Having seen the Heroic Spirit demonstration footage of Francis Drake, Nami naturally knew how powerful she was.
Thinking of Francis Drake's strength, Nami felt completely reassured.
As for Luffy, he was looking forward to seeing Francis Drake use her laser weapons.
Drake's appearance did not disappoint Luffy and Nami.
The moment she appeared, Drake raised her twin pistols and aimed directly at Gion and the Navy battleships.
With the sound of gunfire, several laser cannons were fired.
Though Gion reacted in time and wasn't injured by the laser blasts, the battleships behind her weren't so lucky.
Caught off guard, the ships were instantly riddled with damage.
"Nami-san, do you know that bold onee-san over there?"
At this moment, Sanji ran over to Nami with a lovestruck expression, gazing at Francis Drake in the distance.
Hearing this, Nami glanced at Sanji with disdain.
...
On the Navy's side.
Tsuru, Gion, and the others felt a heavy pressure seeing Francis Drake appear so suddenly with such overwhelming firepower.
"Who is this woman, and why is she attacking us?"
"She's the helper Genrou called in. Damn it, is she part of the Straw Hat Pirates too?"
"No, that ship bears a different pirate flag. She must be from another crew."
"But what's with their cannons, why are they firing lasers? And how did they emerge from under the sea—was it coated?"
"Undersea? Wait, those shadows underwater, don't tell me they're all ships?!"
As if to answer the Navy's questions, the sea around the Merry suddenly erupted.
Dozens of small ships surged upwards, forming defensive lines on either side of the Merry.
And as if that wasn't enough, some ships even floated into the air, hovering above the Merry with their cannons pointed down at Tsuru and the others.
"What, ships can fly?!"
Even Tsuru, who had seen countless things in her life, was shocked.
"These ships' cannons... can they all fire lasers like before?"
At that moment, an extremely bad premonition welled up inside her.
Looking at the fleet lined up on either side of the Merry, their countless cannons aimed at the Navy ships, Tsuru's gaze grew serious. She didn't know whether to keep blocking the Merry's escape or return to Gion's side to help withstand the imminent storm of fire.
Soon, the ships floating above the Merry helped her make that decision.
With a snap of Drake's fingers, the ships hovering in the sky all fired at once, sending dozens of golden lasers streaking towards Tsuru and the female Marines near her.
Seeing this, Tsuru frowned, quickly using her ability to form layered shields in front of herself.
"So heavy... This firepower is stronger than Navy battleship cannons!"
Tsuru's brows knit tightly. She waved her hand at the Marines around her, signaling them to retreat to the ships.
Once the female Marines withdrew, Tsuru also turned back to Gion's side.
"Tsuru-neesan, why are you back now? Genrou and the others..."
"This isn't the time to discuss that, Gion. These ships give me a very bad feeling."
Tsuru cut Gion off, staring sternly at Francis Drake as she questioned,
"Who exactly are you, and what is your relationship with the Straw Hat Pirates behind you?"
Hearing this, Francis Drake let out a hearty laugh and turned to look at Genrou standing on the bow of the Merry.
"Genrou, this is our first time meeting face-to-face. You all can leave now. As per our contract, I'll hold off the Navy for you."
"Thanks, Drake. I owe you big for this one."
"No need for thanks. But if you really want to repay me, invite me to your next banquet, haha."
"Yeah. It's a promise."
Genrou nodded heavily to Drake and turned to Nami, gesturing that they should leave.
After fighting Mihawk, Tsuru, and Gion, his stamina was nearly depleted.
Using the Noble Phantasm Ougon Shika to Boufuu no Yoru (Golden Deer and Stormy Night) to summon Francis Drake alongside him had drained him completely.
To put it bluntly, if he had to fight Gion now, he would only be able to rely on the Satou Kazuma template's resurrection function to revive once.
"I won't let you escape!"
Gion had been watching Genrou and Drake's conversation closely.
Seeing everyone on the Merry preparing to sail away, her obsession with catching Genrou flared up and she charged forward.
"That won't do!"
Drake waved her hand, summoning three turrets at her sides and above her head.
With three laser blasts fired directly at Gion, she was forced to block with her sword, pushed back to her original position.
"My name is Francis Drake, a pirate hired by Genrou."
"Now, remember my name... and die!"
Drake turned and spoke shortly to Gion and Tsuru before ordering her fleet, including the Golden Hind, to open fire.
In an instant, countless golden lasers bright enough to outshine the sun rained down upon Tsuru, Gion, and the Navy battleships behind them.
Facing this overwhelming firepower, Tsuru and Gion knew that if they dodged, their ships would be sunk.
The weaker sailors couldn't possibly withstand such an attack.
With no choice, the two used their strongest abilities to try to suppress Drake's Noble Phantasm firepower.
"Ho? They actually blocked my Treasure No.943?"
"These people of this world really aren't simple."
"Looks like this will be a prolonged battle."
"But... those are some fine female soldiers. If only I had such crew back in my days."
Drake tapped her shoulder lightly with her pistol, looking slightly surprised.
With her eyesight, she could clearly see how Gion and Tsuru had blocked her attacks with just a sword and some strange ability on Tsuru's palms.
The Navy battleships even managed to seize the chance to fire back at the Golden Hind fleet.
Of course, such shells were quickly shot down by Drake's flintlock pistols.
"Well then, I'll play with you all for a while."
Drake raised her flintlocks and fired several shots at Gion, who was charging up another flying slash at the fleet.
Then she turned to the Merry behind her, shouting to Genrou:
"Get going, my employer. Remember your promise to buy me a good drink later."
Genrou nodded heavily, patting Luffy on the shoulder.
"Luffy, it's time for us to go."
"Don't worry. As a summoned Heroic Spirit, Drake won't die."
"Besides, I still owe her a banquet."
Hearing this, Luffy looked deeply at Francis Drake, then turned to Nami, Zoro, and the others behind him.
"Everyone, set sail!"
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]