The questioning voice behind him made Raynor frown. He turned around, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Garp, Zephyr. I didn't expect the Marines to send the two of you."
Garp and Zephyr were both representatives of the new generation of Marines. Barring any accidents, they were destined to become future Admirals.
Of course, whether they wanted to be Admirals was another matter.
"You are their captain?!"
Looking Raynor up and down, Garp's expression was somewhat solemn.
Two female crew members were already this strong. Wouldn't the captain's strength be even greater??
And the force of that punch just now was truly terrifying!!
Even now, the web of his thumb was numb.
"That's right. I am Raynor, Captain of the Raynor Pirates."
"You must be here because of Saint Roswald, right??"
Raynor faced the two directly, smiling lightly.
"Hmph. Daring to kill a Celestial Dragon is already a capital crime. No matter who you are, you must die."
Garp, who had been sneak-attacked, glared fiercely at Raynor, clearly bothered by what just happened.
"Want to kill us?? Do you have the strength??" Raynor looked at the two playfully.
These two guys didn't seem to have grasped the situation yet.
"Bastard! If you hadn't sneak-attacked just now, did you really think you could hurt me?!!" Garp retorted angrily.
"Big Bro, don't waste words with this guy. Let me finish him!!" Linlin, her anger undiminished, rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight Garp again.
"Relax, Linlin. I won't spoil your fun. But before that, eat this first."
While holding Linlin back, Raynor took out a Devil Fruit covered in white spiral patterns from his coat.
Seeing this Devil Fruit, Linlin's face was full of surprise, while the expressions on the others' faces varied.
"Big Bro, is this for me?" Linlin played with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, unable to put it down.
Jace and the others had guessed correctly; this Devil Fruit was indeed prepared by her Big Bro for her.
Ever since she turned eighteen, she had given her first time to Raynor and become his woman.
She was no longer that ignorant little girl.
But there were still several people on the ship who didn't have Devil Fruits, and Hajrudin, in particular, was also very suitable for this fruit.
Raynor prioritizing her touched Linlin deeply.
Looking at the Devil Fruit in her hand, Linlin's eyes went straight.
Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit (Gura Gura no Mi)—hailed as the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit in terms of destructive power.
The user could cause vibrations in the sky, earth, and ocean, triggering massive tsunamis and powerful shockwaves.
"Is that... the Tremor-Tremor Fruit??"
Garp and Zephyr exchanged glances, their pupils filled with disbelief.
As high-ranking Marines, they naturally knew the power of Devil Fruits.
Even though they specialized in Taijutsu and Haki, there were certain Devil Fruits that even they were extremely wary of.
The Marines kept a close eye on some exceptionally powerful Devil Fruits.
One of them was the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
They just hadn't expected the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to appear here.
"Stop him!!!"
With shared understanding, the two acted almost simultaneously, launching attacks at Linlin.
They absolutely could not let Linlin eat the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Otherwise, with her monstrous physique, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"You two wretched guys, watch how I deal with you!!!"
Sensing their intentions, Linlin snorted coldly and took a bite.
Ret-ch—
Enduring the disgusting taste, Linlin swallowed the entire Devil Fruit in a few gulps.
In the next second.
Thump, thump, thump—
Linlin felt an incredibly powerful force surging within her body.
Combined with her "Iron Balloon" talent, the current Linlin felt indestructible.
Linlin clenched her fist lightly and punched casually into the space in front of her.
Crack—
The atmosphere shattered like glass, emitting a crisp sound.
Seeing this scene, Garp and Zephyr stopped simultaneously, their eyes filled with gravity.
If it was just a guess earlier, now the ability of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was undeniably unfolding before their eyes.
"Damn it! I don't believe it! She just ate it; how powerful can she be!!!"
"Let me test just how powerful this legendary Tremor-Tremor Fruit is! Bogard!!!"
Unwilling to accept failure, Garp shouted loudly.
The moment his voice fell, a cannonball followed closely behind him.
"Genkotsu Meteor!!!"
He had used this move to force Linlin back earlier, firing continuously to block even her Ikoku Sovereignty!
Buzz—
"Is this the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit??"
"You damned Marines, now it's your turn!!"
Linlin grinned ferociously, a transparent halo appearing around her fist.
Facing Garp's lethal move, Linlin advanced instead of retreating, taking a step forward and swinging her fist.
"Break for me!!!!"
The powerful vibrational force contained within the transparent halo erupted violently, detonating the cannonball directly, causing an explosion on the spot.
However, the powerful impact force carried by the explosion didn't move Linlin an inch.
"Damn it!!!"
The scene before him finally changed Garp's expression.
With the same move, the first time, Linlin was knocked back more than ten meters.
But this time, Linlin didn't move at all and clearly still had strength to spare.
This was enough to show the terror of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Garp, you bastard, you've had enough fun just now. Now it's my turn!!!"
"Soru!!!"
Linlin grinned savagely. As she disappeared instantly, a transparent halo larger than before enveloped her fist again, containing powerful vibrational force.
"Garp, it's impossible. We need to go, now!!!"
Zephyr made a prompt decision, preparing to retreat.
They weren't fools. Judging from the current situation, they had fallen into a disadvantage.
Leaving aside Linlin and Shakuyaku, whose strength was close to theirs, there were several people with unknown strength watching from the side.
And their strongest member, Captain Raynor.
No matter how they analyzed it, they had no chance of winning.
Continuing to stay here would only increase casualties without achieving anything else.
Moreover, a small, remote country hiding such a powerful pirate crew was no small matter.
They had to send this news back to Marine Headquarters as soon as possible.
"Damn it!"
Unwilling but resigned, Garp gritted his teeth and finally nodded.
This was his first time suffering defeat in such a manner.
"Bogard, retreat!!"
After years of cooperation, Bogard knew Garp's thoughts like the back of his hand.
Already prepared, Bogard issued the order decisively the moment he heard Garp call his name.
"Open fire on the interior of the Kast Kingdom!!!"
"Fire!" "Fire!"
Almost instantly, countless cannonballs poured out toward the Kast Kingdom without reservation, densely filling the sky.
And under Bogard's command, the ten warships were spaced far apart, so the shells were extremely dispersed. Although they were all aimed at the Kast Kingdom, they weren't clustered together.
"These bastards!!!" Raynor's face changed slightly. To think these guys would use such despicable means.
"Intercept them immediately! We absolutely cannot let them destroy the towns of Kast Kingdom!!"
Almost instantly, Raynor and the remaining crew members dispersed, rushing toward the Kast Kingdom.
They absolutely could not let these shells detonate in the towns.
"Vice Admiral Garp!!!"
Meanwhile, on the main ship, Bogard personally operated a giant cannon.
A truly giant cannon.
The volume of a single shell was more than ten times that of an ordinary shell.
BOOM—
With a loud bang, a shell tore through the air, leaving the barrel and aiming straight for Garp.
"Hehehe.... You damn pirates, you won't be so lucky next time!!!"
"Extra Large · Iron Ball!!!"
Garp let out a heart-wrenching roar. Using this move with his current stamina was indeed pushing it.
"Get out of my way!!!!"
Garp poured all his remaining strength and Haki into it. Like it was fitted with rocket boosters, the giant iron ball crushed toward Linlin.
After using this move, Garp collapsed from exhaustion, slumping onto the ground.
"Let's go!!" Zephyr used Geppo, grabbing Garp and flying to the warship.
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!!!"
Bogard, who was already prepared, gave the order immediately. amidst rumbling sounds, the ten Marine warships went full throttle and quickly sailed away from the Kast Kingdom's port.
Meanwhile, facing the giant shell rushing toward her, Linlin infused Armament Haki into the transparent halo and punched it.
Bang
The violent vibration detonated the shell directly. Powerful shockwaves swept the surroundings, causing the ground of the entire Kast Port to sink rapidly.
"Count yourselves lucky you ran fast!"
Walking out of the dust, Linlin looked at the fleeing Marine warships unwillingly.
"These despicable guys!!"
Soon, the crew members intercepted all the shells flying toward various parts of the Kast Kingdom, destroying them in mid-air.
"Captain, what do we do now??" Shakuyaku frowned, somewhat worried.
Although they had driven the Marines away, this time they had also exposed their strength.
If the Marines wanted to deal with them next time, the lineup deployed would likely be even more terrifying than now.
"For now, we'll stay here."
"Rest assured, dealing with us won't be that easy."
Raynor gave everyone a reassuring look. He really wasn't boasting.
With the boost from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his current Observation Haki range was enough to cover a giant island.
And anywhere he could sense with Observation Haki, he could release lightning.
So, the number of people meant nothing to him.
And if it were Marine powerhouses...
His current strength was fully comparable to, or even surpassed, a Marine Admiral.
The same went for Linlin, who had eaten the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Shakuyaku and Jace could also tangle with a Marine Admiral for a short time.
To defeat them and destroy Kast, the Marines would have to pay an extremely painful price.
And this price was definitely something they couldn't afford right now.
Don't forget, in the eyes of the Marines, Raynor and the Raynor Pirates had appeared out of thin air...
They were enemies who shouldn't have existed.
And who were their original true enemies??
Rocks, who was making waves in the New World. Roger, who was gaining fame.
Whitebeard, Golden Lion...
In short, it was definitely not Raynor.
At least for a short time, they didn't need to worry too much.
"Let's go back first. Buy two copies of the newspaper for the next few days."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
As usual, Marine soldiers shouted loud slogans while training in various subjects.
During the break, some soldiers whispered to each other:
"Hey, have you heard? Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Zephyr seem to have gone on a mission to destroy a country. That lineup... it's the first time I've ever seen it!!"
"Yeah, yeah! I took a peek when I woke up this morning. A full ten warships!!"
Hearing this, everyone gathered around, full of curiosity.
"Do you know which country it is??" someone asked curiously.
"I think it's called Kast something?? I only heard the name; don't know where it is."
"Tsk tsk tsk... To have these two mobilized together, that place called Kast is probably going to disappear forever."
"That goes without saying. How could those guys compare to Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Zephyr??"
"Holy sh*t..."
While everyone was discussing, Garp, exhausted and unconscious, was helped through the gates of Marine Headquarters by Zephyr.
When they passed the training ground, the entire field fell silent. All the soldiers stared blankly, their pupils filled with disbelief.
After the two left, someone finally spoke in a dry voice: "Were those two Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Zephyr just now??"
"Y... Yes, I think so." Then he shook his head: "Maybe I saw it wrong."
"Damn, what's going on? Did they lose??"
"Real or fake?? They..."
Realizing something was wrong, a Marine Rear Admiral quickly scolded: "Have you rested enough??"
"Get up, all of you! Continue training!!"
...
"What exactly happened? Tell me everything in detail!!!"
Fleet Admiral's Office.
Marine Admiral Kong suppressed the anger in his heart, looking at Zephyr with a gloomy face.
The unconscious Garp had already been sent to the infirmary.
Other high-ranking Marine officers had also been called over immediately.
Those qualified to be here were at least of Vice Admiral rank.
Rear Admirals weren't qualified to appear here.
Although Kong was furious, he also understood that for Zephyr and Garp to be in such a sorry state simultaneously...
Something unknown must have happened.
He had thought it was just an ordinary annihilation operation. Who knew it would go wrong?
Most importantly, this matter involved a Celestial Dragon, and the Five Elders had only given him three days.
If he didn't complete it within the deadline, he would also face severe punishment.
"What exactly happened??" Even the meticulous Tsuru couldn't guess the reason.
Could it be that they were ambushed by Rocks on the way??
Or encountered other pirates??
Zephyr sighed deeply. After organizing his words, he detailed the entire sequence of events to Kong and the other Marine officers present.
"In other words, the Celestial Dragon Saint Roswald and the Sanders siblings from eight years ago were indeed killed by the same group??"
"The Raynor Pirates?? How come I've never heard of them??"
A rough-looking Marine Vice Admiral frowned.
"Hehehehe... Wasn't it Garp and my first time dealing with them too? And look how that turned out."
Zephyr revealed a self-deprecating smile.
So much for Marine rising stars.
Beaten home by a group of unknown pirates. It would be a disgrace if word got out.
"Alright, their background doesn't matter anymore." Kong waved his hand, not wanting to dwell on irrelevant details.
"I didn't expect the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Soul-Soul Fruit to appear on the same day."
"And a woman with a physique comparable to Garp's."
Kong frowned tightly. Their appearance gave him an ominous premonition.
"Not only that, their Captain, Raynor, should also be a master of Taijutsu and Haki. He has awakened Conqueror's Haki and effortlessly blocked Garp's Genkotsu Impact with a single punch."
"He is definitely stronger than those two women, not weaker!!" Zephyr emphasized deliberately.
Zephyr's addition made Kong even more concerned.
He didn't want to dwell on where Raynor and his crew came from or why they were so strong.
The point was, they had appeared.
A pirate crew with such terrifying strength appearing out of thin air in the New World was definitely not good news for them.
"No, this matter is no small trifle. I must report to the Five Elders immediately."
"Zephyr, go rest first. Everyone, the operation to annihilate Kast is temporarily suspended."
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kong issued the order immediately.