[113] The Scorched Sea War (II)

[2700 words]

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Damien locked onto Garp with cautious eyes.

The young pirate had fought many enemies now: he clashed with two Overlords, duelled the likes of Whitebeard and Shiki, butted heads with Big Mom and even took down an Admiral!

Yet in all these fights, he had never fought a master of all colours of Haki—a combination superior to any fruit user. 

Garp was clean-shaven, sporting an open white shirt and navy blue trousers. "Bwahahaha!" he laughed and cracked his Haki-infused knuckles.

*Pop* The air popped like a balloon as the Vice Admiral launched toward Damien, roughly 150 meters away.

The famed marine's charge involved little strategy; it was a simple rocket-like rush with his right hand pulled back, ready to bash everything into pieces.

Damien's grip on Ryushi tightened, swarming it with dense Haki.

*Vvoooo!* The air vibrated as the weapon seemed somewhat annoyed by the previous conflict. Damien twirled Ryushi in a red circle, blasting on ahead as well.

Torrents of volatile energy swirled around the young pirate as his body built up vast amounts of momentum and became a flash of red.

.

"Crimson Comet!"

.

Garp saw the incoming meteor and gave out a grin of pure glee. A red bubble was coated around his right fist, black lightning crackling about.

BOOOOOOM!

A flare of crimson energy arched all over the seas as shockwaves with enough power to push the nearby marine ships tens of meters away.

*Fwooo!* Torrents of air currents were generated as the Sin Incarnate and The Fist pushed forth.

Damien's attack was naturally infused with Conqueror's Haki, meeting Garp's attack. A sudden silence arrived, only to be overtaken by the hellish force being generated.

"They're not even touching!" a marine muttered in awe while shielding his face from the mind-numbing wind.

.

'This Armament is ridiculous!' Damien exclaimed with widened eyes, much to Garp's enjoyment.

BOOM!

A secondary explosion went off as the attacks finally connected. Both were uninjured and pushed back a good twenty meters from one another.

"That weapon is as hard as Roger's sword! It makes for a nice nail clipper!" Garp joked. Meanwhile, a screen appeared in Damien's eyes.

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

[Monkey D. Garp]

[Age: 39 years, 14 days]

[Height: 9' 5"] (2.87 m)

[Devil Fruit: None]

[Skills: Overwhelming Strength, Unmatched Talent in Armament Haki, Rokushiki, Will of D, Iron Fist Anatomy, Heroic Haki]

[Haki: Intermediate Mastery of Observation Haki, Armament Haki (Grandmastery (II)), Grandmastery (I) of Conqueror's Haki]

[Strength: Top Tier Yonko]

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

Damien was intrigued: this was his first encounter with a Grandmaster of Armament, something he had yet to attain!

"Take this Fist of Pain!" Garp roared out, his punch coated in absurdly thick Haki.

"Empyrean Release." 

Damien readied Ryushi once more. His body was then covered in plates of armour, and crimson mist exuded from it.

Boom! *Clang!* *BAM!* Under the eyes of the marines, the two men went off at great speeds, and collisions occurred every few instances.

Streaks of red and blue flashed throughout like fireworks as the fight continued.

…

[Ox Lloyd's Warship]

Sengoku stood as firm as a mountain. His pure white marine coat draped over his shoulders, and his seagull hat was mounted.

Sengoku looked around and saw the chaos.

On one side was Big Mom against Zephyr. The two had already led to many deaths on both sides from their fight.

Linlin used her Ultimate-Class Fruit as her versatile attacks rained down on the Black Arm. However, she could not fully contain her enemy, leading to a standstill.

The other side had pockets of air that exploded at constant intervals; booms of clashes went off as Damien's Ryushi added with Garp's Armament would release many shockwaves.

And, of course, in the middle was a pure moshpit of marines and pirates; bodies swam lifelessly with rubble and broken ships every here and there.

The cries of tens of thousands of men in fights and injuries were the only thing that persisted.

.

Noting all the fine details, Sengoku raised his afroed snail connected to the higher-ranked marines and ordered, "We will begin the plan; all troops, begin a slow retreat!"

Upon his words, visibly, the functional marine ships started to immediately pull back. Yet, cannons still went off to mask their moves.

...

Ten minutes passed as the Marines had put a gap of at least 300 meters between the ships, continuing the naval battle.

"Now, Basara-san!"

The Admiral exchanged a nod to his fellow marine and slowly raised his hands.

Basara's movement was quick but felt all over the battlefield.

*Rumble* The very sea bathed in fire and war trembled with water ripples slowly growing in intensity. The fight paused for a moment, allowing Basara's hoarse voice to echo the region:

.

"Pit of Despair!"

.

A vast shadow engulfed the ships on the outer edges of the naval battle. Rocks Pirates fell as a giant structure rose all around the battlefield—a circular mountain containing the entire warzone!

The seas shook continuously as the circular dome grew and grew, capping off at a friendly kilometer-tall barrier.

Basara then made a few more hand gestures, exercising his domain over the earth below the sea.

.

"Justice Arena!"

.

The seas shook alongside the ships. Wood cracked on the hull of many pirate ships as they started to lift up—Basara moulded the earth to make a full landmass!

It stretched all over the battlefield; the pirate half of the arena was littered with jagged earth and uneven terrain. On the marine side, it was as smooth as a newborn's rear, preserving the vessels for future sailing.

*Rumble* By now, a multi-kilometer-wide land had been erected, encompassing the warzone and beyond.

"Seek cover!" Sengoku's voice was heard from the snails in the hands of Vice and Rear Admirals.

*Rumble*

Basara then raised both arms as he moulded the world. The marine grunted, fueling his spirit into giant swirls of earth that covered the skies.

"..." A deafening silence took over as the forces eyed the rocks above. Tens of thousands, around three meters wide with a sharpened edge, floated with little movement.

.

"Reigning Justice!"

.

Under the command of Basara, slowly but surely, all the boulders in the sky fell with the embrace of gravity. Picking up speed, generating loud whirls as they neared their objective.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

…

[The Suicidal Rambo]

Shakky clicked her tongue at the sight of the free-falling hell from around 630 meters in the sky. At this rate, the boulders would crash at around 400 km/h speeds (~250 mph)!

"It's quite ruthless," the woman muttered, shaking her head.

Another naval order boomed from Sengoku, reaching her ears, "Open fire!"

An exponential amount of bullets also went off as the Marines unloaded their rifles; hell from above and the front.

"..." After a moment of thought, Shakky used her Roulette-Roulette Fruit and changed the rounds in her pistol.

*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* Tens of bullets hit the broken ships nearby. A weird scene ensued as the small bullets sucked up all the rubble into a portal, leaving nothing but upset dust behind.

.

By now, the Rocks Pirates had regained their wills. They desperately opened fire at the boulders above to lessen the range of attacks.

"Saké Golden Geyser!"

"Blazing Glory!"

"Majin Missile!"

"The Great Depression!"

"Titan Venom!"

"One Sword Style: Beautiful Death."

Damien's Division mates commenced their attacks, creating chains of explosions to encase the rocky skies, fully showcasing quality over quantity.

Shakky then aimed her pistol. With a bang, a single bullet flew out, though what followed was undoubtedly out of the ordinary: it exploded into 50 tinier pellets!

*Fwoo!* Air was displaced as the pellets opened up tiny portals, spitting out the giant rubble pieces at the dust cloud in the sky.

The pirates below weren't stationary either. They unloaded their attacks, including bullets, cannonballs, rockets, sword attacks, and other weapons.

Although the raining hell was somewhat controlled, it did nothing for the bombardment from the marine fleet. Thousands of cannonballs exploded on the ships, shaking all hints of stability on the pirate side.

BOOM! *Rumble*

The boulders, which the pirate onslaught reduced to about a fifteenth of their original number, came crashing down; there were still 3,000 left.

"Auuufh!"

"Owwhh!"

"My leg!"

"Uuugh!"

"Iyaaah!"

Meat paste splashed around as the blood of thousands of pirates leaked out. Broken bones and shattered bodies everywhere. Howls and moans of injured men resounded throughout the seas as only a mess of red was left behind.

Hundreds of ships were cracked and destroyed, with only 40 still functional; the Rocks Pirates Fleet had taken tremendous damage! In a matter of a few hours, 30,000 pirates were reduced to nearly 16,000, while the Marines remained around 23,000 strong.

.

The pirates had no chance to lick their wounds as the marines charged across Basara's arena, their morale sky-high. The advent shook the virgin land, amplifying their morale to skyrocket.

"Meet their attacks!" Shakky's stern voice bellowed.

The pirates that survived showed no fear. They growled angrily and jumped off the ships with little care, weapons raised—savage beasts.

Their bull charge was unforgiving even to their own people! A stampede broke out under the feet of the pirates, running over hundreds of their fellow brothers-in-arms.

Like two tides, the armies clashed.

Bodies swam together as tens of thousands of men began a melee on slaughter.

"Roar!"

"Ssss~!"

Two Ancient Zoans appeared!

Arai, a Titanoboa and Majin, an Ankylosaurus. Yet their appearance was met by another force.

*Clang!* A loud metallic sound broke off as each Ancient Zoan was attacked; marine capes floated around as powerful presences stood tall—Six Rear Admirals!

Kaen and Nomu were a team of drunken fire that mixed rather well. Still, their dyad also met a wall in the form of a veteran Vice Admiral under Kurowashi.

Pablo stood in the back, unloading endless bullets from his twin pistols. He recharged his fellow division mates while taking down a horde of marines with more negative effects.

.

Indra approached the ship's bow and said, "I will go too."

Shakky nodded, continuing her flurry of gunshots.

Indra blasted ahead at incredible speed, beyond what the naked eye could track! He was like a bullet that zoomed around.

A company of marines was shocked as they were picked off one by one. Their shaken eyes traced a black streak that darted from soldier to soldier, blood raining down in its wake.

No wasted slash, no wasted energy and no wasted time; streaks of afterimages were left behind as he continued his slaughter. But like a broken record, he, too, was stopped.

Clang!

His sword was suddenly met to a halt by a large broadsword while taking fire from a distant sniper.

Indra held his ground, glaring at the one clashing with his weapon while casually tilting his head to dodge a bullet clad in Haki.

"It seems that my blade will claim more Vice Admirals…"

…

[In the Skies]

Boom!

In his Empyrean Form, Damien was bombarded with Garp's mighty fists as their fight continued. It had been two hours since their battle began.

The pirate sighed as he saw his losing pirates, not that he cared for them, except for a select few.

"Sengoku is as ruthless as always," Damien commented, blocking a fist.

Garp chuckled, drilling his punch forward, "Hehe, he may be a golden statue, but his mind is only a little sharper than mine!"

Damien's Ryushi slammed on Garp's fist.

Garp continued to talk between their collisions: "You grew a lot from that little fledgling at Mora Island to now. Kong-san's hair turned gray from your mess. Bwahaha!"

Damien slashed down as his attack was met with two fists.

BOOM!

"It's only the beginning!"

Garp grinned at the remark, "Even with you and that giant cake-lover, you stand no chance right now since Newgate, Shiki, and Rocks are busy with their own fights."

*Vvoosh!*

The marine's burly figure suddenly flickered and appeared close to Damien, a speed beyond what a man his size could display.

BAM!

A black punch drilled into Damien's stomach and forced him to spit out air and blood. The pirate was thrown 15 meters back before he regained balance.

"That usually would be enough to crumble a mountain…" Garp muttered, staring at his fist in confusion. Perhaps it was because he missed his daily dose of rice crackers.

.

Damien grinned as a stream of blood flowed down his lips. Garp wasn't wrong in his earlier statement; the fall of the Rocks Fleet seemed inevitable.

Especially considering that both Kurowashi and Sengoku had yet to make a move. But even with such detrimental conditions, the Sin Incarnate had a few other thoughts in mind.

Such thoughts were confirmed as the future flashed in his eyes.

"It's about damn time…"

His gaze drifted to the side as Garp did so as well.

A black shadow could be seen from afar with many smaller ones around it; Garp's jaw dropped.

BOOOM! *Rumble*

Shock spread in the eyes of the marines and even the Three Admirals as they all looked to the far left of the circular mountain range.

A segment of the kilometer-wall had suffered extensive damage, evidenced by the countless cracks spreading through. Giant pieces of rock slid down the slope as the attacked section shattered apart!

It left a gaping hole in the mountain, unveiling tens of shadows.

Damien smirked at Garp, "Five marine powerhouses are quite powerful, but that's the thing, we aren't your only enemy."

The ten shadows cleared; they were ships! Flags reigned proud as the many foresails had words printed on them.

First, a few New World pirate crews:

[I F R I T]

[G O O S E]

[M R ⋅ N O I R]

[B U C K I N G H A M]

[H E N S O]

And a few big names:

[W A N G ⋅ Z H I]

[ G O L ⋅ D ⋅ R O G E R]

[ R O C K S ]

Six pirate crews alongside the Oro Jackson and the Titanic! The latter was around 230 meters tall, eclipsing the rest with its enormous shadow.

The newly arrived forces included around 800 New World pirates alongside the Oro Jackson's fifty or so battle-heartened pirates.

A few powerful presences could be picked up as they were big names over the New World.

On one of the minor ships that sailed with a masked face as the figurehead, the man at its helm wore a red and black attire, his face masked.

A Supernova: Henso 'The Faceless' with a bounty of 𝔅 429,000,000.

Next to his ship was another, led by a towering pirate. "Wawawawa, these Rocks guys are kinda fun to be around!"

It was 'The Crisis' Wang Zhi. Bounty of 𝔅 670,000,000.

"He certainly would fit in rather well," the armoured man commented before turning his attention to the man drowning in alcohol. "John... you seem different."

"Johohoho!" The pink-haired man cackled, licking his lips. "Don't worry about me, ol' friend. I'm actually rather excited!"

'Pirate Bandit' Captain John — 𝔅 469,000,000.

'Blinding Light' Silver Axe — 𝔅 934,000,000.

John swirled his gourd only to lose his balance from a sudden tremor. The man glared at the brooding giant near the side of the Titan, "Kaido, stop slamming that bat of yours!"

The Hundred-Beast ignored the complaint, his eyes glued to the neighbouring ship. "Just you wait, Gaban, I'll tear you apart!"

.

The Oro Jackson was more harmonious; the two commanders at their front stood like beacons of piracy. 

"I see you made a friend," a refined voice broke.

The other man twirled around his axes, leaking a wry smile. "Don't tease me, Rayleigh. That kid is annoying as hell!"

'Hundred-Beast' Kaido — 𝔅 961,110,000.

'Twin Axe' Scopper Gaban — 𝔅 1,270,550,000

The complaint from the billion-plus pirate brought a smile to the swordsman.

He had slicked-back golden and circular glasses over a vertical scar across the left eye. The Dark King, sporting a hefty sum of 𝔅 2,208,600,000 on his head.

The unorthodox cavalry was all but the start of a turbulent event that would go down in the annals of history, the war on a scorched sea!

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

More of a set-up chapter for things coming up.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q