Chapter 141: Sudden Ambush

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As Byakuya finished Hody off, Vander Decken IX tried to take advantage of the chaos to kidnap Shirahoshi. 

However, the vigilant Ain and Tashigi spotted him and instantly cut him down. 

The high-ranking officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates were nearly all wiped out. 

Hody Jones, the main threat, was dead, and Vander Decken IX, who had tormented Princess Shirahoshi for years, was also killed. 

The Poneglyph had been secured. Now, all that was left on Fish-Man Island were the remaining thousands of Fish-Men, who could still be used to provide World Source Power. 

But with their leaders gone, the morale of the Fish-Men army collapsed, unlike before, when they seemed willing to throw their lives away.

Neptune and his men, though battered and covered in wounds, were not in immediate danger. 

They could hold out a little longer. Byakuya, however, didn't want to waste any more time.

Standing high above, his gaze calm, with the Justice cape on his back fluttering in the wind, he raised his sword, Kazemune, and swung it downward toward the Fish-Men below.

In the next moment, everyone—whether Neptune and his soldiers were still fighting or Jinbei, Marco, and Ace, approaching from the distance—witnessed a sight that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. 

A massive, pale blue slash of sword energy, as bright as a crescent moon, shot out. 

In the blink of an eye, it swept through the ranks of the Fish Men. 

It struck Fish-Man District in the distance with a loud "boom," obliterating every building instantly and leaving a gigantic fissure in the ground.

With one swing of his sword, Byakuya had erased Fish-Man District from the island.

Near Ryugu Palace, nearly fifty thousand fishmen were sliced in half by a single sword strike, resulting in an incredibly bloody scene. 

Only the fishmen near Neptune and his group were spared. 

It seemed like a rain of blood was falling across Fish-Man Island, with the air thick and the pungent smell of blood. 

All that could be seen were mangled bodies and rivers of blood flowing everywhere. 

Everyone, filled with terror, watched the horrific spectacle unfold. How could so many fishmen have been defeated by just one swing of Byakuya's sword?

All eyes turned toward the sky, where Byakuya stood. In their minds, one question arose: 

What kind of monster is this? Neptune, heartbroken, gazed at the numerous fish-man corpses scattered across the battlefield. 

They had all been his subjects a day ago, peacefully living on Fish-Man Island. 

Who could have predicted that within a single day, they would all be dead, and Fish-Man Street would likely be gone forever? 

Filled with anguish, Neptune looked at Byakuya and asked angrily, "Vice Admiral Byakuya, didn't I tell you not to intervene? What are you doing now?"

However, the moment Neptune spoke, he regretted it. 

Although Byakuya had killed nearly fifty thousand fishmen, his sword had also saved the Ryugu Kingdom. 

Compared to the predicted destruction of Fish-Man Island, wiping out just Fish-Man Street wasn't as excessive as he had feared. 

Instead of showing gratitude, he rebuked Byakuya. If he angered Byakuya and the vice admiral struck again, Neptune wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Byakuya calmly sheathed his sword and said flatly, 

"First, I don't need to report my actions to you. Second, your fishmen injured my subordinates, and they need to pay for that." 

He pointed toward Ferguson, who stood not far away, looking pale. 

Neptune followed Byakuya's gesture, but the man appeared unscathed when he looked at Fergus aside from his pale face. 

His Marine uniform was immaculate, without a single crease. Neptune, puzzled, thought to himself, Is that considered an injury? 

If that's the case, then I'm on the verge of death!

Even Fergus was stunned. He wanted to remind Byakuya, Vice Admiral, I'm just exhausted, not injured. 

But before he could speak, Byakuya suddenly asked, "Fergus, are you injured?" 

Fergus had known Byakuya since they were in the Marine elite training camp, and he had worked under him for six months. 

He understood perfectly what the vice admiral was implying. In this situation, even if there were no issues, he had to pretend there were.

Ferguson's pale face suddenly flushed unnaturally red as he coughed up bright red blood and collapsed against the railing, looking as though he was on the brink of death. 

In a weak voice, he gasped, "V-Vice Admiral Byakuya... I-I'm gravely... injured!" Seeing how well Fergus played along, Byakuya nodded in satisfaction. 

Then he turned back to Neptune and said calmly, "Do you see that? Fergus is one of my most capable subordinates, someone I value greatly, and now he's been gravely injured by those damned fishmen."

"Do you think I shouldn't act? Shouldn't I intervene?"

Fergus, lying 'near death,' listened to Byakuya's words. If not for his flushed face, it would be obvious he blushed in embarrassment. 

If Byakuya had said those words before his 'injury,' Ferguson might have been touched. But now, the words felt entirely fake. 

Had he not reacted quickly and forced himself to cough up blood, the vice admiral might have just hit him to make it real.

Neptune, watching the performance, was dumbfounded. He never imagined that a Marine vice admiral, a man of such strength, could be so shameless. 

Why weren't they rushing to treat him if Fergus were so important and gravely injured? 

Instead, they stood around, admiring the scene like a show. Did they think the fishmen were brainless? 

Neptune wanted to argue, but he didn't dare. 

Byakuya's cold tone made it clear: the fishmen had been killed, and if Neptune didn't like it, he would have to hold his tongue.

In the end, Fergus's 'injury' gave Neptune an easy way out. 

Whether he wanted to or not, he had to take it. If he pushed the issue further, Byakuya might destroy the entire Fish-Man Island. 

Neptune sighed in resignation, knowing he had no choice in the face of such overwhelming power. 

"Since those fishmen injured Fergus so grievously, Vice Admiral Byakuya, it's understandable that you intervened. 

Thank you for saving us," Neptune said, though his heart wasn't in it.

Byakuya smiled at Neptune's gratitude but didn't say anything further. His focus was on the system notifications appearing before him:

[You have gained 0.9 points of World Source Power]

[You have gained 1.1 points of World Source Power]

[You have gained 1 point of World Source Power]

[You have gained 0.8 points of World Source Power]

[...]

[You have gained 20 points of World Source Power]

It had been a long time since Byakuya had seen such a rapid series of notifications from the system. 

Moreover, the fishmen on Fish-Man Island were generally stronger than those in East Blue, so the amount of World Source Power gained was greater. 

After roughly calculating, he estimated he earned about 40,000 points of World Source Power without completing the Fish-Man Island storyline.

[World Source Power: 83,500]

This kind of systematic slaughter was absurdly effective for gathering World Source Power. 

However, just as Byakuya was basking in his gains, three figures suddenly descended from above, attacking him simultaneously.

"Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: 'Buraikan!'"

"Flame Commandment: 'Hiken!'"

"Blue Flame Kick: 'Hiken En!'"

The three attackers were Jinbei, Ace, and Marco, who had just arrived from the New World. 

Upon seeing Byakuya slaughter tens of thousands of fishmen, Jinbei, overwhelmed by rage, lost all reason and attacked first, his eyes bloodshot with fury. 

Sensing Byakuya's overwhelming strength from that single sword strike, Ace and Marco attacked, fearing Jinbei's safety. 

They also knew, as pirates, that they were naturally at odds with the Marines—especially one as dangerous as Byakuya.

Facing the Marines, Jinbei, Ace, and Marco couldn't afford to hold back. 

Jinbei gathered a rapidly spinning water ball in his hands, capable of unleashing a powerful impact—strong enough to pierce through the bodies of enemies and even penetrate Sea Kings larger than mountains. 

Ace's hands ignited into blazing flames, extending forward and back, forming two long spears of pure fire, radiating intense heat as they lunged toward Byakuya. 

Meanwhile, Marco, utilizing his Devil Fruit power, conjured phoenix flames, forming fiery wings into a punch aimed at Byakuya. 

While Marco's flames lacked the heat of Ace's, they carried far greater physical force.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that these three combined powers could rival a Marine Admiral. 

However, it was only enough to confront—not defeat—an Admiral in a prolonged battle. And now, Byakuya was facing their joint assault.

Ain anxiously shouted, "Brother Byakuya, be careful!" 

Tashigi watched worriedly while Neptune recognized Jinbei's attack and urgently yelled, "Stop!"

But Byakuya didn't move. He didn't dodge or evade, as if unaware of the incoming attacks. 

In truth, Byakuya was surprised to see all three appear simultaneously, but that was the only surprise. 

The gap in strength between them was something they couldn't bridge. Byakuya unleashed his Observation Haki, calmly sensing their attacks. 

Though it seemed as if all three attacked simultaneously, there was a clear order to their strikes: 

Marco was the fastest, and his attack arrived first despite being launched later. 

Ace followed, and Jinbei, the first to attack, was the slowest due to his large frame.

Byakuya targeted Marco first, throwing a punch into the air. 

Armament Haki surged from his fist, solidifying into an invisible iron strike that dispersed Marco's pale blue flames, which sparkled alongside Byakuya's faint pink Haki, creating a strangely beautiful display. 

However, when the punch hit Marco, his face twisted in shock as a crisp crack echoed—the sound of bones breaking. 

Marco was sent flying backwards even faster than he had arrived. 

Simultaneously, Byakuya's sword, Kazenari, flew from its sheath. 

A sharp, piercing sound filled the air as a blinding white light flashed, cutting through Ace's flame spear and striking his chest. 

The blow left a blood-red mark the size of a walnut on Ace's chest, causing him to collapse to the ground, coughing up blood.

By this time, Jinbei's attack had reached Byakuya. But there was no panic on Byakuya's face, as Jinbei had expected. 

Jinbei felt his right hand, holding the water ball, suddenly caught in Byakuya's grip. He was overwhelmed by an immense, terrifying force and unable to move an inch forward. 

In the next moment, Byakuya slammed Jinbei and his water ball into the ground, creating a shockwave that shattered the earth in a hundred-meter radius. 

Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, spreading outwards in every direction. 

Byakuya stood in the centre of the deep crater, casually dusting himself off as if he had done nothing more than a simple task.

Ferguson watched in shock, furiously rubbing his eyes as if trying to confirm that what he saw was real. This was simply unbelievable. 

The captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' first division, "Phoenix" Marco; the second division captain, "Fire Fist" Ace. 

One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Knight of the Sea" Jinbei, had attacked Byakuya together. Yet, Byakuya had neutralized their assault in an instant, leaving them severely injured.

Ferguson knew Byakuya was strong, but this was beyond anything he had imagined. 

Even if a Marine Admiral were in the same situation, the result would be the same at best. 

As Byakuya looked at Ace and Marco, he felt a sudden surge of murderous intent. 

These two were key figures in the story, especially Ace, whose capture triggered the epic Marineford War—the pinnacle moment in the series. 

That battle made Byakuya's blood boil when he first watched the anime.

Byakuya wondered if he could recreate the Marineford War from the anime by capturing Ace and Marco and bringing them back to Marine Headquarters. 

A version where he would be the catalyst? Or perhaps he could use his alter ego, "Night," to leak Blackbeard's information to Ace and Marco and watch as events unfolded. 

Either way, he would gain immense World Source Power—probably as much as the points he earned from defeating tens of thousands of fishmen today.

Ultimately, Byakuya found the second and third options to be more interesting. 

Marco, meanwhile, struggled to his feet, using his blue flames to heal his injuries. 

As he glanced at Byakuya, who seemed to be contemplating how to deal with him and Ace, Marco couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sadness. 

He had taken Byakuya seriously, so he had come to Fish-Man Island with Jinbei and Ace. 

Yet, he hadn't expected Byakuya's power to be so overwhelming, far beyond his imagination. 

At that moment, Marco saw a reflection of a younger Whitebeard in Byakuya—both were impossibly strong, utterly unbeatable.

<End Chapter>

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