Another bargaining chip?
What did that mean?
Hearing Sentomaru's words, Renji showed a puzzled expression.
"Thirteen... thirteen hundred million bounty?!"
"A vice captain of the Whitebeard Pirates?!"
After hearing the Pacifista announcement, the surrounding Marines froze.
They instinctively moved away from Renji.
A bounty did not always represent strength. After all, there were the Seven Warlords of the Sea, political criminals, and the Revolutionary Army. Some people had high bounties because they were dangerous to the World Government, while others stopped receiving bounty increases after joining it.
But a 1.37 billion bounty inside the Whitebeard Pirates meant one thing.
Extremely powerful.
"Pirate Instructor?"
"Is that the bounty notice that was specially circulated earlier?"
The Marines began whispering among themselves.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Straw Hat crew finally relaxed a little after the Pacifistas were withdrawn because of Renji's appearance.
Monkey D. Luffy looked at Renji with hopeful eyes.
"He's Ace's friend!"
Because of Luffy's reminder, the rest of the crew suddenly remembered that reliable and powerful older brother.
"Wow…"
Nami's eyes sparkled.
Hope appeared again in her previously despairing gaze.
"Ace's bounty is only 550 million."
"This guy Renji has 1.37 billion. How strong must he be?"
Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, and the rest of the crew also showed expressions of relief.
Usopp was even more exaggerated.
He jumped up and waved at Renji.
"Brother Renji! We're over here!"
Hearing Usopp's shout, Renji looked in their direction.
Their eyes met.
Usopp's face became even more excited.
"Do you know Ace?"
"He's our captain's brother. They drank the brotherhood sake together. They're like real family!"
Usopp hurriedly tried to get closer to Renji.
"Brother Renji, could you help us?"
"Help you?"
Renji nodded calmly.
"Since you're Ace's brother and his friends, helping you isn't impossible."
"My crew is nearby. Later I can contact them and have them take you away from the Sabaody Archipelago."
When Usopp heard that, he immediately covered his face and cried.
"As expected of Ace's friend!"
"This is great!"
"If you want to help them, you should first check whether you have the ability to do so."
At that moment, Sentomaru had already arrived beside Renji with his axe.
Fortunately, Renji's bounty and title had frightened the surrounding Marines away.
No one else was near him.
Sentomaru had no trouble approaching.
Behind him stood five Pacifistas.
"Attack."
Sentomaru gave the order without hesitation.
The moment he and the Pacifistas arrived near Renji, they launched their attack.
"Zzz!"
Following the command, the Pacifistas raised their hands.
Five Pacifistas.
Ten arms.
Ten golden laser beams shot straight at Renji.
"If you're asking whether I have the ability…"
Renji spoke calmly.
His fists were already covered with black Armament Haki.
After absorbing the Haki dropped by Kizaru and Silvers Rayleigh, he had already mastered Armament Haki coating.
Tiny cracks in the air appeared around his fists.
"Quake Style: Heaven Collapse!"
Renji threw a punch.
The ten incoming lasers were instantly shattered.
"Tch."
Sentomaru clicked his tongue in frustration.
"A lower-level ability similar to the quake fruit?"
"And trained personally by Edward Newgate."
"That combination really is troublesome."
Even though Renji had only made a simple move, Sentomaru already felt immense pressure.
Armament Haki coating.
A quake-like destructive ability.
Each of those alone was dangerous.
Now both existed in the same person.
"Long-range attacks won't work."
"Then we'll fight up close."
Sentomaru immediately changed strategy.
The five Pacifistas shut down their laser emitters.
The massive seven-meter-tall machines rushed toward Renji.
Although they were huge and mechanical, their coordination was perfect.
They spread out in formation.
Five massive arms swung toward Renji simultaneously.
"If long-range attacks can't hit me, do you think close combat will work?"
Renji's eyes flashed with killing intent.
His right hand clenched.
Quake energy gathered inside his fist.
"Quake Style: Army Breaker!"
Renji's punch collided with a Pacifista's fist.
In that instant, the quake energy inside his punch exploded into the machine's body.
"Zzz!"
"Zzzzz!"
BOOM!
The Pacifista exploded instantly.
The blast was so powerful that the other four Pacifistas were pushed backward.
The ground within twenty meters collapsed around Renji.
"One punch… destroyed a Pacifista?"
Watching from the side, Luffy stared in shock.
The other Straw Hat members looked equally stunned.
The only difference was that their jaws were not rubber like Luffy's, so they could not literally drop to the ground.
"Are Pacifistas really that fragile?"
"Am I dreaming?"
Usopp pinched Tony Tony Chopper.
"AH!"
Chopper screamed and jumped.
"Usopp! What are you doing?!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
Usopp apologized immediately.
"I was just checking if I'm dreaming!"
"It took our entire crew to barely destroy one Pacifista."
"But he destroyed one with a single punch!"
"It's actually simple."
After destroying the Pacifista, Renji looked toward the Straw Hats.
"The Pacifista armor material is indeed strong."
"But once you learn Armament Haki, hitting them with it is basically the same as punching ordinary steel."
That sounded easy.
The Straw Hat crew was speechless.
Even ordinary steel was not something a human could casually punch apart.
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