Chapter 158

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"Have the orders been given?" Sakazuki questioned impatiently as he waited for the Buster Call signal, which had yet to be initiated.

"Not yet, Sir! We have been asked to remain on standby," one of the marines on Sakazuki's ship informed him.

Ohara was now surrounded, and the moment the Buster Call signal was given, hell would rain down upon the island. From the corner of his eye, Sakazuki saw the marine evacuation ship filling up with the citizens of Ohara. A cruel glint flashed in his eyes, but he refrained from taking action hastily.

"Spandine! Has the evidence been found?" the voice on the transponder snail echoed with authority.

"Yes, Sir! Without a doubt, they are researching weapons of mass destruction to destroy the world," Spandine lied with feigned sincerity.

"What an unfortunate outcome! It is such a pity that the famed scholars of Ohara were involved in such a heinous act against this world. Carry out the execution!" the voice on the transponder snail commanded.

"Spare us your false pity! Elders, we are not fooled by your words. I know why you are afraid of us. Yes, you are afraid. We learned it all from the poneglyphs—the history you want buried. Did you think that the lie you built for over eight centuries would never come to light again?" Clover roared defiantly.

Meanwhile, Lily sat there, lost and despondent, yet finding some solace in knowing she had saved Robin.

Clover, in a bid to show how much they had uncovered over the years, began sharing his theory, oblivious to the rapidly changing expression on the Elder's face.

"But the key is the ancient kingdom that once thrived... The name of the kingdom is..." Just as Clover was about to disclose the information, a voice roared from the other end, "Kill him!"

Spandine immediately pulled the trigger. "Bang!" Before anyone could react, Clover's lifeless body hit the ground.

"Grandpa...," Lily, lost in her despair, saw her grandfather being shot at such close range and forgot that she was still pretending to be Robin.

"Spandine, kill them all! Burn every last soul on Ohara. I don't want any survivors. Is that understood?" The order came, and Spandine, without hesitation, activated the Buster Call.

Lily reached her grandfather's cold corpse and started wailing, confusion etched on Spandine's features. Suddenly, he realized what was going on.

"You bitch! You dare deceive me?" He roared in anger, pulling out his pistol to kill Lily. But suddenly, the entire land shook.

"Rooooaaar!!!" A giant rushed forward, knocking out the surrounding soldiers and agents left and right amidst gunfire and cannon fire.

"Don't leave a single soul alive," Spandine ordered. He knew staying on the island was risky and quickly ordered the marines to shoot down the subdued scholars while he retreated to the safety of his ship. But then he noticed a peculiarity—the northern coast was not being bombarded. He turned to his subordinate for answers.

"Sir, we have confirmation that Donquixote Rosinante is residing in that area, so we were advised not to bombard it," the subordinate replied.

"You moron! Did you not hear the elders' orders? No soul alive! So what if it is Rosinante? Just sink him along with the island. I don't believe he can best the Buster Call, and we have those government dogs tied up. Unleash them! Let the Shichibukai deal with Rosinante. Just make sure no one leaves the island alive."

"Sir, what about the evacuation ship?" the subordinate questioned.

"You don't have to worry about that. I have already assigned a mad dog to handle it," Spandine said with a chuckle.

On Spandine's orders, the entirety of Ohara was under siege. However, Saul had managed to save Olivia and Lily, though Olivia's condition was dire, riddled with dozens of bullets. Even Saul had been bombarded by the cannon fire of multiple ships.

"Sir, that giant is carrying the criminal Olivia and her daughter," the subordinate, tracking Saul with his spyglass, responded.

"Fucking shoot that giant down! Where is that admiral candidate, Aokiji?" Spandine roared, seeing the giant scooping up Olivia and the girl pretending to be Olivia's daughter.

Just as he was about to clarify the misunderstanding, a massive lightning bolt tore through the sky like heaven's retribution, splitting the World Government's ship in two. Spandine, at the center, vanished into nothingness.

For a moment, the entire scene froze, even the cannon sounds from the Buster Call ceasing.

---

A few moments earlier, Robin finally managed to reach the house on the edge of the northern coast. I casually stepped out of the house, emptying the last of its contents.

"Brother! Brother Ross, help! Help me! Help me save my mother and sister Lily! Help save everyone on the island." She fell, planting her face directly onto the grassy ground, breaking her nose. Despite the pain and exhaustion, she pleaded with me once more.

But I continued arranging the last box as if I hadn't heard anything. Robin struggled to move closer. "I'm sorry, Brother Ross! I'm sorry that I doubted you! Please! Please help me save my mother," she pleaded.

"Little Robin, have you forgotten already? I am a pirate, an evil man. How can you expect me to help you?" I questioned.

Robin's world crumbled as she heard my answer. She was dumbfounded, but then she did the only thing she knew she could do. She sat on her knees and bowed her little head, ramming it into the solid ground with force, tearing the skin and staining the grassy floor with her blood.

She continued, ramming her head with more ferocity each time, tears flowing from her eyes, snot running down her nose. "Please! Please! I was wrong. I was naive. Please help me save them!" the little girl asked earnestly as she fainted.

"Sigh! I really am not the monster I thought I was." I looked to the other side of the island. Under my observation Haki, everything was as clear as day. I immediately aimed for the World Government's ship, especially Spandine, who had just commanded to bring down Saul, who was carrying the two figures that Robin had asked me to save.

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As silence reigned, many couldn't comprehend what was happening, but the veterans, especially Sakazuki and Kuzan, did. It was the unmistakable power of a Lightning Logia user. Even Kuzan, who had been tracking his friend Saul to see if it was possible to save him amidst the chaos, froze in shock. A single entity floated in the sky, like the guardian god of Ohara, with lightning surging out like an unrelenting wave. I had already left Robin under Lucci's care, who were safely hiding on a nearby island.

Suddenly, Sakazuki received a call on his transponder snail. Soon enough, he roared orders, "Continue the bombardment! Pass down the orders to the Shichibukai! Have them bring down that pirate scum!" he commanded.

The ten great battleships re-engaged, and suddenly my observation haki picked up a projectile aimed for my shoulder. I easily dodged it, but soon enough, back-to-back shots were fired, each bullet infused with haki, forcing me to move away from the island. The only reason I kept dodging and didn't retaliate was because I knew who the attacker was.

I came face to face with my attackers and found myself surrounded by the four Shichibukai: Shakuyaku, Hector, Anne, and Crocodile. A quick glance told me all I needed to know about their strength. Except for Shakky, who was a peak admiral-level powerhouse, the other two, Anne and Hector, had admiral level strength, with Anne having a slight edge in skill, but it seemed like Hecor made it up with some kind of special devil fruit. Crocodile, however, was a disappointment, even with his logia fruit.

The moron didn't even seem to have a decent haki level. And he was challenging Whitebeard's crew? For all I knew, Whitebeard must have asked the rest of his crew to go easy on him. If not, he would have been buried in an unmarked grave already.

"So, you are the infamous Sword Demon!" Anne was the first to speak, unsheathing her own great sword as if ready for the challenge.

"Pooooof," Crocodile exhaled. "He is nothing but a brat!" he commented. But before he could react, I moved, appearing right in front of him, clad my arm with haki, and punched him in the gut.

"Boom!" A reverberating shockwave echoed. Although Crocodile had managed to enter his elemental state, his internal organs were ruptured. He was lucky that I was holding back because Hector was watching me like a predator, ready to pounce if I had fully committed to that attack.

"Tch! Did you really think you stood a chance against a man like Whitebeard? What a naive little Crocodile," I teased him.

Crocodile, buckling from the overwhelming pain, stood up as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Pffft," Anne couldn't help but snicker. The other three kept their distance, knowing how dangerous their opponent was, but Crocodile had the audacity to run his mouth.

"Ice Age!" Just as I was about to launch another attack at Crocodile, the ground froze, forcing me to quickly retreat and create some distance.

"Are you not going to chase after your friend, Kuzan-san?" I questioned him. He didn't respond, just looked at Crocodile with pity.

Ignoring the others around me, I looked at Shakky and pulled out a transponder snail, throwing it in her direction. She caught it, despite knowing we were now enemies, and I couldn't help but smile. "You can thank me later, Shakky-san! The king wants to speak to his queen. Your days as a warlord are over, Shakky-san."

Everyone around me was confused about what was being said, but Shakky's eyes widened in evident delight. The smile that she had lost since she was forced to become a Shichibukai finally returned. In front of everyone's shocked gaze, Shakuyaku strapped her rifle to her back. From the looks of it, it was the same high-caliber rifle that I had gifted her.

"So, you're still using that bad boy, Shakky-san," I spoke casually, as if I wasn't surrounded. Saul was already making his way to safety, so I was in no hurry.

"Ah, this rifle truly is a marvel. I've become quite attached to it," she commented, her old demeanor returning.

"Shakuyaku, what's the meaning of this?" Aokiji couldn't help but question in disbelief.

She lit a cigarette, something she had ceased to do, and took a deep drag. "You can go tell your superiors that I quit! I will no longer be their dog," she chuckled and turned to me. "I will remember this favor, Ross-kun."

"You owe me quite a few favors, Shakky-san. How about repaying one right now?" I questioned her. Anne, on the other hand, was laughing, holding her tummy as she watched the drama unfold.

Hector, however, was getting more and more frustrated at being ignored, like every other time. Aokiji was trying to make sense of what exactly was happening. Crocodile, however, was coming to terms with his new reality.

"You want me to fight them?" Shakky asked, raising her brows in amusement.

"This bunch? Oh no, they aren't even enough to keep me entertained. What I want from you is to ensure the safety of that giant and his companions," I gestured in the direction Saul was heading. With a soft murmur of thanks, Shakky left in the indicated direction before anyone could react.

Hector roared, trying to strike Shakky from behind. But just as he took a step, a massive flying slash obstructed his path, forcing him to swing his massive battle axe to intercept the sword slash.

"Did I give you permission to leave?" I chuckled while keeping my eye on Aokiji, who was the strongest among the bunch.

"Ross, what are you playing at? Do you know what you have done? If the World Government knows that Shakky has defected, then her home will be destroyed," Aokiji added. The current Aokiji was not like the one in canon; because of my influence during my time under Garo, he might even be stronger than Sakazuki in a fair fight.

"Kuzan-san, you should be more worried about what your friend Sakazuki is going to do in a few minutes. You'd better hurry up and save those people on the ship. And don't worry, I've given you my word. Now that Saul is far away, you can burn Ohara, sink it—I don't care. But I'm curious to see what kind of justice you will enact. Go on! Meanwhile, I'll entertain these two warlords here, Oh my bad! Its three!. I've yet to clash with a warlord. I wonder if my bounty will increase if I take one of their heads," I chuckled.

Kuzan got a bad premonition from my words, so he turned to the other three. "Can you handle him?" he asked.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of insult?" Hector roared, readying his weapon. Anne turned serious, not liking being disregarded. Even though she knew her opponent was tough, she genuinely believed she could best me, being a logia fruit user like me.

Anne's eyes blazed with determination as she brandished her sword, the metal gleaming ominously in the flickering light of the ongoing bombardment. "You've got quite the ego kid, thinking you can handle us so easily," she hissed.

Hector, wielding his massive battle axe, took a step forward, his muscles bulging with barely contained rage. "I've had enough of your arrogance," he growled, swinging his axe in a wide arc to test my reaction.

I sidestepped effortlessly, my eyes locking onto his with a challenging glint. "Is that all you've got?" I taunted, making sure to keep my guard up.

The air crackled with tension as lightning bolts danced around me, a reminder of the power I held. Hector lunged at me, his axe coming down with terrifying force, but I blocked it with my Shusui, the clash sending shockwaves through the ground.

Anne seized the opportunity to strike, her blade aiming for my side. I easily managed to deflect it, the impact sending a sharp jolt up my arm. She was fast, faster than I had anticipated.

Crocodile, recovering from my earlier attack, joined the fray, his sand powers swirling around him menacingly. "You're nothing but a child playing with forces you can't comprehend," he sneered, He wanted to wipe away the earlier humiliation.

Ignoring his taunts, I focused on their movements. Shakuyaku was already gone, heading to ensure the safety of Saul and his companions. That was one less concern for now.

"Kuzan-san, you'd better hurry. Those people won't save themselves," I reminded him, my voice dripping with mockery.

Kuzan shot me a final look before turning into a blur of motion, racing towards the evacuation ship, wanting to know what exactly Sakazuki was planning to do with the evacuation ships.