Chapter 453: The Admiral's Phantom Army
Rosen's backup plan wasn't just a countermeasure; it was a declaration of war against the natural order. As the air crackled with the energy of shattered ice and scattering petals, the sheer impossibility of the scene before them left even the legendary Garp momentarily stunned.
"Senbonzakura?" Shanks muttered, his eyes widening. The name hung heavy in the salt-heavy air. "What did you say?"
Beside him, Ben Beckman adjusted his grip on his rifle, his sharp gaze analyzing the unfolding anomaly. "Is that the name of a Zanpakutō? How is this possible?"
Standing amidst the frost, the masked samurai didn't flinch. "Indeed," the figure spoke, voice calm yet carrying an unnatural resonance. "I am Senbonzakura."
The name sent a ripple of disbelief through the ranks of the Red-Haired Pirates and the Marine veterans alike. Just as the shock began to settle, another figure stepped forward—a woman in a flowing kimono, her presence as cold as the winter itself. She raised her sleeve, revealing a blade of pure ice.
"Bankai," she whispered.
The word was a trigger. Centered on the woman, the temperature plummeted. Billowing freezing air instantly surged outward, transforming into a pillar of light that shot straight into the heavens. It wasn't just cold; it was absolute zero manifesting as a weapon.
Whoosh.
A ring-shaped disc of brilliant white light materialized above the battlefield, radiating a chill that seemed to pierce the very fabric of the atmosphere. It hung over the bay, casting a pale shadow over the Red-Haired Pirates and the Marine forces locked in combat.
Then, a voice echoed, devoid of warmth, chilling the blood of every pirate present.
"White Cloud Punishment."
The kimono-clad woman's icy gaze swept over the enemy ranks. "Do not let her swing that blade!" Yoshpp shouted, his eyes flashing red. As the third-in-command, his Observation Haki was formidable, granting him glimpses of the immediate future. Yet, what he saw was terrifying—a wall of freezing death that he couldn't fully decipher.
Lucky Roux moved to intercept, but the masked samurai, Senbonzakura, acted first. She raised a palm toward the bulky pirate. Instantly, countless cherry blossom petals erupted from her silhouette, forming a pink dragon of razor-sharp blades. The petals surged with a lethal edge, sweeping across the battlefield with the force of a typhoon.
"Get out of the way!"
Lucky Roux abandoned his retreat, his fist coated in the black sheen of Armament Haki. He unleashed a devastating punch, a thunderous shockwave that shattered the wave of petals, the air screaming as the sonic boom collided with the floral blades.
The clash was deafening, but it caused a fatal delay.
While Lucky Roux engaged Senbonzakura, the woman in the kimono completed her swing.
Hiss.
The disc in the sky unleashed its fury. A torrent of freezing air cascaded down like a tsunami, engulfing the entire beach in an instant. The wave of cold was indiscriminate, swallowing the Red-Haired Pirates, the Marines, and even reaching out to Garp, Shanks, and Beckman fighting in the distance.
Crack.
Everything within the radius froze solid. The beach turned into a sheet of glass. Shanks and Beckman were encased in ice. Yasopp, Lucky Roux, Hongo, and the others were statues of frost. Only Garp and the two Zanpakuto wielders remained unaffected, the woman having deliberately spared them.
Garp looked around, his white coat billowing despite the freeze. "This freezing air..." He clenched his fist, the ice shattering around his knuckles. "Except for the range, it rivals Kuzan's power exactly."
He didn't hesitate. Bolts of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body like black lightning, swirling violently around him. He concentrated the overwhelming power into his fist, the air around it distorting from the pressure.
Bang.
A shockwave of pure Haki, red as magma, descended not on the frozen Shanks, but on the ice encasing Yasopp and Hongo. The impact was cataclysmic—a missile-like explosion of force that shattered the ice and sent the pirates flying, blood spraying from their mouths as they crashed into the frozen sea.
Simultaneously, Senbonzakura continued her assault. The cherry blossom petals, now sharp as steel, danced around the recovering Red-Haired Pirates, slashing through jackets and skin alike, drawing crimson trails against the white snow.
"Senbonzakura!"
Shanks shattered his icy prison. His eyes, usually calm, burned with a predatory, bloodthirsty light. The atmosphere thickened instantly as a torrent of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, a raging sea of power that blotted out the sky and kicked up a massive cloud of dust.
He had held back initially, wary of Garp's connection to the past. But seeing his crew injured—by Garp's hand, no less—changed everything.
"What are you shouting about, Red-Haired?" Garp scoffed, standing firm against the wave of Haki. He had faced worse in the era of the Pirate King. "Does the law only apply when it benefits you? You invade a Marine stronghold, and we are expected to stand by?"
Shanks didn't answer with words. His face grim, he gripped his sword, Griffon. The blade pulsed with immense Haki, the pressure warping the air itself. In a streak of lightning speed, he closed the distance, bringing his blade down in a diagonal slash meant to cleave Garp in two.
Garp met the strike with his fist. The collision was apocalyptic. Conqueror's Haki clashed with Conqueror's Haki, creating a shockwave that swept across the base, obliterating frozen debris and forcing everyone else to shield their eyes.
Meanwhile, Ben Beckman analyzed the battlefield. His eyes narrowed as he watched the woman in the kimono—Sode no Shirayuki—lower her blade, the freezing air settling. He had pieced it together.
"You're not Marines," Beckman said, his voice low and steady, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing as he spoke. He aimed his rifle at the woman. "You're not even human."
Senbonzakura moved to defend her partner, but Beckman continued.
"You are Zanpakuto. Two of them, materialized by Rosen's power. That's why you can wield these abilities. You are the blades themselves."
He pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The bullet tore through the air, imbued with Armament Haki so dense it turned the projectile black. It wasn't aimed at Senbonzakura, but at Sode no Shirayuki, the source of the freeze that had crippled his crew.
Sode no Shirayuki reacted instantly, raising her ice blade to deflect, but the bullet's velocity was terrifying.
"Damn it!" Garp yelled, his Observation Haki flaring. He saw Beckman's intent but was locked in a deadly struggle with Shanks. The clash of Conqueror's Haki anchored him, preventing him from intervening.
"Don't underestimate us!" Sode no Shirayuki slashed upward, unleashing a surge of freezing air that roared like a white dragon, attempting to halt the bullet.
But the bullet didn't slow. The Haki infused within it was absolute, comparable to an Admiral's strike. The freezing air shattered around it like glass.
Sode no Shirayuki's eyes widened, a rare flash of genuine fear crossing her features.
"Kageyoshi: Senbonzakura!"
Senbonzakura didn't hesitate. She stepped in front of her partner, her hands moving in a complex pattern. Billions of pink petals converged, swirling into a dense tornado. Within the storm, tens of thousands of tiny blades materialized, weaving together into a cylindrical wall—a fortress of cutting edges surrounding Sode no Shirayuki completely.
The Haki bullet struck the sword array.
BOOM.
A shockwave erupted, tearing up the frozen ground. The fortress trembled violently. Blades shattered, dissolving back into petals.
For a moment, it seemed the defense would hold. But the sheer force of Beckman's shot was overwhelming. Cracks appeared in the cylindrical wall. Then, with a sound like a breaking glacier, the shield shattered.
The bullet, though slowed, was not stopped. It carried the residual force and Haki, drilling through the debris toward the exposed Sode no Shirayuki.
"Sode no Shirayuki!" Senbonzakura cried out, lunging forward to shield her partner with her own body.
But the Red-Haired Pirates were not idle. Yasopp and Lucky Roux, having recovered from the initial freeze and Garp's shockwave, had already raised their weapons.
Bang! Bang!
Two Haki-imbued bullets intercepted Senbonzakura mid-air, forcing her to contort her body to dodge, effectively blocking her path to protect Sode no Shirayuki.
Simultaneously, Hongo, the massive commander, swung his long staff. Hardened by Armament Haki, it was as dense as a black blade. He dashed forward, appearing beside the distracted Senbonzakura, and brought the staff down with the weight of a mountain.
Whoosh!
The tide of battle had turned in a heartbeat.
Shanks and Beckman had broken free and were engaging Garp and the Zanpakuto with lethal intent. Yasopp and Lucky Roux provided cover fire, while Hongo delivered crushing physical blows.
The Red-Haired Pirates, initially caught off guard by the sudden Bankai, had now regained their composure. They were a Yonko crew for a reason—adaptability and overwhelming firepower. They reversed the situation instantly, pushing the strange, materialized Zanpakuto back into a desperate defense.
Rosen's hidden assets were powerful, but facing the full might of a Yonko and his commanders, even they were beginning to falter.
—-
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