After Vir finished speaking, he had no intention of continuing to chat with them.
That old dog Akainu was surely on his way here.
If things went south, he could end up dead here.
Vir looked at the gathered Vice Admirals but made no move.
He simply said in a calm tone, “Can I take my friend and leave now?”
As he spoke, he gestured toward Jozu and beckoned him with a finger.
Although Jozu was still a little angry, he had overheard the conversation between these Marines and Akainu.
That guy was definitely not someone easy to deal with.
Besides, Vir was fine for now.
Leaving quickly was the best course of action.
But if Jozu could think of this, how could these Vice Admirals not?
All they had to do was stall for a little while.
As long as Admiral Akainu arrived, these two would be apprehended on the spot.
As Jozu took step after step away, Yamakaji couldn’t sit still anymore!
His eyes locked onto Jozu, his face darkened as he bit down on his cigar, and he shouted harshly:
“Stop! We never said you could—”
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly froze.
Because right in front of him, a finger was pressed against his forehead.
The ominous aura emanating from that finger made Yamakaji’s back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
He had been too focused on Jozu just now.
Vir had teleported right in front of him.
“Do you know how Doberman died?” Vir asked coldly.
“If you don’t want your head to explode like his, then shut your mouth.”
After saying that, Vir withdrew his finger from Yamakaji’s forehead.
Yamakaji’s eyes were filled with terror.
In that instant just now, the Grim Reaper had been standing right behind him.
The fear of death made his heart skip a beat.
He was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
Cold sweat continued to pour down his forehead.
As he watched Vir’s retreating figure, he no longer dared to utter a word.
That man… could actually kill him in an instant!
The other Vice Admirals, seeing Yamakaji’s miserable state, were smart enough to keep their mouths shut.
They, too, had sensed the presence of death from that finger.
This was no joke.
When Vir said someone would die, they would die.
Vir walked over to Jozu and nodded at him.
Jozu had just opened his mouth to speak when Vir placed a hand on his shoulder.
Before he could react, he suddenly found himself aboard the Going Merry.
Jozu’s large head was now filled with even bigger questions.
Where the hell am I?
What just happened?
How did I get here all of a sudden?
Jozu widened his eyes and stared at the calm-faced Vir in front of him.
Vir, after teleporting both of them aboard, paid Jozu no further attention.
He walked straight to the center of the ship.
Luffy and the others were gathered there.
They looked at the massive Jozu but held no hostility toward him.
They didn’t know him, but since Vir had brought him back, he must be a good person.
Of course, Jozu’s dopey expression played a role in this impression.
Little did Jozu know that he had just unknowingly received multiple “good guy” cards.
Vir crouched down in the middle of the ship and placed his hand on the deck of the Going Merry.
As his ability activated, the ship began to change.
The broken mast slowly repaired itself.
The connection points were seamless, without any trace of damage.
The massive holes in the hull also started to mend themselves.
Before long, the Going Merry’s ability to sail was restored.
Vir didn’t continue further; he simply stood up and looked at Jozu.
“You guys take the lead and tow us along!” Vir said.
Jozu saw no issue with this.
After all, the fact that this ship was still afloat was surprising enough.
But there was a problem.
There was nothing to tow it with.
Jozu voiced his concern.
Vir, however, turned his gaze toward Luffy, who was busy picking his nose…
“Luffy~” Vir called in a strange tone.
He even gave a sinister smile.
Everyone shuddered at the sight.
Only Luffy, still picking his nose, was unfazed.
Hearing Vir call him, he looked at him blankly.
“Huh? What?”
Five minutes later.
“Aaaaahhhh! I’m gonna snap! I’m gonna snap!”
Luffy’s screams echoed clearly across the sea for miles.
At this moment, he was serving as a makeshift “rope”…
As the Marine battleships gradually disappeared from view, Vir finally let out a sigh of relief.
They were finally safe.
The others felt the same.
This was truly a narrow escape from death.
If not for Vir, all of them, including that big guy, would have been captured.
Vir glanced at his remaining 400,000 negative points and shook his head helplessly.
Just now, he had crushed 500,000 points with his own hand.
And that elixir could only be used once.
He wasn’t sure why, but that’s what the system said.
It definitely wasn’t a problem with the elixir itself—after all, its creator was the Holy Flame Apothecary.
His name sounded trustworthy.
So it must be the system’s fault.
What a lousy system.
Then again, if he could just stockpile a hundred or so bottles of this elixir, wouldn’t he be invincible?
Not that he needed to drink it—the apothecary who created it designed it for use in battle.
If drinking was required… he’d probably be dead before he finished.
Although he wouldn’t be able to use that perfect grade elixir in the future, this operation still yielded great results.
There was one major gain:
Momousagi’s physical prowess.
But just this one thing had immediately resolved the mismatch between Vir’s body and his abilities!
It was like finding an oasis in the desert.
Vir only had one thing to say: “Sugoi~~!”
He also obtained mastery of Rokushiki(Six Styles) from Chaton.
Most of them weren’t too useful, except for Shigan and Geppo.
Shigan had already been developed into several techniques.
In the future, he could incorporate Shigan into his “greeting gift”.
That is, the Super Lightning Cannon.
He planned to test if he could enhance its power further through finger-based force exertion.
It was highly likely to work.
He’d find a chance to experiment later.
Now that Jozu was here, his next step would be to find Whitebeard with him.
As for the next stop, Thriller Bark, the crew could handle that on their own.
He had no interest in joining the fun.
There were indeed a few decent abilities over there.
But compared to Whitebeard, they were far inferior.
Simply put, the gap was enormous.
Next, the target was Whitebeard himself!
Taking him down was the goal!
Thinking of this, Vir was in a pretty good mood.
He was just about to enjoy the scenery and relax a bit.
But as soon as he looked up…
His gaze met a pair of burning, intense eyes…
…
…
Just ten minutes after Vir and his group had left, Akainu finally arrived, taking his time.
Seeing the ten warships docked there, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Not bad.
The bombardment had stopped.
That small sailing ship must have been sunk by now.
Those pirates should have already been captured.
This lot usually didn’t seem very competent, but this time, they acted swiftly.
Stepping onto the warship where several vice admirals were stationed, Akainu immediately noticed the heavily injured Onigumo.
Hmm?
Useless.
With so many men, he still managed to get wounded.
What a disgrace.
Casting a disdainful glance at Onigumo, Akainu didn’t bother looking at him any further.
“You all did well. I’ll request bonuses for you from the Fleet Admiral when we return.”
Akainu said in a deep voice.
Honestly, taking down the Straw Hat Crew with this many forces should have been a walk in the park.
Naturally, there was no real reason for a reward.
But these guys had just attacked Enies Lobby.
More importantly, there was Luffy.
He was Garp’s grandson.
And Akainu had never been particularly fond of Garp.
So with Luffy captured, his mood was quite good.
He would arrange for some rewards as a result.
But the moment he finished speaking…
Everyone present froze.
Did well? Bonuses?
Admiral.
Are you feeling alright…?
Noticing the odd expressions on their faces, Akainu realized something was wrong.
His brows furrowed.
Then, in a cold voice, he asked, “You’re not about to tell me… that you let them escape, are you?”
As soon as Akainu’s words fell, all the vice admirals lowered their heads.
No one answered his question.
But the answer was already obvious.
Akainu understood immediately.
His infamous temper flared in an instant!
He lashed out at them, roaring:
“What the hell were you all doing?!”
“With all these men, with this much firepower… Just how stupid do you have to be to let them escape right under your noses?!”
“Are those old fools at Marine Headquarters doing nothing all day except kicking you lot in the heads?!”
“Where’s Doberman?! Get him over here! If he can’t even handle something this simple, I want to see if he still wants his job!”
Akainu’s furious outburst left the vice admirals completely stunned.
But when he mentioned Doberman, their heads lowered even further.
“What’s with you all?! Hurry up and bring him here!”
Already seething with rage, Akainu grew even more furious when he saw them remaining motionless, the heat from his body intensifying.
At his command, the vice admirals exchanged looks and, bracing themselves, turned toward the ship’s interior.
When Akainu saw Doberman’s corpse being carried out…
The expression on his face was priceless.
Confusion, contemplation, confirmation, shock, disbelief, rage, and finally… pure fury!
In just a few seconds, his face shifted through a whirlwind of emotions, as if performing a magic trick.
“What happened?”
Akainu suddenly calmed down.
His voice carried no emotion as he asked the question.
Seeing this, the vice admirals quickly explained the situation from start to finish.
The more Akainu listened, the darker his face became.
Diamond Jozu… Whitebeard Pirates…
Vir, in a near-death state, killing Doberman…
Vir possessing the strength to instantly take down a vice admiral…
Not a single piece of good news.
This Vir…
Had he already reached such a level?
Not even a month had passed.
This guy!
He absolutely couldn’t be allowed to continue growing unchecked.
Otherwise, he would definitely become a major headache for the entire World Government!
To be fair, the reports were somewhat exaggerated.
Vir didn’t actually have the power to instantly kill a vice admiral.
It was just that Yamakaji hadn’t been paying attention to him, which allowed Vir to seize a critical opportunity.
Even if he lacked the ability to outright eliminate a vice admiral, he could certainly anesthetize one in an instant.
Akainu’s expression remained grim as he stared in the direction Vir and his group had left.
In the end, he could only wave his hand reluctantly.
Retreat.
A plan had to be devised by the Strategy Division immediately.
This brat was far too dangerous.
But then, recalling Vir’s bizarre teleportation ability…
Even he hadn’t been able to stop him with such a troublesome space-related power.
Akainu felt a headache coming on.
They had to find a way to restrict that ability.
Otherwise, maybe only Kizaru would be able to deal with him properly.
—–
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