Chapter 456: The Buster Call’s Shadow: Clash at Enies Lobby

Vice Admiral Dalmatian climbed back to his feet in the woods, eyes sweeping the battlefield. Seeing the utter chaos, he wasted no time pulling a Den Den Mushi from his coat.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and quickly dialed a number.

“Purururu! Purururu!”

“Moshi moshi!”

“Is this Fleet Admiral Sengoku? I have urgent news to report.”

……

“Garp, will you look at your grandson?”

Sengoku, having hung up the call, bellowed from his office at Garp, who was shamelessly munching on donuts.

Garp just picked his nose, burst out laughing, and stuffed the remaining donuts into his mouth. “Sengoku, my grandson’s something else, huh!”

Even now Garp was trying to play dumb.

After all, Luffy was currently attacking the World Government’s Enies Lobby.

If Garp didn’t play it off, with a crime like that, his grandson might spend the rest of his days locked away in Impel Down.

“Garp, just look at the mess you made.”

“If you don’t bring your grandson back yourself, I’ll dispatch an admiral to arrest him personally.”

Sengoku couldn’t bring himself to go too hard on his old friend.

Back in the day, if not for Garp’s timely rescue, Sengoku might have never become Fleet Admiral. In the end, it was a small indulgence of power.

Garp’s face twitched for a second, but just as quickly he burst out laughing again, casually swiping the backpack of donuts from the table before striding outside.

“I get it, I’ll bring my beloved grandson back. He ought to join the Navy anyway.”

Of course, Garp knew all too well how the World Government wanted to wipe out the D. clan.

That’s exactly why he hoped his grandson would join the Navy. At least there, Luffy could have some protection in the latter half of his life.

But who could have predicted Luffy would be led astray by one of the Four Emperors, Shanks, and dream of sailing as a pirate?

It made Garp clench his fists, wishing he could give that red-haired Shanks two solid punches.

“Damn it Garp, bring back my donuts!”

Just as Sengoku had finally calmed down, he spotted the missing donuts from the coffee table and roared toward the door. The whole building shook, sending some dust fluttering down.

Unfortunately for Sengoku, Garp had already left by then. He found his lieutenant, Trist, and boarded his dog-headed warship, setting course straight for Enies Lobby.

Back on the battlefield, Vice Admiral Dalmatian, having ended the call, shrugged off his navy cloak and strode straight up to Ye Fan.

“What exactly is your goal here?”

“It’s true your bounty poster might underestimate you, but if you were truly set on fighting the Navy, why did only half your crew show up?”

That was what Dalmatian couldn’t figure out.

The Luffy Pirates—there had to be more members than just a handful, right?

Or did they really think just these few could easily take down a Buster Call?

But as soon as the thought surfaced, Dalmatian dismissed it entirely.

He was convinced Luffy and his crew were up to something else.

“That’s right, it’s really not that complicated. We just want our crew to see firsthand that the Buster Call isn’t as terrifying as some people imagine.”

Ye Fan laid out their intentions bluntly.

He’d never planned to take on the entire navy fleet; as long as they could break the Buster Call, that was enough—they’d retreat after that.

As long as they could convince Robin not to fear the Buster Call anymore, the effort would be worthwhile. What the Navy thought didn’t matter to him in the slightest.

If they completely wiped out the Buster Call fleet, the Navy Headquarters would go crazy with revenge. Whether they could even make it to Sabaody Archipelago safely would be anyone’s guess.

Ye Fan was far too smart to make that mistake.

“Crewmate?”

“You mean Nico Robin?”

Dalmatian immediately realized it—Nico Robin, who had joined the Straw Hat Pirates. The sole survivor from Ohara and the only one to survive a Buster Call as a child.

Back when the Buster Call struck Ohara, Dalmatian hadn’t been there, so it wasn’t burned in his memory. But ever since Robin joined the Straw Hats, and because of Luffy’s reputation, the navy had to keep a close eye on every angle.

When Kong served as Fleet Admiral, the Navy and World Government had a massive falling out. Whenever the World Government used the Navy for their dirty work, a lot of just admirals gritted their teeth and wanted nothing to do with it.

The Celestial Dragons held their so-called ‘God’s Ritual’ every four years.

They’d randomly pick an island from the Four Seas for their twisted games. At the end, they’d call in a Buster Call to erase that island from the map.

In the past decades, they’d carried out the Buster Call four or five times, but every time, the admirals leading it got replaced. Any officer with a shred of justice couldn’t bear it. Afraid to cross the Celestial Dragons but disgusted by what they did, vice admirals full of resentment would refuse to ever take part in another Buster Call plan.

“Exactly. As long as we wreck most of these navy ships, that’s proof the Buster Call isn’t as scary as people think.”

“Heh, aren’t you underestimating the Navy a little too much?”

“Do you really think you can beat the Buster Call and still have time to escape?”

Dalmatian’s words made Ye Fan suddenly think of something crucial he’d missed.

This was Enies Lobby, an outer post of Navy Headquarters—barely an hour or two away. If a strong enemy rushed over, they could arrive even sooner. Meaning, they didn’t have much time left.

“Thanks for the reminder. But for now, you can take a nap.”

For the first time, Ye Fan unleashed the full power of his body, flashing behind Dalmatian and chopping him in the neck to knock him out cold.

“Honestly, if you hadn’t warned me, I might’ve let it slip.”

“Hey, Luffy!”

“If you guys don’t hurry up, your grandpa might come after you!”

Luffy, still pounding Vice Admiral Bastille with a Gum-Gum Gatling, froze like he’d just remembered something awful.

He dropped his current target on the spot, both arms transforming into titanic hammers that came crashing down on the navy fleet out at sea.

Vice Admiral Stainless had already dragged every navy sailor from the water to safety, but when he saw this, his jaw dropped.

“Pirates!”

But it was no use. Under Luffy’s relentless assault, the remaining thirty or so navy ships were sent to the bottom. Fortunately, they were already close to shore, so most sailors managed to swim to Enies Lobby’s coast.

With everything done, Luffy shouted to his crew, “Guys, it’s time to go!”

Luffy shot back to the Thousand Sunny in a blink, not daring to risk his grandpa dropping in.

“Guess our fight ends here—for now.”

Zoro sent a parting slash toward his target, then swiftly pulled back.

Vice Admiral Hina wanted to pursue, but realized Zoro’s blade hadn’t been meant for her at all. Instead, it tore through the navy floating behind her. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Damn pirates. Don’t let me catch you again!”

Sanji made his escape even faster. Vergo had stamina but not speed, and it was clear he was choosing to hold back some strength as well.

With just one powerful Collier kick, Sanji sent Vergo rolling, then took off across the sky using Moonwalk, never looking back.