Chapter 122: The Sudden Storm
On the boundless azure sea, massive warships, flying the flags of the World Government and the Marine seagull insignia, were spread far apart. They formed a huge encirclement on the magnificent ocean, densely surrounding the area where a pirate ship was expected to surface from the deep.
On every warship, countless soldiers stood at the ready, their eyes and various instruments firmly locked on the center of the encirclement.
Just then, a sea breeze swept through, making the flags and sails of the warships whip and snap. It stung the eyes of countless soldiers, making them subconsciously narrow their eyes.
The sudden gale made the flag officers stationed on the warships frown slightly. After a brief moment of thought, they successively issued orders for the soldiers on each ship to furl the sails. The climate of the New World was fickle and unpredictable. No matter how strange the situation, as long as it happened here, it was considered reasonable.
But soon, the scale of the sea wind grew more and more intense at a rate visible to the naked eye, and the expressions of the flag officers became more and more serious.
A giant Vice Admiral wearing a steel helmet looked up at the gradually darkening sky, his expression turning grim. "The harsh weather of the New World... I hope it won't affect our operational plans."
On another warship, a middle-aged flag officer with a dragon-crested helmet and a dark complexion lit a cigar, looking thoughtfully at the sea surface, which was beginning to churn with terrifying waves.
"This strange situation on the sea—"
Recalling the high-level meeting at Marine Headquarters a short while ago, this officer's face gradually became strange. The next second, as if he had remembered something, his face changed drastically, his eyes wide. "A tsunami!"
He remembered. During the meeting, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had mentioned it. Archangel Louis was suspected to have used a tsunami to annihilate the main force of a Buster Call, leading to the deaths of five Vice Admirals and the remaining two thousand soldiers at the hands of the two giant captains.
He spun his head around and roared urgently at the surrounding soldiers, "Quick! Make the warship ready to withstand a tsunami! No, get ready for any natural disaster!!"
At the same time, similar orders were issued on the other warships. Driven by the ever-intensifying storm, every flag officer, whether they realized this might be an attack or not, issued the order to prepare for a natural disaster.
Soon, all the warships were ready.
And just then, the storm gradually evolved into an extreme natural disaster, one that was rare even in the depths of the New World. An unimaginable storm descended upon this sea area. The waves on the surface surged violently, each one powerful enough to heavily damage the entire fleet. An unimaginable roar echoed throughout the sea, and the originally spread-out fleet was instantly pushed to the brink of destruction.
Waves ten times higher than the warships churned back and forth. The aftershocks of the waves slammed against the warships' hulls, tearing open twisted gashes. An invisible gale connected the sky and the sea, sweeping an immeasurable amount of seawater into the sky and forming several destructive waterspouts that linked the heavens and the earth. The giant waterspouts swept toward the warships that were being tossed in the waves, as if to annihilate the fleet right here.
"!!"
"Is this really an attack?!" The destructive waterspouts, which were deliberately targeting the fleet, confirmed to many of the high-ranking officers that this natural disaster seemed to be controlled. It seemed that in the next second, this ambush fleet would be sunk into the deep sea on the spot.
Just then, a tall, lanky figure walked out from one of the two exceptionally large warships, looking rather seriously at the scene unfolding before him.
"Ahhh—what a pain."
"Even natural disasters are being controlled now?"
"Truly incredible," Marine Admiral Aokiji slowly exhaled a breath of cold air, his face becoming more and more cautious.
Natural disasters had always been one of the most terrifying sources of danger at sea. Every year, countless ships from various powers were lost to them. On the sea, the highest praise for a top-tier powerhouse was that their destructive power was comparable to a natural disaster.
Over a decade ago, the man known as one of the three legends among pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, had fallen to a natural disaster. When he was captured, he still had a comical ship's wheel stuck in his head. At that time, the once-mighty Flying Pirates had been defeated and suffered heavy losses in a storm.
Now, the ones facing the terrifying storm were the Marines themselves, and it seemed that in the next second, this fleet would perish here.
Just then, Aokiji's expression gradually became serious. His tall, lanky body was coated in white frost. An endless chill erupted, spreading out in all directions.
In an instant, a white cold current spread out at an extremely fast speed. Wherever it passed, everything turned into hard ice. In just a moment, all the warships that had been tossing in the waves were frozen to the surface of the sea. The extreme low temperature spread rapidly, quickly reaching the horizon, turning the terrifying waves that could swallow any ship into a pale, cold, bone-white glacier that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Looking out, waves ten times higher than the warships were frozen, transformed into a boundless, rugged glacier standing on the sea.
Marine HQ Vice Admiral Momousagi looked up at the several sky-blotting, sky-linking ice-frost waterspouts frozen in the air, a hint of amazement in her eyes. "Is this the gap between me and a true Admiral? The great power of a Logia-type natural disaster is on full display at this moment."
On another warship, Marine HQ Vice Admiral Doberman berated the soldiers who had been thrown about in the storm. "Get up, you trash! This is an attack! The original plan is canceled! Switch to a defensive formation!!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood!"
In the cold wind, similar voices rang out from the warships that were half-frozen in the sea.
On one of the two exceptionally large warships, Aokiji looked up, observing the still-fiercely-blowing wind, an unshakable doubt rising in his heart. "The wind... is it Dragon?"
The next moment, Aokiji shook his head again, throwing the thought from his mind. He knew that with Dragon's personality, he wouldn't cause such a huge commotion at a critical moment in his cause.
In the end, Aokiji gave up on thinking and turned to his adjutant to relay an order. "Inform all warships. My ability has only frozen the sea and the ships. This does not mean the crisis has been lifted. This storm is still a disaster capable of destroying our fleet! Tell everyone that while avoiding the disaster, they must also be vigilant for the target, who could surface at any moment! This storm is very likely their doing!"
"Yes, sir!" The adjutant saluted respectfully, then turned and left to contact the other warships using the Den Den Mushi inside.
At the edge of the horizon, a pirate ship that looked like food and was flying the flag of the Big Mom Pirates was frozen on the surface of the sea. No matter how hard everyone on the ship tried, they could not break through the ice to get closer to the center of the battlefield.
After a long while, a tall figure leaped down from the pirate ship and began to walk across the glacier, heading deeper into the battlefield.
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