Chapter 217: Navy Reinforcements Turn the Tide

“Boom!”

A massive explosion thundered from the direction of the harbor.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the source of the noise.

“Pirates, prepare yourselves.” A calm, steady voice rang out. Black hair and a towering figure instantly put the Navy at ease.

In stark contrast, the pirates grew even more tense. The Navy base was nearly destroyed and the pirates had started to regroup.

“Navy Admiral Sengoku!”

“Another Navy Admiral’s arrived—what are we supposed to do now?”

The pirates muttered anxiously among themselves. They were no longer fighting the Navy soldiers, and with reinforcements arriving steadily, the urge to retreat gnawed at them.

“This one’s yours to handle!”

Sengoku spotted Garp and Charlotte Linlin locked in battle at the island’s center. With a leap, he flew straight toward them.

“Don’t think you can just get past me.” Katakuri conjured a towering spike dozens of meters high, trying to force Sengoku back.

But with Katakuri’s strength, there was no way he could block Sengoku, who was single-mindedly making his way through.

Sengoku didn’t even glance at him, dodged with a slight tilt of his head, and soared toward the thick of the battle.

“Pirate, your opponent is me.” Pett raised his blade and charged at Katakuri.

That left Katakuri unable to keep attacking the Navy soldiers as he pleased.

Dora, Hall, Turner, and several others quickly joined the fight, turning what was once the Navy’s losing battle completely around in an instant.

These Vice Admirals were originally stationed at Navy Headquarters, later following Sengoku to the Sabaody Archipelago. They had been the second wave of Navy Vice Admirals sent to establish an outpost in the New World.

“Charlotte Linlin, this is the day you die.”

Sengoku’s main target was Charlotte Linlin. Defeating her here would hugely weaken the power of the Rocks Family.

Compared to Karl, Charlotte Linlin was slightly less formidable, and Sengoku and Garp together definitely had the strength to take her down on this island.

As for what Karl might do after Charlotte Linlin was defeated—that wasn’t their concern right now.

Right now, if they didn’t find a way to weaken the Rocks Family, then ten or twenty years down the line, they would become an unstoppable threat.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“Sengoku has shown up too…” Charlotte Linlin’s face turned grim.

She hadn’t expected Garp to be the first to arrive as backup. Now things were even more complicated.

Her expression hardened. Glancing around, she realized the Navy’s reinforcements had completely cut off the pirates’ offensive, and the pirates themselves were starting to collapse.

Brandishing her massive blade, she fought back against Sengoku and Garp.

She knew this couldn’t go on, so she shouted over the battlefield, “Retreat!”

At her command, the pirates began withdrawing from the Navy base, rushing toward the shoreline on the left where their ships waited.

Katakuri ran that way too, his Mochi-Mochi Fruit power ready to cover their escape.

“If you want to take me down, show me what you’ve got,” Charlotte Linlin roared, her fierce eyes locking on Garp and Sengoku.

“If you hadn’t stepped in back then, Karl would probably be dead already,” Sengoku replied coolly.

“Even if it had been you back then, without backup, the result would’ve been the same.” Garp shrugged, a trace of disdain in his voice.

It was true—if Charlotte Linlin hadn’t arrived in time, there wouldn’t have been anything left of Karl.

Charlotte Linlin didn’t answer. She simply raised her blade again.

Lightning and flames crackled along the blade, the surrounding air shimmering with heat.

“Blazing Light Sword!” Charlotte Linlin growled.

Power surged, and arcs of fiery sword energy shot toward Sengoku and Garp.

“Fist Bone—Meteor!” Garp bellowed, vanishing in a split second.

He moved so quickly that the cracks in the ground beneath him hadn’t even finished spreading as he appeared at Charlotte Linlin’s left.

Garp’s fist flared with Armament Haki as he swung for Charlotte Linlin’s face, trying to end the fight with a single blow.

For a split second, it was like time froze. Every detail became crystal clear.

Charlotte Linlin could feel the crushing force from his fist. Flames and lightning roared around her, forming a strange shield that tried to fend off Garp’s attack.

“Buzz!”

But Garp’s strength and speed exceeded anything she’d imagined. The punch was so fast it tore through the air with a sonic boom. Pressure slammed right in front of her as Garp’s fist crashed into her cheek.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before Charlotte Linlin could even react, the punch sent her flying backward like she’d been hit by a cannon.

She staggered, barely keeping herself from falling, gripping her blade tightly as she looked up with a fierce glare.

“We’re not done yet!” Sengoku roared. He’d been waiting for this chance and now hurled a punch straight into Charlotte Linlin’s midsection.

A dull, thunderous impact rang out. Charlotte Linlin’s eyes bulged as the violent blow launched her several dozen meters back, spinning through the air like a bird knocked from the sky. There was no hiding the pain on her face.

While she was still airborne, Garp charged in and slammed his right fist into her face again.

“Bang!”

The blow hit like a cannon, launching her hundreds of meters through the air until she crashed into a building.

The building’s walls trembled, stones flying everywhere as the place collapsed and dust filled the air.

Sengoku and Garp shared a nod and, not giving Charlotte Linlin a moment of rest, sprinted straight to where she’d landed.

Their figures darted through the ruins.

“Sovereign Nation!”

A voice thundered from the debris, loud enough to shake the battlefield.

A shockwave of raw Haki blasted through, carving a massive hole in the rubble and spinning outwards at incredible speed, forcing Sengoku and Garp back.

Leaning heavily on her blade, Charlotte Linlin dragged herself upright. Every bone in her body seemed to creak and ache, agony washing over her in waves. Still, she clenched her teeth and refused to cry out, her eyes burning with determination. She knew she couldn’t fall yet.

Anxious and worried, she clenched her fists, her left hand protectively covering her stomach.

She could feel it—Garp and Sengoku’s attacks had slammed into her unborn child. But this was no time to rest. To conserve energy to shield the baby inside her, she hadn’t even dared to use her Conqueror’s Haki.