Chapter 169: Fight

One week later, New World, Hachinosu Island waters…

The azure sea was dyed crimson by continuous explosions, and thick smoke billowed from the island, obscuring the sky.

“Damn it! Still too late!” Tesoro stood on the Marine warship deck, his binoculars locked onto Hachinosu Island in the distance, his knuckles white from gripping them tightly.

“As expected of the World Destroyer!” He gritted his teeth and growled, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Through the binoculars, he could clearly see the town collapsing under cannon fire, houses leveled, and streets engulfed in flames.

The most startling thing was that the shelling didn’t come from pirate ships, but from pistol bullets.

They were amplified dozens of times by some power, transforming into terrifying giant cannonballs that shattered the entire island.

“The power of the Momo Fruit…” Tesoro lowered his binoculars, his expression grim.

“Full speed ahead! Flank maneuver, prepare for battle!” He turned and roared at the Sergeant.

However, before the Sergeant could respond, a calm but undeniable voice had already rung out.

“No need.”

Gern had appeared at the bow of the ship, black blade eight desolations hanging at his waist, his justice cloak with black trim flapping in the sea breeze.

At the same time, his gaze was cold as he watched Hachinosu Island in the distance, his voice flat as he said, “Bring the warship closer.”

Tesoro was startled: “But the shelling on the island…”

“I said, bring it closer.” Gern slightly tilted his gaze, his eyes sharp as a blade.

“And raise the flag!”

“Tell the civilians on the island, justice has arrived!!!”

“Yes!!” Tesoro instantly fell silent, turning to order the Sergeant: “Execute the order!”

The warship engines roared, sailing at full speed towards the burning Hachinosu Island.

…

Hachinosu Island, ruined town.

“Hahaha! What a thrill! What a thrill!” Bondy Wald stood in the center of a ruin, laughing wildly and waving his fists.

He wore a short-sleeved Captain’s uniform, a chipped Viking battle helmet on his head, his physique as burly as a giant bear, muscles bulging.

He held a pistol, each bullet amplified by the Momo Fruit’s ability, easily pulverizing an entire street.

“Wald, don’t get too excited, cough cough…”

Binjack, perched on his shoulder, coughed weakly twice, but his eyes held a satisfied smile.

“Don’t forget our objective, this island is just the beginning.”

“I know, brother!” Wald grinned, revealing his stark white teeth.

“But the feeling of destroying everything is truly addictive!”

Before he finished speaking, his smile suddenly froze, and his gaze sharply turned towards the sea.

“What’s wrong, Wald?” Binjack noticed his younger brother’s abnormality and frowned, asking.

Wald’s eyes became serious, his Observation Haki clearly capturing an extremely threatening aura rapidly approaching.

“The Marines are here…” He whispered, slowly clenching his fists, “And, it’s an extraordinary fellow.”

Binjack’s pupils constricted.

Since his brother had set sail, he had experienced countless battles, and even when facing encirclement by large Marine fleets, he had never shown such an expression.

“Stronger than the last Marine Vice Admiral Strawberry?” Binjack asked in a deep voice.

“He’s not on the same level at all.” Wald sneered, battle intent burning in his eyes, as he ran towards the shore where Gern was landing.

“His aura… it excites me! I will eliminate everything that stands in my way.”

…

Warship deck.

As the warship approached Hachinosu Island, the tragic state of the island became even clearer to everyone.

Libo’s rabbit ears were pressed tightly against her head, her pink eyes reflecting the burning town: “Gern… those people…”

On the streets, civilian corpses lay scattered, some buried by collapsed buildings, others disfigured by cannon fire.

Survivors cried out and fled, but were wantonly hunted down by members of the World Pirates.

“Hahaha! Run! Run faster!” The Fishman Sebastian grinned, punching a fleeing civilian, sending them flying, blood splattering on the ruins.

The sniper Gairam stood on high ground, his long rifle aimed at the crowd, playfully pulling the trigger: “Like sheep!”

“Bang!” As the sniper rifle fired a shot, another pistol shot also rang out, accompanied by a heavy sound.

“Momo ‘100x Gun’.”

Under the power of the Momo Fruit, the bullet’s size and speed instantly expanded a hundredfold.

It transformed into a destructive giant bullet that pierced through the entire street, heading straight for Gern’s warship!

“These beasts…”

Tesoro’s fists cracked, and the golden powder he had prepared from the start seeped out from all over the warship, liquefying and forming a giant shield in front of the warship.

“Boom!” The cannonball was blocked, and the golden shield also liquefied and returned to Tesoro’s body.

Gern, standing beside Tesoro, still had a calm expression, but the chill in his eyes was enough to prove his current emotions.

“Tesoro, Libo.” He spoke faintly.

“Here!”

“You two deal with the World Pirates’ cadres, the others are responsible for evacuating civilians, save as many as you can.”

“No problem!” Libo was the first to draw two daggers, spinning them in her hands before gripping them in reverse, “Libo won’t show mercy!”

“Understood!” Tesoro turned without hesitation, roaring at the Sergeant, “Prepare to land! Prioritize rescue!”

“Whoosh!” The explosive sound of the hundred-fold amplified bullet hitting the golden shield had not yet dissipated when Libo’s figure transformed into a white lightning bolt, rushing down from the warship.

Her rabbit ears stiffened in the wind, her pink eyes locked onto the arrogant figure carrying a sniper rifle on the high ground of the ruins.

“Gairam, is it?” Her twin daggers glinted coldly in the sunlight, “Your bullets, I’ll return them to you!”

“Hmm?” Gairam had just finished reloading his ammunition when he suddenly felt a chill on his head.

He sharply looked up, his pupils constricting.

A Mink Tribe girl, crackling with static electricity, descended from the sky using Moonwalk, her two carrot daggers crossed into a cross, aimed straight for his throat!

“Soru: Rabbit Tooth Cross Slash!”

“Clang!!” In the nick of time, a long sword horizontally parried the daggers.

Naqin, with a cigarette dangling from her mouth, her black hair flying in the explosion’s shockwave: “Hey hey, sneak attacks aren’t a good habit, little Marine bunny.”

Libo used the force to flip backwards and land, her daggers performing a graceful flourish in her palms: “When you slaughtered civilians, why didn’t you say it was a sneak attack?”

“Sorry.” Naqin spat out her cigarette, her blade gleaming coldly: “The strong prey on the weak, that’s the rule of the New World.”

“Then Libo’s rule is…” Libo’s leg muscles instantly swelled, and the ground cracked under the reactive force.

“To kill you all.”

“Bang!” The ground where she had stood erupted in spiderweb cracks, and her figure shot towards Naqin like a cannonball.

Her two daggers, imbued with Armament Haki, collided with the long sword, generating dazzling sparks, each clash stirring up violent air currents.

…

At the same time, Tesoro’s golden tidal wave was sweeping across half a street.

The liquid metal, like a living torrent, forcibly separated the burning ruins, carving a path of survival for the fleeing civilians.

“Everyone run towards the sea! The warship is waiting!” He roared at the crowd, his golden gloves gleaming in the sunlight.

“Trying to be a savior?” A chilling voice came from behind him.

“Fishman Karate: Water Shot!”

Tesoro sharply dodged, a Fishman Karate shockwave grazing his cheek, exploding into a ten-meter-diameter hole in the golden barrier.

Sebastian emerged from the smoke, his blue skin covered in gruesome scars: “Golden Boy, I’m your opponent.”

“You’re much weaker than Tiger.” Tesoro narrowed his eyes, liquid gold flowing around his body.

“Good, I also need a punching bag to test new moves.”

“Arrogant!” Sebastian pushed off with his legs, the ground collapsing with a roar, his fist, wrapped in high-pressure water, aiming straight for Tesoro’s face: “Fishman Karate: Shark Tile Fist!”

Tesoro neither dodged nor retreated, his entire body covered in gold, while his right arm was instantly encased in gold, forming a massive war hammer, meeting the attack head-on!

“Gold: City Crushing Hammer!!!”

As Libo and Tesoro jumped off the warship and engaged the cadres of the World Pirates,

Gern’s gaze also refocused on the center of the town, where Wald was grinning, holding a pistol, and meeting his gaze from afar.

“You all must work hard!” Gern slowly drew black blade eight desolations, the gray-white bandages disintegrating inch by inch, revealing the jet-black blade.

“As for that ‘World Destroyer’…”

“I’ll handle him.” Before his words finished, Gern’s figure suddenly vanished!

“Boom!!!”

The next second, the ground of the entire island trembled violently, a giant crack extending from the coastline all the way to the center of the town, as if the earth had been forcibly torn apart!

(Similar to Garp’s Z-movement on Hachinosu Island)

“So fast! Is that speed achievable with physical techniques?” Wald’s pupils constricted, and he leaped up abruptly, the ground where he had stood collapsing with a roar in the shockwave!

“But, good timing!” He landed with a wild laugh, his fists glowing with a strange energy fluctuation, “Momo: Amplification: 100x Giant Fist!”

His Armament Haki-clad fist instantly swelled a hundredfold under the power of the Momo Fruit, transforming into a giant fist like a small black mountain, smashing down fiercely towards Gern!

Gern coldly raised his eyes, black blade eight desolations slashing horizontally.

“Rumble!!!” The two destructive forces collided, the shockwave sweeping across the entire island, the clouds in the sky being forcibly torn apart!