Chapter 56: Kidnapping Celestial Dragon

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When Byakuya arrived at the scene, he found a chaotic mess, with over a dozen bodyguards lying in a gruesome state on the giant's body. 

 He witnessed Palace Mapelseciel being knocked unconscious and Saint Estercock trembling in fear, screaming in terror at the sight. 

Saint Estercock, now in utter despair, frantically crawled backward, trying to distance himself from the purple-clad ninja.

Just as Saint Estercock was about to give up all hope, he spotted Byakuya approaching. Desperation filled his voice as he shouted, 

"That Marine Rear Admiral! Save me, please! If you save me, I'll grant you anything you want!" 

Perhaps having seen too much death, Saint Estercock no longer displayed his previous arrogance and refrained from using a commanding tone with Byakuya. 

The purple ninja also noticed Byakuya's arrival and sped up, attempting to kill Saint Estercock before Byakuya could intervene. 

As the short sword drew closer to him, Saint Estercock closed his eyes in despair.

The next moment, the sound of weapons clashing echoed in his ears. "Ding!" 

Saint Estercock opened his eyes to see a sight that brought him immense relief—Byakuya standing in front of him, blocking the ninja's attack with his sword. 

Seeing that Byakuya could hold off the ninja, Saint Estercock regained his confidence. 

Overwhelmed with post-crisis joy, he shouted, "Quick, capture him! Make him my slave—I want to torture him to death!"

Byakuya frowned at Saint Estercock's words but did not respond. 

Realizing he couldn't kill Saint Estercock with Byakuya present, the purple ninja noted that ten minutes had already passed since the attack began. 

Knowing that a Marine Admiral would arrive within twenty minutes, making escape difficult, the ninja decided to act quickly. 

He moved at an incredible speed, creating ten afterimages that seemed to mirror his movements. All ten figures threw a shuriken at Byakuya simultaneously.

Byakuya swung his sword, Kazemune, and a nearly hundred-meter-long pale blue slash appeared out of thin air, radiating sharpness. 

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" 

The twenty shurikens exploded upon contact with the slash, creating small mushroom clouds that were highly visible in the sky. 

Reluctantly, Byakuya shielded Saint Estercock from the blast. When the flames and smoke cleared, the purple ninja was nowhere to be seen. 

Byakuya looked up and saw the ninja escaping, carrying the unconscious Palace Mapelseciel with him.

Saint Estercock, watching the purple figure grow smaller in the sky, flew into a rage. "You're useless! How could you let him get away?"

A cold glint flashed in Byakuya's eyes as he swung Wind Whistle at Saint Estercock. 

The crescent-shaped slash passed just beside Saint Estercock's face, drawing blood. The slash continued skyward, splitting the clouds in two.

Pointing his sword at Saint Estercock, Byakuya coldly stated, "If you insist on courting death, I can easily discard my Marine title and oblige."

Hearing the deadly intent in Byakuya's voice and seeing the emotionless look in his eyes, Saint Estercock swallowed hard and lowered his once proud head, falling silent. 

He realized that the Marine officer before him truly had the will to kill him.

Before long, after Smoker had dealt with the pirates on his side, he arrived at the scene. 

Seeing Saint Estercock standing there with his head bowed, Smoker couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. 

At least he was alive. As long as a Celestial Dragon was alive, things could be managed. 

However, upon further inspection, the female Celestial Dragon, Palace Mapelseciel, was nowhere to be seen.

Byakuya spoke up, "Palace Mapelseciel was taken by the attacker."

"What!?" Smoker exclaimed in shock. 

A Celestial Dragon had been kidnapped right under Byakuya's nose, which implied that the attacker possessed Admiral-level strength. 

The implications of this incident were enormous. Smoker asked, "Can you identify the attacker?"

There were only a handful of individuals on the seas with Admiral-level power, and most who had encountered them could recognize them. 

Byakuya shook his head, "I'm not sure yet, but it doesn't seem to be one of the well-known strong ones."

"A new formidable opponent?" Smoker mused, realizing that the situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

Byakuya continued, "Smoker, notify all Marine branches in the Sabaody Archipelago to deploy soldiers and seal off the ports." 

"No one is allowed to leave. If anyone tries to, treat it as an act of harming a Celestial Dragon and take them down immediately."

"Got it! I'll arrange it right away," Smoker responded, fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

At present, one Celestial Dragon was still alive, and another had been kidnapped. 

If both Celestial Dragons were killed in the Sabaody Archipelago, not only would he and Byakuya be held accountable, but even Fleet Admiral Sengoku might not escape the repercussions. 

Meanwhile, news of the attack on the Celestial Dragons in the Sabaody Archipelago reached both Mary Geoise and Marineford.

Upon receiving the news, Mary Geoise immediately dispatched CP0 agents to the Sabaody Archipelago to protect the Celestial Dragons. 

Sengoku, upon learning of the attack, was so furious that he nearly smashed his desk. 

It was unfortunate that Admiral Kizaru was unavailable; with his Devil Fruit ability, he could have reached the archipelago swiftly.

Thus, Sengoku quickly ordered a soldier to relay the message to Admiral Aokiji, the only available Admiral at Marine Headquarters, to head to the Sabaody Archipelago for support. 

Aokiji, understanding the severity of the situation, set out for the archipelago immediately. 

After making all the necessary arrangements, Sengoku, rubbing his aching forehead, pondered.

"Who would dare attack Celestial Dragons on the Sabaody Archipelago?"

"Right, isn't Byakuya stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago?"

"How could such a significant oversight happen with someone of his strength?"

While Sengoku did not suspect Byakuya of attacking the Celestial Dragons, he felt something was amiss. 

He decided to call Byakuya to inquire about the situation. Upon hearing Byakuya's report, Sengoku finally relaxed a bit. 

The situation hadn't reached its worst point; both Celestial Dragons were alive, although one was in the hands of the attacker. 

Sengoku was quite satisfied with Byakuya's decision to seal off the island immediately, which would greatly increase the chances of recovering the kidnapped Celestial Dragon.

After informing Byakuya that Aokiji was on his way, Sengoku hung up the phone. He trusted Byakuya's capabilities. 

His only remaining question was, who exactly was this new formidable opponent?

<End Chapter>

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