Chapter 119 - [107] The Scorched Sea War (1)
[2849 words]
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The war approached and both sides had been raring to go at each other.
Linlin had jumped from the Division 4 ship to her Third Division that was to the far right of the Rocks Pirates' Fleet Formation.
The marines had Zephyr, Garp and the 3 Admirals: Sengoku, Basara and Kurowashi.
*Loud Bell Clanging*
Over the blue seas was a powerful shockwave that echoed forth, it had originated from the ship with the 5 marine Powerhouses on it.
Kurowashi's ship.
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With black sails and wing-like additions to the side, the ship was quite the sight to behold. It had a golden frame coating the exterior with a soft-white paint all over.
A majestic ship.
Upon the raised bow of the ship was a giant, silver bell that carried a noble air.
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*Bell Clanging*
The marines roared out in joy as their cries harmonized with the bell, almost like a heartbeat matching a metronome.
Even a blind man could see it. The effects of the bell went far beyond making noise, but rather it had lit the spark in the hearts of the navy personnel.
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Shakky sighed as she saw the display.
Damien used his hearing of the Voice of All Things and noticed that each time the bell rang, it sent out a wave of mental force, much like Conqueror's Haki, but to reinforce will, rather than to break it down.
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"The Legendary ship that brought justice of the marines to the greatest of foes." Damien thought out loud.
Shakky nodded with seriousness,
"A beacon of marine naval supremacy… The Ox Lloyds Warship that houses the fabled Ox Bell!"
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The pirates were surprised as they saw the marines seemed to have the heart of endless courage.
The bell rang endlessly.
[A/N: Image of Bell.]
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Even with 5000 more forces, Damien was unsure of victory, after all, the 3 Admirals had come together with the likes of Garp and Zephyr.
He also knew that to allow the marine morale to continue to skyrocket would be quite foolish.
*Step*
Damien slowly walked forth.
*Step*
Under the gazes of the nervous pirates, they saw the Fifth Division Commander walk to the edge of his ship.
*Step*
He stopped a few inches before the fencing of the Suicidal Rambo.
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Even with the Ox Bell that rang with sounds that hit the very soul of its listeners, all marines still turned their gazes to Damien.
The Sin Incarnate's {Natural Dread}, even hundreds of meters away, churned constantly as it caused the younger marines to uncontrollably take a step back.
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Damien's crimson eyes slowly scanned every marine ship, the ones on board felt sweat trickle down their brows.
He slightly squinted his eyes, and then...
BOOOM!
Like an eruption from a volcano, endless streams of Conqueror's Haki exploded from the young pirate, it raged, howled and whirled all over the naval region.
A dark-crimson hue fell upon the marines as the very clouds that decorated the skies seem to be affected as well.
*Bzzzz*
Black lightning rained down as the winds picked up, setting quite the display.
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"You useless fools." Damien's voice thundered out. "Don't get all panicky because the marines have some shiny bell they ring to calm their recruits."
"They may hold the keys to Paradise in a strong lock, but..."
Words laced with Conqueror's Haki echoed in the minds of both the pirates and the marines.
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"THIS IS THE NEW WORLD! The pirates rule these seas! Some shiny bell that Kong has polished every month shouldn't break your spirits!"
Every sentence uttered caused thousands of pirates to reach for their weapons as their very being was lit with courage.
"Since they have come all the way here," Damien gave out a smirk. "Let's give them a pirate's welcome and loot all their gold and treasure!"
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The 30000-strong force of pirates bellowed with newfound spirit as the very seas seemed to shake!
Howls of greed, desire and simple anger flooded the minds of the Rocks Pirates as guns blazed and swords were unsheathed.
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[On the Marines' Side]
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*Thud* *Slam* *Bam*
countless navy officers had begun to collapse from Damien's Haki as thousands were shaken to their very core, their wills trembled.
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Sengoku clicked his tongue in frustration, "That boy… he's nothing but trouble!"
"BWAHAHA!" A laugh broke out. "He's got quite the fire, I like him!"
Garp cracked his knuckles, not overly worried about the shaken marines as the same thing happens before such fights, that is before his Fist wakes them up.
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Kurowashi narrowed his eyes, "Nearly 30000 pirates are already down and out from the Festival. We aimed to take down the New World… Only a few more problems remain."
Sol and Xebec were busy with their duel, Newgate, Roger, Redfield, Shiki as well. This gave the marines a chance to up their catch by nearly twice, from 30000 to 60000 pirates if they take down the Rocks' Fleet now.
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Basara walked up.
His hand reached his missing eye, "It will not be easy with that boy at the helm. I will ensure his death today!"
Under the words of the enraged Admiral, not many would speak up.
But…
"BWAHAHAHA! Basara-san, don't be so gloomy. It's a Festival, you should enjoy it!" Garp laughed out.
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The Mountain was about to respond with anger towards his young colleague, however…
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"T-They've begun to move!"
Eyes drifted to the center as they saw pirates had commenced the battle!
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*Fwooo*
*VWOOOO!*
A cold wind picked up as hundreds of pirate ships started to move ahead with no intention of slowing down.
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"All ships prepare to fire once they are in range!" Sengoku ordered.
Boom!
A bright-gold hue of Haki followed the Admiral's words as the marines were woken from their reverie.
Sengoku the Buddha, also known as the 'Resourceful General', too, was a Conqueror's Haki user. Such that his simple words somewhat fixed the damage dealt from Damien's earlier roar.
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The marine officers responded immediately, the 10 Vice Admirals spread all over the marine ships led them.
*Click* *Clank*
Thousands of cannons lowered down as they aimed upon the pirates that inched closer by the passing minute.
*Drip* *Drop*
Beads of sweat fell off the younger officers as they gulped at the simple uproar that came from the Rocks Pirates.
They deserved their title as the absolute most fearsome crew of the era!
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The Ox Bell continued to ring as the pirate ships had nearly entered the range of the cannons.
*Flutter*
Garp suddenly threw his marine coat to the ground, a simple white shirt and navy-blue pants remained.
*Crack*
He cracked his wrists and stretched his arms.
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"Bring up my balls!"
Tires screeched as hundreds of racks rolled from the deck of the ship to the front. Tens of thousands of cannonballs rested upon them.
Garp picked up a ball in each hand and reeled it back.
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"Genkotsu... Meteor!"
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Like a bullet, the cannonballs were launched out with enough speed to cut through a mountain, one by one.
The attack did not end, as 1 second passed, nearly 100 balls had been thrown by the Vice Admiral!
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Boom!
A ship had already collapsed from the volley of the barrage of cannonballs.
BOOM! *Bang!* *Blam!*
The tens of marine ships at the front of the formation fired as well as a rain of black projectiles overtook the horizon.
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Damien saw the hail of balls as he let out a grin. The entire Rocks Fleet was the target!
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Instead of using a tactic or strategy, Damien simply commanded all ships to sail out.
Why?
The Rocks' Crew did not believe in teamwork. It was a foreign concept to them. Some even tried to eat it.
Most were more worried about being stabbed in the back rather than being hit by a meteor-like cannonball.
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"Damien-chan, try not to lose too many ships. The shipbuilders at Myriam Island have been threatened one too many times by Shiki and Xebec to make more ships and can't handle more encouragement." Shakky said from the back.
The youth just chuckled knowing that such a thought would be nearly impossible to fulfil.
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"Fire!"
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The hundreds of pirate ships may be in the range of the marines… but the same was true the other way around!
Thousands of cannonballs rocketed through the air as they flew to opposite sides. 1 to 3 ships fell apart every minute from both sides.
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"Indra, I'll the rest to you," Damien said out loud as his eyes sharpened with battle spirit.
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*Fwooo*
Like the flash of light, a shadow appeared behind Damien.
"You can leave it to me, Commander," Indra said in his usual stoic voice. His long dark-brown hair flowed elegantly in the wind.
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Damien cracked his neck as a smile was etched on his face. A screen lit up in his mind.
[God of War} {Inherent Skill} - For every enemy you defeat, you gain some stamina in return.]
The youth had his stamina drained and was impatient to gain it back. Having fought a foe at the peak of Yonko was quite gruelling, even with the aid of the Dark King.
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Shakky hummed from the side, "You're joining in this early?"
The young man in question just nodded, "I'll be back in a flash."
With that, he disappeared from the ship.
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Shakky sighed as her gun shot out 3 rounds, killing 30 marine officers in a split second.
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The current formation had 5 warships at the front with 50 standard ships in the center and another 11 warships at the back.
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"S-Something is coming!" A voice yelled out from the leftmost marine warship, it was a man of Commodore rank.
"What is it?" A Rear Admiral asked as he Soru-ed next to the man.
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The man who had alerted the Rear Admiral was a user of the Sense-Sense fruit that allowed him to sense attacks that had yet to occur.
The Rear Admiral was about to speak but then…
*Splash*
A spray of crimson liquid showered onto the marine commodore as he saw his superior officer's head being liberated from his neck as the blood spurted out like a fountain.
Under the horrified eyes of the 1000 marines on board, Damien had appeared.
Ryushi of the Supreme Blades was bathed in blood as its user felt some energy return. Ravager Configuration in use.
*Click*
*Bang!*
Hundreds of shots then followed as the marines retaliated. They may be fearful but they had enough experience not to freeze in this situation.
*Clatter*
Yet, much to their dismay, the bullets simply fell to the ground, having barely even touched the attack but lost all momentum in the process.
"N-Not even a scratch…" A man muttered as he took an audible gulp.
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"Time for a quick massacre…"
*Vwooo*
Using his {Flight}, Damien shot into the sky as his weapon was raised above him.
And like a bullet, he threw it like a spear as it slammed upon the marine warship, effectively cutting it in half.
Damien's eyes then glowed red as 2 beams of red energy blasted out.
BOOM!
5 standard marine ships thirty or so meters away were destroyed as pieces of wood rained down upon the blood-soaked sea to the credit of the [Omega Beams].
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Damien then extended both hands out to his left and right while he floated in the sky.
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"Utter Decimation."
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A wide stream of pulverizing energy shredded the air that surrounded it. The attack zoomed through the air as it met a marine warship.
BOOOOM!
The sails cracked, the floorboards snapped and the very frame of the ship glowed red.
Red lines spanned all over…
*Bling*
Sounds of pixelation went off as the behemoth of a ship was reduced to near-atomic levels.
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*Thump*
Ryushi returned to Damien's hand as it vibrated in delight.
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"FIRE!" A yell broke out.
It was a marine Vice Admiral who gestured the marines to fire upon the Damien.
*Bang!*
*BOOM!*
*Vwoom!*
Tens of cannon mounted upon the marine ships went off as the balls zoomed through the air.
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Damien hummed as a little grin formed on his visage.
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BOOOOM!
A chained explosion went off in the air as nearly 100 cannonballs exploded, having reached the man in the sky.
Great volumes of dust floated around from the shrapnel.
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"D-Did we get..?" An optimistic voice broke out.
A few thousand eyes glared at the skies that were slowly cleared of the dust.
*Gulp*
A man gulped as he saw 2 crimson orbs in the loose cloud of dust that seemed to see his very thoughts.
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Damien's untouched body showed itself to the world, his regal attire reformed as the lack of physical injury left a deep impression on the marines.
"R-Ridiculous!"
"That had enough power to take down a battleship of a thousand pirates!"
"Just what kind of endurance is that!?"
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They then heard a voice.
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"Ryushi Combat Arts…"
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The weapon in Damien's hand pulsed out visible red shockwaves as it shook in the air, energy gathered around it.
The youth grasped the Ravager in both hands as the blade was raised diagonal to his body.
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"Broken World."
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In an arc of endless power, the Supreme Weapon slashed down with infinite momentum as a bubble of Emission Haki followed in pursuit.
It was brighter than the sun as it overpowered the surroundings, eyes drawn towards it.
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*FWOOOO!*
High-pitched cries of the air screamed as the crimson slash found its way upon 3 of the warships at the back of the formation.
Cries of thousands of men burst out as every ship was thinly sliced in a diagonal half, this caused them to entirely collapse upon themselves. Yet before it could fully sink, every ship glowed an eerily red before they disappeared from the naked eye.
Reduced seemingly to dust.
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While Damien went off on a rampage, Linlin was doing the same thing.
She used Mars to shoot out a plethora of wind-like attacks as they shredded the ships in their wake.
Shakky sniped from afar with a single hand, the other busy with a cigar.
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[20 Minutes Later]
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Already thousands had fallen from both sides.
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Charlotte Linlin aka the Evil Spirit used her flintlock homie to create winds that allowed her to float in the air.
Her children and other minions attacked alongside her.
Katakuri's Mochi-Mochi fruit rained down ranged attacks while Perespero brought down candy-arrows upon the marines.
The others were busy with the other ships while a few warships attacked in response.
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She was about to shoot another bullet, however…
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BAM!
A black metallic fist smashed upon her desirable body, the warm bubble of Emission Haki transferred into her frame.
"Ugh!" A stream of blood escaped the woman's mouth as she felt her entire body shake like a drum.
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She let out a growl, "Seastone!"
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A shadow floated in the air. The man eyed the female pirate who had crashed upon a smaller pirate ship.
Purple hair. Stoic face. Muscular body. A metal arm that glistened with Haki.
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Katakuri grew somber and he muttered, "Vice Admiral Zephyr. He was defeated by Sensei during the Amethyst Island Crisis and lost an arm."
Zephyr, with his Seastone-arm, was a beacon of power, having taken down hundreds of pirate crews as he showed the capability of a non-fruit wielder to the world.
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"Ha?! That Damien cut off your arm so you came to me instead? Are you saying that I am an easier opponent than him!" Linlin roared out in indignity.
Her lacy bikini somehow held her massive jugs that heaved in anger.
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Zephyr was unphased, "You come to a battle with children in your womb. Such a woman doesn't deserve to be a mother let alone to be left free!"
He then rushed out as his metal arm clashed with the unsheathed Napoleon.
BOOM!
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As for Damien, he had just destroyed another 8 ships and was about to aim at another.
He was 30 meters in the air, ready to bring down an attack, however…
His eyes lit up in a red glow as the future was laid out in his mind.
And then,
*CLANG!*
Ryushi was raised by reflex to guard Damien's chest and met an attack.
Waves of shock burst out from the exchange as waves of water were generated in the process.
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Damien looked ahead and saw that his Supreme Blade struggled to hold under a black fist.
Boom!
The air exploded as Damien's body was launched back with great momentum as it skidded through the air.
The youth's chest rang with force as his bones slightly shook, Emission Haki danced within.
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Yet suddenly,
*Pop*
The great force of the punch seemingly ceased as Damien returned to flight, his weapon vibrated in anger.
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"BWAHAHAHA! That weapon of yours is quite sturdy, Damien-boy!" The man laughed with little care.
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Damien gave out a grin, "...Garp."
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The Vice Admiral then raised a black fist and blew on it and polished it with his shirt.
"That brat Dragon has been shaken up with your words for years now!" Garp said with some irritation. "Let me give you what I gave him…
My signature 'Fist of Love'!"
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