Chapter 215: The Clash on Hachinosu: Navy vs. Linlin’s Wrath

Otherwise, before the pirates even set foot on shore, the Navy would have lost a good chunk of their fighting force to non-combat casualties.

There were six vice admirals stationed at the harbor because three from Punk Hazard arrived early to support, bringing thousands of Navy soldiers along.

This left Punk Hazard without any Navy on guard, but if they couldn’t hold Linlin’s assault here, they’d all get picked off one by one anyway.

“Yasakani no Magatama!”

Borsalino stood atop the giant ship’s lookout tower, hands crossed with fingertips pointed, his arms forming an orchid shape over his chest. Countless points of light flared behind him, racing toward Hachinosu at blinding speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His attack covered nearly half the island, and each falling light detonated into even more violent explosions.

Jeremy and the five with him couldn’t hope to block every attack. Huge numbers of Navy soldiers were killed in the onslaught, and with thick smoke everywhere, a few even collapsed on the spot, knocked out cold.

“Great Eruption!”

Sakazuki’s legs turned to molten magma, and using that explosive force he launched himself into the air. With his right hand, he summoned torrents of magma, raining it down wildly from above.

“Aaaah!”

“Help!”

“Fall back!” a Navy officer shouted, instantly directing the soldiers to get out of the magma’s impact zone, trying to minimize the casualties.

Some Navy weren’t so lucky. Splashes of lava set them ablaze, and in moments wave after wave of Navy fell screaming to the ground.

“Ice Age!”

Kuzan leapt from his ship, and the moment his feet neared the sea, the waters around Hachinosu froze solid.

“Charge!”

“Let’s show the Navy what we’re made of!” a Fishman roared, leaping from a ship with his giant blade, sprinting toward the island across the freshly frozen ice.

The frozen sea was a perfect springboard for their attack. More pirates jumped down, racing for Hachinosu without hesitation.

“Zeus!”

“Coming, Mama!”

With a thunderous shout, Charlotte Linlin summoned Zeus, who turned into a dark cloud and zipped to the ship’s side.

Standing atop Zeus, Charlotte Linlin pulled the Emperor’s Blade from her hair, veins bulging in her right arm as she bellowed.

“Sovereign Nation!”

She wasn’t wasting any time with tricks—straight to business. She wanted this over fast.

A colossal shockwave hurtled toward the Navy gathered at the harbor.

“Get out of the way!”

Seeing the attack coming, Jeremy’s face drained of color. He spun, shouting for his allies to retreat.

The others wasted no time, using Moonwalk to escape the port at top speed.

“Boom!”

“Crack! Crack!”

The massive harbor instantly became a ruin, a long trench torn straight through to the island’s interior. Seawater flooded in, and several warships docked nearby were sunk on the spot.

“Mamamamama!”

Charlotte Linlin’s grin twisted wide as she stood on Zeus, clearly pleased with her handiwork. She adjusted course in the air, streaking toward Jeremy and the others.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With a sweeping strike of the Emperor’s Blade, Linlin sent Jeremy, Luth and Sander flying hundreds of meters. Like snapped kites, they tumbled through the air before slamming hard to the ground.

“Gah!” Jeremy, covered in blood, forced himself up from the rubble.

His eyes burned with rage and frustration. He knew they were no match for Linlin. All they could do was hold out, hoping Sengoku or Garp would arrive.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The shore erupted as guns and cannons opened fire. They couldn’t faze someone of Linlin’s caliber, but among the rank-and-file soldiers, the casualties were devastating.

Linlin carved her way through the battlefield, sword flashing and unstoppable.

Her blade’s aura, amped by Prometheus, turned her furious attacks into something like a gigantic fire dragon—no one could withstand it.

Every soldier who dared approach was mercilessly swept aside. Even Jeremy and the rest couldn’t withstand her assault.

Just keeping Linlin occupied took three vice admirals working together.

The other three faced off against Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan—each a master of a Logia Devil Fruit. But even among the Navy’s elite, they were getting pushed onto the back foot.

Linlin had only brought these three powerhouses with her, plus Perospero, Katakuri, Daifuku, Oven and a few others.

Everyone else was staying put on Cake Island. She worried the World Government might try another sneak attack, so she couldn’t risk mobilizing everyone.

Even so, with just this lineup, she was powerful enough to challenge a Navy force led by an admiral.

Her real goal wasn’t to fight the Navy to the death—she just wanted their forward base destroyed.

“Mamamamama!” Linlin laughed wildly.

“Today, you Navy dogs are going to learn a lesson.” Her eyes blazed with anger.

The Fishmen stationed on Cake Island answered only to her.

But now, right under her nose, agents of the World Government had snuck onto the island, leaving hundreds of Fishmen dead or wounded.

In her whole pirating career, Linlin had never suffered this kind of loss. This was her biggest setback yet.

If she could let this go, she wouldn’t be Charlotte Linlin. She had to give the Navy hell—let them know the Rocks Family wasn’t to be trifled with.

Jeremy’s anxiety was through the roof, hoping desperately for Navy reinforcements, though it felt like a pipe dream.

Watching Linlin fly toward them, his mind spun in chaos.

Clang!

A sharp metallic clash rang out as Jeremy was blasted aside by Linlin’s blow.

After getting knocked away, Jeremy drifted into a brief daze.

“Sovereign Nation!” Sensing her chance, Linlin leaped up, vanishing from view.

Her strike landed hard on the still-dazed Jeremy nearby.

Boom!

Jeremy’s eyes filled with terror. He hadn’t expected that one missed moment would let Linlin strike. He drew his longsword just in time to block, but Linlin’s force still sent him flying, crashing straight into a distant mountain wall.

“Damn it! How much longer till backup gets here?”

Luth watched Jeremy get flung aside and hurried to fill the gap. With his longsword wrapped in Armament Haki, he struggled to parry Linlin’s relentless onslaught.

His blade’s aura flashed sharp, launching a fierce series of attacks in the short window he had.

Linlin dodged deftly, her eyes glittering with malice. She countered every time, and with each swing of her massive blade, Luth and Sander were forced back.

Their clashing techniques exploded in showers of sparks and shockwaves, tearing apart trees and rocks all around them. The battlefield was chaos, but neither Luth nor Sander dared let down their guard.

If even one more of them dropped out of the fight, the outcome would be unthinkable—they all knew that without saying a word.