At that moment, two Marine forces came charging from opposite directions, swiftly surrounding all exits of the temporary base.
Blocking the right street exit of the temporary base was none other than Momonga, who had been pursuing Yamato all this way.
The other force was led by Strawberry who's originally dispatched to Udon Prison.
Clearly, the cleanup operation at Udon had gone smoothly.
The reason only Strawberry troops arrived in the Flower Capital was because the slaves from Udon's quarry required the presence of Vice Admiral Hound to conduct investigations.
Though these slaves were prisoners delivered there by the Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi, it didn't mean they were all innocent.
Vice Admiral Hound had to remain to screen them, punishing the guilty accordingly.
With Momonga and Strawberry forces surrounding the base, Denjiro who had been saved by Yamato's timely intervention, did not dared to escape with Kozuki Hiyori in the chaos.
As Yamato and Sakazuki remained locked in their standoff, Denjiro immediately moved to shield Hiyori.
The shockwaves from their battle were so overwhelming that they were forced back repeatedly until they reached the base's main gate.
"Denjiro, who is she?" Hiyori trembled visibly, her eyes fixed on the masked Yamato.
Far from feeling relieved by this sudden savior, her voice shook with anxiety.
In their current predicament, even if her father Kozuki Oden had miraculously returned, it wouldn't have helped.
Though nominally the princess of Wano, she'd spent years hiding as the courtesan Komurasaki in the pleasure districts, gaining considerable knowledge about outside affairs.
Despite Wano's isolationist policies, pirates and other forces had infiltrated over the years, some frequenting the brothels where they'd speak freely.
From them, she'd heard terrifying tales about Admiral Sakazuki - not just the Marine's strongest combatant, but a ruthless enforcer of Absolute Justice who acted with lethal precision.
Worse still, the entire Flower Capital was under Marine control.
Sakazuki commanded not only Crocodile, who'd effortlessly reduced the shogun's castle to barren sands, but also Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman who'd slain Orochi, plus Jinbei.
Against such overwhelming force, resistance would only bring catastrophic consequences.
"Yamato. Kaido's daughter!" Denjiro remained tense despite Yamato's intervention.
As the Flower Capital's underworld boss who'd infiltrated Orochi's inner circle as his money changer, he made it his business to gather intelligence on both Kaido and Orochi.
He recognized Yamato as Kaido's estranged daughter who idolized Kozuki Oden, though they'd never met personally.
This only deepened Hiyori's confusion.
"Why would Kaido's daughter help us?"
Denjiro explained "Because she deeply admires Lord Oden and has always made it her goal to drive out the villains and liberate Wano Country!"
Hearing this, Kozuki Hiyori felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.
She never imagined that even after so many years since her father's death, he could still influence so many people—even Kaido's daughter regarded him as an idol.
How remarkable!
****
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted.
Without pause after being sent flying by Sakazuki's punch again, Yamato swung her kanabo wreathed in Conqueror's Haki and charged at Sakazuki with blinding speed.
With a sharp tearing sound through the air, the kanabo crackling with lightning came crashing down with overwhelming force.
"Wano Country truly is an irritating place!"
Facing Yamato's renewed assault, Sakazuki advanced instead of retreating.
His massive magma fist met the descending kanabo head-on.
BOOM—
A deafening explosion followed as terrifying shockwaves radiated outward once more.
As the two forces collided, Sakazuki slowly raised his head and growled.
"When Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi ruled, none of you stood up to protect Wano. Now you emerge one after another, claiming to defend this country? Have you no shame?"
Before his words faded, Sakazuki raised his other magma-coated fist.
"Great Eruption!"
The colossal lava fist, wreathed in roaring flames, rapidly expanded in Yamato's vision before engulfing her completely.
Even with her Observation Haki, she had no time to evade.
In desperation, she swiftly crossed her kanabo in front of her.
CRASH—
Another earth-shaking impact resounded.
Yamato's eyes widened as she was violently hurled backward, smashing through the temporary base's gates.
"!!!!!"
Denjiro and Hiyori both froze in shock.
Reacting first, Denjiro moved to catch Yamato mid-air.
But the moment his hands touched her back, the overwhelming shockwave sent all three of them flying into the base's hall, crashing heavily onto the floor.
The residual force rippled through the hall, sending Yamato's oni mask spinning away into the distance.
"Incredible... Is this the power of a Marine Admiral?!"
Struggling to rise despite the blood churning in her throat, Yamato spat out a mouthful of blood before forcing herself upright with her kanabo.
Ignoring her lost mask, she steadied herself into a battle stance, eyes locked on the approaching figure.
Beside her, Hiyori and Denjiro also rose, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Yamato in defiance.
Sakazuki strode forward relentlessly, his arms dripping with molten magma as an overwhelming aura of terror radiated from his entire being.
The oppressive presence of one of the Marine Headquarters' top combatants made Yamato, Denjiro, and Hiyori feel their breath catch in their throats the moment he stepped through the gates.
Just as the trio was nearly suffocated by this pressure, a sudden shout erupted from outside the temporary base's entrance.
"The Fleet Admiral has arrived!"
"All personnel!"
"Attention!"
"Salute to the one and only leader of the Marine's—His Excellency Fleet Admiral Orion!"
"LOYALTY!"
Hearing the thunderous chant suddenly ring out, Sakazuki froze mid-step in the hall's entrance.
After a brief two-second pause, he immediately ignored the three people in the hall, turned on his heel and marched back outside to stand at attention facing the street, raising his hand in salute.
Upon hearing that the Marine's Fleet Admiral had come to Wano Country, Denjiro and Hiyori inside the hall paled dramatically before exclaiming in unison.
"The Fleet Admiral!!"
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