Chapter 48

BANG BANG BANG! The bullets, cannons, and war cries. Within this chaos of a battlefield, filled with countless projectiles that went back and forth with the intention to kill their targets,

"Yahoo!!!"

The pirates holding melee weapons, grabbed the ropes on their ships and fearlessly flew toward the marine ship. With them having the advantage in terms of number, and the marine soldiers being occupied with the pirates holding ranged weapons, in no time, the sky above the marine ship was filled with pirates who were falling toward it.

Swoosh.

However, not even a single pirate managed to land on the marine ship. Gion, slashing through her enemies in an elegant manner, decapitated the heads of more than forty pirates in an instant. As those heads rained down to the water around the marine ship,

Splash Splash Splash! The marines, thinking of the splashing noises as the music in their ears, felt their confidence rising.

Simultaneously,

"Rahahaha!!!" Aramaki, wildly jumping onto one of the seven pirate ships, began the series of wild punches and kicks that terrified the pirates. This battle maniac, having been engulfed by nothing but the excitement, shouted, "I'm going to be complimented by Captain Smoker—"

BOOM.

"—Huh?"

Then, Aramaki's fist was blocked by one pirate with a bald head and muscular physique. That man, grinning with as much excitement as Aramaki, said, "Finally... a worthy opponent."

BOOM. That man threw his other hand at Aramaki, however, Aramaki too blocked that man's fist, rendering the two into a deadlock.

"'Steel Body' Enrico... what a nice prey for me to hunt." Then, the plants began to grow out of Aramaki's arms and surround the bald man, Enrico, which caused the latter to use his incredible strength to throw Aramaki off of him. Aramaki, smashing into a couple of pirates who stood in his way, quickly regained his ground and looked at Enrico with a serious expression on his face.

"Come."

On the other hand, Cancer was found on another pirate ship, and was currently slashing his sword through the pirates with terrifying accuracy.

CLANG!

Then, the one-eyed pirate, suddenly rushing into Cancer's sight, clashed his sword against Cancer's own.

"...To think that you became the subordinate of Hell Blaze, what a surprise," Cancer, whose eyes sharpened upon the appearance of his contender, remarked, "Darby of the 'Noble Sword.'"

"What a nostalgic title." The man commented stoically, "But unfortunately, that title is no longer suitable for me."

The two of them began the quick flurries of sword slashes, generating the fast successions of clanging noises. Doll, watching this sight from the marine ship, then turned her eyes at the sky above,

'..."Noble Sword" Darby is well known to have attained his bounty after slaying a Rear Admiral. And this man is now the subordinate of Hell Blaze... Smoker, you better watch out.'

__________

[Marineford]

Within one huge room that was exquisitely designed in Wano-style, there lied many cushions in an orderly manner for the marines to make themselves comfortable with. This room was the meeting hall where Fleet Admiral Sengoku tended to send his message to the Marine Officers, however, this room currently seemed relatively empty.

At the frontmost cushions, around five Vice Admirals were seated in a strict manner. At where their gazes were headed, Admiral Blaise, the only remaining Admiral in Marineford at the current moment, was sitting with a serious expression.

"Commodore Brannew." Blaise, looking at the only standing Marine Officer, commanded, "Report the current situation."

"Yes, Admiral Seidohebi!"

As all the other Marine Officers turned their heads to Brannew, he, pointing his hand at the board that stood on his right, began speaking, "Currently, on the island of Banaro, division 24 under Commodore Gion's command is battling the 'Blaze' pirates! At the same time, division 25, led by Commodore Strawberry, relayed that they will soon arrive at Maximus, where 'Sir' Crocodile was last sighted! At Whiskey Peak, division 26, led by Commodore Kadar, said that they sighted the newly rising Sasaki pirates! Finally, at the island of Kuragaina, division number 14, led by Vice Admiral Samsha, is about to launch an attack against Hawkeye, who's also well-known as the 'Marine Hunter!'"

On the board, seven bounty posters were laid out. Those bounties, of course, belonged to the 'Seven Rookies' of the sea:

*'Martini' Hook. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 1,600,000,000 Beli.*

*'Hell Blaze' Diego. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 448,000,000 Beli.*

*'Hawkeye' Dracule Mihawk. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 321,000,000 Beli.*

*'Red Hair' Shanks. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 200,000,000 Beli.*

*'Overflowing' Sasaki. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 103,000,000 Beli.*

*'Heavenly Demon' Donquixote Doflamingo. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 85,000,000 Beli.*

*'Sir' Crocodile. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 81,000,000 Beli.*

Though they were grouped together as the Seven Rookies, there were evident differences in their individualistic strengths—or so the Marine believed.

"On the other hand, the location of Heavenly Demon, who was last seen in the North Blue, cannot be pinpointed! Similarly, we lost the track of Red Hair on the island of Koto! And as for Martini, he disappeared from the New World since the arrival of the first twelve Marine divisions!"

Listening to Brannew's report carefully, one Marine Officer then asked, "...What happened to division 15 led by Vice Admiral Sidecha? How is it that division 24, who's responsible for chasing down Red Hair, is currently facing Hell Blaze?"

Brannew answered gravely, "Unfortunately, the current status of division 15 remains unknown, with them having last contacted us three days ago. And from what we can deduce, Red Hair seemed to have lured division 24 to the grasp of Hell Blaze; we are currently under the suspicion that Red Hair and Hell Blaze may have formed an alliance among themselves!"

"Then isn't it a dangerous situation for division 24?" Another Marine Officer asked with concern on his face, "The recent information confirmed that 'Noble Sword' Darby became a member of Blaze pirates. With that man having a history of defeating a Rear Admiral, his submission infers that Hell Blaze's capability exceeds that of a Rear Admiral's..."

Brannew nodded, "It is just as you said, Vice Admiral Mozambia. Immediately after receiving the report from division 24, division 13, under Vice Admiral Jonathan's command, sailed out to Banaro. However, the chance of division 13 arriving just in time... seems unlikely."

Blaise, crossing his arms while still in his seat, then closed his eyes and sighed, "...Fleet Admiral Sengoku has been quite impulsive this time around, dispatching too many forces in the New World and leaving the Paradise empty-handed."

The room fell in silence as the other seated Marine Officers grimaced, agreeing to the words of Blaise in their mind.

"I believe," Blaise muttered, "that we should brace ourselves for some harsh news."

__________

At the sky high above, two men were found floating. The blonde one, Diego, was keeping himself afloat by producing a constant supply of fire on the soles of his feet, while the white one, Smoker, seemed to be standing by the use of 'Geppo.'

"White Hunter, yes, now I remember." The punch that previously landed on Diego didn't seem to have much effect. Diego, now having a restored calmness, grinned at Smoker, "The prodigy among the marines, who defeated Gecko Moria two years ago! Nyahaha, I can see where that woman commander of yours got her confidence from."

Smoker didn't respond to Diego's words. Instead, locking his gaze on Diego, he bickered, "Speak for years and see if I care."

Diego's hands twitched as he lowered his posture, with his face expressing displeasure. Then, as the surrounding atmosphere started to heat up, Diego's arms ignited into a vigorous, orange-red fire that threatened to burn through everything in its path.

Then, the fight began.

"Blaze Claw!" Diego swiped his burning right hand, which created a huge arc of fire that rapidly traveled at Smoker, however, Smoker's form vanished from Diego's sight.

BOOM! Then, a punch landed on Diego at the next moment, sending Diego downward to where the sea lied. Subsequently, Diego quickly generated a blast of fire on his back to prevent his fall to the sea.

'Tch—Again!!! How can he make physical contact with me?!!'

"'How can he make physical contact with me?!!'... is probably what you're thinking." Smoker, floating right in front of Diego, stated,

SWOOSH!

before tilting his head to dodge the sudden fire blast that burst out of Diego's open mouth. Immediately after, Diego swung his burning arms in an X-shape, producing a huge, X-shaped fire that blasted Smoker from point-blank range. After the fire faded, Smoker's entire body was burning with his eyes hollowed out.

"Devil's Mark..." Diego grinned, "Letting your guard down—"

Poof!

Before Diego even had time to register what just happened,

'White Snake.'

a huge snake made out of white smoke rushed in from Diego's back, before coiling around the man tight.

'Fire requires oxygen to burn. Theoretical-wise, keeping that man in a dome of smoke will be ideal, however,' Smoker, who seems to be assessing Diego's strength from some distance away, thought, 'the pressure and energy generated from that fire aren't something that can be ignored. If I wish to suffocate Hell Blaze, I would need an external source of smoke just like the last time against Avery—'

Smoker's eyes widened in realization.

"Devil's Wings!!!"

BOOOOM! Then, Diego freed himself from the smoke-made snake, with a pair of huge, burning wings of orange-red fire, attached to his back. With his wrathful glare headed at Smoker, Diego currently seemed to be filled with nothing but the thought of murdering the Marine Captain in front of him.

"...Smoke. It's nothing but a secondary character that arises when a fire burns." Diego, growling in rage, opened his right hand,

"Versatility, and destructiveness—there is nothing that smoke can do to overcome the might of fire. Though you may seem to be advantageous at the current moment, the victor of this battle has already been decided from the start."

Subsequently, a sphere of blue fire, which screamed nothing but a danger, sprang into existence, on top of Diego's right palm,

"Purgatory Flame."

BOOM!

A beam of blue fire burned through the air on Smoker's right. Diego, generating yet another sphere of blue fire, blasted it again at Smoker,

BOOM!

to which the marine dodged by quickly moving his body to the right.

"NYAHAHAHA!!!!" Diego laughed in exhilaration as he threw the beams of blue fire at Smoker in a crazed manner.

BOOM BOOM BOOM! It was a frightening sight, and the marines below came to realize why this man, 'Hell Blaze' Diego, currently possessed the bounty of 448 million Beli.

But something was strange. Smoker, even under these assaults, seemed calm. Shifting from one area to another, he slivered away from Diego's attacks with ease, like a lazy cloud that one tries to grasp, but always fails in doing so.

BOOM!

"...Why can't I hit you?!!" Diego, gritting his teeth, threw another blast of blue fire. Of course, it was dodged by Smoker... whose eyes were exhibiting a red gleam.

Then, Smoker acted. All of a sudden, he began to fly up higher, away from where Diego was floating. Diego seemed initially confused by the sudden antic of his opponent, but then burst into laughter, "NYAHAHAHA!!! I see! It wasn't that you were calm, but that you've hidden your fear!"

Diego generated two spheres of blue fire at once, intending to pulverize Smoker with his technique, "Just as I thought... smoke cannot dare to match fire! Your death has been pre-destined, White Hunter—"

Then, Diego stopped, with his eyes widened. And it wasn't just him. All the others too stopped their fights, as... the thick layer of clouds above them, they were swirling into one point, where Smoker was floating by.

"White smoke, by its essence, is no different than the cloud." Smoker, standing as the incredibly dense clouds swirled above him, muttered, "...Heh, the biggest limitation to the usage of devil fruit is none other than its user's imagination."

The clouds, due to Smoker's ability, have become heavy. And then,

Plop.

"...Water?" Diego whispered as he felt a cold sensation on his shoulder.

Plop Plop Plop—

A rain. Within the battlefield, heavy rain poured. The battlefield momentarily fell into the silence. The cool rain, drenching each and every individual in the area, seemed mystical and… oddly soothing.

"...But so what?"

However, the rain wasn't enough. Though the huge volume of steam was produced from the continuous drops of rain on the blue fire, it continued to burn, not yielding against the rain.

"My fire isn't weak enough to yield against these petty drops of water." Diego, drenched in water, looked up at where Smoker floated, before raising his right hand up,

"Diabolic Flame."

The fire vigorously rose from Diego's body. It clustered and grew in size, and in due time, even with the vast volume of steam that was produced from the relentless raindrops, there now sat an incredibly huge sphere of blue fire, resembling that of a sun.

"...Diego." From below, Enrico, whose body was covered by injuries due to the fight against Aramaki, widened his eyes, "Is that marine that much of a trouble to you?"

The Blaze pirates seemed shaken. However, the same could be said for the marines, who witnessed the rise of the blue sun in disbelief. After all, this gloomy sea, covered by the rain clouds, was now brightened up by the man-made sun.

Smoker, watching Diego's incredible technique, clenched his right fist.

"White Serpent."

At the next moment, a giant serpent of smoke abruptly dropped from the swirling rain clouds, and crashed onto the miniature sun,

BOOOOOOM!

and then came, a huge explosion that caused the entire area to shake and tremble.