On the sea, two medium-sized warships collided. Pirates flying black sails and Marines under the seagull flag tore into each other.
"Charge!!"
"Hold the formation!"
The leading pirate captain was a Zoan-Type Devil Fruit user. His body swelled several times after activating his ability, his skin turning a gray-blue color.
"It's a Devil Fruit User!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The pirate captain, transformed into a hippopotamus, charged headlong forward.
The Marines' bullets got stuck in the hippo-man's thick fat and rough skin, unable to penetrate further.
"That hurts, you bastards!"
The hippo-man rushed into the Marine ranks amidst the gunfire, casually throwing punches that sent several rifle-wielding Marines flying.
"Hahaha... The Marines are nothing special!"
At that moment, a plume of white smoke rapidly extended from the side, with a muscular upper body at its tip.
Smoker, with his spiky hair, slammed the Seastone-tipped jutte in his hand hard onto the hippo-man's forehead.
Contact with the Seastone caused the hippo-man's strength to rapidly fade.
"It's... it's [White Hunter]!"
The surrounding pirates lost their will to fight as soon as they saw the smoky figure.
It was clear Smoker's reputation in these waters was not small.
Just then, a few pirates and Marines suddenly stopped their actions, staring dumbfounded at the sky.
This behavior quickly spread to others, and they gradually ceased fighting as well.
"My god..."
Tashigi, Smoker's subordinate, after subduing a pirate with her sword, noticed the state of those around her and looked in the same direction.
"Is that… a meteor?"
In the sky, a straight pillar of light pierced through the heavens, dividing the entire sky into two parts.
"There's no meteor like that."
Smoker walked over, smoking a cigar. The pirate captain had already been knocked unconscious by him.
"That direction..."
Many others witnessed this scene as well.
Although strange celestial phenomena were not uncommon on the Grand Line, most were concentrated over a single island.
A 'pillar of heaven' like this, with no end in sight, spanning the entire sky, was unprecedented in history.
That day, countless residents, pirates, and Marines on the Grand Line jointly witnessed this miraculous celestial phenomenon.
Sabaody Archipelago.
The residents here had recently heard news that the 'Holy Land' of the Celestial Dragons on the nearby Red Line had been attacked again.
This news spread as if it had wings, causing countless people to gloat or panic.
But soon, undercover World Government's agents hidden among the population discovered the news.
They didn't resort to the simple, rough method of suppressing the news outright. Instead, they added numerous obviously fake details to it.
With truth and falsehood mixed together, everyone soon dismissed it all as fake news.
This was their clever approach.
Just as the government personnel handling this mess breathed a sigh of relief, a terrifying beam of light from an unknown distance struck the Red Line once more.
This time, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of eyes personally witnessed it.
A terrifying, divine punishment-like pillar of light crashed into the Red Line.
Anything it contacted was instantly vaporized… nothing could obstruct it.
This was followed by a violent explosion and the collapse of earth and rock.
Whether it was the Celestial Dragons' good luck, or the fact that an attack spanning thousands of nautical miles demanded extremely high precision...
Naruto had only 'roughly' calibrated the firing direction using the Eternal Pose. At such distances, the slightest angular deviation could result in a vastly different impact point.
Precisely aligning a laser beam to connect two points so far apart was as difficult as performing surgery on an ant using an excavator.
Although it didn't hit Mary Geoise directly, the terrifying energy flow still carved a giant fissure through the Red Line.
This time, no one needed to spread the news… the seismic vibrations caused by the structural damage could even be felt on Sabaody Archipelago.
Watching the ripples forming in her wine glass, Shakky stroked her chin and said to Rayleigh beside her,
"Are you really not going to 'evacuate'?"
When the tremors occurred, some panic broke out among the residents of Sabaody Archipelago.
Some even spread rumors that 'the Red Line is collapsing'.
The roaring sounds and vibrations from ten thousand meters high couldn't be faked. Even many pirates and gangs entrenched on Sabaody chose to temporarily withdraw.
Thanks to this, the already struggling business at the Shakky's Rip-off Bar became even more deserted.
Hearing this, Rayleigh just shook his head, then took a few sips from his glass and said,
"I have a feeling this situation is definitely related to that kid."
As he spoke, Rayleigh pointed towards the sky, indicating the high-energy laser still continuously 'digging' into the Red Line.
"Hehe, perhaps."
Shakky threw the glass Rayleigh used into the sink, then asked while washing it,
"What about that Straw Hat kid and his crew?"
"Still training… but they still have a long way to go."
Saying this, Rayleigh put his cloak back on, ready to leave.
"Time is running out..."
Shakky's voice was replaced by the roaring noise after Rayleigh left the bar.
'Hasn't it stopped yet?'
Rayleigh looked up, watching the energy torrent that had lasted nearly ten minutes still showing no signs of dissipating.
"It's really exaggerated."
…
Impel Down.
After completely releasing all the energy absorbed within his body, Naruto's form reverted to its original Otsutsuki State.
Then he once again manipulated his body to change, suppressing most of the Otsutsuki's racial characteristics.
"Phew… This still looks better."
Looking at his flesh-toned skin again, Naruto tied up his loose hair, then took out new clothes from his seal space and changed into them.
-Luckily, he had prepared last time, making many identical clothes in advance.
Perhaps this was the good habit of a veteran protagonist. Otherwise, how did those protagonists who wore the same clothes for hundreds of episodes manage their laundry?
Tap.
Naruto took a step in the sky, and the next moment, his figure appeared on the Gale Breaker.
"So, why didn't you submerge?"
Naruto, arms crossed, tilted his head to look at everyone. Beside him, Karin was steering the Gale Breaker towards the Gate of Justice, her eyes darting around, whistling a soundless tune.
"And what is this?"
Naruto looked at the bloody, mangled mess on the deck.
"Ah, that guy kept shouting something earlier, and then he was-"
Konohamaru popped up from somewhere, ready to explain to Naruto, but Karin flashed beside him and covered his mouth.
"Ahahaha, nothing happened. He suddenly turned into this state all by himself."
Sasuke saw this and walked over.
Watching Naruto, who had pulled out a stick from somewhere and was poking at the bloody mass, he asked,
"What's wrong? Do you still need to interrogate him for information?"
In fact, as soon as Naruto nailed Shamrock's head to the deck, Sasuke had tried to hypnotize him using his Mangekyo Sharingan.
But unfortunately, even ignoring Shamrock's own strong mental power, there was another force within his body 'protecting' his mind, blocking Sasuke's Genjutsu.
After Sasuke shared this discovery, Naruto just waved his hand.
"It seems that guy left some safeguards on his subordinates. Can't blame you for that."
Pulling out Mushoukou, wiping the blood off it, Naruto finally threw the flesh and blood that was Shamrock into the sea.
"...I wanted him to deliver a message, but... never mind."
Clapping his hands, Naruto took over the steering from Karin.
The Gate of Justice remained wide open, as if the prison personnel responsible for operating it hadn't recovered from the earlier series of events.
"Warden, should we stop them?"
At that moment, Domino approached Magellan and asked.
Magellan, who had just returned to the surface from the underwater level, watched the receding Gale Breaker in silence, and finally shook his head.
"Forget it. No need for unnecessary sacrifices."
With the Warden's order, the other guards also breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, dealing with a god-like being like that was far beyond their capabilities.
After giving the order, Magellan took off his Warden's hat and clenched it tightly.
The high-ranking World Government's officials had wanted to kill them all along with the prisoners, yet it was the jailbreaker who saved them in the end.
Coupled with his earlier act, under orders, of having to personally kill everyone in Level 6...
This sense of contradiction filled Magellan's heart, violently shaking his principles.
'What, exactly, is justice?'
At this moment, Magellan fell into complete confusion. Perhaps he wouldn't put on that Warden's hat again until he figured it out.