Grove No. 16
Saul watched in shock as the rampaging beast in the distance wreaked havoc.
It was massive—larger than he was, nearly the size of a smaller Sea King.
"What a terrifying thing… Is this the result of a Devil Fruit user losing control?"
There was no time to dwell on it. Saul broke into a sprint, barking orders to his subordinates as he advanced.
"Help any injured civilians! If there are pirates, capture them immediately! Report the situation to the Admiral!"
"Yes, sir!"
As he got closer, Saul could smell the foul stench seeping from the eagle-serpent hybrid's maw.
The creature had already sensed him as well—its flickering forked tongue wasn't just for show. It had locked onto the massive heat signature approaching.
Prey.
BOOM!
The thick, coiled serpent body suddenly contracted, then exploded outward like a compressed spring, launching the beast skyward. The impact fractured the earth below, sending debris flying.
With rapid flaps of its enormous wings, the creature shot toward Saul like a missile.
...
Hidden Location
As the Marines rushed past in a hurry, Tesoro calmly raised a Den Den Mushi to his ear.
"Machvise, it's time. Begin."
"I got it, bwuh."
...
Port
A dense cluster of pirate ships filled the harbor.
On one of the vessels docked at the edge, a group of pirates watched the distant fires with growing excitement.
"Whoo! How much treasure do you think the captain will bring back this time?"
"No clue, but we should at least get a cut of 100,000 Belly."
"Hey, why don't we take a little for ourselves? The captain won't notice—there's a feast tonight, and everyone'll be too drunk to care."
"Sounds good. Hey, pal, where do you keep your loot—"
"The lower deck, right under—wait, who the hell are you?"
The clueless pirate blinked at the mountain of flesh floating above him.
"Thanks, buddy."
Thud. Thud. Destructive Thousand-Ton Machvise, bwuh.
With that, Machvise, still suspended in the air, let his body weight skyrocket to a full thousand tons.
BOOM!
The two pirates on the bow were instantly crushed, their bodies fusing with the gold-laced deck beneath them.
Machvise floated back up and lazily drifted toward the next ship.
Onboard, two pirates who had just witnessed the massacre turned pale with horror.
"D-Don't come any closer!!!"
Thud. Thud. Destructive Thousand-Ton Machvise, bwuh.
Their screams were cut short.
"Oohohoho! What a haul, what a haul!"
Jora cackled gleefully as she piloted the Flamingo Mini toward the wreckage.
"This is way more efficient than sailing across the North Blue looking for money! But of course, none of this would be possible without the guidance of the world's greatest beauty!"
The lower-ranked family members on board silently nodded at the first half of her statement. The second half, however, made them roll their eyes.
"Life Art: Alibaba and the Forty Thieves!"
From Jora's palms, a dense mist of transparent bubbles billowed outward.
Slowly, the mist coalesced into forty towering, muscle-bound men clad in Arabian-style garb. Without hesitation, they rushed toward the golden debris, scavenging through the bloodstained wreckage.
As for the mess of crushed bodies on deck?
That wouldn't affect the value of the gold. A little cleaning would do the trick.
How did Jora know about the story of the Forty Thieves? Naturally, it was one of Doflamingo's random bedtime tales.
...
Open Waters
Urouge clutched his massive pencil, patiently waiting for the lucky survivors who would break through the chaos.
BOOM!
The charging serpent and the sprinting Saul collided, sending a massive shockwave rippling through the area.
The impact rattled the eagle-serpent's skull, making it momentarily dizzy. Instinctively, it sank its fangs into Saul's arm. Its two sets of wings flapped wildly, clawed talons digging deep into his flesh.
Then—
CRACK!
The Armament Haki coating Saul's skin shattered two of the beast's fangs.
Saul didn't hesitate. With his vision obscured by the creature's wings, he tightened his grip around its head and slammed it into the ground.
BOOM!
Snakes were highly vulnerable to concussive blows.
Their spines were composed of interlocking vertebrae—dislocating or misaligning them could result in severe nerve damage.
But this serpent was different.
With the combined power of Ancient Zoan lineage factors and enhancement drugs, its fractured spine rapidly realigned itself.
A true embodiment of the phrase: As long as it lives, it fights.
Shaking off its dizziness, the eagle-serpent shrieked and lunged at Saul once more.
Hiss!
"A Zoan-type serpent that has awakened?"
Seeing its abnormal recovery, Saul couldn't help but sigh. Even snakes were achieving awakening these days.
Clenching his fists, his Haki flared, coating his knuckles in a dense, obsidian sheen.
With a mighty swing, he hammered his fist into the beast's skull.
BANG!
The serpent, just beginning to rise, was flattened against the ground once more.
Saul didn't let up. With a force that could pulverize mountains, he continued his relentless assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
His Haki-infused fists pounded into the creature's skull like an unyielding barrage.
Blood and brain matter splattered across the ground.
The surrounding Marines, who had mostly been standing around avoiding work, watched in awe.
"As expected of Vice Admiral Saul!"
"Look at that Haki—it's like the monster wasn't even defending itself!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
But Saul wasn't relaxed in the slightest. A prickling sensation ran down his spine as three intense gazes locked onto him.
He turned his head cautiously.
In the gaping hole of the collapsed Market of Warriors, three sets of blood-red eyes gleamed.
The Marines followed his gaze.
A crimson-feathered horse-bird.
A red-and-white striped lion.
A hulking rhino with torn, mangled flesh.
They stepped forward slowly.
"A-Another three of them?!"
"Not just three…!!!"
Behind them, countless pairs of glowing red eyes flickered to life.
The surviving beasts, having fed on their weaker kin, now emerged from the shadows.
"Stay calm!" Saul reassured his nervous subordinates.
"Aim for their heads—these things have ridiculous regenerative abilities!"
There was no time for further discussion. Saul surged forward once more.
His men simply weren't equipped to handle monsters of this caliber. This fight was his.
Screech! Bellow! Roar!
With earth-shaking cries, the three massive creatures charged.
Buildings crumbled in their wake.
Any Marine unfortunate enough to be in their path was trampled into paste.
Behind them, the horde of bloodthirsty beasts stormed forth like a ravenous plague.
"Ice Time Capsule."
A trio of freezing shockwaves blasted through the battlefield, encasing everything in ice.
The three charging monsters barely had time to leap before the cold swallowed them whole, freezing them into statues.
The weaker creatures behind them stood no chance.
The Marines turned toward the source of the attack, eyes widening in recognition.
A headband embroidered with the emblem of Marine Headquarters covered a mass of unruly curls.
A pair of small round sunglasses concealed sharp, determined eyes.
A purple vest. A black Marine-issued coat. Crisp white trousers.
Frost drifted from his fingertips, the air around him growing frigid.
One of the Navy's Three Rising Monsters—
Aokiji.
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