South Blue, aboard Admiral Fujitora's warship.
Fujitora sat silently in the ship's briefing room, his head bowed, his face hidden in shadow, lost in thought.
Creak...
The door opened. His aide, wearing a "Justice" coat, walked in holding a report and saluted.
"Admiral, sir! We've received another update from the operative on the island. The King has once again refused our terms of surrender and is preparing for a fight to the death. Furthermore, all ordinary human civilians on the island have been evacuated, apparently to protect them from being caught in the crossfire."
The aide paused, looking at the silent Admiral. "Sir?"
Fujitora looked up, his scarred face a mask of complex emotions. "Is there more?"
The aide, relieved to get a response, continued. "Fleet Admiral Kizaru has ordered you to make a decision quickly. The Archangel Pirates' main army is already advancing overseas. Many World Governnt nations have been disard and brought under their control. As of half an hour ago, Admiral Akainu is leading an ergency fleet in a standoff with the enemy in the first half of the New World."
Fujitora fell back into thought. Just as he was about to speak, the deafening roar of cannons erupted from outside.
"BOOM! BOOM!"
The whistle of cannonballs filled the air, followed by massive explosions on the island's coast. The warship shuddered, and the tea on the table rippled.
Fujitora shot to his feet. "What is the aning of this?" he growled, his face dark as he strode toward the deck. "I gave the order not to attack!"
The aide, trembling, scrambled after him. "Sir! I relayed your command to the entire fleet! I... I don't know what's happening!"
He quickly got on the Den Den Mushi. A mont later, he had his answer. "Admiral! The other Vice Admirals... they say they received a new order... from a higher authority! They were ordered to open fire and drive the giants to the center of the island!"
"..."
Fujitora shoved the door open and stepped onto the deck. He "listened" to the roar of the cannons, his face grim. He could picture the devastation.
After a long silence, he took the Den Den Mushi from his aide.
"All Marine forces, hear !" his voice bood. "Cease fire imdiately! All officers of Commodore rank and above, follow ! We will suppress the giants on foot. Note: The killing of any inhabitant is strictly forbidden. Anyone who violates this order... will be executed by my own hand."
He couldn't believe it. The Five Elders had bypassed him and ordered his fleet to attack. This shattered his plan to stall for ti. Now, he had to intervene personally before the giants were annihilated by a bombardnt far exceeding a Buster Call. This violated his justice, but it was better than letting them be slaughtered by cannons.
With a heavy sigh, Fujitora leaped from the ship, using his gravity powers to fly toward the burning island. The other officers, seeing this, reluctantly followed. The World Governnt's promise was one thing, but the Admiral was right here. Violating his direct order was a good way to get killed.
anwhile, on one of the other warships, CP0 agents wheeled a 2-ter-tall incubation tank out of the hold and onto a transport heading for the island.
In the flickering light of the fires, a pale female face was visible through the glass. Her lower face was wrapped in bandages. Her deathly pale eyelids fluttered, and two eerie, mismatched eyes slowly opened, blankly reflecting the inferno.
[God's Knight Junko - Disposable Clone Body]
In the island's simple royal palace, the King stood, allowing his attendants to strap on his armor, his gaze fixed on the sea of fire.
"They've blockaded every escape route," he sighed. "They an to pen us in." He turned to the three figures in the room, his face full of apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't take your warning seriously. Now, not only are we trapped, but you are trapped with us."
"It's too late for that," Gerd said, crossing her arms. "We have to find a way to hold out until Hajrudin arrives."
Goldberg looked up. "The shelling... it stopped. Why? Are they planning to fight us hand-to-hand?"
Everyone knew giants were the strongest of all human-like races. For a Marine fleet to abandon its cannons and fight giants on the ground... it was suicide.
Road, who was looking through a telescope, cursed. "It's Admiral Fujitora! He's on the island! And... a lot of other high-ranking officers!"
"Fujitora?!" The giants' expressions hardened.
"So the Admiral is making his move. No wonder they stopped firing," Goldberg said, leaping from the palace window. Road quickly followed.
"We'll do our best to stall the Admiral," Gerd called back to the King. "The other officers are up to you!" She then transford into a golden lion and bounded away.
The King watched them go. "I should have listened to you years ago, Hajrudin..."
Fujitora flew over the inferno, riding a platform of rock. As he passed, he applied imnse gravity, pinning the giants—so fleeing, so preparing to fight—to the ground.
"Damn you! Get out of our country!"
"We just don't want to be slaves to the Celestial Dragons! What did we do wrong?!"
Fujitora "listened" to their curses, his heart heavy, his hand gripping his sword so tightly it creaked.
"Speak, Marine!" a giant roared. "Why are you helping them enslave us?!"
As the giant struggled, he felt the crushing gravity waver... just enough for him to get up and run. Fujitora, as if noticing nothing, continued flying toward the city.
"BOOM!"
A golden, lion-like form descended from the sky, its massive paw slashing down at Fujitora's head.
"A lion this big... the Archangel Pirates' 'Iron Rose'?"
Fujitora drew his sword, blocking the blow. "A giant, with an Ancient Zoan ability. Impressive."
The lion (Gerd) landed, shifted to her hybrid form, and swung her massive, Haki-coated axe. "Sun Saw!"
"More than one... as expected." Fujitora parried the blow, pushing her back with a pulse of gravity. He then sent a gravitational wave into the sky... and pulled down a teor.
The massive, flaming rock crashed down, aid at Road, who had just entered his dragon-man form.
"A teor?!" Road stared in horror. "What kind of Observation Haki is this?! Can he actually hear things in space?!" He scrambled out of the way just as the teor hit, obliterating the area.
"This is insane," Road panted, his mind racing. "That teor could have destroyed the whole region! This guy... is he on our captain's level?"
From the edge of the crater, Goldberg, his shield up, stared at the Admiral. "This is the power of a top-tier..."
"But..." Gerd said, confused. "He just... put out the firewall that was trapping us. Was that... on purpose?"
"It's possible," Road said, his expression grim. "The Captain told Fujitora is one of the few in the Marines who truly believes in justice."
Fujitora flew toward them. The three giants tensed, ready to fight.
"No matter what, we have to hold on until Hajrudin or the Captains arrive!" Gerd growled.
As if in answer, a massive, irregular, crystalline thing (Avant Heim) appeared in the sky.
An invisible wave pulsed, and in an instant, the area was filled with hundreds of fully-ard giants.
"The army of Elbaf!" the King whispered, his eyes wide.
"GYEGEGEGEGE!"
"When was the last ti we were here?" Dorry laughed, his sword crackling with Armant Haki.
"About a hundred years ago, I think!" Brogy roared, his axe matching. "Alright, let's help our kin evacuate! His Majesty Hajrudin is leading the other army in the West Blue!"
The two captains unleashed a combined attack. "HAKOKU!"
At the sa ti, the CP0 agents arrived at the center of the kingdom and opened their incubation tank.
The agents bowed and retreated, leaving the tank.
The Junko clone's eyes snapped open, blank and cold.
The tank shattered.
The clone floated into the air, her hair growing, demonic wings and a tail sprouting from her back. A black trident and a magic book appeared in her hands.
A terrifying, god-like Conqueror's Haki—Imu's Haki—swept the island.
"This body... is a one-ti use. It will only last a few minutes. But... it is enough."
Imu's cold eyes looked down at the panicking giants. He raised his hand.
"Black Transmutation... Domination."
Gerd, who was behind Dorry and Brogy, sensed the inhuman Haki and knew, instantly, that sothing was terribly wrong.
She fumbled in her pocket, pulled out a single, glowing white feather, and crushed it.
In the next second, a blast of Louis's own max-level Conqueror's Haki erupted from the feather, shooting into the heavens and tearing the sky itself apart.
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