After wiping out all the pirate grunts aboard the Strollo Pirates' ships, Perona happily floated back to Arashi's side.
"Arashi, I'm back!"
"You've improved a lot."
Arashi reached out and rubbed her little head, smiling as he said,
"But keep working hard."
"Hehe~~"
Perona loved it when Arashi called her his little ghost girl.
And she enjoyed his head pats even more.
Especially Arashi's head pats.
She had absolutely no resistance to them.
Every time he patted her head, she smiled brighter than a blooming flower.
Standing nearby, Bell no longer knew how to describe the shock in his heart.
One was calm and unfathomable.
The other was innocent and lively.
Yet this strange but oddly heartwarming pair had casually annihilated the powerful Strollo Pirates.
What else could he possibly say?
Worship was the only option left.
Arashi completely ignored Bell's existence once more.
After Perona returned, he shifted his attention back to the battle between Momousagi and Strollo.
Strollo's intent to kill Momousagi was obvious.
Having entered the battle, he had cast aside all distractions.
His sole goal was to kill this Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral and use her death to make his name known across the seas.
However, he quickly realized something was wrong.
The surrounding sea had suddenly become eerily quiet.
After forcing Momousagi back with a fierce attack, Strollo seized the opportunity to glance behind him.
The instant he did, his pupils contracted.
His fists clenched tightly.
Momousagi likewise took the opportunity to survey the battlefield.
When she saw that every pirate aboard the surrounding ships was lying motionless on deck, her beautiful face filled with shock.
The scene was simply too bizarre.
She was certain her Marines weren't responsible.
If her subordinates had possessed such strength, Strollo would never have succeeded in dismantling her fleet ship by ship.
After her brief surprise, her eyes suddenly narrowed.
Then she turned toward the Traveler.
"It's him."
The moment her gaze landed on Arashi standing on the deck, Momousagi's eyes widened in astonishment.
Back at Marine Headquarters, she had often heard Garp talk about a powerful traveler who had appeared in the East Blue.
Not only that, but Garp and Sengoku had repeatedly discussed recruiting him into the Marines.
Even before she departed Headquarters for the West Blue, Garp had still been brainstorming ways to lure Arashi into joining the Marines.
At one point, he had even encouraged Fleet Admiral Sengoku to simply kidnap him and drag him to Headquarters.
Because of Garp's unusual interest in Arashi, combined with Sengoku's eagerness to recruit talented individuals, Momousagi had also become curious about this mysterious traveler.
She had even discussed him with Vice Admiral Tsuru on several occasions.
What she never expected was to actually encounter him here in the West Blue.
And under circumstances like these.
Had she not been occupied fighting the Strollo Pirates, she would have boarded the Traveler long ago just to greet the traveler Garp constantly talked about.
"What happened?!"
Seeing all of his pirate crews lying motionless on their ships, Strollo suddenly spun around.
His eyes turned bloodshot as he roared furiously:
"What the hell happened?! My crew... my crew...!!!"
Strollo didn't care about the disposable cannon fodder.
But the trusted core members who had followed him across the West Blue were also lying motionless on the decks.
He didn't need to think twice.
His most trusted subordinates had clearly been killed.
After unleashing a nearly insane roar, Strollo suddenly turned back toward Momousagi.
Flames erupted wildly from his body.
Killing intent surged into the sky.
"Momousagi!"
"You're dead!"
"Flame Commandment!!"
Wrapped in blazing fire, Strollo shot high into the sky in a spiraling ascent until he was directly above Momousagi.
Then he spoke word by word:
"Fire Pillar."
The moment the words fell, a gigantic pillar of fire carrying terrifying heat descended from above and instantly engulfed Momousagi.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion shook the battlefield.
A scorching shockwave erupted outward and swept across the entire deck.
The next moment, Momousagi was blasted out of the inferno and sent flying through the air toward the sea.
"Die! Die! Die!!!"
Having landed a direct hit, Strollo gave her no chance to recover.
Another Fire Fist erupted from his hand and smashed downward through the air.
Momousagi, still suspended in midair, had no way to evade.
In haste, she could only raise Konpira before her.
Boom!
The collision accelerated her fall even further.
Like a massive cannonball, she plunged toward the ocean.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi!!!"
Seeing her knocked into the sea, Bell panicked.
Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped from the Traveler and swam frantically toward where she had fallen.
"Hahahahaha! A Marine Vice Admiral!!!"
After sending Momousagi crashing into the ocean, Strollo landed steadily on the deck.
Looking down at the sea below, he burst into wild laughter.
"Not enough! Not enough! Nowhere near enough! Hahahahaha!!!"
As his arrogant laughter echoed across the battlefield, Strollo suddenly turned his head.
His gaze swept toward the Traveler.
"Arashi, this Strollo guy is so arrogant!"
Standing beside Arashi, Perona paid no attention to Bell diving into the sea.
Instead, she stared excitedly at the flame-covered Strollo.
"How about—"
Before she could finish, Arashi interrupted immediately.
"No."
After observing the battle between Strollo and Momousagi, Arashi could already tell that Strollo possessed strength comparable to Ace after becoming the commander of Whitebeard's Second Division in the original story.
Under those circumstances, there was no way he would allow Perona to take the risk.
After stopping her, Arashi shook his head helplessly.
Then he decisively drew his sword.
"Since we've already been dragged into this mess…"
"We might as well cut this guy down too."
"Wow! Arashi's finally going to fight?"
The moment she saw him draw his blade, stars appeared in Perona's eyes.
She practically bounced with excitement.
"Cut him! Cut him! Kill him!"
"You're still alive?"
When Strollo saw Arashi draw his sword, disdain flashed through his eyes.
"Although I don't know who you are, it doesn't matter anymore."
"Because all of you are going to die here."
"Die!"
Before his final word had fully left his mouth, Strollo launched himself from the warship.
Wreathed in towering flames, he charged directly toward the Traveler.
Clearly, he hadn't taken Arashi and his group seriously at all.
His intention was to destroy both ship and passengers in a single attack.
Arashi didn't move.
His expression remained calm.
One hand rested firmly on the hilt of his sword.
As steady as a mountain.
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