c016 Time for revenge!
On the sails of the three small Marine warships, in addition to the Marine's iconic seagull emblem that had been established since the early days of the World Government's navy, there were also three large numbers painted clearly on the canvas"42", "45", and "48" standing out sharply against the white background.
These numbers represented Marine Branch Divisions 42, 45, and 48 respectively, branch bases that were subordinate to a larger regional headquarters and often dispatched to suppress pirates with bounties that had already been recorded in the official Marine intelligence network.
Lin Mu had not expected that the Marines would actually dispatch elite forces from three different branch divisions to encircle him at the same time. This could no longer be described as the Marines merely taking him seriously; judging from the scale of the operation, it was closer to outright hostility and determination to erase him completely from the seas!
Small Marine warships of this class were usually commanded by officers of the rank of Colonel, a standard that had appeared repeatedly since the East Blue chapters, and Lin Mu could only pray inwardly that he would not encounter a freak-level officer like Smoker of Loguetown, a Logia-type user whose Moku Moku no Mi ability made him nearly invincible to ordinary attacks.
At least for now, Lin Mu had absolutely no way to deal with a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, especially one backed by the Marine system and trained in orthodox combat.
"Troisen D. Lin! You have been completely surrounded, there is no escape route left to you, now I will give you one final chance surrender immediately!"
The voice amplified through a Den Den Mushi loudspeaker echoed across the sea from the warship directly in front of Lin Mu. That ship clearly belonged to Marine Branch Division 42, and as the initiator and central position of the encirclement, it was obvious that Division 42 was acting as the commanding force of this joint operation. .
Faced with the Marines' formal call for surrender, Lin Mu had no intention of responding with words. Instead, he calmly raised his hand and extended his middle finger straight toward the warship.
Although the Marines did not understand the exact meaning of this gesture, they could instinctively tell that it definitely did not represent surrender or cooperation.
Seeing this scene, Colonel Charrick, the highest-ranking officer of Marine Branch Division 42, immediately issued a cold and decisive order: "Fugitive Troyson D. Lin refuses to surrender permission granted to execute on the spot!"
Charrick's command was transmitted simultaneously to the other two warships through connected Den Den Mushi. On each of those ships stood a Marine colonel as well, both serving as the highest officers of their respective branch divisions.
Moments later, the three colonels gave the order in unison: "Fire!"
As the command rang out, the three warships, equipped with dozens of cannon emplacements that reflected the standard Marine naval configuration shown throughout the manga, adjusted their angles and locked directly onto Lin Mu's small boat.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Accompanied by a thunderous series of explosions, shell after shell roared through the air, flying toward Lin Mu from three different directions.
At this moment, the distance between the three warships and Lin Mu was less than three hundred meters, and given the speed of Marine artillery shells, it would only take a few seconds for them to crash down beside him.
Unfortunately, the accuracy of naval cannons in the world of pirates had always been questionable, as seen many times in earlier chapters. Not a single one of the first dozen shells hit Lin Mu directly, and all of them plunged into the sea instead.
However, the massive waves stirred up by the cannonballs exploding in the water caused Lin Mu's small boat to sway violently, teetering on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
Moreover, Lin Mu currently lacked any reliable means of blocking or deflecting cannon fire. Once a shell struck his boat head-on, he would be knocked straight into the sea, and that would immediately put him in an extremely dangerous situation!
Rather than waiting passively for destruction, it was far better to seize the initiative and strike first. In battle on the sea, offense was often the best form of defense!
Once he managed to board a Marine warship, Lin Mu refused to believe that the Marines would still dare to fire their cannons recklessly.
After making up his mind, Lin Mu gripped the oars tightly and paddled with all his strength, steering his boat directly toward the warship of Marine Branch Division 42 straight ahead, since it was the closest target, at a distance of just over two hundred meters.
Whether due to Lin Mu's luck or the Marines' consistently poor gunnery skills, the second round of bombardment once again failed to land a single hit on him.
However, after Lin Mu's boat advanced more than fifty meters, his luck finally seemed to run out!
A cannonball screamed in from the right side, and without any unexpected variables, it was clearly going to smash directly into Lin Mu's boat!
After quickly estimating the remaining distance between himself and the warship in front, Lin Mu made his decision without hesitation and burst out of the boat at full speed, relying on Quicksilver's explosive acceleration.
Previously, he had been able to sprint across nearly one hundred meters of sea surface in a single burst, and now, based on his improved physical condition, he should theoretically be able to cover around one hundred and fifty meters just barely enough to allow him to land directly on that Marine warship!
The Marines on the three warships watched as Lin Mu ran directly across the surface of the sea, and the shock in their eyes was so intense that it looked as if their eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets.
What kind of absurd scene was this?
Running on the sea was something that, according to common knowledge established since the early chapters of One Piece, only Devil Fruit users with special abilities like Aokiji's Hie Hie no Mi or masters of extraordinary movement techniques could accomplish. For an ordinary pirate to do this was simply unheard of!
However, as a Marine colonel who had experienced numerous pirate suppressions, Charrick quickly snapped out of his astonishment and immediately roared at the gunners on deck: "Don't freeze up! Aim at him and attack use everything you've got!"
After being shouted at by Charrick, the Marines on the warship finally recovered their composure. Cannon muzzles were hastily adjusted, several shells were fired almost simultaneously toward Lin Mu, and Charrick himself even seized control of a cannon, personally igniting the fuse and launching a shot.
This time, because the distance was extremely close and the shot was fired by Colonel Charrick himself, the cannonball tore through the air with frightening accuracy, charging straight toward Lin Mu!
Seeing that the cannonball could no longer be dodged, Lin Mu reacted instantly. He crossed both arms in front of his body to shield the little fox, and in the very next second, he was struck head-on by the cannonball and blasted directly into the sea.
When they saw Lin Mu fall into the water, the Marines on all three warships simultaneously let out a long breath of relief, and Charrick couldn't help but clap his hands loudly in satisfaction.
"According to our intelligence records, Troyson D. Lin should be a Devil Fruit user. Once a capable person falls into the sea, unless someone rescues him immediately, death is guaranteed. You can send men down to retrieve the body!"
Charrick spoke with visible excitement. Killing Lin Mu not only vented his accumulated resentment, but also meant that a pirate with a bounty of forty million Berry had died by his own hands this was an undeniable military achievement!
He was already eager to draft a report to Marine Headquarters, determined to claim all the credit for himself and not allow it to be snatched away by anyone else!
Just as Charrick was lost in these thoughts, a Marine standing beside him suddenly pointed toward the sea ahead and shouted loudly.
"Colonel, that Troyson he doesn't seem to be a capable person!"
Hearing this, the smile on Charrick's face froze instantly. He hurriedly turned his head and looked toward the sea, only to see Lin Mu floating steadily on the surface of the water, his cold and piercing gaze locking onto Charrick and sending an involuntary chill down his spine.
Lin Mu stared at Charrick and asked in a low voice, "Can you dive?"
"Squeak."
With only its small head exposed above the water, the little white fox nodded vigorously, then took a deep breath, puffing up its cheeks until its face looked like a hamster storing food.
Seeing Zhizhi like this, Lin Mu sighed helplessly, then took the fox with him and dove straight into the sea, swimming rapidly toward the Marine warship not far away.
"Attack! Keep attacking!" Witnessing this scene, Charrick pointed madly at the sea and shouted, and another round of artillery fire poured toward the water's surface, but it failed to produce any meaningful results.
Lin Mu was now less than thirty meters away from the warship. After more than ten seconds, he appeared directly beneath the hull, a blind spot where the ship's cannons could no longer strike effectively.
At the moment he reemerged, the Edman alloy steel claws that Lin Mu had just obtained shot out from his hands.
They pierced deeply into the wooden hull reinforced with iron plating, and Lin Mu began climbing upward just like that, his movements swift and precise!
On the deck, Charrick and the group of Marines were still desperately searching for Lin Mu's position when, all of a sudden, a slightly slender figure leapt directly onto the deck the Shilulu little white fox.
At this moment, the little white fox glared fiercely at the group of bastards who had just blasted it into the sea, clenched its tiny claws into fists, and continuously let out angry "squeaky" cries.
Although it looked extremely aggressive, because of its small and fluffy appearance, no matter how one looked at it, the scene carried an oddly comical feeling.
Lin Mu could only reach out and pat Zhizhi's head in comfort, then slowly raised his gaze. His icy eyes swept across the Marines standing before him as he spoke coldly: "Now then, it's time for revenge!"
"Squeak!"
…*
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