Chapter 216: Salamis Battle (6)
Not long after, the two sides finally made contact. The Salamis Duchy Guard sent a small boat requesting to board the Marine warship, a request that was granted.
After the Guard Captain boarded the warship, the first thing he saw was Kizaru on deck. This famous Marine Admiral was known throughout the entire world.
"Admiral Borsalino!" The Guard Captain snapped back to attention, his expression serious as he said, "May I ask what business the Marines have in the Salamis Duchy? Salamis is a non-member nation and has not joined any Marine defense agreement. According to regulations, you are not allowed to appear in our territorial waters!"
However, Kizaru was completely unconcerned with such rhetoric. "But the Marines have the authority to capture pirates anywhere in the world, don't they?"
"To capture pirates, why come to our country?" The Guard Captain replied without changing his expression. "We have no pirates here in Salamis!"
"Yah, how strange..." Kizaru scratched his head and said, "Then why does our intelligence say that the most dangerous pirates are right here?"
"You're talking about the Whitebeard Pirates, aren't you!" The Guard Captain said. "Salamis merely accepts the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates. Even if you're looking for the Whitebeard Pirates, you shouldn't come here! Now, by order of our king, I formally demand that you leave!"
"This is troublesome!" Kizaru said slowly. "Although we didn't come here for the Whitebeard Pirates, since that old man Whitebeard is not far away, we need to capture the criminals quickly before he arrives. We can't just leave because of your words!"
"What do you mean?" The Guard Captain's expression suddenly changed. "Are the Marines trying to forcefully invade our country?"
"Just as you said, the Salamis Duchy hasn't joined any defense agreement, so by the same token, you aren't protected by any agreement either, right?" Kizaru leaned in close to the Guard Captain, his tall, lean frame looking down at him.
"You...!" The Guard Captain was startled by Kizaru's words. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly saw a flash of golden light before his eyes!
Kizaru had made his move. A kick brushed past the Guard Captain's face, so fast that the Guard Captain couldn't even react!
What made the Guard Captain realize Kizaru had acted was a massive, earth-shattering explosion behind him!
One of the Salamis Duchy's two ships was struck by a golden ray. Kizaru's attack wasn't aimed at the Guard Captain at all, but at the ship behind him.
The golden laser beam hit the ship's deck before anyone could react. The huge explosion tore a massive hole in the deck, sending the Salamis Duchy soldiers on board flying in all directions, tumbling into the sea.
A cracking sound rang out as the Salamis Duchy ship's mast slowly toppled over with a loud rumble. Then, starting from the point of the explosion, the entire ship began to split apart, the bow and stern collapsing in opposite directions.
The Guard Captain turned around in stunned disbelief, staring at the scene. Although he knew the Marine Admirals possessed incredible power, he never imagined that Kizaru could destroy an entire ship with a single casual strike.
"You... are you declaring war on the Salamis Duchy!?" The Guard Captain's voice trembled.
But before he could finish, a huge axe flew in from the side, its broad blade slamming into the Guard Captain and sending him flying with a splash into the sea.
"That's what you get for being a non-member nation!" Sentomaru appeared on deck, axe over his shoulder, sneering at the Guard Deputy still on the ship. "Obstructing the Marines in capturing pirates makes you accomplices!"
Kizaru draped his Marine coat over his shoulders and said, "Arrest them all. Prepare the cannonballs to send me ashore. Also, notify Instructor Zephyr to blockade all ports in Salamis. No ship is allowed to leave!"
"Yes, Admiral Borsalino!" A Marine Captain immediately saluted.
Then, the Marines swung into action. They arrested all the Salamis Duchy soldiers who had come to negotiate. As the ten warships sailed toward Salamis Island, they gradually spread out into formation, beginning to surround the entire island.
Meanwhile, the triple-mounted cannons on the Marine flagship slowly elevated, aimed at the Salamis Duchy port, and fired three shells with a thunderous boom!
As the cannons fired, Kizaru lightly leaped, landing on one of the shells at incredible speed, riding it as it flew toward the island.
Kizaru was a Logia Pika-Pika Fruit user. As a Logia, his body could naturally "flow." When he elementalized, his body became countless photons, allowing him to float and hover. However, since light travels in a straight line, Kizaru couldn't turn while elementalized. If he flew straight off the warship, he might overshoot the island entirely, so he used the cannonball's parabolic trajectory to land.
On Salamis Island, the people had already seen the Guard's ship suddenly explode and sink, realizing the Marines' hostile intentions. Panicked, they fled inland.
Only the pirates lingering on the island were frantically trying to board their ships at the port.
The three cannonballs landed with massive explosions, catching some unlucky pirates in the blasts. Flames shot into the sky, and screaming bodies were flung into the air.
Kizaru landed with the explosion, but it didn't harm him at all. Shrapnel that struck his body simply passed right through.
He landed right at the port. Ignoring the terrified pirates staring at him, Kizaru turned and saw pirate ships hastily setting sail. He raised his right hand to contact the Marine warships. "Sink all pirate ships leaving port!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! The Marine cannons opened fire. This time, twelve cannons from four warships targeted the port. A pirate ship from some unknown crew, just as it cleared the harbor, was hit by cannonballs. A few shells splashed into the water around it, sending up tall geysers. Before the pirates could celebrate, a cannonball struck their hull!
An explosion tore a massive hole in the ship's side. Then two more shells hit it. Three strikes in total, and the ship's powder magazine was hit!
A devastating explosion sent the pirate ship flying into the air!
This sight terrified every pirate crew trying to leave the port...
On the sea, ten warships formed a skirmish line in a crescent shape, completely surrounding the Salamis Island port. They slowly turned broadside, aiming their gunwales at the island.
With a series of thuds, small ports opened along the warships' sides, and even more cannon muzzles extended outward.
Twelve cannons per side, ten warships—that meant a hundred and twenty cannons aimed at them. Seeing this, the pirates clutched their heads in terror. No one could escape such concentrated fire.
"Hey there, young man, let me ask you something. Do you know where the Dragon Hunter Pirates are?" Kizaru walked up to a pirate, hands in his pockets, and asked.
"I... I don't know!" The pirate stammered in fear. "I... I don't know the Dragon... Dragon Hunter Pirates!"
This pirate certainly knew Ian and the others, but Kizaru was very dissatisfied with the answer. A flash of light, and the pirate took a kick to the face.
Kizaru's speed was too fast. While not truly light speed, it still surpassed what the human eye could track. Everyone he attacked seemed dazed, unable to react before being hit.
This poor pirate, kicked by Kizaru, flew off, crashing through the walls of several buildings in a row—thud... thud... thud...—until he finally stopped, his bones shattered, his body a bloody mess, with no sign of life left.
"M... Monster!" The pirate's gruesome fate ignited terror in every pirate present. And when fear reached its peak, it turned into madness.
All the pirates drew their guns and fired wildly at Kizaru. But every bullet passed right through his body.
"What... what's going on!? Why can't we hit him!" The pirates cried out in panic.
Kizaru clicked his tongue. These pirates were all small fry. He couldn't be bothered to waste time with them. He leaped lightly into the air, spread his arms, and countless beams of light shot down from his body.
These lasers struck the ground, causing explosions everywhere. Some pirates were hit directly, leaving neat little holes burned through their bodies.
The entire port looked like it had been carpet-bombed. The ground was pockmarked with craters, residual smoke from the explosions drifting in the air. All that remained were the bodies of pirates scattered across the ground.
Kizaru, hands still in his pockets, walked forward slowly. Every time he saw a pirate, he'd grab them and ask about the Dragon Hunter Pirates. If they didn't answer or gave an unsatisfactory reply, they'd immediately face Kizaru's judgment.
After wiping out several groups of pirates heading for the port, Kizaru spotted another group running toward the harbor.
This group was unusual. It included both men and women, with a giant of the Giant Tribe bringing up the rear. At the front was a young man wearing a black sleeveless coat, a long sword at his waist. His right hand was wrapped in bandages, with a bell hanging from it that jingled as he ran. He also wore a bear-eared hat, with a ponytail of black hair streaming behind him as he sprinted.
Kizaru flashed in front of the group, stopping them. He asked the young man at the front, "Young man, do you know where the Dragon Hunter Pirates are?"
"Oh! Behind us, at the Oak Tavern on the street!" The young man paused, then pointed behind him.
"Is that so? Thank you!" Kizaru said. "Then, young master Ian, as a token of thanks, let me send you on your way!"
With that, Kizaru raised his right leg, which burst into a flash of light, and kicked directly at the young man's face!