【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

“Admiral,” Qi finally spoke.

Nami tensed up instantly, remembering the two times they had faced a Marine Admiral before.

Chopper nervously gripped the brim of his hat, fear gripping his heart.

"Don't be nervous." Qi noticed his companions' tense mood and reassured them, "It's not like two years ago now."

Chopper and Nami tried their best to appear relaxed, but Chopper kept his Rumble Ball tightly in his hand, Nami placed her hand on where the Clima-Tact was stored, and Brook gripped the hilt of his slingshot sword tightly with his right hand, both ready to fight at any moment.

"The Navy!?" Jorah stared in shock at the man who landed on the deck. His master hadn't mentioned that the Navy was also eyeing the Straw Hat crew.

"Hey, hey, hey, this pirate ship of yours is really lively."

Qi remained unmoved, but his gaze remained fixed on the man, Huang Mu, one of the three generals, known as General Green Bull, who was said to be a man with terrifying power.

"It's quite lively. Not only have we welcomed Doflamingo's subordinates from the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but we've also attracted the attention of a Marine Admiral from the Marine Headquarters." Qi calmly asked, "I wonder what the Admiral from the Headquarters is doing here?"

"An admiral!?" Jorah exclaimed in shock. An admiral had actually set his sights on the Straw Hat crew. Would they even make it back alive? Her two subordinates were trembling uncontrollably. She had to get back alive to report.

Huang Mu did not respond immediately. He just squinted and glanced at the few people on the deck. "Is this all there are? I thought there would be more people, but oh well, those few people won't be enough to absorb nutrients."

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. Nami gasped. This admiral was coming for them and knew their situation. Luffy and the others weren't here. How could they possibly defeat a Marine admiral, especially since they were on a ship? There was only one way.

"You too, so as long as you hand him over to me, I will leave." Huang Mu's cold eyes slowly locked onto the blond boy, completely unconcerned about his posture of being ready to fight at any moment.

Chopper, his eyes wide with shock, emerged from behind Qi and stood beside him. They finally understood the admiral's purpose.

Brook gripped his cane sword, drawing it from its sheath. Nami tightened her grip on her weather stick and stepped forward, not to fight, but to defend. If necessary, they could enter the deck beneath their feet at any time. In short, they would never let Qi be taken away like this.

Qi breathed a sigh of relief, because he had a way to lure the battlefield to the island, but the general's target was probably not him but Lucci.

"Could it be that your target is also me?" Qi shifted his gaze to Don Quixote, who was secretly preparing to jump ship. "I am truly honored that I need a Marine Admiral and a Shichibukai to join forces against me."

"Hey, don't compare me to those kinds of guys!"

"What is that!" Chopper exclaimed in horror. The general's arm had instantly turned into several thick tree roots, and the grass on their deck began to grow wildly.

"Forbidden Monk Sen Sen! I am a forest dweller who ate the Sen Sen Fruit!"

The admiral appeared in the center of the deck like a tree-man. As he finished speaking, every corner of the deck was covered with tangled vines and brightly colored plants and flowers. The vines climbed all over Sunny's walls like a resurrected jungle. They now seemed to be in a dense forest rather than on a ship.

"We have to run!" Nami screamed, looking at the tree-like creature in front of her.

"Honestly, although I don't want your heads, running away in front of me shows you have no respect for me as your general."

As the admiral finished speaking, countless vines suddenly stretched out from the deck, instantly binding the three Don Quixotes who were preparing to jump ship.

"Ah!! Our young master is a Shichibukai, you can't attack us!!" Jora cried out in panic as she was entangled by vines. At the same time, she gathered her Devil Fruit power to try to turn the vines binding them into art graffiti, but before she could make a move, she was pierced by a vine.

Nami turned her head in horror, and the several Don Quixotes who were tied up were instantly drained of their life force and turned into dried-up corpses.

"They've been drained dry!" Chopper shouted in a panic, like a headless fly.

"You've turned into a skeleton?" Brooke exclaimed in equal panic. "Ah, I'm already a skeleton, yohohoho!"

"Nami, as soon as this guy leaves the ship, use the Wind Cannon." Qi said solemnly, while conjuring a sword that Lucci often used from shadows with his right hand. "We can't let him damage the ship."

Nami instantly understood what Qi meant. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll be fine, don't forget I am..." Qi didn't finish his sentence, knowing that Nami would understand.

“I understand.” Nami nodded. She also knew that the Marine Admiral’s target was not Ki, but Lucci. However, he seemed to have mistaken Ki for Lucci. She didn’t know what Luffy and the others had encountered in Dressrosa.

"Huh? Are you still going to resist?" Huang Mu looked at the sword in Qi's hand. "Can't you make things simpler?" As he spoke, he attacked again, and the vines on the deck came to life, twisting and attacking them.

"It's coming!" Nami exclaimed as she watched the vines shoot towards them at incredible speed, but she gripped the Weather Stick tightly, gathering cold air in her hands.

Chopper immediately bit into the Rumble Ball, his fur instantly grew longer, and his body instantly became enormous. He swung his hand at Aramu, but before he could completely swing it down, countless giant vines instantly wrapped around his limbs. The gigantic Chopper let out an angry roar and forcefully pulled at the vines on his body.

"Really..." Aramaki spat out the grass he had been holding in his mouth, controlled the giant vines that were wrapped around tree roots, and quickly stabbed at the beast-like Chopper, its sharp tip gleaming coldly in the air.

"Chopper!!" Nami cried out in terror. Those Donquixotes had just been drained dry by his attack.

"Brook!" At the same time, Qi rushed forward, leaping onto the deck. The wind whistled in his ears as he cleanly severed the vine arm that was stabbing at Chopper, but the vine grew back again in the next second.

"Yohohoho, how terrifying!" Brook said as he rushed in front of Nami, swinging his sword to slash at the vines attacking them. The severed vines were frozen by ice for a moment, but the cuts grew back in the next second. Brook used a quick slash again to cut off the vines' entanglement, pulling Nami away to dodge. Meanwhile, Nami's Clima-Tact was ready.

Killua pulled the shrunken Chopper backward, dodging another attack from the giant vines. Brook also retreated to the deck and stood shoulder to shoulder with Killua. Noticing the rampant vines closing in on them again, Brook immediately raised his sword. "This is a crazy primeval forest! Yohohoho!"