Without Kizaru blocking his way, Ronan once again walked straight toward the Celestial Dragons. Just as he was about to make a move, five powerful auras suddenly flared, erupting around him and cutting off every path of retreat!
They were the five elite vice admirals of Marine Headquarters who had come with Kizaru—Doberman, Onigumo, Strawberry, Yamakaji, and Momonga!
These five were all among the strongest of the Marine Vice Admirals. The pressure they released together was like five towering mountains, all crashing down toward Ronan in the center!
"King of Lulusia, Ronan!" Doberman's voice was icy cold. "Do not take another step. Surrender quietly!"
The battlefield was growing more chaotic by the second. Even an admiral like Kizaru had been held up by his opponent. At this moment, their idea was simple: capture Ronan. Right now there were no other guards at his side. If they could seize him, they might be able to bring this chaos to an end as quickly as possible.
Faced with the encirclement of five top-tier vice admirals, Ronan's expression did not change. Instead, a small figure suddenly appeared at his side without the slightest warning.
She had short, deep-blue hair, and a pair of black cat ears on top of her head. It was Neferpitou.
Her appearance was so abrupt that the pupils of all five vice admirals contracted at almost the exact same moment! They hadn't even seen how this woman had shown up!
"Cat ears… an Animal-type Devil Fruit user?" Strawberry muttered subconsciously. In their eyes, such inhuman traits had to be the manifestation of some Zoan-type power.
Neferpitou's ruby-like eyes did not even spare the five powerful Marine vice admirals a proper glance. Her gaze remained fixed on Ronan, full of absolute intent to protect. As for the "bugs" who dared surround her "King," she had only the simplest thought in her heart—erase them.
"King, allow Pitou to help you clear away these noisy bugs?" Pitou asked Ronan respectfully. But the content of her words made all five vice admirals' faces turn instantly dark.
"Arrogant!" The hot-tempered Yamakaji was the first to lose control. His long sword, wrapped in Armament Haki, thrust straight toward Neferpitou!
However, just as his attack was unleashed, Neferpitou's figure vanished from where she had been standing!
The next instant, she appeared behind Vice Admiral Yamakaji.
"Careful!" Momonga shouted a warning, but it was already too late.
Pitou casually lifted her right leg and lashed out like a whip.
"Boom!!!"
A thunderous crash rang out.
Yamakaji's entire body was sent flying in an instant! Pain twisted his face as a mouthful of blood sprayed wildly from his lips, and he finally crashed into a pile of rubble with a heavy smash!
The surroundings fell deathly silent.
An elite Marine Vice Admiral had actually… been sent flying by a single kick?! He hadn't even managed a meaningful defense before being completely overwhelmed by her speed and power!
Momonga's expression grew incomparably grim. With a sharp "clang," he drew the sword at his waist. The blade was instantly coated in Armament Haki as he locked onto Neferpitou.
"Be careful! Her strength and speed are both extremely bizarre! Don't hold back!"
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, his body had already blurred into an afterimage, driving his thrust straight toward Neferpitou's throat!
Faced with this vicious strike, Neferpitou didn't even bother to dodge. She merely tilted her body slightly, letting the Haki-coated tip of the blade graze past the side of her neck.
At the same time, her right hand was already fully covered in jet-black Armament Haki as it reached for Momonga's sword-wielding wrist.
A shrill alarm rang in Momonga's mind. He tried to block.
"Clang!"
A force with terrifying penetrating power surged through the sword into his arm, numbing his wrist. In that very instant, Neferpitou's other hand shot out and clamped down on the elbow joint of his sword arm!
"Crack!"
The bone-splitting sound made one's teeth ache just to hear it.
"Urgh—!" Momonga let out a muffled groan of pain as his entire right arm twisted into a grotesque angle. His sword slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
He forced himself to endure the agony and tried to retreat, but Neferpitou was even faster. The hand gripping his arm yanked downward while her knee drove viciously into his abdomen!
"Pff!"
Momonga's eyes bulged, another mouthful of blood spewing from his mouth as that knee strike launched him off his feet. He flew through the air and crashed heavily in the distance, losing all ability to continue fighting.
In just a brief span of time, two elite vice admirals—one was heavily injured, the other completely incapacitated!
Strawberry felt his scalp go numb at the sight. He finally realized that this cat-eared woman was on an entirely different level from any opponent they had faced before! Without hesitation, he drew his twin swords and charged straight at Neferpitou!
At the same time, Yamakaji, who had been sent flying earlier, struggled up from the rubble. Though blood still dripped from the corner of his mouth, the fury in his eyes drove him to roar and charge back into the fray once more!
For a moment, Neferpitou fought Strawberry and the wounded Yamakaji all by herself, driving both vice admirals into a frantic, perilous struggle. Thanks to her overwhelming capacity to learn mid-battle, Strawberry and Yamakaji found it harder and harder to resist with every passing exchange.
Meanwhile, in front of Ronan, only Doberman and Stainless remained.
Doberman stared at Ronan with a cold gaze, preparing to team up with Stainless to take him down. Just then, three rough, raspy voices rang out.
"Doberman! I'm your opponent!"
A figure stepped between Doberman and Ronan. The newcomer had long purple hair and a vicious look in his eyes. It was the former Marine Headquarters rear admiral and Soft-Candy Fruit user—Gasparde!
Doberman looked at Gasparde, a trace of disgust and killing intent flashing through his eyes.
"Gasparde… you traitor to the Marines. So you really have sunk to the point of running with these rebels. Since you've come seeking death, I'll start by cleaning house!"
...
Stainless also recognized Gasparde, his brows knitting tightly.
"Gasparde, you were once a Marine commodore with a brilliant future ahead of you. Why choose to aid villains?"
"Aid villains?" Gasparde sneered. "All I know is that whoever gives me dignity and a chance, that's who I'll work for! The World Government? The Marines? Heh, just a bunch of hypocritical frauds! Enough talk, Doberman—fight me!"
Before his words even finished echoing, Gasparde had already launched his attack. His right arm swelled and softened, transforming into a massive soft-candy warhammer that howled through the air as it smashed down toward Doberman!
"Stubborn fool!" Doberman roared angrily, choosing not to retreat. His fist, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, slammed straight into the soft-candy warhammer!
Boom!
The soft-candy warhammer caved in and deformed under the force of Doberman's punch, but its pliant texture absorbed a huge portion of the impact, keeping it from being shattered outright.
Doberman's combat experience was immense. His fists immediately followed up with a flurry of blows toward Gasparde's body. Forced by the relentless assault, Gasparde had no choice but to turn multiple parts of his body into soft candy to block the strikes.
Although Gasparde's ability was strange, Doberman was after all an old-guard elite vice admiral. Among the vice admirals he ranked near the top; his mastery of Haki and physical arts was solid to an extreme. Under Doberman's unrestrained onslaught, Gasparde could only rely on the quirks of his Devil Fruit just to barely keep up. Bit by bit he was pushed onto the back foot. Defeat was only a matter of time.
(End of Chapter)
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