Chapter 159: The Navy’s Secret Weapon
Storm winds raged, thunder roared through the heavens.
Torrential rain poured down with a “whooshing” sound, as if the heavenly river’s dam had burst, spilling water toward the mortal world. Raindrops like linked pearls formed endless long lines, countless silver threads connecting sky and sea without end.
No,
Not everywhere under the dark clouds was shrouded by these rain threads.
On the Navy’s flagship, surging molten rock evaporated rainwater before it could approach. Sakazuki’s mastery of his own power had reached the peak of perfection; the terrifying heat from his molten rock-transformed body dried up the rain without damaging the deck beneath his feet in the slightest.
Sakazuki stood on the deck, like a lighthouse on the shore dispelling boundless darkness.
The Marines’ gazes pierced through windows and the curtain of rain, converging on that blazing glow of molten rock.
“Your target is Nico Robin?”
Sakazuki stared at Dragon standing by the ship’s side.
His voice was solemn and majestic, easily piercing through the barrier of wind and rain.
“That’s right. I’m here this time for Nico Robin. How about it, Sakazuki? Turn a blind eye and let me take her away? I guarantee I won’t cause you any trouble.” A smile appeared on Dragon’s face as he looked at Sakazuki, negotiating amiably.
“Letting you take her would be my biggest trouble.” Sakazuki said coldly. His initial impulsive emotions upon seeing Dragon had been suppressed. As a former colleague, even if not close, he had never underestimated this man whom many saw as a Fleet Admiral in waiting.
Monkey D. Dragon, this monster had not betrayed Vice Admiral Garp’s powerful genes at all; he himself was now one of the strongest at the top of this world.
Dealing with Dragon, he couldn’t be careless in the slightest.
Emotions like anger or impatience would only hinder his performance.
“Even if Nico Robin dies, I won’t hand her over to you. And… since you’ve delivered yourself to my door, you evil man, stay here today!”
Talking nonsense had never been Sakazuki’s style. But facing a rare strong enemy like Dragon, he needed to adjust his emotions, elevate his state to its peak as much as possible, and then make his move. That was his plan, and he acted on it.
A blazing molten rock fist evaporated the rain curtain along its path, shooting toward Dragon by the ship’s side.
“Evil man, huh! Sakazuki, you really haven’t changed a bit all these years!” Small tornadoes dancing like dragons and snakes deflected the molten rock fist capable of evaporating a small lake. It fell into the sea, boiling the seawater, and white steam rushed into the sky.
Dragon stood by the ship’s side without moving an inch.
“Hmph!”
Sakazuki remained unmoved by this outcome.
He hadn’t expected to take down Dragon with a few punches and kicks like he would small fry. On the contrary, Dragon, wielding that tricky Devil Fruit ability, moved freely even on the vast sea without restrictions. Capturing him was easier said than done.
No, ascending to heaven would be simpler.
But this time, with Nico Robin as bait, perhaps he could truly keep Dragon here! Though he didn’t like CP0 agents, having those two annoying guys and his subordinates guard Nico Robin meant no need to worry about someone exploiting the gap while he fought Dragon.
Casting aside irrelevant thoughts in his mind, Sakazuki launched another attack.
The battle continued.
Molten rock and storm began a violently extreme clash of power.
······
While the two top experts of the world clashed on the deck, Sabo, who had sneaked aboard, was burning with anxiety. He had sent the message notifying his Revolutionary Army comrades to act. When Mister Dragon created this stormy weather, the Navy fleet was attacked by the Revolutionary Army’s submarine… Taking advantage of the chaos, he knocked out a Marine rushing down from the deck to report, changed clothes, and tried to enter the cabin where Nico Robin was held.
But he discovered two CP0 members by Nico Robin’s side, along with three Rear Admirals and six officers wearing Colonel ranks guarding her.
In this spacious cabin, including the prisoner, there were twelve people total.
This luxurious lineup made Sabo secretly groan in frustration.
If it were only Rear Admirals and Colonels, Sabo, now capable of defeating ordinary Vice Admirals, would have no worries. That’s right—Sabo was now one of the top experts in the Revolutionary Army. Though he couldn’t win head-on against Admirals yet, according to Dragon, ordinary Navy Vice Admirals were no longer his match.
Even without testing against Navy Vice Admirals, he trusted Mister Dragon’s judgment.
This was also why Dragon dared send Sabo alone to infiltrate Sakazuki’s flagship. He was never one to risk his comrades’ lives; without certainty, he wouldn’t make such a decision. Conversely, since he had, he believed as long as Sabo didn’t do anything stupid, even if trouble arose, he had the ability to escape alive.
However······
“Damn it… isn’t that Peach Rabbit?”
Disguised as a guarding Marine, Sabo’s gaze didn’t linger on the two CP0 agents. The three Rear Admirals didn’t attract his attention either. Instead, the only woman among the six Colonels drew his focus.
Delicate features, snow-white skin, ample chest, and those deadly long legs······ Cough cough. Sabo’s heart fluttered for less than a second before being overwhelmed by intense shock. He recognized this beautiful ‘Colonel.’
Not in the ordinary sense of acquaintance.
The Revolutionary Army regularly updated personnel files for high-ranking cadres to study, including those from the World Government, Navy, nations worldwide, pirates······ All strong persons deemed needing vigilance made the list.
This helped Revolutionary Army officers prevent attacks from unseen strong persons as much as possible.
Just like now—Sabo had never met Vice Admiral Gion of Navy Headquarters, codename [Peach Rabbit], but through internal Revolutionary Army study, he unilaterally knew this expert rumored to be Vice Admiral Tsuru’s younger sister.
Yes,
In the study materials, Dragon had personally noted to be extra cautious of this beautiful Gion Vice Admiral, saying she had the potential to become an Admiral. Whether she would in the future was another matter, but right now······ this Gion Vice Admiral was an enemy warranting caution from Revolutionary Army high-ranking cadres.
“Damn, this is completely different from the intelligence!”
One less Colonel, one more Gion······ Don’t be fooled by the unchanged numbers; the combat power difference was like night and day. Even with just Gion alone, Sabo had little confidence in snatching Nico Robin from the tiger’s mouth.
Let alone in this situation.
“What’s the situation outside now?”
The CP0 agent took charge, asking first.
The three Rear Admirals looked unhappy but said nothing. Admiral Sakazuki could ignore CP0 agents, but they couldn’t treat these two as nothing. Gion, disguised as a Colonel, sat quietly on the single sofa, sizing up the entering Sabo.
“It’s the Revolutionary Army. Admiral Sakazuki is fighting the Revolutionary Army’s leader. The enemy controls storm weather; it’s uncertain if the enemy submarine has been destroyed. In short, if we can’t repel the enemy quickly, the fleet may be sunk by the storm. Officers, please assist Admiral Sakazuki against the enemy.” Sabo pleaded anxiously.
“Is the situation that bad?”
One Rear Admiral widened his eyes.
“Yes, we’re dragging down Admiral Sakazuki. Otherwise, with an Admiral’s ability, he wouldn’t need any reinforcements.” Shame colored Sabo’s face as he unwillingly clenched his fist.
“Should we go support?”
“But the Admiral told us to guard Nico Robin.”
“The problem is the enemy is the Revolutionary Army’s leader! If the ship sinks, how do we guard Nico Robin?”
The Rear Admirals began arguing.
The two agents’ masked faces hid their expressions, making their thoughts unreadable. They leaned heads close, whispering. Though Sabo wanted to know what they said, with Gion there, he didn’t dare distract himself to eavesdrop. Just concealing his aura with special techniques was his full effort.
This world had Observation Haki, that unreasonable human radar.
To evade Observation Haki detection and tracking, geniuses had reverse-engineered it to develop techniques concealing aura fluctuations. Of course, ordinary pirates scorned learning such things, especially great pirates with overwhelming Haki—no one could fully conceal their own Haki.
Only ancient assassin organizations, intelligence groups, and underground organizations like the Revolutionary Army with top experts like Dragon mastered such techniques.
“What’s your name?”
Amid the debate, Gion, who hadn’t joined in, suddenly spoke, questioning Sabo.
The argument stopped abruptly.
Though Gion was disguised as a Colonel, the three Rear Admirals didn’t dare treat her as an ordinary one. Not to mention else, as one of Navy Headquarters’ rare beauties, Vice Admiral Gion alone made many single men bow their heads obediently before her.
The two CP0 agents also knew of Gion’s secret accompaniment this time,
So,
When Gion spoke, their gazes fell on Sabo. As agents, they knew this Gion Vice Admiral’s strength surpassed theirs; they wouldn’t think she fancied this decent-looking Marine·······
“My disguise shouldn’t have any flaws, right?”
“Hm, your aura suppression technique is masterful, but you were too eager to trick us into helping Mister Sakazuki. He gave orders before leaving: no matter what happens, guarding Nico Robin is top priority······ Also, when you looked at me earlier, I saw surprise in your eyes.”
“I see. No helping it then! Running into an expert like you is my bad luck.”
Sabo shook his head helplessly.
Even a fleeting eye change was caught—infiltration failure was expected.
Gion picked up the famous sword [Konpira] tucked by the sofa.
However,
Someone acted faster.
“Finger Pistol.”
The male CP0 agent, closest to Sabo, raised his hand and unleashed an attack. His Armament Haki-wrapped finger surpassed a large-caliber shotgun in lethality; one poke could pierce steel plate clean through.
Sabo wasn’t a stationary steel plate waiting for a hole in his head.
He stopped deliberately using the special technique to conceal his aura, tilting his head slightly to dodge the Finger Pistol. His right hand quietly curled into a claw, five fingers mimicking a three-toed dragon claw, slashing fiercely at the male agent’s chest.
“Rip!”
The sound of tearing fabric rang out.
The white suit was torn, revealing three not-shallow wounds on the exposed chest. Blood quickly seeped out, staining the white suit red.
From exchange to counter, it was just an instant.
In that instant’s clash, the gap in strength was clear.
Unscathed Sabo was clearly stronger than this CP0 agent. The other female agent closely guarding Nico Robin watched her companion take a loss but didn’t move, because······ Gion had acted. The unsheathed Konpira slashed in, blocking Sabo’s follow-up attack, forcing him to let the male agent retreat from his grasp.
“I underestimated you.”
Gion stood in the cabin’s center, unsheathed Konpira horizontally blocking Sabo’s path to Nico Robin. This renowned beauty of Navy Headquarters faced Sabo with a grave expression; the CP0 agent’s injury made her realize Sabo’s prowess.
Can’t underestimate him just because he’s young!
This was a phrase Navy Headquarters officers often repeated since the Black Prince rose on the sea, especially those who had clashed with him, repeatedly mentioning the Black Prince’s terrifying strength utterly mismatched with his age.
Gion had never encountered the Black Prince.
But as one of Teacher Zephyr’s students, during a visit to Teacher Zephyr, she was warned not to judge by appearances. Underestimating enemies due to youth would only lead to foolishly ending one’s own life.
“You’re stronger than I expected.”
“But your sword still hasn’t been drawn?”
Sabo countered.
“Rest assured, I can kill without drawing it.” Gion gripped the hilt tightly. The moment her words ended, Konpira attacked. Though the blade remained sheathed, Sabo still felt its threatening edge.
A metallic “clang” like hammering iron rang out.
Sabo took the slash head-on; Armament Haki protected his arm from being severed, but the powerful impact still made him grimace involuntarily.
As expected,
Not easy to deal with!
