"ROOM!!!"
Law shouted again. Within the bluish oval-shaped space, countless tables and chairs flew into the air, crashing into the heap of metal weapons.
Kidd glanced at him but didn't say anything. He continued manipulating his magnetic force, pressing the debris and metal even more tightly onto Kizaru.
At this moment, Basil Hawkins, who had been sitting like a steady old monk, finally stood up. He walked toward Law and Kidd and said:
"A Marine Admiral... even if my survival chance is only one percent, I must still give it everything."
"Gōma no Sō! (Manifestation of the Demon Conqueror!)"
With Hawkins's shout, his body suddenly began to expand, growing rapidly into a giant, fearsome straw-man effigy.
The monstrous figure raised its spiked club and slammed it down upon the mountain of debris.
"You all... GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
Luffy roared, biting down hard on his thumb and inflating his arm with massive amounts of air.
"Gear Third – Bone Balloon!!!"
His arm swelled to the size of a giant's and smashed down with tremendous force.
BOOM!!!
With a deafening crash, all the metal and debris exploded into fragments under Luffy's strike.
Capone Bege finally recovered. His face was pale and he struggled to stand, gritting his teeth.
"Damn Admiral... I didn't even see the attack and I'm already half-dead…"
"Little ones! Fire everything we've got! I don't believe a Marine Admiral can come out unscathed!"
"Castle – Bombardment!!!"
Using the powers of the Castle-Castle Fruit, Capone's body opened up, and countless mini soldiers emerged, firing volleys of cannonballs.
Once launched from his body, the cannonballs instantly returned to normal size in midair.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Explosions rang out in a thunderous chain reaction.
Under the bombardment of thousands of cannonballs, the entrance of the auction house was reduced to rubble.
All the debris and metallic objects Law and Kidd had piled on Kizaru were obliterated. Flames and smoke blanketed the entrance, forming massive craters.
Kidd turned his cold gaze on Capone.
"Capone Bege, you bastard. Were you trying to kill me too?"
If he hadn't dodged in time, those cannonballs would've buried him.
Law's face was equally grim.
"Capone Bege, I'll remember this. When we leave here, I'll make sure to give you an operation."
"Operation? What are you talking about?" Luffy, now in child form due to Gear Third's recoil, looked around cluelessly.
Capone snorted. "Idiots. You think you could've hurt a Marine Admiral without my firepower!?"
Their expressions turned ugly again.
Eventually, Law turned around first. "An attack of this scale should've at least injured the Admiral. I'm outta here."
He turned and began to leave.
His target was Doflamingo, and he couldn't afford to be killed or captured before achieving that.
Kidd snorted and also made his exit.
The Straw Hats quickly followed suit.
Capone Bege's face was dark, but he also prepared to leave—yet before stepping out, he glanced at Hawkins and asked cautiously:
"I remember you're the magician Basil Hawkins, bounty over 200 million. You're not leaving?"
Hawkins, now back to his human form, had tendrils of straw sprouting from his body, each one holding a tarot card.
He glanced at the card and said calmly:
"My survival rate hasn't changed. Which means... the Marine Admiral wasn't hurt at all."
"If I try to flee now, my death rate is 100%."
"What!?"
Capone's pupils shrank.
He couldn't believe it.
That was a combined assault from several pirate captains with bounties over 100 million! The firepower alone could level an island.
An Admiral, no matter how strong, was still human—how could he have survived that!?
In his shock, Capone turned to the one man he feared most in the auction house and asked carefully:
"Uzumaki Naruto... is the Admiral really unhurt?"
Naruto, casually chatting with the girls, smiled and replied:
"None of you have Haki. How could you possibly hurt that guy?"
"Haki!?"
Capone was confused. He had never heard of anything called Haki before.
So Naruto decided to show him.
He coated his right foot with pure black Busōshoku Haki (Armament Haki) and lightly stomped the ground.
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening roar erupted.
The overwhelming force from his step shattered the ground beneath, opening a massive crater and unleashing cracks in all directions.
The entire auction house trembled, the walls cracked, and the huge structure teetered on collapse.
Robin's mother, Olivia, gasped. The weakest among them, she was thrown forward by the quake.
Robin had wanted to use her Hana Hana no Mi powers to catch her, but Naruto moved faster.
He caught the mature beauty in his arms effortlessly.
"So that's Haki...?" Capone Bege and Hawkins were stunned. Their eyes widened in disbelief as the tremors rumbled beneath their feet.
They'd seen strong people before—after all, the pirate world was full of monsters.
But they'd seen Naruto's action clearly.
He had simply turned his foot black and tapped the ground.
Yet it was like an earthquake hit.
"My Armament Haki isn't even that strong..." Naruto said calmly.
"If pushed to its peak, Armament Haki can destroy mountains with a single punch... or pierce through ten islands in a row."
Hissssss—!!
Capone sucked in a cold breath.
Then, he and Hawkins suddenly thought of something.
They whipped their heads toward the entrance of the auction house.
"The Admiral...?"
As their minds reeled, Kizaru's voice echoed in from outside.
"My, my... you new-age pirates are terrifying. Every last one of you's a monster. You almost killed me..."
"Oh right. By the way—have you ever been kicked by light?"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
With explosive force, Law, Kidd, Luffy, and the others who had just escaped were sent flying back into the auction house like cannonballs.
Several other pirate captains who Naruto recognized from the Worst Generation were also hurled in.
They crashed hard into the walls, coughing up blood.
Capone's face turned pale as he called out their names:
"Mad Monk Urouge! Gluttonous Jewelry Bonney! X. Drake...!? You weren't even at the auction! Why are you here!?"
X. Drake stood up with difficulty.
"Obviously because we ran into a terrifying opponent... Two Marine Admirals."
Urouge said bitterly:
"Aokiji... and Akainu... They're both at the port outside."
A collective gasp echoed through the auction house.
Every pirate present went cold from the shock...
(End of Chapter)
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