral! What do we do?!"
Peach Rabbit ignored them.
Her expression iced over; her gaze sharpened.
She reached for the sword at her hip.
With a metallic shing, Kinpira flashed into view — Peach Rabbit's personal blade.
She launched herself into the air, rising high above the ship.
Facing the incoming shell, she felt no panic.
She raised her blade—
"Peach-Colored… Soul Severing Slash!"
Armament Haki surged along the blade.
A massive blade of compressed energy tore forward toward the giant shell.
The two collided—
BOOOOOM!!!
A blinding explosion lit the sky.
Layers upon layers of fire swallowed the air.
The shockwave churned the sea violently below.
Peach Rabbit was thrown back, blasted downward, but she managed to land firmly on the deck.
Her face was smudged with soot, but she smirked:
"A giant shell is nothing more than that."
Behind her, Marines erupted into relieved cheers.
"Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit is incredible!"
"I thought we were going to be fish food!"
"Hahaha! Truly worthy of being a general candidate!"
"That slash must've terrified whoever's inside that fortress! They must regret not accepting your conversation earlier!"
"Yeah!!"
Morale soared.
On Marco's ship, he wasn't surprised she blocked it.
"The power is impressive… but for a swordsman, deflecting a long-range shell isn't impossible."
"Up close, it might injure her — but this is far from overwhelming."
Doflamingo heard the Marines celebrating and shook his head.
His grin widened.
"So naïve."
"If that's all the fortress could do, why would I acknowledge them?"
"What I, Doflamingo, set my sights on… must be far beyond this."
He watched with anticipation.
Then—
Dozens… no—
Hundreds of missile tubes slid out from the fortress.
The same weapons used to wipe out Blackbeard earlier.
Doflamingo's eyes lit up.
"It begins!"
Marco and Peach Rabbit both stiffened.
"This level of firepower…" Marco murmured.
Even with his Phoenix regeneration, advancing under that barrage would be nearly impossible.
Peach Rabbit's smirk vanished.
Her expression tightened.
One large cannon was manageable.
But hundreds?
Her scalp tingled.
Behind her, the Marines froze as the countless black muzzles locked onto them.
"V-Vice Admiral… maybe we should… retreat…"
"Let's call HQ and return with more forces!"
Peach Rabbit snorted sharply.
"Retreat?"
"Today, this old lady is fighting to the very end!"
Inside the fortress, Mork sighed helplessly.
"What a stubborn woman…"
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