Chapter 217: Endgame I
"Sengoku?"
As Sengoku caught sight of Tsuru, Tsuru also saw him in the distance.
Distant memories stirred.
But the half-year at the Marine Academy had long since been compressed into a blur compared to her six years with the White Wolf Pirates. The fact that she still remembered the afro-headed Marine wearing a Vice Admiral's cloak before her was already a sign of her sharp memory. They had only been cadets of the same class, swamped by coursework; even with acquaintances, most days ended with just a couple of words after drills.
The gap between female and male soldiers had been large.
So Tsuru only glanced at Sengoku before looking away.
Once, they had shared similar goals.
But by now, everything had changed. She had made her choice and would not waver.
Besides.
Wasn't she asked to choose by Admiral Kong?
Tsuru kept her eyes on the battlefield between Kong and Rona. The upper tier of combat was beyond her reach. Among her crewmates, her growth had been slow; even now, she was still struggling to master advanced applications of Armament Haki and Observation Haki
After all, in later years, rather than training, most of her time had gone into managing the day-to-day affairs of the White Wolf Alliance.
Even so, Silas's promise still stood.
He had found her an excellent Devil Fruit.
A Logia: the Wind-Wind Fruit.
At first, she could only become a breeze; later, a storm; in the end, she could conjure several tornadoes hundreds of meters high out of thin air.
Even for Silas, finding a Logia in the seas wasn't easy; it needed more than maneuvering—it needed luck.
The Wind-Wind Fruit was one of the top Logias, recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, the sort that, once it appeared, would have countless hands scrambling for it.
Of course, that depended on recognition.
While the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia existed in these seas, not every pirate had the privilege to see it.
Most pirates never laid eyes on a Devil Fruit in their entire lives, never mind the encyclopedia.
Silas, naturally, was not among them.
He had stumbled upon the Wind-Wind Fruit by chance. Most of the top-tier fruits he'd held previously came through other means, but this one he found while consolidating the New World—buried in a pirate crew's hideout.
The leader of that crew had probably never decided whether to eat it.
Devil Fruits granted a huge boost to ordinary people.
But for great pirates already strong, they would not eat an unknown fruit unless they had no choice. If the ability was mediocre and the boost small, they would lose the essential ability to swim and gain a glaring weakness. It wasn't worth the risk.
So the White Wolf Alliance had gathered many Devil Fruits over the years, but the Wind-Wind Fruit had been a true windfall.
Silas also knew that the World Government was collecting powerful Devil Fruits.
Even if they didn't eat them, they hoarded them.
Winds howled across the battlefield in an instant. On the White Wolf Alliance's side, the wind was at their backs; on the World Government's side, it blew in their faces.
"Damn it, where did this freak wind come from?"
"We can't get the shells out!"
"Bad news—enemy shells! Take evasive action!"
The fleets had closed to less than two kilometers apart. Even the era's cannons could attempt a volley at that range.
With this many ships on the water, a lucky shot could still hit something.
"Damn!"
Seeing Tsuru ignore him made Sengoku restless, but first, he had to face the artillery from the White Wolf Alliance's fleet.
He had no choice but to use his Devil Fruit power.
"Daibutsu!"
A golden Buddha manifested atop Sengoku's flagship. The Daibutsu clapped a massive palm, releasing a shockwave that knocked every incoming shell aside.
After the single strike, Sengoku calmed down.
This was a battlefield, not a place for sentiment. Tsuru's identity as a Marine spy meant that approaching her recklessly would only expose her.
Tsuru had to be looking for an opening, too.
With that thought, Sengoku stopped dwelling on Tsuru and focused fully on opposing the White Wolf Alliance's fleet. His Devil Fruit had already awakened; though his Haki lagged slightly behind Garp's, overall, he wasn't far off.
Stopping him took more than top-tier great pirates.
It took White Wolf Pirates members.
"Buddha Sengoku? I've heard of you."
A voice rose from a distant ship. Sengoku turned. A purple-haired youth stood upon the deck.
Seeing that purple-haired youth, Sengoku's face tightened.
"A second-generation trainee of the White Wolf Pirates."
According to when they joined, the Marines categorized the White Wolf Pirates into veteran crew and first- and second-generation recruits.
First-generation recruits like Rocks and Newgate were already legendary great pirates. Their strength was such that even Marine Admirals weren't necessarily their match—only White King Silas stood above them.
Among second-generation recruits, the most famous was Golden Lion Shiki, whose Float-Float Fruit the Marines profoundly feared.
By comparison, the purple-haired youth before him seemed obscure.
Next to the White Wolf Pirates, he looked more like a member of the New Marines formed by the Marine traitor Scarlet Serpent Rona—a name resounding among pirates.
Black Arm Zephyr.
Just from the name, one could tell he was a top-class martial artist, a Haki specialist—no opponent to take lightly.
As Sengoku and Zephyr locked eyes—
Several World Government ships and White Wolf Alliance ships crashed together.
On these seas, guns could only smash ships. To deal meaningful casualties, ships had to close and board.
Hull to hull. Planks were thrown across. Then came the boarding jumps.
With the boarding battle unleashed, the field plunged into chaos.
Silas's Millennium Falcon also slammed into Imu's flagship. But long before their ships had grappled, Silas and Imu had already begun to fight.
Their battle was not confined to the ships.
Flesh wings unfurled. Imu floated like a demon in midair, her Conqueror's Haki terrifying.
Silas was no less imposing.
He could not fly, but at their level, hovering on Moon Walk for long stretches brought no fatigue.
So they ignored the fleets beneath and fought straight into the clouds.
Then came Rocks and Newgate.
Their pirate ships rammed Imu's flagship as well. Four large warships locked together into a sizable fighting platform as the two-vs-six erupted in an instant.
"Strange, Sister Ripley—why don't they want my help?"
Linlin, already on the Millennium Falcon, had intended to rush in the moment the ships locked, but was stopped by the two men.
"This is our fight. We don't need you to intervene."
So Linlin asked Ripley, looking thoroughly put out.
"Probably men's pride?"
Ripley scratched her cheek. She couldn't make sense of why the two were pushing so hard.
After all, in top-tier numbers—
Their side wasn't inferior to the World Government. Even if Linlin went to help, the remaining enemies still wouldn't overwhelm them.
"They're here!"
A fifth warship—a Marine vessel—arrived. Fleet Admiral Ortega, seeing Imu's flagship under attack, rushed there at once.
The instant Linlin saw Ortega, her eyes lit up.
"Sister Ripley, this one's mine."
"Alright. Be careful."
"Heehee. He might be a bit stronger than most—but he's still not my match."
Compared to her mastery of Armament Haki, Linlin's Observation Haki was not high—only just enough to glimpse the future.
By contrast, Ortega had no Conqueror's Haki, but he was a top user of dual Haki. In dual-Haki mastery, perhaps only Silas could suppress him.
But no matter how sharp your Observation—
"Take my Observation Kill!"
Linlin raised a massive cleaver and swung for Ortega. He almost went green because he could feel Silas's Conqueror's Haki stored in that blade.
Even though Haki was only stored in steel, it was released at once, suppressing his Haki completely. For an instant, his mind went blank—he didn't even perceive Linlin's move.
By the time he reacted, Linlin's blade was almost on him.
"Iron Body: Extreme!"
Ortega hadn't wanted to use Iron Body, but he had no choice.
Except Linlin didn't play by the book.
She knew the Haki stored in the cleaver was one-use—after release, it was gone. Though her raw power surpassed Ortega's, Observation Haki had always been her blemish.
She could trade blows with Silas for a day and a night because Silas chose to meet her.
If he didn't—
She might never touch him once.
So before the battle, Silas had sealed a strand of his Conqueror's Haki into her blade for exactly this moment of surprise.
Seeing Ortega brace, a sly glint flashed in Linlin's eyes.
Her slash was a feint.
Though nearly three times Ortega's height, her movements were terrifyingly nimble. Her blade carried Silas's Conqueror's Haki—but that wasn't the true attack.
Linlin had Conqueror's Haki too, and could coat with it.
Silas's Haki was still Silas's. She could release it, but it only briefly suppressed Ortega's Observation; it wouldn't be devastating.
So her true finisher was—
"Take this!"
After the feint, she wrapped her leg in Conqueror's Haki, crossed the gap, and drove her kick into Ortega.
With Conqueror's coating plus Linlin's monstrous strength, even with Iron Body defense, the absurd impact nearly knocked Ortega out.
She wasn't done.
After the kick, she wound her cleaver again, like a slugger at the plate.
Air compressed in an instant.
"Hakoku!!!"
Bang.
After the combo, Ortega nearly became the first Admiral-class fighter to be knocked out of the war.
Nearly.
"Seems this time, a lot of people will die."
A griffin clutched Ortega—who had almost plunged into the sea—and set him back on deck. Held in the beak, both his hands were gone, and much of his body had been torn away, but he managed a faint smile.
"Who knows how White Wolf Silas raises so many top fighters?"
The Conqueror-infused attack impeded Ortega's recovery—but as a top Haki user, in the breaths Linlin hesitated at the griffin's appearance, he forcibly purged Linlin's Haki with his own.
At the same time, his mangled body knit back together at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That's right.
After Cipher Pol chiefs Stevens and Glyndwr, Imu had signed contracts with part of the Marine high command.
So it wasn't just Ortega. The Marines' two remaining Admirals—Kong and Hines Oran—had also signed contracts.
While dueling Rona, Kong failed to dodge one strike and took a deep, bone-baring cut. His face showed no joy or sorrow as the wound closed at a speed visible to the eye.
Seeing that, Rona's gaze dimmed.
"Kong. So this is your choice?"
Though Kong was, in Rona's eyes, a somewhat clumsy junior, she had admired his devotion to justice.
But after Sebas died, Kong had grown increasingly extreme.
And now—
He had abandoned his pride and chosen to accept another's alms.
"For justice—it's worth it."
Kong's eyes were steadfast. In that moment, the way he looked at Rona was no longer the old colleague, no longer the figure he had once admired.
It was the gaze of an enemy.
"I see."
Rona fell silent; her eyes turned cold.
"Then die."
If he'd been the Kong of the past, Rona might still have tried to bring him into her New Marines. But now, with Kong fully gone to extremes—
Only a fight to the death remained.
Elsewhere, the great swordsman of Wano, Tentsuki Takiichi, battled Marine Admiral Hines Oran. They had crossed blades at Acropolis Port before.
Now they stood as enemies again.
Five thousand newly trained Wano samurai stood behind Takiichi.
Their strength might not have been overwhelming.
But on this battlefield, they were certainly no cannon fodder.
As for why Wano had joined—simple.
They had come to free their fathers.
After the God's Knights attacked Wano, they had taken many samurai. Those samurai had not appeared at Acropolis Port—but they had not missed this battlefield.
Demonized by Imu, the Wano samurai began slaughtering the moment they stepped onto the field.
And their opponents were—
The giants of Elbaf!