Nami glared coldly at Vice Admiral Onigumo. "Old man... you were the one laughing earlier, weren't you?!"
With a cigar between his lips and his hair wildly disheveled, Onigumo narrowed his eyes at her and slowly drew two of his renowned swords.
"Nami, navigator of the Rainer Pirates... If Ren Takashi truly possesses the Thunder Fruit, then you must be the user of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit."
Having reached this conclusion, the Marine Vice Admiral exhaled in quiet relief. He assumed the Navy's intelligence had caught her wielding cloud-based powers and thus branded her as a Cloud-Cloud Fruit user. What they didn't realize was that those cloud attacks were merely one component of her far more dangerous Weather Fruit.
At the same time, six blades coiled through Onigumo's hair began to quiver and lash about wildly, like venomous serpents preparing to strike.
As a member of the elite Marine Hawks, Onigumo had only one policy toward pirates—kill on sight.
Words like "mercy" or "compassion" had never entered his vocabulary.
"You still look riled up, old man! Then let's cool you off."
Nami's voice was sharp. "Cloud Piercing Cones!!"
Dozens of dense, steel-hard, triangular cones of vapor converged under her control. They formed an impenetrable barrage of storm-forged projectiles, whistling through the air straight toward Onigumo—cutting off all avenues of escape.
Through relentless experimentation, Nami had discovered that among all her creations, these cloud-forged triangles inflicted the deepest wounds—and healed the slowest.
Onigumo's lip twitched. He could sense it—every single cloud spike was laced with advanced Armament Haki.
His gaze sharpened.
"You've developed the Cloud-Cloud Fruit this far in such a short time? I can't afford to let you leave alive."
The killing intent thickened like a fog.
Without a breeze, his long hair stirred. All six swords—those in hand and those slithering through his hair—were coated in a fierce black shine. Armament Haki gleamed from every edge.
"Die."
Boom!
The duel began—Nami versus Onigumo.
——
Elsewhere, another storm was brewing.
Vice Admiral Dalmatian locked eyes with the dark-haired woman before him.
"Nico Robin, I presume?" he said with a gleam in his eye. "Capturing you would be quite the prize."
He licked his crimson lips, already envisioning the promotion. Robin was no ordinary pirate. The sole survivor of Ohara's tragedy—her bounty was not for power, but knowledge. The ability to read Poneglyphs.
"If I drag you back to Marine HQ, I'll be set for life."
His smile was wolfish.
"Robin—surrender!" he barked.
As his muscles flexed, patches of spotted fur erupted across his skin. In an instant, Dalmatian transformed into his hybrid beast form—powerful, massive, and deadly.
"A lion fights a rabbit with all its strength. I'll show you no mercy."
Robin, calm and cool, glanced toward Ren Takashi in the distance.
"Our captain is going all out. As crewmates, we can't afford to fall behind."
"You overestimate yourself!" Dalmatian growled, dashing forward with crushing speed. "Dalmatian Tail Whip!"
His legs were wrapped in devastating Armament Haki, his foot crashing down like a meteor aimed to end it all.
Then—crack.
Ten pitch-black arms burst from Robin's back like blooming dark sakura.
Dalmatian's eyes widened in horror.
Before reinforcements could come—
"Vice Admirals! We're here to assist!"
A squad of elite Marines armed with flintlocks appeared and opened fire on both women.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Nami and Robin braced for the barrage—but the bullets never made it.
From above, Ren Takashi looked down, eyes gleaming.
With a flick of his finger, every bullet turned to dust mid-air.
He didn't attack further.
Nami and Robin weren't flowers to be sheltered—they were warriors, and this was their trial.
Garp, watching his defeated men lie strewn across the deck, clenched his teeth. His face darkened.
"Ren Takashi!!" Garp roared. "Kizaru! Support the others! I'll handle this brat myself!"
Anger surged. His aura exploded.
Kizaru, still calm, flicked a glance at the battles raging on both fronts.
At first, he thought they were struggling.
Now he saw—Nami and Robin were winning.
"Escaping again?" Ren's voice was laced with mockery. Then—he vanished.
"Be careful!" Garp yelled. "He's—!"
"Too late!!!"
Ren reappeared in front of Kizaru in the blink of an eye. His right foot—wreathed in power—crashed directly into the Admiral's chest.
"Wha—?!"
Kizaru's pupils contracted. He barely crossed his arms in time.
BOOM!!
He was sent flying—right back into Garp.
Ren landed lightly beside them. "No tricks. Face me."
Teleportation?
Garp and Kizaru exchanged looks.
There was no transition phase. No blur. He had just appeared.
This was not mere speed.
It was something else entirely.
"What ability is this?!" Kizaru growled.
Ren laughed coldly. "Idiot. Are we even friends?"
Kizaru's brow twitched.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we need to fight him together," he said, finally serious.
"You're the first rookie in history," Garp said darkly, "to force me and Kizaru to team up."
"Light-Speed Kick!!" Kizaru vanished in a beam of gold.
"Ever been kicked by light?" he taunted.
Fists and light thundered down toward Ren, who merely smirked.
He vanished.
"Shit!" Kizaru cursed, summoning Armament Haki just in time.
BOOM!!
He was smashed out of the sky again.
"Bastard!" Garp lunged to catch him, absorbing the impact.
"That was... close," Kizaru muttered, face tingling with pain.
"This kid doesn't use speed—he uses teleportation," Kizaru muttered.
Garp's frown deepened.
"Too late now," Ren said with a smirk. "Even if you know... you can't stop me."
So long as he had this power, defeat was impossible.
"I've seen all kinds of Devil Fruits over the years," Garp said. "Let's see how much stamina it burns..."
"Kizaru—let's finish him!!"
Garp charged, encased in dark Haki, like a living cannonball.
Kizaru smiled. "Guess I can't sit this one out."
"Yasakani no Magatama!!" he shouted, summoning a barrage of golden light projectiles that rained down like a holy storm.
"Ren—try blocking this!!" Garp roared, teleporting and smashing a fist toward Ren's face.
Ren just grinned.
"You think that's enough?"
BOOM!!
"Judgment Storm!!"
A thousand bolts of silver lightning tore the sky apart, detonating the golden light, engulfing everything in flame and thunder.
Towers crumbled. Shockwaves leveled the battlefield.
A mushroom cloud bloomed above Enies Lobby.
Even the others—Nami, Robin, Onigumo, Dalmatian—paused and moved to safer ground.
The inferno lasted three full minutes.
Then—
"Don't get cocky, boy!!!"
Garp surged from the flames, black fists ready to strike.
"Don't call me old, geezer!" Ren snapped.
Lightning howled again. Garp barely dodged, Observation Haki on full alert.
He still got clipped—paralyzed for a moment.
"Ren—STOP!"
"Heaven-Cracking Blade of Clouds!!" Kizaru roared, slashing down a sword forged of golden photons.
Ren dodged and backed away, eyeing the blade.
"Oh? That sword again?" he grinned.
Then—
The Thousand-Blade Magic Sword... unsheathed.
"Ren!" Garp bellowed. "I'll drag you to Marine HQ today—no matter what!"
Tearing off his ruined shirt, Garp's muscles swelled. His aura erupted like a volcano.
If Ren kept growing like this, he might surpass even the Four Emperors.
"Vice Admiral Garp is furious...!" Kizaru's eyes widened.
Last time he got this angry—he was fighting a Yonko.
Now it was... a rookie.
Ren tilted his head, unimpressed.
"You're serious now? Good."
He smirked.
Kizaru's face paled. "These brats... they're too arrogant!"
Time to show them why Admirals are monsters.