Chapter 396: Navy vs. Rockefeller Pirates part 2
"They've appeared!"
A lookout aboard a Navy warship shouted, setting off a blaring alarm.
WOOOO—!
"All units—prepare for battle!"
Sengoku roared.
Every Marine scrambled to their stations.
Cannons rose and aimed out toward the sea.
"They really just showed up… bold as ever,"
Sengoku muttered, a bad feeling gnawing at him.
Peering through the telescope, the lookout called out names:
"Douglas Bullet, Rockefeller Esdeath, Rockefeller Caesar—"
These infamous members of the Rockefeller Pirates stared coldly at the Navy.
Caesar, however, looked more excited than anything—almost impatient for battle.
"No sign of the world's greatest swordsman, Rockefeller Charlotte, yet!"
That last report made Sengoku frown.
"Pinpoint Charlotte's location,"
he ordered.
"Is the Navy rolling out the red carpet to welcome us to the New World?"
Robert chuckled.
"Haha! Then we'd better hit back hard,"
Deidara grinned, fists clenched.
The sheer pressure emanating from the approaching pirate ship shook the Marines.
"It's them… The Rockefeller Pirates!"
The outlines of the Poseidon grew visible.
"Don't panic! It's just one ship!"
Sengoku snapped, calming the nervous troops.
They fixed their eyes on the enemy ship and its formidable figures.
"Douglas Bullet—the Demon's Heir, Vice-Captain of the Rockefeller Pirates."
"Esdeath, the Ice Queen and eldest daughter of Rockefeller Charlotte."
"Caesar, the Dragon of the Rockefeller Pirates and Charlotte's firstborn son."
"All of Charlotte's children… are aboard."
The lookout's voice trembled as he announced them one by one.
---
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Footsteps echoed.
The members of the Rockefeller Pirates stepped aside, clearing a path.
Charlotte himself descended the stairs and walked to the prow of the Poseidon.
"It's Rockefeller Charlotte!"
The lookout's cry sent a chill through the fleet.
Garp and Sengoku locked eyes on him—serious, grim.
Charlotte returned their gaze, calm and smiling.
"Hahaha! What's this? A welcome party, Sengoku?"
His bold voice rang across the sea, heard by everyone present.
Every Marine stared at the young figure at the ship's bow.
"Or is this a farewell ceremony?"
He continued nonchalantly, not putting the surrounding fleet in his eyes.
With a flick of the wrist, Charlotte summoned his signature weapon: the Seven Star Sword.
Sengoku's eyes narrowed.
Charlotte raised his sword high—
With a mighty swing, a massive emerald-green slash tore through the sky, slicing toward the fleet.
"So… this is the world's greatest swordsman,"
Aokiji murmured.
Akainu cast a sidelong glance at him, saying nothing.
---
"What nonsense!"
Garp shoved a donut into his mouth, then leapt from his ship.
Muscles bulged.
"Let me see what you're made of!"
His form vanished.
Only a flicker of motion could be seen before—
"Fist Bone: Meteor!"
His Armament Haki-clad fist clashed head-on with the green slash.
Three seconds.
The sword energy shattered into glittering dust—but the impact churned up the sea, creating towering waves.
"Hold the rails!"
Marines scrambled to avoid being thrown overboard.
---
"Aokiji!"
Sengoku's voice rang out.
Aokiji stepped forward, calmly exhaling a frosty breath.
"Ice Age!"
Waves surged—then froze, spreading across the ocean from the Navy's position outward.
Charlotte narrowed his eyes.
"Planning to use the ice as a massive artillery platform, huh?"
He watched as the sea froze beneath them, layer by layer.
Esdeath also narrowed her eyes.
Another ice user?
This must be Aokiji, one of the Navy's three rising monsters with the Ice-Ice Fruit.
She gripped her rapier tightly.
She would show him which was the superior frost.
"Puhahaha! Nicely done, Aokiji!"
Garp gave him a thumbs-up while standing atop the frozen sea.
Sengoku, seeing the pirates unmoved, threw off his cape and leapt down.
"Rockefeller Charlotte! Your journey ends here!"
He transformed into a towering golden Buddha.
"Great Buddha Shockwave!"
A brilliant golden sphere formed in his palm and burst forth, hurtling toward Charlotte.
Still smiling, Charlotte stood at the prow, watching.
But someone else stepped in.
A massive figure leapt out from behind him.
Bullet.
With a single punch, he met the golden shockwave head-on.
His golden hair whipped in the blast as he stood before Charlotte.
Grinning at Sengoku, he growled:
"Like hell we'd let you go straight for our King!"
He withdrew his fist, and a surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded from him.
"Let me test the strength of a Fleet Admiral!"
His body swelled with Armament Haki.
"Demon Form!"
Merging with the ice beneath him, Bullet became a towering giant, over ten meters tall.
He stomped forward toward Sengoku.
"Douglas Bullet…"
Sengoku's heart sank—not from fear, but from a realization:
This wasn't going to be easy.
He had known of Bullet—his rising bounty, his reputation as Charlotte's vice-captain.
But he'd never truly taken him seriously.
Bullet had always been overshadowed by Charlotte himself.
His only notable fight in recent records was against Rayleigh… and even that hadn't revealed much.
And yet here he was—
Radiating a power far beyond expectation.
BOOM!
Fist met palm. Neither gave ground. Power collided equally.
Even Garp furrowed his brow.
---
"Commence battle!"
With that cry, the Navy charged.
"Die, pirates! Great Eruption!"
Akainu, magma fists ablaze, burst into the enemy ranks, mercilessly slaughtering all in his path.
---
Read up to 30 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin
[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]
*Thank you*