Under the bombardment of eight or nine pirate ships firing at full power, Bell's warship was instantly swallowed by flames.
Meanwhile, the soldiers aboard Momousagi's remaining warship scrambled frantically to return fire against the encroaching pirate fleet.
Very quickly, two pirate ships were blasted into wreckage by the warship's cannons.
But that was the limit of what they could do.
The remaining pirate ships were already closing in rapidly, causing the warship's artillery to gradually lose effectiveness.
Seeing this, the Marines quickly maneuvered their warship closer to the one where Momousagi was fighting.
Without hesitation, Momousagi leaped back onto her own ship before turning to glance at the Traveler.
She had already noticed the Traveler when she first arrived, but the situation had been too urgent for her to pay attention to it.
Now that she confirmed it really was the Traveler, surprise flashed through her eyes.
But there was no time to think further.
The Strollo Pirates' ships had already surrounded her warship completely.
"Hahahaha! Only one Marine warship left!!"
Looking at the final remaining warship, Strollo wore the expression of someone who had victory completely in hand.
However, just as he finished speaking, one of the pirate officers beside him suddenly said in surprise:
"Captain, there's still another ship over there."
"Hm?"
Strollo immediately exploded in irritation.
"Wasn't it supposed to be only five warships—"
Then he noticed the Traveler.
"Traveler? Ahahahahaha! Did this ship lose its way in the Devil Sea or something?"
After a slight pause, a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
Then he spoke with cruel bloodlust:
"It's an eyesore. Kill them."
"Yes, sir."
The pirate officer beside him bowed and immediately turned to carry out the order.
Naturally, Strollo didn't take a ship like the Traveler seriously at all.
Right now, all he wanted was to destroy the final Marine warship as quickly as possible.
As long as he sank this last ship, his plan would end in perfect success.
And after this battle, his name would shake the entire West Blue.
Then he could charge boldly into the Grand Line and march triumphantly toward the New World.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi!!!"
No longer sparing the Traveler another glance, Strollo looked directly at Momousagi standing on the warship deck and grinned viciously.
"I've long heard your name. Honestly, I'm honored that it was you who came to capture me in the West Blue."
"Because if I trample Vice Admiral Momousagi beneath my feet, my reputation will become even greater! Ahahahahaha!"
Momousagi said nothing.
Nor did she become angered by Strollo's arrogance.
One hand gripping the hilt of her famed blade Konpira at her waist, she calmly stared at him.
Strollo was strong.
That much was undeniable.
Three out of the five warships under her command had already been destroyed by him alone.
That fact alone was enough to prevent her from underestimating him.
And despite knowing full well that she was a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Strollo still looked completely composed and certain of victory.
Clearly, he had immense confidence in his own strength.
Which meant Momousagi needed to remain perfectly calm and respond with stillness against motion.
She had to stay sharp and kill him in a single decisive strike.
Otherwise, she really might fall here in the West Blue and bring shame upon the Marines.
"What? Didn't expect this?"
Seeing Momousagi remain silent only made Strollo grow more arrogant.
"In the past, it was always the Marines chasing pirates around. But now that we're the ones hunting you down…"
"Doesn't it feel unbelievable?"
"Ahahahahaha! Of course you didn't expect it! Honestly, even I didn't think my plan would go this smoothly."
"…Alright, enough talk!"
The moment his voice fell, flames erupted from Strollo's body as he activated the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit and shot into the air.
"Die, Momousagi!!!"
As he roared, he raised his blazing right fist high overhead before smashing it downward toward her.
"Fire Fist!"
The enormous flaming fist tore across the sky with a blazing trail behind it, carrying terrifying heat as it instantly crashed toward Momousagi.
At the same moment—
Momousagi, who had remained fully alert the entire time, finally moved.
Her body leaned slightly forward as the famed blade Konpira instantly left its sheath.
A dazzling slash burst through the air and collided head-on with the roaring giant fire fist.
Meanwhile—
The two Strollo Pirate ships that had been dispatched toward the Traveler finally arrived before it.
Clearly, these pirates didn't take the Traveler seriously either.
They didn't even bother bombarding it.
They simply intended to board the ship directly and slaughter everyone aboard.
Yet facing the two incoming pirate ships, Arashi paid them absolutely no attention.
His entire focus had already been captured by Strollo's Devil Fruit ability.
Back when Bell mentioned that Strollo was a Logia-type user, Arashi had been wondering which element it was.
He had guessed several possibilities.
But he never imagined—
It was actually the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Watching the giant flaming fist soaring through the air before being blocked by Momousagi's blade, Arashi blinked slowly in disbelief.
"The Flame-Flame Fruit?!"
He genuinely hadn't expected the Flame-Flame Fruit to appear in the West Blue.
In the original story, the Flame-Flame Fruit first appeared as Ace's power.
And Ace had sailed out from the East Blue to become a pirate.
Although the original story never specified exactly where Ace obtained the fruit, it could only have been in one of two places:
Either the East Blue…
Or the first half of the Grand Line.
So did that mean—
Strollo would die here, and the Flame-Flame Fruit would reincarnate somewhere in the East Blue or the first half of the Grand Line afterward?
"Arashi, Arashi! Those pirates are charging at us!!!"
Just as Arashi was distracted by the shocking appearance of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Perona suddenly jumped over excitedly.
"Can I kill them now?!"
"Ah, go ahead."
Arashi answered absentmindedly without even looking away from the battle between Momousagi and Strollo.
It wasn't that he genuinely didn't care.
His attention was simply completely occupied by the Flame-Flame Fruit.
As for fighting and killing…
Whatever.
As long as the ghost girl was happy.
Besides, Arashi was extremely curious about Strollo's current level of strength.
If Strollo had already developed the Flame-Flame Fruit close to maturity, then even Momousagi might struggle against him.
After all, in the original story, Ace had become one of the Supernovas of his generation in an incredibly short time purely through the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Later, after becoming the commander of Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, his fame shook the entire world.
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