"Dazzling Hundred Blossoms: Spin!"
"ROOM — Scan!"
"Six Powers: Tempest Kick!"
"Paper-Paper: Thousand Feather Piercing!"
Robin and the others, as the core cadres of the War Pirates, arrived at the coast almost immediately.
Facing the countless artillery shells raining down from the sky, none of them retreated. Instead, they immediately unleashed their abilities to intercept the incoming barrage.
Petals drifted through the air as Robin activated her Flower-Flower Fruit. Arms suddenly sprouted from the cannonballs themselves, grabbing and twisting them. The shells spun violently before being redirected downward and splashing harmlessly into the sea.
Nearby, Law expanded a spherical energy field with the power of the Op-Op Fruit. The shells that entered the field were instantly sliced apart into fragments, scattering harmlessly in midair.
Mangu leapt forward and unleashed a massive Tempest Kick, sending a tremendous slash wave soaring into the sky and detonating entire clusters of incoming shells.
At the same time, Lafayette spread a pair of enormous paper wings behind him.
The wings stretched over ten meters wide.
As he rose into the air, the paper wings trembled violently, firing countless feather-like projectiles. The paper arrows shot forward like machine gun fire, shredding every shell in the airspace ahead.
Within moments, explosions filled the sky above the frozen coast.
The Eight Treasures Navy's artillery barrage was fierce, but only a small number of shells actually managed to reach the shoreline.
Most were intercepted before they could land.
From atop a towering iceberg behind the battlefield, Kaito Arisawa watched the scene unfold.
When Robin and the others began intercepting the barrage, his attention shifted toward them.
"Mangu and Lafayette have developed their abilities quite well over these past few days."
Seeing how effectively his cadres had intercepted the attack, Kaito nodded with satisfaction.
His gaze lingered particularly on Mangu and Lafayette.
In order to intercept shells at long range, Mangu had employed Tempest Kick, one of the techniques of the Six Powers.
The enormous slash wave he unleashed demonstrated not only his mastery of the technique but also the tremendous strength behind it.
Techniques like Tempest Kick required more than skill.
Their true power depended heavily on the user's physical strength.
With Kaito's keen eyesight, it was easy to see that the Tempest Kick Mangu had launched was far stronger than before.
Clearly, he had incorporated the power of the Muscle Fruit into the attack.
More importantly—
The power Mangu displayed now was even greater than the strength he showed during the test three days earlier.
It had increased nearly fourfold.
This clearly proved that during the past three days, Mangu had not wasted time.
He had been diligently developing the abilities of his Devil Fruit.
As for Lafayette—
His progress was even more obvious.
Compared to three days ago, Lafayette had not only recreated the paper wings inspired by Robin's Phantom Wings, but had also refined their functionality.
Now the wings fired countless feather-shaped projectiles capable of destroying artillery shells in midair.
This demonstrated that Lafayette, like Mangu, had been actively developing his Devil Fruit ability during the past few days.
Satisfied that his cadres were performing well without needing his intervention, Kaito shifted his attention toward the fleet in the distance.
In terms of artillery power, the War Pirates were technically weaker than the Eight Treasures Navy fleet.
After all, the pirates only possessed portable cannons positioned along the shore.
Even so, a large number of their shells still managed to pass through the initial exchange and bombard the Eight Treasures Navy ships.
The incoming barrage forced the ships of the Eight Treasures Navy to maneuver frantically.
Several of their stronger fighters stepped forward to intercept the incoming shells.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Some shells landed directly on the ships.
Violent explosions erupted across the decks.
Hull planks shattered.
Several ships were damaged.
Numerous soldiers were killed in the blasts.
Clearly, although the Eight Treasures Navy possessed many capable fighters, they were still far inferior to Robin and the others when it came to intercepting artillery fire.
Unable to stop every shell, the fleet quickly suffered significant damage and casualties.
All of this unfolded clearly within Kaito's field of vision.
However, he only glanced briefly at the situation before shifting his attention again.
His gaze locked onto the lead ship of the Eight Treasures Navy fleet.
With his constitution talent concentration, Kaito's eyesight had become as sharp as that of an eagle.
Even from this distance, he could clearly observe the figures standing on the opposing deck.
Although this battle was taking place several years before the events depicted in the original story, Don Chinjao's appearance was still very similar.
The reason Kaito focused on the flagship was simple.
He had already spotted Don Chinjao standing at the bow.
"The strength of his presence is about what I expected."
The moment he identified Don Chinjao, Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly.
His Observation Haki spread outward.
During the past month of training, his Observation Haki—like his Armament Haki—had improved significantly.
Now his perception easily covered the entire enemy fleet.
Within that perception, he quickly locked onto the life force belonging to Don Chinjao.
Observation Haki did not measure strength directly.
Instead, it detected life energy, which generally reflected physical vitality.
From this perspective, Don Chinjao's presence was indeed powerful.
In fact, it was the strongest aura Kaito had encountered so far during his journey.
However—
That comparison only applied to the opponents he had previously faced.
It did not include himself.
"Well…"
"Regardless, I should test him personally."
Although Don Chinjao's aura posed no pressure to him, Kaito still decided to evaluate his opponent through actual combat.
He released his crossed arms.
With his right hand, he slowly drew the golden saber at his waist.
His eyes remained locked on Don Chinjao.
Then—
He swung the blade.
Boom!!!
The moment the sword fell, a massive golden slash wave tore through the air.
The enormous blade of energy cut a straight path forward, roaring across the sky with a violent gust of wind.
"It's the captain!"
"The captain has finally made his move!"
"What an incredible slash wave! Even a great swordsman might not surpass that!"
The gigantic slash wave streaked across the sky above the frozen coast.
The shrill sound it produced caused many of the War Pirates to look up in astonishment.
Following the trajectory of the slash wave, they quickly spotted Kaito standing atop the iceberg behind them.
Some were surprised that he had joined the battle.
Others were simply stunned by the terrifying power of the attack.
Meanwhile—
After soaring past the coastline, the enormous golden slash wave continued flying toward the distant fleet of the Eight Treasures Navy.
More precisely—
It was heading directly toward the flagship where Don Chinjao stood.
"What kind of power is this…?! Damn it!"
Don Chinjao had been furious about the damage inflicted on his fleet by the artillery exchange.
But when he noticed the massive slash wave tearing across the sky toward him, his expression changed instantly.
His pupils shrank.
Shock and anger surged across his face.
Although Kaito's slash appeared casual—
The truth was that the power behind it was extraordinary.
Just as Lafayette had commented earlier—
The strength contained in that slash wave had already reached the level comparable to a Great Swordsman.
Even someone as experienced as Don Chinjao could not remain calm when faced with such a terrifying attack.
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