Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!...
A torrential barrage of cannon fire rained down round after round toward the advancing Kuja Pirates.
The three giant snakes pulling the ships were forced to halt, and the ships rocked violently.
The sudden bombardment cut off their conversation. The royal guard, steadying himself against the sway, quickly turned to look at Erinsna.
Erinsna's eyes narrowed slightly. Her face was expressionless, but a faint killing intent emanated from her.
"Begin suppressive fire."
A cold voice rang out. Moments later, volleys of arrows imbued with Haki were fired in coordinated rhythm toward the warships.
It had to be said, the power of Armament Haki was remarkable. Arrows coated in it not only had incredible range but packed devastating force.
Wherever they struck the deck, a gaping hole exploded open.
On the warships, a downpour of arrows fell from the sky.
The soldiers, whether barehanded or armed with weapons, coated themselves in Haki and swatted the arrows away.
One side was a nation's finest warriors who had roamed the seas for years.
The other side, elite Marines still maturing. Cries of alarm echoed across the decks.
"That hurts! It really hurts!!!"
"How are these arrows so powerful?!"
Soldiers armed with weapons gasped in shock at the arrows' might.
Those without weapons... where the arrows struck, it was as if a bomb had exploded. Cries of pain filled the air.
Sakazuki stood atop the highest deck, Observation Haki fully activated, flicking his fingers rapidly.
Arrows with tricky angles that would've seriously injured soldiers were all shot down into the sea by Sakazuki's Shigan.
Moments later, all the soldiers aboard the warship were injured, many covered in bruises.
Some were struck directly by arrows, but none suffered fatal wounds.
Under the life-and-death pressure, the Marines only grew fiercer, their control over Armament Haki more refined, their reflexes sharper.
A subtle slicing noise echoed. Sakazuki's figure flickered from the top deck and instantly appeared at the warship's rail.
"Everyone stand down."
Sakazuki's voice rang out before anyone could react.
Appearing on the deck, he waved his hand.
A curtain of magma coated in Armament Haki rose up, erecting a wall on one side of the warship.
A constant roar of explosions followed, shaking the crew to the point of ringing ears. Immediately after...
With the Empress's continued assault from outside the magma wall...
The Kuja Pirates rapidly advanced toward the warship.
Sakazuki's Observation Haki picked up on this. His brows furrowed.
The magma wall receded. He formed the stance for Shigan with his right hand, his index finger glowing red, magma faintly swirling.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!...
Like bullets, magma projectiles infused with Armament Haki blasted from Sakazuki's fingertip, shooting straight toward the Kuja Pirates.
Seeing the incoming bullet-sized magma shots, the Kuja Pirates didn't pay them much heed.
One by one, their warriors leapt to the bow, drawing long swords infused with Haki to slash at the incoming projectiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!...
As the Kuja warriors slashed at the magma shots, the projectiles didn't deflect.
Instead, the sound of Haki colliding thundered out.
And then, a terrifying sight unfolded before everyone on the ship.
As the magma shots were struck, they exploded with a roar—then rapidly swelled in size. Ferocious growls echoed.
Each magma shot transformed into a giant molten claws, billowing thick black smoke, pouncing at the warriors.
Massive claws smashed into the fighters. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Flesh and blood burst apart.
The immense force slammed into the warriors. Most, paralyzed with fear, were instantly reduced to blood mist.
A few who reacted in time coated their bodies in Haki, but were still sent flying, crashing through multiple layers of deck.
The magma claws had no intelligence, only simple pounce-and-crash instincts.
Only by being shattered or leaving Sakazuki's range would they stop.
In just a few breaths, the Kuja Pirates' bow had suffered devastating casualties.
As Empress of the ancient Kuja tribe, Erinsna's fury surged, and Conqueror's Haki exploded forward.
The magma claws at the bow were stunned by the Conqueror's Haki.
In a flash, several black arrows shot out from the recovered warriors..
A chain of explosions followed, blowing apart the heads of the magma claws. Just when they thought it was over...
They didn't expect the decapitated claws to burst with a bright red glow, searing heat surging forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like magma bombs, molten lava sprayed in all directions, raining down on everyone.
The entire ship was engulfed in thick smoke and flames.
Much of the lava struck the three giant snakes pulling the ship. The burning pain made them thrash wildly.
The ship rocked violently.
Then, an overwhelming aura of aggression and killing intent blasted onto the snakes.
Terrified beyond their burn pain, the three snakes forcibly calmed down.
"Everyone, put out the fires!"
Suppressing her rage, Erinsna ordered through clenched teeth, forcing herself to remain calm.
Then she leapt forward, the air beneath her exploding with sonic booms.
Her figure flickered through the sky, charging toward the warship.
Raiding ships was nothing new—she had faced Marine encirclements many times—but had never suffered such losses, never looked so pathetic.
This level of devastation and disgrace—for an Empress of the ancient Kuja tribe—was unforgivable.
Watching Erinsna rushing over like she was using Geppo...
"Escaping a few Marine sieges and you think the Navy has no one left?"
Sakazuki's indifferent voice sounded out. The Navy simply didn't have the resources to launch a full-scale siege here right now.
There was only one island nation in the Calm Belt—conquering it offered little benefit.
Transport was a nightmare, and they always had to worry about Sea King attacks.
But that didn't give a mere pirate nation the right to act without restraint.
Sakazuki stomped down, launching himself forward on a diagonal trajectory. No need for mid-air steps.
He flew directly toward Erinsna, body tilting slightly to the right, right arm coated in Armament Haki, punching out.
Erinsna's right leg, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, collided with Sakazuki's fist.
A metallic clang rang out, and neither side budged.
Below, the sea was rocked by their clashing auras. Like underwater torpedoes detonating, columns of seawater shot skyward.
Black lightning crackled faintly between them.
A figure was sent flying, crashing into the massive corpse of the Sea King from earlier that morning.
After shattering countless massive bone spikes on its back—
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