Saint Mars stared down at the green-haired swordsman standing before him.
Three swords.
One held in his hand, two resting at his waist.
Disdain filled his eyes.
Zoro naturally noticed the look.
A smirk appeared on his face.
"Heh. Whether it's the world's strongest sword or not doesn't matter. Right now, it's the sword that'll cut you down."
Saint Mars sneered.
"Arrogant fool. A mere insect dares challenge a god? There are heights beyond your imagination."
The moment he finished speaking, his body transformed.
A gigantic creature emerged.
A bird's head.
Massive wings.
Sharp claws.
A long serpent-like body.
The monstrous form towered over the battlefield.
Zoro looked up at the enormous creature.
"What an ugly bastard. I wonder if Lina could cook something like that."
Despite his words, there was no carelessness in his eyes.
The pressure radiating from Saint Mars was unlike anything he had faced recently.
A sinister and overwhelming Haki continuously poured from the monster's body.
This was undoubtedly one of the strongest opponents he had encountered.
Zoro slowly drew his swords.
Silence.
Wado Ichimonji rested between his teeth while the other two remained firmly gripped in his hands.
Saint Mars had no interest in exchanging more words.
His wings trembled slightly.
In an instant, his enormous body shot forward.
His beak opened wide, revealing countless razor-sharp teeth.
A terrifying heat gathered within his throat.
The surrounding air crackled violently.
Then a massive pillar of fire erupted.
The blazing inferno rushed toward Zoro, threatening to swallow him whole.
Yet a voice emerged from within the flames.
"One Sword Style: Flame Slash!"
A massive crimson-purple sword slash exploded forward.
The incoming fire pillar was split directly down the middle.
Boom!
Boom!
The divided flames crashed into both sides of the plaza.
The intense heat instantly melted enormous sections of the ground.
Stone turned into liquid.
Even scattered sparks melted everything they touched.
The temperature was frightening.
The sword slash itself did not stop after cutting through the flames.
It continued toward Saint Mars.
Saint Mars raised one of his giant claws.
Boom!
The claw collided with the slash.
The two forces struggled briefly before the slash was knocked aside.
The redirected attack tore through the battlefield.
A gigantic trench stretched across the plaza, measuring dozens of meters in length.
When the dust settled, only a faint white mark remained on Saint Mars's claw.
Zoro wasn't surprised.
Instead, his grin widened.
"Oh? Tough enough to take that head-on? Good."
Saint Mars's expression darkened.
His attack had failed.
Worse, the human before him had immediately counterattacked.
To him, it was humiliation.
"Damn insect!"
His wings suddenly spread.
Countless feathers detached from them.
Each feather was coated with powerful Armament Haki.
They sliced through the air like black arrows.
Thousands of razor-sharp projectiles rained toward Zoro.
Rather than retreat, Zoro charged forward.
His feet slammed against the ground.
Then he launched himself into the air.
Using Geppo repeatedly, he moved through the storm of feathers with incredible precision.
His Observation Haki guided every movement.
Like a fish swimming through a raging current, he slipped between attacks that should have been impossible to avoid.
Occasionally, his swords flashed.
Several feathers were cut apart.
The ones that missed continued downward.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Every feather that struck the ground carved deep cuts into the battlefield as if slicing through soft clay.
The destructive power behind each one was terrifying.
Meanwhile...
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Sabo! Wait for me! I'm coming!"
Luffy charged through the battlefield like an unstoppable force.
The enemy formations crumbled wherever he passed.
Marines and government agents were sent flying one after another.
A massive path had already been torn through the defenses protecting the execution platform.
Only a few hundred meters remained.
Beneath the platform sat a single figure.
Vice Admiral Salih.
He watched Luffy approach while letting out a helpless sigh.
"Sigh..."
What made the situation even more ridiculous was that Luffy wasn't even fighting seriously.
One hand held a giant piece of meat.
The other was handling every enemy in sight.
Yet despite fighting one-handed, nobody could stop him.
His momentum only continued to rise.
Finally, Salih stood.
He rubbed his forehead.
"You all ran off and left this place to me. Someone still has to guard it. That's what Marines do."
The next moment, he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was standing directly in front of Luffy.
The surrounding Marines instantly became excited.
"Vice Admiral Salih!"
"Finally!"
"Straw Hat is finished now!"
Until this point, nobody had been able to stop Luffy's advance.
The appearance of a Marine Admiral-level fighter immediately restored their confidence.
Luffy finally slowed down.
His eyes landed on the tall man wearing a brown suit and a Justice coat.
Even without using Observation Haki, he could feel the strength radiating from him.
"An Admiral?"
Luffy's expression hardened.
"So what? Nobody's stopping me from saving Sabo!"
He stuffed the final piece of meat into his mouth.
Crunch.
The bone disappeared as well.
Then red-black lightning exploded around his fist.
Conqueror's Haki surged across the battlefield.
Crack!
Crack!
The air trembled.
Luffy vanished.
Using Soru, he instantly appeared before Salih.
His fist shot forward.
The punch coated in Conqueror's Haki tore through the air.
Boom!
Salih's upper body exploded.
Fragments scattered across the battlefield.
The crowd froze.
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Vice Admiral Salih!"
"Impossible!"
An Admiral-level fighter had seemingly been killed in a single blow.
Yet Luffy wasn't celebrating.
Instead, he frowned.
Something felt wrong.
Suddenly, the shattered remains began to melt.
The fragments transformed into a thick brown liquid.
The liquid flowed together.
Gradually, a human shape formed once more.
Within moments, Salih stood there completely unharmed.
The brown substance retreated back into his body.
Then he laughed.
"Mugigigigi! Straw Hat, that's a rough way to start a conversation."
The surrounding Marines immediately cheered.
"I knew it!"
"Vice Admiral Salih is fine!"
"Destroy him, Admiral!"
"Vice Admiral Salih is the best!"
Luffy stared at him in confusion.
From the beginning, he hadn't sensed any hostility from this man.
No killing intent.
No hatred.
Nothing.
Now the Marine was even trying to talk.
Luffy scratched his head.
"Uncle, whatever you want to say can wait. I need to save Sabo first."
With that, he stepped around Salih and continued toward the execution platform.
Salih sighed again.
Then he reached out.
Luffy stopped and looked back.
"H
uh? What are you doing, Uncle?"
Salih nodded.
"Because right now, I'm still a Marine."
The next moment, his hand grabbed Luffy's arm.
Before Luffy could react, a tremendous force erupted.
Whoosh!
Luffy's body was hurled backward at incredible speed.
He flew across the battlefield in the exact direction he had come from.