All the cannons began to disassemble, then reassemble into an even larger barrel.
On the Navy ship, on the Whitebeard ship, and on Doflamingo's ship, everyone's eyes widened, their pupils trembling violently.
Such a colossal cannon was something none of them had ever seen in their lives.
"It can even disassemble and reassemble…" Marco was truly shocked.
It reminded him of someone from many years ago—Roger's right-hand man, Barrett.
His Devil Fruit ability was very similar.
Could it be that the person inside this fortress also had some similar Devil Fruit?
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Seeing that this gigantic cannon could rival the Moby Dick in size, Marco shouted: "Hurry! Get out of here!"
If they got caught in the blast, probably only he—"the Undying Bird"—would survive on the entire ship.
On Doflamingo's side, he was just as shaken, staring at the giant cannon.
But unlike the others, Doflamingo was more excited—because he'd had the longest contact with the being inside the fortress. At this point, no force in the world was closer to the fortress than him.
The stronger the fortress's firepower, the more valuable all his "gifts" over the past few days became.
"Hahahaha! As expected, my choice is never wrong. Working with an independent force is the best!"
Behind the sunglasses, his eyes were blazing with ambition.
Still, he ordered his crew to back away quickly—if they got caught in this blast, they were dead.
On the Navy warship, Peach Rabbit's pupils trembled. She stared with disbelief.
"This firepower already surpasses the Navy…"
Her adjutant and all the Marines didn't wait for orders—they immediately turned the ship around and fled at full speed.
They were terrified.
That unprecedented cannon began to charge. Energy gathered inside the pitch-black muzzle, forming a beam. Then—
A massive azure beam erupted outward like a dragon's breath, the air trembling as energy raged across the sea.
The moment the three ships sensed the wave of destruction, all of them pushed their vessels to maximum speed.
The energy beam struck the ocean.
A massive explosion bloomed from beneath the sea, boiling the waters from the inside out, sending a thousand-meter-high tsunami into the sky.
The waves formed towering water pillars.
Even though Doflamingo, Marco, and Peach Rabbit had reacted quickly and fled the area, they were still caught in the shockwave.
Doflamingo and Marco's sides fared better—they had been farther away. But the Navy warship was almost overturned several times, like a leaf caught in a storm.
Many Marines couldn't stand and were swept into the ocean.
"Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit! At this rate—even with a seastone hull—our warship can't survive this!"
Peach Rabbit gritted her teeth, drawing her blade Kinpira and slashing wildly toward the waves to help stabilize the ship.
After more than ten minutes, once everything finally calmed down, Peach Rabbit's entire body was soaked, hair a mess. She collapsed on the deck, gasping heavily.
"Fi… finally survived…"
She was utterly exhausted. Fending off the massive tsunami had consumed nearly all her strength—she had no combat power left.
If the ship hadn't escaped quickly, the huge energy beam would've killed her outright, destroying the warship entirely. The Navy would've lost a future admiral candidate.
Just as she was catching her breath, Marines around her exclaimed one after another.
"L-look over there!"
"T-the sea…"
"There's a giant hole!!!"
Everyone looked.
There, on the ocean surface, was a gigantic pit—more than a full mile wide—into which seawater was continually collapsing. The hole wasn't closing at all.
All Marines froze in terror.
"If that hit us… we wouldn't even have had corpses left…"
Peach Rabbit felt fear from deep inside her chest. She finally understood:
The firepower of this fortress was not something she—a single Vice Admiral—could possibly handle.
Marco and Doflamingo were also staring wide-eyed.
Everyone was once again forced to reevaluate the fortress's firepower.
"A force that dares to use such power even against the Navy and a Yonko crew… if they wanted, they could absolutely dominate part of the New World…"
Marco inhaled deeply.
He looked at the fortress again, expression solemn.
Who exactly was inside?
Firepower like this… even Vegapunk might not be able to build it…
On the warship, Peach Rabbit let out a bitter laugh.
She had fully realized that she alone could not confront this fortress. Accepting defeat, she ordered:
"Retreat… exit their territory."
Fortunately, Vegapunk's seastone-hulled warships were sturdy. Despite being heavily damaged, the ship could still sail.
Doflamingo watched the Marines flee in embarrassment and burst into laughter.
"Peach Rabbit, I warned you! But you wouldn't listen…"
"Heh! Women really do behave better only after being taught a lesson, hm?"
Peach Rabbit glared at him viciously. If she weren't exhausted, she'd definitely teach him a lesson later.
Fine—she'd complain to Granny Tsuru later.
Ignoring Doflamingo, Peach Rabbit felt a wave of frustration.
The Fleet Admiral told her to investigate the island… but what investigation? She couldn't even get close!
This fortress had stronger firepower than the Navy. Even the Pacifistas under development probably couldn't match this.
Wait… Sengoku said before that Doflamingo had obtained a powerful new weapon. Could it be from this fortress?
Then… that means this fortress is willing to trade, as long as one doesn't show hostility.
Her lips curved slightly.
If the Navy could obtain this technology and give it to the scientific division for research… once the principles were understood, the Navy could build cannons like these in the future…
The thought lit a fire in her eyes.
She stood again and called out loudly:
"Sir inside the fortress, the earlier conflict was my fault. The Navy has no malicious intentions…"
"We hope to establish cooperation with you!"
—------------------------------
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