BOOM!
The violent shockwave of the explosion swept across the entire island like a Category 15 hurricane.
Everything in its path was utterly devastated.
Even the massive warship anchored at the harbor entrance was forcibly blown away by the impact.
The enormous waves it kicked up rose dozens of meters high before crashing down upon the warship.
"Smoke Jet!"
BOOM!
The massive wave crashing toward them was blasted apart by a surge of smoke, forcibly dispersing it.
Smoker slammed heavily onto the deck. He was already drenched from head to toe, yet he gritted his teeth and desperately pushed himself to his limits, controlling the Yamata no Orochi formed from smoke and Armament Haki.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
One figure after another was violently thrown onto the deck by the impact of the waves.
When even Doll, her face covered in blood, was finally thrown onto the deck, Smoker saw that everyone had made it back. Only after confirming that Doll was lying there and slowly coming to her senses did he finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.
He collapsed onto the deck and began panting heavily.
The two of them had just unleashed their ultimate attacks against each other.
Smoker had noticed that Doll had only barely recovered her senses after the clash and had immediately turned around to flee.
Originally, Smoker had not intended to meddle in the matter.
But after gritting his teeth, he had ultimately controlled one of the smoke serpents and sent it over to rescue her.
At the instant the explosion erupted and Doll was caught in it, Smoker had forcibly dragged her out.
Using a passage of smoke, they had made their escape as quickly as possible.
The one thing that gave Smoker some relief was that, apart from being battered and covered in blood, Doll had not suffered any serious injuries.
Seeing that even a Marine Vice Admiral had nearly been killed by the shockwaves of their clash, Smoker forced himself to take another breath. After loosening his aching bones, he quickly turned his attention toward Little Garden.
They desperately wanted to know whether the two giants whom Lucas had regarded as special combat power were still alive.
RUMBLE...
Billowing clouds of dust rapidly rolled outward.
The tremendous shockwave left everyone with an inexplicable feeling of suffocation.
When they finally came back to their senses, the survivors of the disaster struggled to remain standing on their trembling legs and stared anxiously toward Little Garden.
No one knew how long it lasted.
Eventually, a figure slowly emerged from the dust that filled the sky, stepping forward with Geppo.
Lucas took a sip of his strong liquor before leaping down onto the warship.
"Smoker, you ran pretty well this time. You were faster than last time. With you on the ship, I feel much more at ease."
"It’s six o’clock now. I’m off duty."
"The rest is up to you. Go check on those two giants. If they’re still alive, bring them aboard."
"Don’t forget—I’m pressed for time."
After leaving those words behind, Lucas entered the ship’s cabin under everyone’s watchful gaze.
Seeing the food and liquor that had already been prepared on the table, Vivi and the others finally understood that Lucas’s "off duty" remark had apparently not been a joke.
"Quickly! Igaram, let’s go check on the two seniors too!"
Vivi was the first to recover and immediately hurried forward.
When they once again arrived at Little Garden, everything there had already been completely flattened.
The two giants, Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre, were covered in blood and sitting back-to-back amid the ruins.
The enormous weapons in their hands had once again been broken.
Their bloodstained faces were filled with exhaustion, but even more than that, they were filled with disbelief.
Seeing this scene, Vivi immediately burst into delighted laughter and hurried over.
"I knew it! The two of you are powerful warriors of Elbaf! There’s no way you would die! I’m so glad you’re still alive!"
Igaram and Gaca beside her also revealed expressions of joy.
Lucas’s seemingly unharmed state after the clash had indeed been unbelievable to them.
But the fact that the two giants had managed to survive Lucas’s attack without losing their lives was equally something to be grateful for.
At the same time, it somewhat salvaged their dignity.
However, just as smiles began appearing on their faces, Dorry and Brogy shook their exhausted heads and shifted their enormous bodies apart.
Everything that had previously been hidden behind their backs had long since ceased to resemble land.
The giant island known as Little Garden had clearly been blasted apart, with nearly half of it destroyed.
If such terrifying destruction had been unleashed directly upon the two giants...
Forget about whether they would still have been able to sit here conscious.
They probably wouldn’t even have known how they died.
Was this really the strength of the Marines’ fourth Admiral?
How could a newcomer be so terrifying that it made one’s scalp go numb?
Doll’s face had also gone stiff.
Looking at everything before her, she felt as though she were trapped in a nightmare.
If there hadn’t been outsiders present, Doll really would have wanted to slap herself twice just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
Thinking back to the way Smoker had fled earlier, it had indeed looked rather pathetic.
But Doll knew very well that if Smoker hadn’t intervened in time, she would have either died or suffered severe injuries.
As for blaming Lucas for acting recklessly—even to the point of not sparing his own comrades—Doll found herself unable to entertain that thought for the first time.
Instead, when she thought about how she couldn’t even outrun a mere Commodore, she couldn’t help feeling that she had lost face.
"No wonder Admiral Lucas is the one Fleet Admiral Sengoku places such high hopes in. I finally understand why Gion doesn’t have the slightest complaint and even looks so excited whenever she mentions Admiral Lucas."
Doll couldn’t help muttering to herself.
Smoker and the others nearby did not mock her.
They understood very well that Lucas was a newcomer who had been promoted directly to the rank of Admiral at such a young age. There would inevitably be many people who questioned him.
Even they had been no exception.
But in the end, whether it was them or anyone else, they would ultimately be won over by Admiral Lucas’s way of doing things.
At least on a sea where the strong prey upon the weak, strength was the only undeniable truth.
"Hahaha! Who would’ve thought that, in the end, that brat actually went easy on us. If he hadn’t deliberately diverted his attack, we would’ve been killed!"
Dorry the Blue Ogre burst into laughter.
Beside him, Brogy supported his old comrade, laughing heartily as he agreed.
"We haven’t experienced a moment like that, where life and death were decided in an instant, for more than a hundred years."
"Just as that brat said, we’ve been isolated from the world for far too long. We’ve already been abandoned by the era."
"Even our strongest combined technique couldn’t defeat a young man. It seems that relying on our own strength alone, getting our revenge is impossible."
"Marine, that brat really did go off duty."
"But we still want to know why he didn’t kill us."
"Was it really because he recognized us as the special combat power that has been abandoned by the era?"
Feeling the gazes directed toward him from all around, Smoker couldn’t help being stunned.
After hesitating for three or four seconds, he finally smiled bitterly and spoke.
"No. If you ask me to guess, Admiral Lucas didn’t spare you because of your combat strength."
"He let you live because the two of you are worth a 40 million-Berry bonus!"
A 40 million-Berry bonus?
Dorry and Brogy were both stunned.
After exchanging glances, they suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! What an interesting brat!"
"Looks like we’re going to have quite an interesting journey ahead of us."
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