Chapter 55.1 : Retreat??

"Hey, hey, hey! What on earth is that brat?!"

Inside the Skull Building, Ochoku leaned on the windowsill, staring in shock at the battle unfolding at the dock. That enormous fireball just now shone as brightly as the sun, and even from this distance, the scorching heat made Ochoku feel an intense burning sensation!

If he felt this way from over here, he couldn't even begin to imagine what those unfortunate pirates engulfed by the fireball were experiencing.

Are they going to be melted away?

Indeed, things turned out as he expected. The three pirate crews that had arrived together were almost entirely wiped out in an instant, with barely a hundred men barely surviving.

Is the tide of this battle turning in favor of those brats?

Ochoku simply couldn't comprehend it.

What kind of monster is that brat?

At the dock.

"I'm going to kill you!"

No matter how mild-tempered Marco usually was, his rage right now was like a volcanic eruption.

His claws slashed through the air like a storm, tearing Ian apart.

But then, Ian's body reassembled once more.

"Crane Claw!"

From above, he struck down like a meteor, piercing through Ian's body and into the ground, leaving a bottomless pit in his wake.

The flames gathered again, and Ian stood there, motionless.

If you can't hit him, you just can't hit him.

After all, who doesn't know how to play by the mechanics?

"You bastard! I won't let you get away with this!!"

Another furious roar echoed, accompanied by the crackling sound of gunshots.

Several holes were blasted into Ian's head and chest.

He turned his head and saw Izo, who was also charred black from the fire.

Seeing that the guns had no effect, Izo tossed his weapons aside and charged at Ian with his bare hands.

At the same time, the ground erupted, and Marco shot up into the sky. He saw Izo's charge.

"You will pay for what you did to the Kozuki Clan!"

Izo clenched his fist, his right hand turning even darker.

"Stay away from him, Izo!!"

Marco saw this and quickly spread his wings, diving down.

But it was already too late. Izo swung his fist at Ian. "Ha!"

"Huh?"

Ian's body was struck by an invisible cannonball, and he exploded into fragments of flame, scattering in all directions.

So, it's that external Armament Haki again, huh? Is it really that cheap now?

Luckily, five years later, under his suggestion, even Kaido and the others had mastered this technique. At least they weren't lagging behind in this version.

"Izo! Let's attack together!"

Marco descended, shouting, "Phoenix Mark!"

This time, it was a combination of external Haki and blue flames, once again blasting Ian's body apart.

"That's it!"

Marco felt like he had grasped the key. "Don't let him reassemble!"

"Got it!" Izo responded loudly.

The two continuously unleashed waves of Armament Haki, forcing Ian's body to remain in its dispersed flame form, unable to gather together.

What a luxury.

Ian thought to himself. Wasting Armament Haki like this?

No matter how strong these two guys' Haki was, they couldn't withstand such relentless bombardment for long.

Fine then, let's see how long your Haki can last.

With that, Ian couldn't be bothered to counterattack and let the two beat him into pieces, making it impossible for him to reform his body.

The bombardment went on for a long time until—

"Ian! We're here to help!!"

At the edge of the crater, Yamato led the pirates charging forward.

With the flames completely scattered, they were finally able to join the battle.

Help?

Ian's thoughts shifted. You two have had enough fun.

BOOM!

The golden-red flames suddenly turned into a pillar of light, instantly engulfing Marco and Izo.

In the next second, Marco, with his claws wrapped around Izo, shot out from one side of the light pillar, blue flames covering Izo to heal his injuries.

As the flames dispersed, Ian flapped his wings and flew into the air, looking down at Yamato and the others.

"Get to the ship."

With a wave of his hand, a massive ball of flame was hurled toward Marco and Izo, while he said to Yamato, "Set sail immediately."

"Eh?" Yamato puffed her cheeks. "Ian, do you want to fight alone? How selfish!"

Selfish?

What was this idiot talking about?

Ian spoke seriously, "Now's not the time for games."

Marco wasn't going to be defeated that easily.

Victory?

Leaving safely is a victory in itself.

"Yamato, just listen to Ian."

Black Maria softly persuaded Yamato. She also believed that now was the best time to leave.

The Whitebeard Pirates didn't have the strength left to stop them.

"Ugh! Damn it!"

Yamato stomped her foot angrily, "Let's go then!"

She felt very unwilling, but Ian was being so serious.

Babanuki was almost in tears.

Lord Ian, I misunderstood you earlier. You truly are the most cautious man in the Beasts Pirates!

The group made their way around the large pit and headed toward the Winged Dragon, docked at the port.

However...

"None of you are going anywhere!"

Two dark silhouettes leaped out of the pit, blocking Yamato and the others' path.

It was Captain A.O. of the A.O. Pirates and Captain Karma of the Octopus Pirates!

They were heavily wounded by Ian's flames earlier, but thanks to Marco's healing flames, they had recovered some mobility and were now standing in Yamato's way.

"Ian?"

Yamato looked up.

Ian was releasing a massive amount of fire, forming a wall of flames to block Marco and Izo.

He casually said, "Just get rid of them."

"Yay!!"

Beast Form Yamato cheered, charging forward at full speed.

"Take them down!!"

Jack followed closely behind.

"Charge!!"

Even Babanuki displayed the usual recklessness of the Beasts Pirates. Anyone daring to block their path now was as good as dead!

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