Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 102 Things More Painful Than Death

"The Celestial Dragons have been attacked?"

"What? Four people are already dead?!"

At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku was immediately alarmed when he received a call from the Marine branch in the Sabaody Archipelago. He had been extremely busy these past few days, tasked by the World Government with recruiting elite Marines in preparation for a decisive battle against the Three Emperors Alliance.

At this critical juncture, how could something like an attack on a Celestial Dragon happen again?

Logically, when the Celestial Dragons of Sabaody Archipelago are attacked, he should immediately send out a Marine Admiral to carry out a thunderous strike, but the Marine Headquarters is currently in an awkward situation.

Admiral Aokiji and Marine hero Garp were captured during the Whole Cake Island battle. Kizaru was seriously injured in that battle and took three months to recover. However, he was seriously injured again a few days ago on Whole Cake Island.

In such a large navy, only he and Akainu remain as top-tier combatants. If Akainu were to be sent out, the Navy Headquarters would essentially be left with only him as the commander-in-chief!

Moreover, at this ambiguous time, the attack on the Celestial Dragons made him very uneasy.

Who were the attackers?

"Yes, he's a strange guy with weird clothes... who calls himself a god. He seems to be a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, able to control lightning, and extremely hostile to the Celestial Dragons!" the Marine replied from the Den Den Mushi.

Lightning, a Logia-type Devil Fruit? Rumble-Rumble Fruit?
Has this powerful Devil Fruit ability reappeared on the sea once again? Is it really not Ian and Kaido's group? And of all times!
"I see."

After hanging up the phone, Sengoku thought for a moment and then gave the order: "Have Gion and Kake go together!"

Momousagi Gion and Chaton Kake are both candidates for Admiral in the Navy Headquarters. They are the strongest combat force below the three Admirals. Sending two of them at once is enough to save face and substance for Sengoku.

At the same time, he ordered a message to be sent to the Seven Warlords of the Sea, urging them to hurry to the Marine Headquarters in response to the summons.

—As early as when Kizaru returned severely injured, Sengoku immediately issued a summons for the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but none of the seven guys, except for Bartholomew Kuma, have arrived yet.

"The navy has been forced to this extent."

With everything arranged, Zhan Guo sat wearily in a chair, one hand supporting his forehead.

Even Rocks back then didn't seem to have put the Navy and the World Government in such a sorry state as they are now, even though Rocks had a record of killing a Navy Admiral.

The current Three Emperors Alliance is probably not as strong as the Rocks Pirates, yet the Navy and the World Government have repeatedly encountered setbacks. The reason for this is probably that these three are more united, and more importantly... they have a flexible mind.

"It can't be Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. Ian the Tiger, where did this man come from, and what is his purpose? If Tsuru's speculation is correct, he is a member of some secret organization... Could it be the Revolutionary Army?"

Before he could even sort out all the complicated matters, Sengoku received another piece of bad news: "It's terrible! Marshal Sengoku! Vice Admiral Gion and Vice Admiral Kake have been defeated and captured!"

"……What did you say?!"

……

"Where did you find this Rumble-Rumble Fruit user? He's really strong." Standing next to Guan Yi, Rayleigh asked with some surprise as he looked at the Marines in the distance who were being electrocuted by Enel.

"I found it on Skypiea with Kaido."

Enel is indeed very strong right now.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is arguably the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit in terms of offensive capabilities. Enel had already developed it to an extremely high level. With the assistance of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his Observation Haki was also incredibly powerful, with a range of perception even greater than that of Guan Yu, Kaido, and Big Mom combined.

When he made up for his lack of knowledge in Armament Haki and learned Ryuo in Wano Country, he almost became an Admiral-level fighter. If it weren't for his pride as a self-proclaimed god and his unwillingness to run away, Kaido wouldn't have been able to catch him.

Therefore, even the two general candidates combined would not be a match for Enel.

Of course, the increase in strength also made Enel's 'god-like' aura even stronger. He was alright to Kaido, who defeated him, but to everyone else, he saw them as 'worthless fodder'.

Fortunately, Guan Yi gave him a good beating before they set off.

With a flash of lightning, Enel appeared before Guan Yi and snorted, "I've done everything you asked me to do. Is there anything else you need?"

A cold tone, submissive words.

Guan Yi laughed and said, "That's all. You just need to stay on the island for a while and wait for the admiral's reinforcements. If you want to fight him, then fight him first. If you don't want to fight, then I'll take care of it."

"Hmph, a Marine Admiral? I'm not interested." Enel said, "I seem to remember hearing that those false god boars live in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise on the Red Line, right?"

"Hmm. I won't stop you if you want to go, but I'd like to offer a friendly reminder: I wouldn't dare to go there casually."

Enel frowned in deep thought, then vanished in a flash of lightning, his next move unknown.

Kaido has basically given up on his plan to tame Enel, who has been a god for too long and has a deep-rooted chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), into his subordinate. Guan Yi naturally has no such plan either, but releasing him would make him a very troublesome fighting force for the World Government.

He is naturally a mortal enemy of the Celestial Dragons.

"To lure and even kill the Navy Headquarters' top combat force, a Navy Admiral?" Rayleigh looked at Guan Yi with no small amount of amazement. "I don't recall anyone ever doing something like this before. To what extent do you intend to go?"

"Break off the World Government's wings, so that the Navy has no spare combat power and energy to deal with us. The mobility of the Glint-Glint Fruit is too strong. It's better to use it as a firefighter on the high seas, instead of always bothering us."

Xia Qi understood the subtext in Guan Yi's words and smiled – Kizaru is too annoying, let's take down one Akainu to hold them off.

Sakazuki is so wronged. But... it's terrifying. That young man, scarred by Rayleigh's sword, in just half a year, is now standing here using a Celestial Dragon to lure and kill a Marine Admiral?
……

However, things don't always go as Guan Yi predicted. Naval Headquarters, dock.

Just as Akainu was preparing to set sail, a messenger rushed over: "Admiral Sakazuki! Fleet Admiral Sengoku has ordered you to postpone your departure and go to him!"

"Postpone departure?"

Akainu's imposing brows furrowed as he accepted the order and went to the Marshal's office, where Vice Admiral Tsuru was also present.

Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Akainu.

"It's good that it hasn't set sail yet."

After discussing it with Tsuru, I still felt uneasy. It was too strange that a strange ability user suddenly appeared who could defeat even Gion and Kakei.

We suspect that the recent turmoil within the continent of Waldo and Kaido's return are related to this guy. This suggests that the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit may have already joined the Three Emperors' alliance. This is a trap. Ian the Flame Tiger might be in Sabaody Archipelago, and even Kaido might be hiding there!

"Hmm?" Akainu clenched his fist.

At this moment, Ian the Tiger was considered by him to be the most troublesome pirate on the sea, a pirate who had to be eliminated. However, the information brought back by Kizaru and the situation in Whole Cake Island made him realize that the guy was not a villain who could be dealt with casually.

Biting his lip in frustration, Akainu asked in a low voice, "Are we just going to sit idly by and do nothing?"

Sengoku sighed: "I reported my guess to the Five Elders, and the answer I received was to hold back."

His meaning was clear: even though four Celestial Dragons in the Sabaody Archipelago had been killed, the Five Elders did not send troops to attack. This was a disguised form of surrender, or at least they did not want to start another war in the Sabaody Archipelago. What could he do?
He certainly wanted to capture Guan Yi, but he had to admit that the navy no longer had that capability!
"...What about Gion and Kake?"

Sengoku slowly shook his head, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had always regarded Gion as his younger sister, also sighed.

Since we already have Garp and Aokiji, two more won't make a difference. I doubt the enemy would kill defenseless marines without a plan. Let's wait for a future opportunity to rescue them together.

But if you go, things might be different, Sakazuki. Ian the Tiger and Nico Robin seem to be quite close, while you were the one who led the sinking of Ohara to the bottom of the sea…

Akainu clenched his fist, making a cracking sound, and feeling an unprecedented sense of frustration, slammed the door and left.

……

A few hours later.

“Looks like we’ve failed. It shouldn’t take that long to get from Marine Headquarters to Sabaody.” Rayleigh asked, “Ian, what are you planning to do now?”

“It seems that not every divisive attack will succeed.” Guan Yi shook his head and said, “It’s alright, it doesn’t matter if Akainu doesn’t come. Sometimes, being alive can be more painful than death.”

He, who had been hiding there, swaggered out onto the street and headed toward the place that had been charred black by Enel's electricity and had not yet been cleaned up.

Even the most meddlesome ordinary people have long since distanced themselves from this place, but there is one profession and some people who are willing to risk their lives—journalists.

The killing of a Celestial Dragon and the defeat of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral were huge news, attracting several reporters to hide nearby, hoping to see how the events would unfold.

After waiting for several hours, they were exhausted. Guan Yi's appearance invigorated them, and soon someone recognized Guan Yi's identity.

"Fire Tiger Ian?"

"Yes, it's definitely the Pirate Emperor Ian!"

"He's actually in Sabaody? Could he be involved in the Celestial Dragons' murders today?!"

They sensed a big story was brewing.

Guan Yi went straight to Cha Tun Jia Ke, who was seriously injured and unconscious from the electric shock, squatted down, and used a wisp of flame to burn Jia Ke's philtrum.

With a start, Jia Ji opened his eyes, dazed and wary. The weakness he felt from the electric shock prevented him from getting up for a moment. When he saw the face of the person in front of him, he was even more shocked.

"Fire Tiger Ian?!"

Wasn't he an excessively powerful user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit? Why... could it be...?

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but then Guan Yi said, "Sakazuki has finally arrived. I've been waiting for him here for almost two hours."

Admiral Sakazuki? Rumble-Rumble Fruit user... Celestial Dragon... Ian the Tiger... His astonishing exploits on Whole Cake Island...

As the clues connected, Jia Ji turned pale with horror. Was this a trap? Oh no!
In the next instant, without thinking, he shouted with all his might, "General Sakazuki! Run! Don't worry about us! This is a trap! Their target is you! Ian the Fire Tiger is here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he vaguely realized that something seemed amiss.

Guan Yi smiled, even slightly turning her head, and snapped a picture.

Let the camera capture you better!

(End of this chapter)