bookbashuk Chapter 236 The Hidden Blade, A Feint to the East and a Strategy to the West
Chapter 236 The Hidden Blade, A Feint to the East and a Strategy to the West
Chapter 236 The Hidden Blade, A Feint to the East and a Strategy to the West
Impel Down, Level 6 Altar.
Blackbeard listened to the dense sounds of artillery fire and explosions coming from outside, which were weakened by the layers of rock walls but were still clear.
His eyes gleamed with madness and cunning, and he spread his arms wide, letting out his signature maniacal laugh.
"Hahaha!! Fight! Fight! You Navy scum! Unleash all your fury and manpower on the shell of this dilapidated prison!"
He turned abruptly to look at the count shrouded in shadow behind him, Lafitte gracefully twirling his cane, and Van Augur calmly wiping his 1600-pole spear.
"The time is almost right," Lafitte said with a smile, lightly tapping the ground with the tip of his cane.
"The Navy's main fleet, three admirals, and even that old guy Garp have been firmly drawn to the front."
"According to energy monitoring, their attack is focused entirely on the outer defenses. The internal defenses of the Naval Headquarters must be at rock bottom at this moment."
Van Oka calmly added that the gun's sights seemed to have inadvertently swept across the void above the altar.
"Final confirmation: Target Arjuna is being held in the third isolation cell, the deepest part of headquarters."
"Due to the redeployment of our main forces, the defensive strength is less than 30% of its usual strength. This is our best, and only, chance to seize the flame."
"Zehahaha! That's right!" The black-bearded man clenched his fists, dark mist swirling between his fingers.
"Let the Navy and my immature toys have their fun here, Impel Down!"
"Count, Lafitte, Oak, let's go! Let's deliver a gift to the empty Marine Headquarters that they'll never expect!"
The erudition in the shadows resonated in a low, hoarse voice, as if it came from the abyss.
"Souls yearning for vengeance are the best fuel to ignite the flames of the end times. Arjuna will not disappoint us."
Without further hesitation, the count slammed his hands onto the ground, and a vast darkness surged forth like a living thing, instantly engulfing the four figures.
The darkness was not concealed, but rather violently distorted space, forming a brief void vortex.
The next moment, the altar was empty, leaving only a slightly distorted ripple of dark energy.
Their true prey was always that archer who harbored a deep-seated hatred for Akainu.
The battle raged fiercely in the waters outside the city.
The naval fleet, like an iron wall, completely surrounded the entire Impel Down.
The artillery fire almost never stopped, constantly bombarding the prison's repeatedly reinforced external structure.
But Impel Down's counterattack was equally fierce; the exits of Level 1 "Crimson Hell" and Level 2 "Beast Hell" were like the gates of hell had been opened.
The monsters roared and even surged out of the sea.
"Maintain formation! Firepower coverage! Don't let them get close to the ships!" The mid-level officers shouted hoarsely from their respective bridges.
However, these pseudo-heroic spirits are numerous and fearless of death, often requiring several times the firepower to completely eliminate one, putting immense pressure on the navy's forward fleet.
"Fist and Bone - Conflict!"
With a thunderous roar, Garp leaped from the flagship like a golden meteor, crashing directly into the area where the pseudo-Heroic Spirits were most concentrated!
Each swing of his fists, imbued with top-tier Armament Haki, was accompanied by an explosion of air and the pulverization of numerous pseudo-Heroic Spirits!
He acted like a pillar of strength, managing to stabilize a battle line amidst the chaos of the battlefield.
"This is never going to end!"
Kizaru's figure flashed in the sky, transforming into countless golden light bullets, precisely killing the pseudo-Heroic Spirits who attempted to attack from the air or the walls.
"Yasakani no Magatama~" A dense rain of light bullets swept across, turning swathes of pseudo-Heroic Spirits into ashes.
Kuzan Aokiji stood on the ice, his hands releasing terrifying cold air that clashed with the cold air constantly surging from the ventilation shafts of Level 5, the extreme cold. The ice and the cold air repeatedly tugged at the base of Impel Down, forming a death zone that no ship could approach.
The main attack area was where the fighting was most intense.
Sakazuki, the Red Dog, was covered in churning magma, like a fire god descending to earth, his enormous lava fists relentlessly pounding the platform.
"Hound of the Underworld!"
"A massive fireball!"
Each attack carried devastating power, causing the entire platform to tremble violently.
"Hmph! A naval admiral, nothing special! Is this all the skill you've got?!" Captain John stood at the back of the platform, grinning maliciously as he gave orders.
He did not go forward himself, but instead sent out the knight beside him.
"Come on, kid! Let me see your magnanimity!" Gilbasda, dressed in heavy Western knight armor and wielding a huge long axe, roared as he charged forward.
A dazzling silver-gray light burst forth from the long axe, like a comet striking the moon, heading head-on towards Akainu's lava!
"The Spear That Pierces the City - Star Piercer!"
boom-!!!
The violent collision between the lava and the spear's edge was even more ferocious than before!
The rocky platform beneath Gilbasda's feet shattered inch by inch, and he was pushed backward by the immense force, carving deep furrows. Cracks spread across his heavy knight's armor, but he held on tenaciously and did not retreat!
"Have some backbone!" Akainu's eyes grew colder, and his molten body radiated heat as he approached again.
"But evil must be completely eradicated!"
On the other side, the Dragon Slayer Ryoma stood silently, his famous sword Shusui occasionally unsheathed half an inch, and an extremely condensed black slash would tear through the air, precisely sweep across the sea, and directly cut a medium-sized naval warship that was trying to approach in two!
This person poses a great threat.
Meanwhile, the smuggling pirate Ganzi used his strange abilities to constantly appear and disappear around the platform, using his curved blade to harass the naval officers who were trying to climb onto the platform, while also setting up small-scale spatial illusions to interfere with the coordinated attacks of the naval soldiers.
However, under the continuous pressure of the navy's overwhelming firepower and top-notch combat capabilities, the defensive pressure on the Impel Down platform is increasing.
The number of pseudo-Heroic Spirits began to decrease sharply under the intense firepower of the Navy, and Gilbasda's armor gradually became unbearable.
"Captain John! The outer defenses have been breached by that Garp! The Navy is infiltrating down the tunnels!"
A pirate in charge of communications shrieked as he reported.
"What?!" Captain John's face darkened.
"Ganzi! Leave this to me and Basque! You take some men to the lower entrance and set up defenses. We absolutely cannot let the navy easily enter the lower level!"
"Tsk, troublesome!" Ganzi spat, his figure flashed, and he led a team of elite pseudo-heroic spirits, quickly disappearing into the shadows leading to the inner passage.
Shortly after Ganzi left, the indifferent voice of the naval science unit came through an encrypted channel.
"The Divine Resonator has locked onto the LEVEL6 anomalous energy source, and the external defenses have been weakened to a critical point."
"They have reached the outside of the underwater Propulsion City, the Vanguard Team One and Three, to carry out the deep drilling agreement."
Several oddly shaped special transport ships that had been hovering on the edge of the battlefield suddenly experienced engine overload.
As the order was given, several special transport ships carrying the God Corpse Force suddenly accelerated, their hulls deforming to reveal sharp, drill-like tips.
Like arrows released from a bow, they ignored the artillery fire and the interception of the false heroic spirits along the way, and charged towards the weak point of Impel Down with an almost barbaric attitude!
"What is that?!" Captain John's pupils contracted.
"Muru-ho-ho—Don't even think about it!" Pizarro's voice rang out through the LEVEL3 surveillance fortress.
The rock face suddenly came to life, forming a gigantic rock hand comparable in size to a warship, which slammed down with immense force towards the leading assault ship!
boom-!!!
The violent collision caused the sea to tremble!
The assault ship was violently tilted, its hull emitting a piercing metallic twisting sound, and its surface flashed with a frantic purple light, but the drill bit continued to spin stubbornly, even tearing off large chunks of rock!
"What kind of monster?! It can still move after being hit by the Fortress Hand?!" Pizarro's voice was filled with astonishment.
Even more shockingly, the eerie purple light emanating from the surface of the assault ship seemed to erode energy. The areas on the rocky palm that were touched quickly lost their activity, turning back into ordinary rock and beginning to disintegrate!
"These divine remains—are extremely resistant to both physical and non-physical attacks! They were created to destroy anomalies!" The science unit officer's voice was completely flat.
While the Divine Relic troops drew most of the remaining defenders' attention, they moved to the rear.
In a secluded corner shrouded in scorching steam and crimson mist, an underwater camouflage gate was quietly opened, and a small shark-shaped submarine, like a ghost, silently slid into the boiling seawater.
The Thousand Sunny and Fujitora's warship concealed themselves behind a rocky peak.
Even here, the enormous explosion and energy fluctuations could be faintly felt, and a muffled rumble echoed from the sea from time to time.
"The entrance to the passage is just 300 meters ahead, about 20 meters below the sea surface, where there is a gate disguised as a reef."
Fujitora said through the Den Den Mushi that his Observation Haki clearly sensed the hidden path.
"The internal situation is unclear. I wish you all good luck in your military endeavors."
The shark submarine No. 3 on the side of the Sunny has been ejected from the hull.
Luffy, Ace, Karna, Roger, and the silent King Hassan, like a shadow, are ready.
"Let's go! Let's beat Blackbeard to a pulp and take back the Heart of the Clouds!" Luffy said in a low voice, but his eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Ace examined the flickering flames at his fingertips and said in a deep voice, "This time, we will not let him escape again."
Karna's golden eyes remained calm and still; he merely nodded slightly.
Roger grinned and patted Luffy on the shoulder: "Come on, kid, follow me, and I'll show you how the Pirate King infiltrates!"
King Hassan was silent, as if he had merged into the darkness.
The small submarine silently submerged into the water and headed toward the coordinates provided by Fujitora.
At the same time, Fujitora's warships also began to move slowly, not approaching the battlefield, but patrolling the perimeter. Their powerful Observation Haki acted like an invisible radar, scanning the surrounding seas and keeping watch for any unexpected factors that might interfere with the infiltration operation.
Following the turbulent undercurrent, Submarine No. 3 passed through the heavy gate and entered a narrow pipe filled with rust and mildew.
"It smells awful!" Luffy complained, pinching his nose.
"Hahaha, prison isn't a vacation spot, kid." Roger looked at the thick grime and rust on the inside of the pipe, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.
"However, this place is more uncomfortable than before; it has a twisted feel to it."
A faint flame flickered between Ace's fingertips, serving both as light and a constant readiness for battle: "That Blackbeard guy has turned this place into a veritable den of demons."
Karna remained silent, his golden armor shimmering faintly in the dim light. Though his spear was not raised, its tip was already subtly pointing in the direction of a potential threat.
Wang Hassan is as if he doesn't exist, yet he is omnipresent; that ultimate nothingness becomes the most reassuring barrier.
At the end of the pipe was a rusted fence.
Just as Ace was about to make his move, Karna raised his hand again to signal him.
Hurried footsteps and conversations could be heard outside.
"Quickly! Captain John orders that Lord Ganzi is coming down! We must guard these abandoned entrances!"
"What happened up there? Did Garp, that monster, bring it down?"
"Stop asking! Hold this position! Don't let the navy sneak in from behind!"
Just then, a deafening explosion and violent tremor came from above! Clearly, the forced incursion of the Divine Remnant Force had caused massive destruction.
"What happened up there now?!"
"It's those strange purple ships! They've crashed in!"
"Damn it! Go reinforce LEVEL3! Leave two people here to keep watch!"
The footsteps outside the fence mostly faded away quickly.
"Now!" Ace roared, unleashing high-temperature flames from his palms, quickly melting a gap in the rusted fence that allowed passage.
The five quickly crawled out and found themselves in a corner of LEVEL4 filled with discarded torture instruments and broken skeletons. The scorching heat and the heavy smell of blood hit them, and not far away was a pool of churning blood.
Just as they regained their footing, at the corner leading to the main passage ahead, space distorted, and Ganzi, dressed in strange armor, appeared with several fierce-looking pseudo-heroic spirits.
Ganzi looked unwell; clearly, the rapid collapse of the upper defenses and the intrusion of the divine remains had put him under immense pressure.
"Hmm?" Ganzi's sharp gaze instantly locked onto Luffy and his crew, especially after sensing the unfathomable aura of Karna and Roger, his pupils suddenly contracted.
"Not the Navy? Straw Hat Luffy? Portgas D. Ace? And two more—"
His gaze finally settled on Roger's bold and unrestrained face, stirring up long-forgotten memories and making his voice sound slightly dry.
"Wait—your face—this aura—impossible! You're Roger?! You old bastard, you've been summoned too—"
Roger crossed his arms, grinned, and his voice boomed, "Hahaha, Ganzi, you still have the same cunning as you did on the Rocks ship!"
Ganzi was struck dumb, instinctively taking a half step back, his knuckles turning slightly white as he gripped the scimitar.
He had witnessed Roger's strength firsthand, and he knew he would become even more powerful after becoming a Heroic Spirit.
"You bastard, even after you're dead you're still going against us. But only the Pirate King Roger could do that—"
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and his eyes became sharp and cold again.
"Roger, this era no longer belongs to you! You've come to the wrong place!"
Luffy stepped forward, his eyes unwavering beneath his straw hat: "We're here to take down Blackbeard! And return the Heart of the Clouds!"
"The Heart of the Clouds belongs to the Earl." Ganzi drew his blade, a flash of cold light.
"If you want to get over here, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"
"What did you say?!" Ace's anger surged, and flames erupted all over his body.
Just as tensions were running high and a battle was about to break out.
Boom!
Suddenly, a rock wall above and to the side of the group exploded!
Amidst the flying debris, three pacifists, their bodies covered in strange armor and their arms transformed into energy cannons, resembled demons crawling out of hell.
These three unique Pacifistas crashed heavily onto the edge of the blood pool, right between Luffy and his crew and Ganzi!
"High concentration of abnormal energy reaction detected — Target: Heroic Spirits of Ganzi — Priority: High."
"Unknown life form and Heroic Spirit reaction detected — marked as: Unknown reaction, execute — purification protocol!"
"Tsk—what a constant stream of trouble!" Ganzi spat, his curved sword already drawn. Facing the two enemies, Shenhai and Luffy, he was instantly caught in a pincer attack.
Luffy and his crew were stunned, never expecting to suddenly encounter the World Government's secret weapon here.
Roger instantly roared, "Don't just stand there, make your move!"
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