One Piece: A Warlord's Path

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

A barrage of cannon fire thundered across the sea.

More than a dozen Marine warships formed a line, unleashing a relentless salvo toward the pirate ships moored off the coast of Grove 53. Blazing fireballs tore through the air like the wrath of a fire god, while jet-black cannonballs crashed into the waves, sending plumes of sea spray skyward. Ship after pirate ship shattered under the assault, breaking apart as if the sea itself sought to devour them.

The abandoned ships of the Demon Mask Pirates were the first to fall. One by one, they sank beneath the waves, leaving only drifting wreckage and swirling whirlpools as silent tombstones on the surface.

"Damn it! Our ship…"

Obes, soaked and panting, stood on the shore beside a dozen equally drenched pirates. They stared at the sinking vessels with clenched jaws and sorrowful eyes. When had it come to this? When had the Demon Mask Pirates fallen so low they couldn't even protect their own ships?

After more than ten minutes of ferocious bombardment, nearly ten pirate ships anchored at Grove 53 had been sunk. All that remained were shattered planks and splinters floating on the water, a graveyard of broken hulls.

FWOOSH—

A golden beam of light descended from the sky and landed on the deck of a Marine flagship.

"Admiral Kizaru, was it a success?"

Vice Admiral Strawberry, standing at the prow, turned to ask.

The golden light morphed into the tall, lanky figure of Borsalino, Admiral Kizaru. "Aiyah~ He slipped into the water and escaped. Crafty little fellow~."

"Then we'll need to trouble you to keep eyes on him," Strawberry replied coolly.

"But of course. I'll leave the fleet to your command, then," Kizaru said casually, watching the turbulent waves as though none of it particularly concerned him.

"Understood," Strawberry acknowledged with a nod. Now fully authorized by a Marine admiral, he raised his hand and gave the order:

"All units, landfall! Eliminate the Demon Mask Pirates!"

Immediately, the Marine fleet maneuvered toward the shores of Groves 52, 53, and 54. Waves of sailors disembarked onto smaller boats, forming a sweeping landing force. They began tightening a noose around the pirates of Grove 53, pressing in from both flanks with precision and overwhelming numbers.

"Shit. The Marines are here..."

Obes gripped his Black Bow, crouched with a dozen pirates in a thicket. From their hiding spot, they watched the Marine landing parties disembark.

Hatred and dread were plain on their faces.

"We have to regroup with Jig and the others," Obes ordered, signaling for his group to move.

...

Inside the town on Grove 53.

The streets were strewn with bodies, Marines and pirates alike. Scattered weapons lay across the ground, cannons, rifles, swords, amid blazing buildings and collapsed ruins. Fortunately, the civilians had been evacuated before the battle erupted. Otherwise, the death toll would have been unimaginable.

"Hurry! Find a ship, anything that's still seaworthy!"

"Damn those Marines! Most of the ships are wrecked!"

"Where are the officers?! We're surrounded!"

"They're landing at the coast! We need reinforcements!"

The remaining Demon Mask Pirates still numbered around 1,700 to 1,800. Their figures filled the streets, some searching for coated ships, others rushing to bolster the defensive lines.

Outskirts of Grove 53, bordering Grove 54.

The battlefield was in ruins. Craters and fissures marred the earth. The buildings and trees nearby had been obliterated.

Rob Lucci and Jig faced each other across the devastation, both breathing heavily. Lucci's outfit was torn, and blood streamed from several deep wounds. Jig, far worse off, could barely remain on his feet, already heavily wounded before the fight even began.

Beside a crater nearly three meters wide, Puda, now back in human form, lay sprawled and bloodied. The ground beneath him was webbed with fractures from the impact.

"Cough... cough... Damned... freak..."

Blood dripping from his mouth, Puda glared viciously at the man before him.

This opponent had pushed the power of the Impact-Impact Fruit to terrifying extremes. That overwhelming strength... the burst speed that could close distance in a flash... the recoil force that negated physical attacks... and that devastating punch that left craters in the earth—it was inhuman.

"A rare one... You actually managed to injure me."

Aeridar wiped the blood from a shallow cut across his cheek, eyes narrowing slightly.

Puda's final blow had caught him off guard. Its speed and power had exceeded even Aeridar's expectations, drawing blood despite his defenses.

It reminded him of something...

Of when Red-Haired Shanks faced Marshall D. Teach. Back then, Shanks had been the stronger of the two, yet even with full caution, Blackbeard had still left three scars over his left eye.

That same tension now crackled between Aeridar and Puda. The stakes, the intensity, eerily familiar.

Only, Aeridar's wound was far less serious.

"Vice Captain Jig!"

"Captain Puda!"

"Jig-san, are you alright?!"

"Did a monster do all this?!"

Shouts rang out from the distance. Nearly a hundred pirates ran toward Aeridar's position.

At the front was a young man in a fitted black combat suit, with short moss-green hair. His arms extended past his knees, and a jet-black longbow and quiver of arrows hung across his back. His expression was sharp, cold, and unreadable.

"Oh? That's…" Aeridar turned his gaze toward the newcomer.

"Bounty: 250 million Berries. Kataror Obes," Lucci murmured, his tone tense.

Now, aside from Demon Mask Gutte, nearly all the surviving high-ranking officers of the Demon Mask Pirates had arrived.

Step. Step. Step... Stepstepstep...

At that moment, on the bridge connecting to Grove 54, a massive force of Marines had arrived, hundreds strong, armed with rocket launchers and land artillery. Whether they'd brought Seastone weapons, however, was still unknown.

"Woooow… heheheheh… Reinforcements, huh? Is this the prelude to the final act?"

Aeridar let out a low, menacing chuckle as he glanced at the unconscious Puda on the ground, then toward the incoming forces rapidly closing in from both sides.

"Kuhk… damn it. We should've destroyed that bridge from the start…"

Coughing up blood, Jig scowled, his expression twisted with frustration and regret.

Aboard one of the Marine's top-class battleships—

"Oh?"

Standing at the ship's bow, Admiral Kizaru tilted his head slightly and pouted. "So scary~ That monster's still not dead, huh? Looks like he's back again…"

Zing—!

Before he even finished the sentence, Borsalino transformed into a beam of golden light, shooting toward the shoreline at blinding speed.

Meanwhile, along the edge of Island 53's coast—

Splaaash…

A head emerged from the water, half the face untouched, the other half badly burned. Gutte crawled ashore, his soaked body dripping with seawater. He wiped a hand across his face, then turned over his scabbard to pour out the seawater that had filled it.

"Finally made it back to land… Looks like I've shaken off that damn Yellow Monkey for now."

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