"Damn it! Big Mom wants to annihilate our forces at Unzan Port to balance out the severe losses they suffered at the Fernal Archipelago!"
Dimitri pieced it together instantly, his face twisting in sudden horror.
"This is bad!"
"Dammit!"
Dimitri's words caused everyone's expressions to warp with dread, prompting a collective gasp.
Initially, they hadn't looked that far ahead; they were simply reeling from the shock of Big Mom's ambush and trying to figure out a tactical response. But now that Dimitri had spelled it out, the true gravity of the situation weighed heavily upon them.
The Big Mom Pirates had suffered a crushing defeat at the Fernal Archipelago, sustaining severe casualties. Cracker, one of their primary pillars of combat strength, had been gravely wounded and would undoubtedly be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Since the high-end combat power of the Yonko's crew didn't originally hold a definitive edge, Cracker's absence created a massive, visible disparity between the two factions.
But now, everything had changed. If Big Mom could completely eradicate the forces stationed at Unzan Port before the Chris Pirates' reinforcements arrived, she would effectively balance the scales of power once more.
"No! We still have a chance!"
Arlan's expression was grim as he turned to Enel. "You go first! Buy us some time!"
"Leave it to me!"
Enel let out a mocking laugh as his body instantly turned into pure plasma. With a sharp CRACK, he transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting through the balcony window and soaring straight into the heavens.
Immediately after, Arlan spoke in a heavy tone: "The 'Z' Division is entirely stationed at Unzan Port. It won't be that easy for Big Mom to wipe them out, let alone kill Zéphyr. Furthermore, Alvis is currently airborne just outside the perimeter of Unzan Port. Order Otto to airdrop the ten Dragonians and every available combat automaton!"
"I'll go pass the word!"
Gorbo grunted, turning on his heel to sprint out of the briefing room.
In no time at all, the entire capital city of Nakor was thrown into a frenzy, functioning like a massive, well-oiled machine. Legions of pirates mobilized toward the canal docks that connected to Unzan Port, everyone boarding the vessels with nothing but the weapons in their hands.
"Faster! Move faster!"
Standing at Canal Pier 1, Aeridar shouted orders, his heart burning with agonizing anxiety.
There was no alternative. Even at a forced-march pace, it would take seven to eight hours to travel overland from the royal capital of Nakor to Unzan Port. Taking the canal route could slash that time to under two hours.
However, the canal was too narrow to accommodate medium or large warships; they had to rely entirely on smaller vessels, which was highly inefficient. To compensate, Aeridar intended to oversee the entire deployment personally, using the power of his Float-Float Fruit to lift the mobilized vanguard and transport them to Unzan Port all at once.
The docks were already a surging sea of humanity: Arlan's direct Elite Strike Team, Gorbo's Second Division, Dimitri's Third Division, the ten Dragonians tasked with guarding the palace, the Kuja Pirates, and a hundred thousand royal troops...
Meanwhile, back at the Unzan Port docks.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Two silhouettes, one titanic, one standard, were locked in a ferocious, high-speed clash. Deafening metallic screeches and massive detonations echoed relentlessly throughout the harbor, sending ripples of gale-force wind blasting outward in concentric circles.
Under the weight of their apocalyptic strength, the cobblestone ground was pulverized into fine dust. Horrific chasms crisscrossed the entirety of the docks alongside massive craters that looked as though they had been gouged out by heavy artillery, though they were actually forged by raw fist strikes. It was a terrifying sight.
"Flame Strike!!!"
Charlotte Linlin roared, her fists coated in a volatile mixture of scorching flames and powerful lightning as she slammed her hand downward.
BOOM—!
The earth instantly fractured and caved in beneath the strike, sending a torrential storm of jagged stone fragments flying into the air.
The next instant, Zéphyr shot out from the sea of flames with a whistling burst of speed. Vaulting over Big Mom's head, he brought his leg down in a savage axe kick.
Rankyaku: Heavy Axe!!!
WHOOSH—!
Suddenly, a blistering wave of fire surged from his right, resembling a massive arrow of flame. The intense heat caused Zéphyr's skin to prickle.
"Rankyaku!"
Zéphyr barked. Twisting his torso to force a mid-air turn, his descending leg swept out to the right, unleashing a vacuum slice that measured seven to eight meters in length.
The massive vacuum blade cleanly cleaved the incoming torrent of fire in two, slicing right through the sun Prometheus who was hovering behind the flames.
Yet within a fraction of a second, the two halves of the flame fused back together. Prometheus jeered mockingly, "Foolish! You can't harm me with that!"
"Die!!!"
Charlotte Linlin screeched, swinging her giant broadsword forward.
WHOOSH—!
A fierce gale swept across the harbor as a flash of pink sword energy ripped through the area. A massive block of residential buildings was sliced through with mathematical precision; their upper halves slid off diagonally and crashed to the earth with a resounding rumble, kicking up thick walls of dirt and debris.
At the exact same time, Shuzo was positioned along the edge of the docks, desperately coordinating the scattered personnel to assemble and board the ships. They needed to get the fleet out of the harbor to intercept the incoming Germa Kingdom armada.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, a royal navy galleon that had just cleared the pier erupted in a massive explosion. Towering flames and thick columns of black smoke billowed into the sky. Over a dozen sailors were launched dozens of meters into the air by the concussive force of the blast before plunging helplessly into the surrounding sea.
"What happened?!"
Shuzo watched in utter shock as the hundred-meter-long warship snapped clean down the middle, slowly sinking beneath the waves.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Right on the heels of the first ship, several other vessels erupted in violent detonations. The brilliant, fiery explosions illuminated the dark waters. Some ships foundered immediately, while others suffered massive hull breaches, instantly losing all propulsion.
Bubble... Bubble...
Just off the shoreline, a massive cluster of bubbles broke the surface. The vague outline of a colossal dark shadow began to emerge from the depths, indicating that something substantial was rising to the surface.
Before Shuzo could get a clear look at what the shadow was, over a dozen corpses floated to the top, instantly staining the sea a deep crimson.
Among the dead were both humans and Fish-Men!
"This is bad!"
Seeing the human corpses, a chilling realization struck Shuzo.
Splash—!
The massive shadow finally broke through the surface of the ocean. It was a heavily battered, metallic submarine, its iron hull scarred with countess deep slashes and puncture wounds. However, on the center of its right side, the Golden Ring crest alongside the skull-and-crossbones emblem of the Chris Pirates was still clearly visible.
Gasp—
Shuzo inhaled a sharp breath of cold air, blurting out in panic, "It's Millie's submarine!"
The situation had turned critical. In his panic, he had completely forgotten that Millie was submerged out in the waters monitoring the Germa fleet. If anything fatal were to happen to her, he would be held entirely responsible, even if they successfully held off the Germa armada.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Damn it! Pry open the outer hatch!"
"Slaughter everyone inside!"
Over a dozen Fish-Men were clinging to the surface of the submarine, shouting curses as they hacked away at the steel hull with their sabers and daggers. A few had already managed to tear a visible breach in the outer plating, causing a significant amount of seawater to pour into the vessel.
"You bastards!"
Furious and alarmed, Shuzo bolted forward, utilizing Geppo to race across the sky and drop directly onto the submarine's deck.
Before the Fish-Men could even register his arrival, Shuzo struck with a lightning-fast claw attack. His fingers, hard as iron, pierced cleanly through the chest of a brown-skinned Fish-Man like an eagle's talons.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the lifeless corpse aside like a broken ragdoll. The body slammed heavily into another pirate with a dull thud, shattering his bones and sending him coughing blood into the sea.
Blindsided by the sudden attack, the remaining Fish-Men bared their teeth, brandishing their weapons as they swarmed Shuzo from all sides.
"Shigan: Five!"
"Shigan: Ten!"
"Rankyaku: Whip!"
Unleashing his full fury, Shuzo channeled his immense strength into the Rokushiki techniques, making every single strike a lethal blow. Within the blink of an eye, the dozen or so Fish-Men were utterly decimated, leaving only three or four left standing.