"Ryu, Jake, I will handle the primary threat here while you both focus on the minor adversaries," Gojo ordered, adjusting his signature blindfold to ensure it was securely in place.
Murdock smirked, his muscles coiling with latent power. "How remarkably bold you are, pirate. What could a insignificant rat possibly accomplish in a lion's den?"
"Cease your incessant yammering and bring it on, Vice-Admiral," Gojo retorted, his tone dripping with deliberate provocation.
He was desperately taunting the Vice-Admiral, questioning whether the man was worthy of providing a decent challenge, especially since Gojo himself intended to hold back a significant portion of his power to prolong his enjoyment of the confrontation.
For his part, Vice-Admiral Murdock was planning to gauge his foe's strength while similarly restraining himself from employing his Devil Fruit abilities. He had consumed the Metal-Metal Fruit, which granted him absolute dominion over any metal he touched.
"I will grant you some credit for still standing so boldly," Murdock conceded, crouching low into a fighting stance to attempt landing the first strike. "Just how confident are you to blindfold yourself in a life-or-death battle?"
"Why don't you simply fin—" Charging forward at a formidable speed, Murdock cut Gojo off, refusing to let him complete his sentence—until his eyes widened in profound disbelief.
In that instant, he realized the circulating rumors about this particular pirate were true: the man had consumed a mythical fruit that granted him control over an invisible, impervious barrier.
"How utterly amusing!" Murdock yelled, glaring at his own fist, which hung halted in the air mere inches from his foe's face.
"I mean, how is this situation amusing to you when you can clearly perceive that you will be unable to touch me throughout this entire battle?" Gojo inquired, using his pinky finger to casually clean his ear.
'His confidence is entirely rooted in his Devil Fruit. If that is the case, then I will shatter his arrogance by unleashing my full power,' Murdock resolved internally before bursting into maniacal laughter and jumping backward to create distance.
Exhaling a long, measured breath, he slowly let it out and tossed his heavy marine coat from his broad shoulders.
'Should I truly be engaging in this instead of simply extricating myself from this tedious mess?' Gojo tilted his head to the side in contemplation. Seizing this apparent distraction, Murdock exploited the opportunity to charge at him once again, his fist propelled by immense force. "You have lost because of your carelessness! Turning your face away from me will cost you your life, pirate!" A glint of triumphant hope flashed in his eyes as he drove his fist toward the distracted pirate until…
Boom!!
Thick smoke lingered heavily in the air, and Murdock's lips curled into a triumphant smirk, believing he had finally finished off the insolent pirate. However, as the smoke dissipated moments later, he was horrified to see his fist halted mid-air once again!
"Eh? What happened to all that formidable confidence?" Gojo taunted, taking a deliberate step forward. Murdock realized, to his mounting dread, that the more this man advanced, the more he was unable to withdraw his own arm, which was moving slower and slower as if trapped in syrup.
"Ora ora!" Gojo delivered a mocking high-five. "Come on now, don't feel shy." His hand made contact with Murdock's, holding it in a firm and inescapable grip. "This is how you properly throw a punch." With terrifying ease, Gojo used the Vice-Admiral as a personal punching bag before finally sending him crashing catastrophically into a nearby building.
"That is impossible! Did he just send the Vice-Admiral flying?"
"Just who in the hell is he?!"
The surrounding marines watched in frightened awe, utterly stunned as the scene unfolded before them: the captain of the Blue-Eyed Pirates had effortlessly sent a Vice-Admiral crashing through a wall.
Dust and debris lingered from the building Murdock had crashed into. The townsfolk looked on in despair, witnessing these lowly scums labeled as pirates beating the hell out of their marine protectors.
One question surfaced in everyone's mind: How the hell were these three pirates overpowering a Vice Admiral and all his soldiers?
Curses lingered through the atmosphere as the civilians belittled the pirates from behind their windows. They were eager to help the marines overpower the intruders, but would they really last a second on the battlefield?
Gritting their teeth in frustration and anger, all they could do was watch the scene unfold from the safety of their various houses, not daring to step outside for fear of critical injury.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Ryuken used the back of his sword to knock out one of the marines. "Hey, Gojo! Let's make a run for it now!" He crouched down, neatly evading an incoming attack from a marine soldier who swung his sword, aiming to cleave the pirate in half.
Bang!
Jake shot the marine who had attacked Ryuken from behind. "Gotta watch your back, yo!" He let out a contemplative puff of his cigar.
Now driven into a corner by fear, the marines could do nothing but continue their assault, desperate to apprehend the pirates who stood defiantly before them. None of them was in their right mind to flee the battlefield—to desert would mean being doomed for real!
The sound of shifting debris suddenly caught their attention. The faces of the townsfolk turned into smiles from within their houses as they realized Vice Admiral Murdock was now back in action.
"Hoh, it seems daddy is back," Gojo teased playfully. "I've got an idea, guys."
Ryuken sweatdropped, swallowing hard. "My gut tells me that idea of yours is probably gonna put us in trouble."
"…hehe, that's right! I mean, where's the fun in this? Battling against weaker opponents and so few marines?"
"Hey, what's your point?" Jake reloaded his pistol impatiently.
Gojo whispered, "I'll let myself get captured, be taken to Impel Down, and…"
"And…?!"
"The World Government will then rest assured that their problem is solved. Boom—we break out of the greatest prison and cause an unprecedented ruckus," Gojo explained, his voice a conspiratorial whisper meant only for his duo's ears as the marines waited apprehensively for Murdock to surface.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Ryuken exclaimed, aghast at his captain's sheer audacity and carelessness. "Are you actively trying to get us killed?"
"Relax, we probably won't get killed. We just have to play it cool right now and allow ourselves to be captured—but don't make it look unconvincing. I've already formulated a plan," Gojo declared, walking forward with an air of nonchalance, both hands tucked comfortably into his pockets.
"I guess we just had to follow a captain who'll inevitably get us killed one day," Jake muttered, resigning himself and taking a battle stance.
"And I have a feeling that day is arriving much sooner than anticipated."
The smoke finally died down, revealing the emerging, hulking figure of Murdock. Blood slid in rivulets from his mouth and nose, which he wiped away with a furious, gritted-teeth grimace.
"I hope you've prepared for the worst now, Satoru Gojo," he raged, his voice a guttural roar. "I'll fucking kill you scum!"
"Can't hear you; come again!" Gojo teased, propelling himself into the air and causing the ground underneath his feet to fracture from the immense impact. "This time, put on a proper show for me."
Gojo observed the hail of bullets flying toward him but paid them no mind, knowing they would never reach their mark. His smirk widened as he clenched his fist, consciously holding back his immeasurable power to avoid accidentally knocking out the Vice Admiral prematurely.
Murdock's own lips curled into a vindictive smirk; he pivoted sideways with surprising agility, deftly dodging Gojo's fist. In the same motion, he hurled a small, unassuming piece of metal at Gojo, which he instantly shape-shifted mid-air into a sharpened projectile, catching Gojo momentarily off guard.
The transformed metal came to an abrupt halt, repelled by Gojo's Infinity, which only caused his smirk to grow wider. "So you're a power user like me? How interesting!"
Without warning, sharpened metals sprouted from the ground in every conceivable direction, yet none could penetrate the invisible barrier. Gojo immediately decided it was unfair to rely on his Infinity against such a comparatively weak opponent; he deactivated it instantly to ensure his intricate plan remained flawless.
He feigned distraction, noticing another metal spike shooting toward him from behind, and deliberately allowed it to strike him, the force propelling his body directly at Murdock, whose hands were now enveloped in formidable metal gauntlets.
Murdock struck with all his might, driving his metallic gauntlet into Gojo's chest and sending him crashing through multiple buildings. Murdock didn't waste a single second on hesitation; he gave immediate chase, knowing that if Gojo recovered, he would likely reactivate his Devil Fruit ability—a scenario he knew would be profoundly troublesome.
Meanwhile, Ryuken and Jake were fully engaged with the marine ranks, effortlessly dodging the volleys of bullets fired at them. Ryuken was exercising uncharacteristic restraint, temporarily foregoing killing blows; he was merely knocking soldiers unconscious with the flat of his sword or delivering shallow, non-fatal slashes.
Jake puffed on his cigar, a picture of calm amidst the chaos as he weaved between bullets, dispatching marines with precise kicks and punches. He similarly avoided lethal force, opting to disable his attackers by shooting them in the legs.
"How long does he intend to keep playing this game?" Ryuken grunted.
"Well, we shouldn't worry about him right now. These marines are like ants; where the hell do they keep coming from?"
The once-peaceful town now raged with the fury of war. Houses and stores were bulldozed by the cataclysmic impacts from the clash between Gojo and Murdock. The town had been turned utterly upside down—all by three pirates causing a level of chaos never before witnessed.
The townspeople prayed fervently to their gods for the marines victory, knowing that if the marines prevailed, they would be rewarded handsomely, with some even earning promotions.
To Gojo, this skirmish was merely a battle; he couldn't dignify it by calling it a war. He was unequivocally controlling its entire duration, for he was undeniably the strongest presence there. He knew that continuing to use his Infinity against Murdock would provide no enjoyment whatsoever. His sole objective was to get captured and subsequently delivered to the most infamous prison in the world—a penitentiary from which no one had ever escaped besides the legendary Golden Lion Shiki, back in the era of a prime Garp.
Since that fateful day Shiki severed his own leg to break free from Impel Down, it was said that no other soul had ever escaped; not even a pest would dare invade it, as its security had been improved to legendary levels of impenetrability.
So now, Gojo intended to rewrite history. He would get captured on this very island, willingly bound in Sea Prism Stone—since everyone mistakenly believed he had eaten a Devil Fruit, which he had not. He would then play the role of being weakened by the Seastone, and then… boom! He would cause an immeasurable chaos, liberate scores of prisoners to rampage through the levels of Impel Down just like how captain Buggy freed the prisoners when allied with Luffy to escape while casually retrieve his crewmates, and make their escape.
That event would undoubtedly shake the entire world to its core. A pirate from the East Blue breaking out of Impel Down would make the big shots in the Grand Line and the New World intensely curious about his power and personality.
He surmised that the World Government and the Gorosei would most certainly not keep quiet about it if he actually succeeded…