"Who are you?"
Koala suddenly rushed forward and stood protectively between Sabo and the man before them.
She recognized the uniform—this man was clearly from Jun Lin. But...
Based on what he had just said, and the name Sabo called out before losing consciousness, she could pretty much guess what was happening.
Sabo had started to recover his memories—and he recognized this man.
"Who am I?"
"I'm his brother!"
Ace shot her a glance as he spoke.
"You're really Sabo's brother?"
"Of course! What do you think I'm doing here? And didn't you notice? Jun Lin's bombardment has stopped."
"Wait, the bombardment stopped? Isn't that because of Commander Dragon?"
"Use your head. You think he alone could stop Jun Lin? That's impossible."
Ace said irritably.
He had seen Dragon earlier, but the guy had been completely tied down by Mihawk, unable to spare even a second to deal with Jun Lin's fleet.
That Mihawk guy… was no joke.
Ace had seen him spar with Zoro before. Just one move—one strike—and Zoro was down.
And Zoro was someone who could go toe-to-toe with him now.
With such a monster in the way, Dragon couldn't do a damn thing.
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
Koala looked up at Ace and bit her lip.
Then she said softly:
"Take him away."
"No need to ask. That was already the plan."
"Good... At least Sabo will survive."
At Ace's reply, the tension drained from Koala's body.
"I heard Sabo just now, telling you to leave and stay alive. But now…"
"You're the one trying everything to keep him alive."
"So… what exactly is your relationship with him?"
Ace's curiosity was piqued.
He even gave a cheeky grin.
Looked like his dumb little brother hadn't been wasting his years after all.
She was small, sure, but her figure had all the right curves.
Not bad, not bad!
He eyed the girl up and down, stroking his chin, and made a decision: he'd take both Sabo and Koala with him.
The only problem was…
He'd left in such a rush, he hadn't thought about how to actually bring them back.
Unlike Luo Lan, he couldn't fly with people while in elemental form.
Oh well. Time to brush up on Moonwalk.
With a quick step forward, he chopped the back of Koala's neck before she could react.
She crumpled to the deck.
Ace then picked up one in each arm, stepped into the air, and began making his way back using Moonwalk.
Some of the Revolutionary Army officers on other ships noticed the commotion.
But they could do nothing.
The distance was too great, and Ace's Moonwalk was far too fast. Plus, they were already exhausted and injured—they couldn't keep up even if they tried.
Not to mention, they couldn't afford to leave their posts.
At any moment, Jun Lin's bombardment could resume.
If they left, thousands of their comrades would be wiped out in an instant.
---
Meanwhile, at Jun Lin's Second Fleet—
No matter what Dragon tried, Mihawk fended him off with nothing more than simple flying slashes.
And yet, Dragon just couldn't get past him to reach Jun Lin's fleet.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more frustrated he became.
And the more frustrated he was, the more mistakes he made.
A vicious cycle.
The good news: Jun Lin had stopped bombarding them.
The bad news: he couldn't break through the fleet.
Which meant they still couldn't break out.
In the end, there wasn't much difference.
This entire battle was being broadcast by a News Coo, transmitting everything across the world.
The Navy was stunned.
So the fleet that had crushed them in the Calm Belt with zero resistance… wasn't even Jun Lin's full strength?
Now the real question loomed:
Were the two fleets revealed so far Jun Lin's entire force?
Even the Five Elders weren't in a rush to order Sengoku into another assault.
They chose to watch and wait.
Things had spiraled completely beyond their control.
Especially with Dragon—why had he gone to confront Jun Lin? And his power level…
Had it skyrocketed?
Sure, he was standing still while attacking, but the range and intensity were absurd.
And then, the live feed changed.
On Mihawk's ship, the secondary cannons—unused until now—began to move.
They all rotated and locked onto Dragon.
Now, both the World Government and Navy knew Dragon's powers well.
They didn't think a few shells would do anything to him.
Then—
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
More than ten dual-purpose anti-air cannons fired in unison.
Shells roared toward Dragon.
With Mihawk keeping him busy, Dragon had no time to intercept the projectiles.
But he wasn't worried.
They were just shells. He could take it.
Before, he only blocked them to protect the Revolutionary Fleet.
Even the electromagnetic railguns hadn't been able to harm him.
So he ignored the barrage and focused on Mihawk.
The shells exploded in a ring around him.
Not a single direct hit—just proximity blasts.
Dragon scoffed and raised his hand, ready to send another wind blade at Mihawk.
But then—
A wave of weakness washed over him.
And his Devil Fruit powers suddenly vanished.
Gone. Just like that.
It didn't take long for him to realize what happened.
"Seastone…"
The next moment, Dragon collapsed from the sky with a splash.
He fell into the ocean.
Jun Lin soldiers, already prepared, dove in after him.
Truth was, this wasn't the first time Luo Lan had used shells laced with seastone powder. On the open sea, this tactic was practically unbeatable.
After all, once a Devil Fruit user breathes it in—even a small amount—they're weakened just long enough to fall into the ocean.
And in the sea...
No matter how strong they are, they become helpless prey.
As for Mihawk, he had also breathed in quite a bit. But…
He wasn't a Devil Fruit user. The seastone powder meant nothing to him—might even strengthen his bones a bit.
Why hadn't they used it earlier?
Simple.
It worked best now—when Dragon was tied up, frustrated, and distracted.
It lowered his guard and increased the chance of success.
In short, Devil Fruit users were often the easiest to neutralize—because of all their convenient weaknesses.
"Ace has successfully left the Revolutionary Fleet. Should we resume bombardment?"
Viola's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Luo Lan shook his head.
"Dragon's been taken. Order the fleet to advance. Capture the remaining Revolutionary officers and any regular soldiers."
"Yes, Marshal!"
After all, some of those officers had pretty useful Devil Fruits.
And those 10,000 new recruits?
They were just duped—hadn't committed any real crimes.
Perfect candidates for 100 days of Jun Lin "re-education."
After that, they'd be loyal Jun Lin soldiers.
Just as Luo Lan finished giving orders...
Brrrring... Brrrring...