"Strange, why is the main gate ahead open?"
Before the inner island gate, the guards looked suspiciously toward the main entrance.
It was rare for Enies Lobby's main gate to be fully opened—usually only when important figures arrived would they open it to welcome them.
"Main gate, main gate, what's your situation over there?" One guard picked up the Den Den Mushi to inquire.
Unfortunately, there was no response from the other side—only dead silence.
This immediately made them realize something was wrong.
"Dammit, has the main gate already fallen?"
"Quick, send someone to check the situation."
"Hey, who are you? Stop right there!" One guard suddenly noticed Luffy running toward them and shouted, "Did you open the main gate?!"
"Main gate?"
Luffy stopped in his tracks and turned around in confusion, only then noticing that the gate behind him had somehow been opened.
"That was me."
Meiser, who had suddenly appeared beside Luffy, spoke up.
"Meiser, so you were the one who opened it?!" Luffy said.
"Mn." Meiser nodded. "Opening the gate makes it easier for them to come in. Wasn't that the plan we just discussed?"
Luffy: ???
Plan?
What plan?
"You bastards, what are you two talking about over there?!" a Marine roared. "Who gave you permission to cause trouble here? Get down on the ground now!"
Luffy and Meiser exchanged a glance before speaking in unison: "We refuse!"
"How dare you refuse—"
"Wait, isn't that the Straw Hat Boy Luffy with a 100 million berry bounty?!"
"What?!"
"Hurry, wake up Oimo and Kashii!"
An enemy with a 100 million berry bounty was far beyond their ability to handle. And that guy in the vest had mentioned more enemies were coming in from behind.
With their strength, they probably couldn't hold them off—they had to wake up those two giants.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
"BOOM!!"
A storm of fists rained forward, sending a whole group of people flying.
After finishing his attack, Luffy grabbed onto a high door ring and called out, "Meiser, I'll leave this place to you!"
"Got it!"
"Bastard, stop right there!"
The Marines watched in fury as the enemy effortlessly crossed the gate. This was a severe dereliction of duty—they might even be executed by Chief Spandam for this!
Failing to guard the gate meant certain doom for them.
"Hey, where are you looking?"
"Damn it, don't underestimate us!" a Marine snarled. "The Straw Hat Boy is one thing, but how dare a nobody like you face so many of us alone?!"
"Get him, kill him!"
"Really being looked down on, huh." A hint of resignation flashed in Meiser's eyes. "Guess this is the downside of not having a bounty."
No matter how strong he was, no one even recognized him.
But it didn't matter—after this incident, his bounty should be substantial too.
After all... this was Enies Lobby!
Glancing at the approaching Marines, Meiser said, "Though we have no grudge, since we're on opposing sides... sorry about this."
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"BOOM!!"
An enormous fireball formed before Meiser, surging forward with terrifying heat.
"It's a Devil Fruit user!"
"Someone help me..."
"It's so hot!"
"Boom!!"
With a single strike, an entire group was taken out!!
The ground was scorched black, and the men lay sprawled, black smoke rising from their bodies—clearly unconscious.
"Someone with this kind of power can't possibly be a nobody. Who the hell are you?!" a Marine shouted in terror, staring at Meiser.
A casual attack had wiped out so many of them in an instant.
"Fire... Could he be Fire Fist Ace?"
"No way, I've seen Fire Fist Ace before. It's not him."
"Dammit, how can someone this strong not have a bounty?!"
"Me? I'm just an ordinary ninja, that's all." Meiser picked at his ear lazily. "Alright, enough small talk."
"Which one of you knows where Nico Robin was taken?"
"How the hell would we know something like that?"
"Even if we did, we'd never tell you, you filthy pirate!!"
The Marines glared at Meiser furiously, showing no intention of backing down—even if this man seemed unbeatable in their eyes.
But in their position, there were things they had no choice but to do.
"Filthy pirate..." Meiser shook his head. "Hearing that again."
"Whatever. Guess I'll just deal with you first—"
"Whoosh—"
Before Meiser could finish, two massive figures leaped out from behind the gates, momentarily blotting out the sunlight.
"Boom!!"
As they landed, the ground trembled violently from their sheer weight.
"Oimo, someone actually dared to attack this place today. How unexpected."
"Right, Kashii!" Oimo replied. "But no matter. We'll just kill him and be done with it."
"Let's finish this quick. I wanna go back to sleep."
It was still the middle of the night, and being woken up so abruptly had put him in a foul mood.
"Oh-ho~"
"Giants, huh."
Meiser tilted his head back, staring up at the two towering figures. This was his first time seeing giants in person.
They had to be nearly twenty meters tall. He wondered how they compared to the two giants from Little Garden.
"Thank goodness, it's Oimo and Kashii!"
"Quick, big guys, take him down!"
"Yeah, yeah, shut up already," Oimo grumbled irritably.
If their captain hadn't been locked up in Impel Down, would a member of the Giant Warrior Pirates really be stuck here guarding a gate?
Whatever. Time to deal with the enemy in front of them.
"Kid, you gonna surrender, or do we have to kill you?" Kashii said.
As he spoke, he hefted his massive axe, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
Anyone who dared stand in the way of rescuing their captain was an enemy of Elbaf!
Meiser ignored him, using his Sharingan to manipulate a few men into opening the gate.
Only then did he turn back to Kashii. "Bigger doesn't always mean stronger."
"Maybe you're right—but that doesn't apply to you!" Kashii roared, swinging his axe down at Meiser.
If the brat wouldn't surrender, then execution it was!
"Boom!!"
A tremendous force slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater.
"Hmph, crushed to pieces," Oimo snorted.
The strength of the Giant Tribe was no joke—against an ordinary person, being smashed into pulp was the only possible outcome.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not crushed to pieces~"
"Wha—?!"
Kashii's pupils contracted as he stared at Meiser, who had somehow appeared mid-air. He actually dodged it?
"Now, savor the strength of a human."
"Super Strength Fist!"
"BOOM!!"