Jin's calm expression made Momonga feel a surge of unease rise in his chest.
Don't tell me… this was also within his calculations?
"Looks like the plan failed~" Jin said lightly.
"That expression of yours doesn't match those words," Momonga replied grimly. "What else did you do?"
Splash—
As his words fell, part of the Sea King corpse—slain earlier by Onigumo—floated up from beneath the waves, drifting directly below them.
Jin calmly stepped onto it, the massive corpse supporting his weight as he looked up at Momonga.
"Why don't you guess~"
"Get it right, and I'll tell you."
As he spoke, Jin's peripheral vision caught sight of Sanji and Zoro rushing over.
Clearly, the fighting back on Enies Lobby had already ended.
Momonga: ...
Guess?
Well… fair enough. Enemies had no obligation to explain themselves.
He began to think carefully, retracing every detail he might have overlooked.
Is it the Straw Hat crew?
His gaze swept toward Robin and the others, who were nearly done wiping out the Marines protecting Spandam.
Was the ninja trying to create a fragile balance?
If the Marines didn't attack the Straw Hats, he wouldn't continue slaughtering ordinary soldiers?
If that were the case, Momonga could accept it.
After all, once this man was killed, the Straw Hats wouldn't be able to escape anyway—their end would still be death.
But…
Was it really that simple?
Did this brat truly believe the Marines wouldn't sacrifice part of their forces just to wipe out pirates?
Especially with someone like Onigumo present—an extreme hawk who never negotiated.
"BOOM!!"
Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed from the far end of the Bridge of Justice.
A massive fist burst out of a tower at its end, punching straight through the building's side—
And at the very tip of that fist, a man was sent flying.
"Rob Lucci?!"
Momonga recognized him instantly.
As a Marine Vice Admiral, he knew far more than ordinary officers.
"Looks like he's not Luffy's opponent after all," Jin said with a faint smile.
"Hmph, not necessarily," Momonga sneered.
"That man is CP9's greatest genius. The Straw Hat brat isn't his match."
"Then let's wait and see."
"You'll regret your arrogance."
After saying that, Momonga no longer paid Jin any attention.
This was only a clone—killing it meant nothing.
What mattered now was regrouping with Onigumo and Doberman and heading back into the water zone to kill the ninja's true body.
"Let's go, Onigumo. Doberman."
"…Hm?"
Receiving no response, Momonga turned back in confusion—
And his face instantly changed.
Doberman's eyes were rolled back, white foam spilling from his mouth.
He was clearly poisoned.
Onigumo wasn't any better—his legs trembled violently, barely able to maintain Geppo.
Momonga's expression darkened completely.
"Poison?!"
"You bastard—did you poison them?!"
As if those words triggered something—
Onigumo's legs finally gave out.
Thud!
Thud!
Both men crashed onto the Sea King's corpse below.
"That's a strange thing to ask," Jin replied casually.
"I'm a ninja. Using poison is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
"You didn't seriously think I'd fight all five of you head-on… did you?"
From Robin, he already knew—
Marine Vice Admirals were the strongest force beneath Admirals themselves.
People like that were never weak.
Fighting five at once would be irrational.
If simple methods could solve the problem—
Why not use them?
"Cough… y-you… damn pirate…"
Onigumo struggled to speak, clearly cursing Jin.
"What kind of poison is this?" Momonga demanded in shock.
These were Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals—
And they'd been taken down by poison in such a short time?!
What kind of terrifying toxin was this?!
"A neurotoxin," Jin said, crouching down as he removed two senbon needles from their bodies.
"It paralyzes the nervous system, stripping them of combat ability."
"And if left untreated for too long…"
"It leads to organ failure and death."
He casually tossed the senbon into the sea, then looked up at Momonga with a smile.
"Of course—if you get them medical treatment quickly, they might still survive~"
Neurotoxin.
From the moment the two Vice Admirals began attacking him, this plan had already formed in Jin's mind.
Everything that followed served that purpose.
Onigumo's eyes widened in disbelief.
When did I get hit?!
Was the poison mixed into the seawater?
Or were those thin needles the cause?
Either way—both were enough.
They had swallowed seawater.
Doberman's open wound had been submerged.
And those strange weapons had pierced their bodies…
Damn it!
Damn that pirate!
"Don't glare at me like that," Jin said calmly.
"If you were useless, I'd have killed you already."
Onigumo closed his eyes.
All he felt was humiliation.
His strength—never fully unleashed.
Defeated not by power, but by tricks he'd never even seen before.
If we'd fought head-on, you wouldn't stand a chance against me!
he roared silently.
A brat who can't even use Haki—how could he toy with us like this?!
Yet reality was cruel.
They had been defeated—cleanly, completely.
"Now then," Jin said, lifting his head and smiling kindly at Momonga.
"Mr. Mohawk—are you still planning to threaten me with my companions?"
"You can try carrying these two deadweights and escaping."
"Provided you can take them from me."
Momonga said nothing.
His expression was grim beyond words.
At this distance…
Onigumo and Doberman lay right at the enemy's feet.
If he acted recklessly—
What if this ninja killed them instantly?
Then there would be no chance to detoxify them at all.
At that point, the Navy wouldn't just lose thousands of soldiers—
They'd lose two Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals.
Damn it… this is humiliating!
Those two hawkish idiots—
What were their Observation Haki doing?!
How could they fail to sense something like this?!
Momonga was furious.
He had thought the situation had finally turned around—
Yet it was still firmly within the enemy's grasp.
After taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, Momonga said coldly:
"Remember your words. Break your promise—and the Navy will hunt you endlessly."
With that, he turned and departed, stepping into the air with Geppo.
"Don't worry," Jin replied with a smiling squint.
"I always keep my promises~"
"As long as you don't do anything unnecessary, that is~"
A ninja's battlefield—
Was never about strength alone.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ZoroTL442