Chapter 302: Rear Guard
Half a day ago, west of Fish-Man Island.
In an open area, the Beasts Pirates group had already engaged in fierce combat with the Navy that rushed over and the World Government agents.
Bang!
Bang bang!
Clang!
Gunfire and the sounds of close-quarters combat rose and fell across this small open ground.
Although the pirates were outnumbered, they surpassed the Navy in equipment and individual combat power, so the two sides were locked in a hard-fought stalemate.
“Brother Burufaruto! What the hell is going on here!”
“Why did the Navy and these guys in suits suddenly attack us!”
A pirate wielding a great cleaver slashed a Navy soldier from top to bottom, then wiped the blood from his face and shouted toward Burufaruto, who was fighting in the distance.
“Because you touched something you shouldn’t have.”
Answering him was the white-suited agent currently clashing with Burufaruto.
As the direct guard of the Celestial Dragons and the highest authority in this operation, his strength was in no way inferior to Burufaruto’s at this moment.
He even faintly suppressed Burufaruto with that tricky Devil Fruit ability.
“Something we shouldn’t have touched?”
“That’s right, you pirates stole the Celestial Dragons’ property, so by law, you will all be executed here!”
“Blame that Fish-Man in front of you!”
“Finger Pistol!”
“Ji Shui!”
Snap!
The two attacks collided, kicking up a large mist of water that completely enveloped the space between them, and the two took the opportunity to separate temporarily.
Hoo~
As the two tacitly took a moment to adjust, the pirates who had heard the white-suited agent’s words began to stir restlessly.
But these pirates did not, as he expected, start infighting or blame Burufaruto for bringing disaster upon them; instead…
“Damn! Boss Burufaruto is awesome! He actually stole from the Celestial Dragons!”
“Was it that Fish-Man he brought back? Or that child?”
“Eh, who cares! He stole from the Celestial Dragons anyway.”
“Fuck! This is something to brag about big time when we get back!”
“Haha! That guy Pete was always bragging to me about robbing a king before; let’s see if he dares to boast in front of me again this time!”
“Hey! It has to be Brother Burufaruto; he starts with the Celestial Dragons! No wonder he can be a Great Calboard!”
“When we get back, we definitely have to throw a banquet to celebrate!”
……
“Tch!”
Seeing the pirates’ morale suddenly surge, the white-suited agent, realizing his miscalculation, looked grim.
He had thought invoking the Celestial Dragons’ name would intimidate these pirates a bit and dampen their morale, but it backfired—they weren’t afraid at all and were even proud of it!
Pirates are indeed just pirates!
“Hey! Brothers, prepare…”
Just as Burufaruto was about to order a counterpush to see if they could rout the enemy while the momentum was high, he suddenly spotted figures from the Sea God Army in his eastern field of vision.
They were heading straight toward this side with clear intent, but their marching speed was unusually slow.
『King Neptune, is this the choice you made……』
Under pressure from the World Government and Celestial Dragons, King Neptune ultimately chose to send the Sea God Army to join the encirclement…
But it was only sending them out; he didn’t issue any ‘must’ kill orders or anything—everything was left to the Fish-Man soldiers’ own volition.
……
The counterpush order was swallowed back, and Burufaruto turned to look behind him.
As if by coincidence, the moment Burufaruto turned his head, a bright red signal flare bloomed in the sky.
“Brother Burufaruto, they’re ready!”
“Mm!”
Seeing the prearranged signal for the coating completion, Burufaruto immediately ordered:
“All personnel, withdraw and prepare defenses!”
“Special team, prepare to act!”
A series of orders were issued, and then the pirates in combat, clearly having rehearsed in an emergency, suddenly withdrew en masse and pulled out bubble coral to put a bubble over their heads.
This coral that could create bubbles like oxygen masks was very common on Fish-Man Island; basically every outsider carried one.
For a moment, the pirates with bubbles on their heads looked somewhat similar to the Celestial Dragons’ attire.
“What the hell are these guys…”
Just as the Navy was baffled by the enemies’ sudden maneuver, something like a tin can suddenly dropped from the sky, its trajectory suggesting it had been thrown from afar.
Clang~
Followed by a second, a third…
Clang~ Clang~
“This thing is…”
A soldier curiously stared at the can.
In this world dominated by naval warfare, hand grenade-style thrown weapons were quite rare, so they hadn’t reacted yet.
But some quick-reacting veterans immediately shouted in alarm; they had encountered pirates using similar thrown bombs before.
“Enemy attack! It’s bombs!”
“Get down!”
“Ah… huh?!”
Some young soldiers who had only seen guns and cannons panicked and hurriedly dropped to the ground upon hearing it was bombs.
But the result was not what they imagined.
Pfft… sizzle—!
The cans didn’t explode; instead, they began spinning and spewing large amounts of white smoke from both ends.
The unprepared Navy was instantly enveloped in the smoke, losing their vision.
Worse, the Navy who inhaled even a bit of the smoke immediately started coughing uncontrollably, with tears and snot streaming down, nearly losing all combat capability.
“Cough cough!”
“This, what the hell is… cough cough!”
“Gah! My eyes!”
“So spicy! So painful! So uncomfortable!”
“Damn it! Quick, close your eyes, hold your breath! Cough cough!”
……
“Whoa~ The Weapon Department really delivered with this stuff~”
“They said it was a non-lethal weapon, and I didn’t think much of it at first, but damn, it’s useful.”
“Look at those Navy…”
“Enough! Use this chance to board the ship quick!”
Protected by the bubbles, Burufaruto and the others were completely unaffected by the tear gas and were rapidly heading toward the pirate ship.
The spot where they clashed with the Navy was still quite a distance from the docked ship, separated by several coral mountains blocking the line of sight…
This was deliberately arranged by Burufaruto; after all, they couldn’t fight right by the ship—that would be too passive.
Pat~ pat~ pat~
After nearly ten minutes of full-speed running, the group finally arrived in front of the Minotaur, which had its coating completed.
By now, the Coating Master who had been paid ten times the work pay had quietly slipped away with two young apprentices; they still had to make a living here, so they couldn’t be seen associating with Burufaruto’s group.
“You all board the ship quick, then leave immediately and wait for me on the sea surface.”
Burufaruto stopped and instructed.
“Wait for you…?”
“Eh?! Boss, you’re not coming with us?”
Someone realized and asked hurriedly.
“Yeah, I have to stay behind to cover your retreat.”
“That guy in the white suit is catching up; can’t let him damage the coating.”
If the coating was damaged, Burufaruto and his crew would be trapped on Fish-Man Island like turtles in a jar.
“No way, how can we let you…”
“Quit the whining! I’m a Fish-Man; I can swim back to the sea surface from here—you can?”
“Help me take care of those two guys on the ship, then just wait for me to come up.”
Burufaruto was referring to the blond Fish-Man and the infant who had been placed on the ship early and were still unconscious.
“…Yes!”
His first mate, the squad leader, acknowledged the order.
Burufaruto’s subordinates were all personally selected by him back then—loyal men who shared his temperament, all decisive and righteous in personality.
So there was no excessive dragging; once they understood Burufaruto’s resolve, everyone boarded the ship per his orders to prepare to depart.
……
“How can I just let you leave like this!”
“Rankyaku!”
Whoosh—!
A sharp kick sliced through the air, forming a dazzling slash that flew straight toward the pirate ship that had already raised anchor.
As a top agent, ordinary tear gas couldn’t stop him; the white-suited agent had now caught up here.
“A ship setting sail shouldn’t be disturbed by anyone~”
Snap!
Leaping into midair, Burufaruto punched through the Rankyaku slash and landed in front of the white-suited agent with a smile.
“A ship defying the Celestial Dragons is destined only to be sunk.”
“And you, Beasts Pirates executive—’Minotaur’ Burufaruto.”
“You’re dying here today too.”
Unfastening the pure white windbreaker draped over his white suit with one hand and loosening his tie, the white-suited agent— the legendary CP0—assumed a stance, seemingly intent on finishing Burufaruto here.
“Oh~ So you finally recognized me… I thought the World Government had forgotten about me~”
Likewise assuming the classic Fish-Man Karate starting stance, Burufaruto showed no intention of backing down.
