Chapter 13: Successful Retreat
"Don't be in such a hurry. Your opponents aren't him. Pretend we don't exist, why don't you?"
Luo Lin and Rayleigh taunted their respective targets.
"You bastards! You're making enemies of the entire world!"
Thanks to the two blocking Kizaru and Aokiji, Fisher Tiger made it to the very edge of the Red Line. He left a quick "I'll be waiting below!" and leaped without hesitation.
"Those trash Celestial Dragons don't represent the whole world! We just came to watch the show. The main culprit got away—so now you two are in deep shit, huh? Hahaha!"
Luo Lin was practically bouncing with excitement. And for good reason—he was facing Aokiji again.
Seven years ago he'd been beaten and threatened by this very Admiral. Now he got to screw him over and maybe even get him yelled at back at HQ.
Petty? Absolutely. Luo Lin held grudges.
Yet Aokiji's face remained impassive. That tiny bit of disappointment stung.
"He escaped, but you two are still here. Catching you works just as well."
Aokiji said calmly.
"Wow, looks like the Admirals are underestimating us a little~"
"Yep! Time to show them what we've got!"
Luo Lin immediately fired a flying slash. Aokiji turned to ice and let it pass through.
"Ice Mass: Pheasant Beak!"
Aokiji opened with a big move.
"One-Sword Style: Rending Burst!"
A self-invented technique—Armament Haki wrapped around the blade, then released as an explosive slash that detonated on contact. He gave it a cool name because… well, he couldn't just keep basic-attacking an Admiral's ultimate. Rude.
The moment the two attacks collided, a massive explosion rocked the area.
"Fall back! We can't get near an Admiral-level fight!"
The Marines and CP agents who had been crowding close got blasted away and finally learned to keep their distance.
Luo Lin and Aokiji vanished in a blur, trading blows at blinding speed. Ice shattered against Haki, slashes phased harmlessly through elemental bodies.
Aokiji even formed two ice spears and dueled Luo Lin blade-to-blade.
"Scaryyy~"
Kizaru drawled from the sidelines, but he was secretly on edge. Aokiji was a fellow Admiral—he knew exactly how strong the man was. Yet this kid was holding his own.
After watching a bit, Kizaru lazily prepared to join in. He'd only been Admiral for a short while; he couldn't fish the whole fight with everyone watching. What if the Gorosei docked his pay?
(※ In the timeline, 16 years before the Summit War Kizaru was still a Vice Admiral. This incident is ~13 years before, so we'll treat him as freshly promoted Admiral.)
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Rayleigh drew his sword without a word and met Kizaru head-on.
The four-way battle caused far more destruction than Tiger ever had. Good thing they were far from the Celestial Dragons' residences.
Kizaru was actually taking it seriously for once. Facing someone who could keep up with him, slacking off meant death.
Below, Tiger slammed into the sea like a meteor. Even with ten times human durability, the impact made him grimace.
He surfaced and stared up at the Red Line.
Ice storms, golden light, constant explosions—huge chunks of rock rained down, forcing him to dive repeatedly.
"That level of collateral damage… those two aren't ordinary. Hope they make it out safe."
Tiger stood on the water, refusing to leave until his saviors arrived—or the Admirals did.
…
Up top, the fight had reached fever pitch.
All four were breathing heavily, especially Luo Lin—his hands were trembling around Shinrai's hilt.
He was strong, but still a hair below true Admiral level, and he had no fruit power.
After shattering Aokiji's ice spears again, he yelled over to Rayleigh.
"Uncle! You done yet? I'm about to drop! Can we call it?!"
"Coming!"
Rayleigh parried Ama no Murakumo and flashed to Luo Lin's side.
"Scaryyy Trying to run? It's useless"
Kizaru drifted over to Aokiji.
"Not yet!"
Luo Lin and Rayleigh locked eyes.
Luo Lin began charging power.
Rayleigh stood ready—he didn't need charge time.
"Here it comes—their final struggle!"
Kizaru and Aokiji grew serious. These two black-cloaked monsters were no joke. One was merely young-sounding; the other was absurdly strong.
"One-Sword Style: Tempest Rend!"
"Divine Departure!"
Luo Lin unleashed a roaring shockwave filled with flashing blades and debris.
Rayleigh fired a Conqueror-infused flying slash that grew massively as it traveled, becoming thicker than an ancient tree trunk by the time it reached the Admirals.
"Ice Age!"
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
The Admirals answered with their own ultimates.
Four attacks collided—BOOM!
The explosion dwarfed everything before it.
An entire section of the Red Line shattered. A huge chunk of the continent was simply gone, like someone took a giant bite out of a cake.
While the Admirals were busy blocking, Luo Lin and Rayleigh leaped off the cliff.
"What the hell kind of explosion was that?! Please be okay!"
Tiger gaped from below, dodging falling boulders the size of houses.
At the new cliff edge, Kizaru and Aokiji stood battered—Aokiji's suit torn in dozens of places, Kizaru's clothes disheveled.
"Scaryyy I almost died"
"Those aren't normal people. Pursue?"
"Nah. Overtime sucks. No Celestial Dragons died, and we recaptured plenty of slaves. Good enough."
Kizaru waved it off. Chasing monsters like that into the ocean—where the enemy had the advantage and neither had shown a Devil Fruit—was pointless.
"But… walking away empty-handed feels wrong~"
Kizaru turned back, leaped into the air.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
He fired one last prolonged barrage straight down, then landed.
Aokiji glanced at him.
"The Fish-Man was the mastermind, right? Still waiting below. Might kill him even if the other two survive."
"Getting dragged out in the middle of the night… I'm going back to sleep~"
He sauntered off. Aokiji followed.
"Kizaru, you sneaky bastard! I'm remembering this!"
Luo Lin roared as he fell, a Magatama grazing his neck and drawing blood. Rayleigh was untouched.
Thanks to the fires above, they could see the Admirals, but the Admirals couldn't see them in the dark.
They'd thought Kizaru left and relaxed—then Observation Haki screamed warning.
That dense laser rain almost turned Luo Lin into swiss cheese.
"Pfft—hahahaha! Lesson learned, kid? Never let your guard down until you're absolutely safe. You're strong, but you're still green!"
Rayleigh was laughing his ass off.
"You think this is funny?! I almost died! Why didn't you warn me?!"
"Combat experience can't be taught—you gotta earn it! Besides, you sensed it coming, didn't you?"
The two floated on the sea.
"Where's the Fish-Man?"
"Right here!"
Tiger surfaced once the rocks stopped falling.
"Oh, sorry—used too much Haki, night's dark, didn't notice you!"
"No problem! Name's Portgas D. Luo Lin. You?"
"Fisher Tiger!"
"Hey! Can we maybe not chat right under two Admirals?!"
Rayleigh interrupted.
"Right, right—let's head back!"
…
GR 13 – Xia Qi's Rip-off Bar
The three set down their cups (Luo Lin still on juice).
"Thanks for today. Never thought anyone would show up just to help me—especially a kid with Admiral-level strength!"
Tiger spoke first. Without them, he'd be dead.
"No big deal! Someone finally stood up to the World Government—of course we had to see it!"
"Exactly! All life should be equal! The Celestial Dragons kidnap people of every race to be slaves and kill anyone who resists. Why should that system exist? Those who fight it deserve our help!"
As a fine young man from the 21st century, Luo Lin spoke his mind.
Tiger's eyes widened. This kid thought exactly like him!
"Didn't expect to meet someone who shares my beliefs! Hahaha!"
"By the way—what about those three little girls?"
All eyes turned to the three terrified girls sitting at another table.
Fate works in funny ways.
Luo Lin had figured he'd run into the future Pirate Empress and her sisters eventually—Rayleigh and Xia Qi helped them return to Amazon Lily in the original story anyway.
Yet on the way back they literally stumbled upon Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold being chased.
Luo Lin instantly rescued them. The girls introduced themselves on the way.
"No idea!"
"You're the one who picked them up!"
"Haha… they were being chased! Can't just throw them back now, right?"
The three sisters glared at Luo Lin. Hancock (only 16) already showed hints of the future world's most beautiful woman, but compared to 15-year-old Robin she was still a bit underdeveloped—probably from years of malnutrition as a slave.
Luo Lin had zero interest in the future love-struck empress. Robin only.
"Relax. We saved you—we're not tossing you out. Eat first. You need strength to run."
"Hehe, you're an interesting one, Luo Lin. Leave the girls to me."
Xia Qi chimed in.
Hancock's trio tensed again—her bar was literally called "Rip-off."
"I was friends with your Amazon Lily's emperor three generations ago, Gloriosa. Stay here a few days until things calm down, then I'll contact her to take you home."
The sisters burst into joyful tears, thanking everyone nonstop. Four years of hell were finally over.
"Then they're in your hands, Miss Xia Qi! What about you, Tiger-san?"
Luo Lin asked while devouring food—he was starving after the night's battles.
"Me? Back to Fish-Man Island. After this stunt I need to report to Princess Otohime ASAP and cut ties with the surface before the island gets dragged in."
Tiger set down his cup and stood.
"Makes sense. Can't implicate the island."
Fish-Man Island—the whole reason he came.
Before Luo Lin could speak, Tiger pulled out three conch shells and handed one to each of them.
"These are my marks. With them you can enter and leave Fish-Man Island freely!
Human or Fish-Man, I hope we'll always be friends. You'll always be welcome—the king will roll out the red carpet!"
Luo Lin grinned at the conch.
"Of course! Having a Fish-Man bro is badass! Wait till I brag to my wife when I get home! Hehehe!"
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