Chapter 142: Mountain Fist! An Admiral Falls!
Elsewhere, just as John and the others were quickly advancing toward the palace—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Three figures suddenly descended from the sky, landing directly in front of the group. It was Ecks and his team, somehow having accelerated ahead and cutting them off.
John and the others halted. Golden Lion flew upward to bypass them, but—shing!—a slashing wave blocked his path. Boom! He landed with a face full of fury.
"Ecks, you bastard! Weren't we all here for the great treasure?! What the hell are you doing?!"
Ecks and Koda ignored Golden Lion's rage. They simply pointed toward the palace in the distance and replied coldly, "Only Captain Rocks may enter first."
In those brief moments, the original members of the Rocks Pirates had all arrived, forming a barrier in front of John and his group.
Step. Step step. Fifteen pirates—Golden Lion, Big Mom, John, Ochoku (Wang Zhi), Kyo (Silver Axe) , and others—each with Admiral-level power or higher. Not to mention Luo Han, Cole, and Whitebeard at the rear. Together, they formed a terrifying force.
But despite the tension, everything suddenly calmed.
John and the others exchanged glances. This wasn't like Rocks. If it were just treasure, why stop them? He'd invited them here—wasn't that the whole point?
Unless... what was in that palace was even more valuable than treasure.
Realization lit their eyes. They shared a silent, knowing smile.
With a smirk, John asked, "Ecks, what's in the palace besides the treasure?"
Ecks' face darkened. He and the others had never respected these late-joining pirates. In their eyes, they were mere subordinates—lackeys, not equals. Now they dared question the captain's will? Try to claim what belonged to Rocks?
"You bunch are nothing but underlings of the Rocks Pirates!" Ecks snapped. "Don't overstep. Captain Rocks doesn't need to lift a finger. We will teach you some respect!"
Fueled by rising fury, Ecks attacked first, not giving John a chance to argue further.
The battle erupted instantly.
To their credit, Ecks and his group were powerful. Aside from Ecks and Koda, three others had Admiral-level strength—though slightly weaker than the top two.
Clang! As a swordsman, Ecks clashed with Golden Lion midair. Their blades slashed furiously, sword energy flying across kilometers of sky.
Koda took on Big Mom. Luo Han had assumed Big Mom would dominate—until Koda transformed. The scholarly-looking man with a gentle demeanor revealed his Zoan: Mythical Titan Ape. In seconds, he became a 15-meter-tall giant ape.
Standing side by side with Big Mom, they looked like Beauty and the Beast. The symmetry was almost poetic.
But their battle was anything but graceful. Despite her smaller size, Big Mom's strength was no less. Their fists—both imbued with Armament Haki—clashed with thunderous CLANGs, sending shockwaves that forced everyone to clear the area.
The others also fell into fierce combat. Oddly, no one bothered with Luo Han, Cole, or Whitebeard—likely because they hadn't made any moves toward the palace.
"You're not jumping in, Luo Han?" Whitebeard asked.
"No rush. We're not even at the palace yet. The fight's heading that way anyway. We'll step in when it counts," Luo Han replied with a grin.
His attention was fixed on the palace. His spiritual sense detected an energy barrier shielding it—likely from a unique Devil Fruit. It blocked even his perception. Fascinating.
"Seems the Celestial Dragons brought someone just to prevent Haki-based perception. I wonder how durable that barrier is," Luo Han thought.
…
Time passed. The battle remained fierce.
But the most brutal fighting was where Rocks stood. It had only been an hour, and all six Navy Vice Admirals were dead.
Whoosh! Rocks soared 100 meters into the sky, dodging two slashing waves. Twisting midair, he slammed a punch into the slick-haired Admiral, then ignored the rest and accelerated toward the Quick-Slash Admiral overhead.
"Mountain… Fist!" Rocks shouted, hurling a punch straight down.
A fist-shaped air cannon, a hundred meters wide, descended like a mountain.
Below, the Admiral responded instantly—shing! shing!—sending out two slashes.
CLANG! SHHHRRR! The slashes vanished on impact. The mountain-sized fist crashed down. BOOOOM! A massive crater formed on impact. The former Admiral caught beneath it... likely wouldn't rise again.
From afar, the slick-haired Admiral watched, face twisted in anguish. His eyes reddened.
"GILDARTS!!!"
He charged toward the crater. Another Admiral followed.
Above, Rocks calmly withdrew his fist, glanced at the palace, and prepared to fly forward.
At that moment, Luo Han and his group were nearing the palace.
"Those fools!" the CP0 Commander cursed. Seeing the Admirals break formation, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "No choice! Burn your life!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The three CP0 Captains activated Life Return: Burning Mode—a move that sacrificed lifespan to boost all combat abilities. Once triggered, it couldn't be stopped. At best, they'd have a few hours before death.
WHOOSH! Now drastically faster, one Captain instantly blocked Rocks midair. Whoosh whoosh! The other two followed.
Facing these three, now steaming blood-red, Rocks scowled. "This again?! You bastards really have no fear of death!"
Step step! The CP0 Commander floated up to meet him. "We'll pay any price to stop you."
"Then come try!" Rocks growled and charged them.
Battle resumed. Even without the Admirals, the three CP0 Captains blocked Rocks' advance. But now, the battlefield inched closer to the palace.
Off to the side, Kaido still watched in silence, eyes burning with desire.
"What power… Rocks, Captain… how do you wield Armament Haki like that? Maybe this battle will give me the answer I seek."
(END CHAPTER)
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