Dragon was locked in a fierce battle with the Golden Lion.
He tried to talk the Golden Lion down.
"Golden Lion, your connection with Leno is nothing more than breaking out of prison together. Is it really worth becoming enemies with both the Navy and the Revolutionary Army for his sake?"
The Golden Lion swung his sword, knocking aside Dragon's dragon-claw strike, and burst into laughter.
"Jiehahaha! Brat, what do you know?! Even pirates value loyalty! I'm not some ungrateful scum who forgets favors!"
With sheer pirate will, the Golden Lion flatly rejected—and mocked—Dragon.
Dragon's gaze turned cold. He knew words wouldn't work.
But that wasn't his only option.
Aside from Leno himself, the rest of the Leno Pirates were nothing but rabble.
He had seen Domino's strength earlier—she had some ability, but not much.
A perfect breakthrough point.
Even with the Golden Lion holding him back, Dragon wasn't alone!
He shouted toward Bogard, Garp's adjutant, who was fighting a pirate captain nearby.
"Bogard! Go capture the women of the Leno Pirates!"
Bogard paused for a split second.
He had a good personal relationship with Dragon, even after Dragon left the Navy.
Helping with something like this wasn't a big deal.
Not to mention, Leno was a pirate—and he had done that sort of thing to Garp's grandson, Luffy.
"Understood!"
Bogard immediately abandoned his opponent and used Soru, rapidly closing in on Robin, Kalifa, and the others who were engaged with several Vice Admirals.
Seeing this, Garp burst into loud laughter.
"Well done! Dragon! Bogard! That's brilliant!"
He continued hammering Leno with relentless attacks while jeering triumphantly.
"Brat! Watching your women get captured while you can't do a thing about it—how does that feel?! Soon you'll taste pain even deeper than mine!"
Leno's face darkened.
He shouldn't have brought the girls along just to temper them. If they remained mere ornaments, it was pointless.
Looks like… it's time to use a trump card.
He had wanted to further hone his Conqueror's Haki infusion and grow stronger.
To devour a bit more.
But now he had no choice.
Fortunately, he had never intended to hold this card back when coming to Marine Headquarters.
So it wasn't much of a loss.
And it would let the girls realize how small they still were—only then could they grow stronger.
All in all, Leno wasn't losing out!
Just as his eyes sharpened and he prepared to activate his trump card—
The Golden Lion roared with laughter again.
"Jiehahaha! Leno, kid! You'll owe me big for this one!"
Leno paused mid-motion.
He glanced at the Golden Lion and decided to wait.
Seeing this, Dragon's attacks grew even more ferocious.
"Golden Lion! Don't you dare ruin my plans again!"
Unfazed, the Golden Lion parried every strike. He had no intention of going himself.
Instead, he gave a meaningful look to the small civet cat on his shoulder.
"Patton! It's up to you!"
The little civet cat, Patton, nodded vigorously. Her petite figure shot out in an instant, astonishingly fast—more like Chopper than a raccoon.
She moved after Bogard, yet arrived first, blocking his path!
Bogard frowned slightly at the small animal before him, but he didn't take it seriously and didn't slow down.
Patton took out a Transformation Leaf and sketched a figure upon it.
Facing the charging Bogard—
She swiftly summoned the welcoming presence of one of the Four Emperors—Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin!
Her Devil Fruit ability allowed her to use Transformation Leaves to create human phantoms that possessed their combat experience and abilities.
An incredibly powerful fruit.
The phantom Big Mom let out a bizarre cackle and threw a punch at Bogard!
"This—?!"
Caught off guard, Bogard raised his sword to block, but both man and blade were blasted away by the terrifying force.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was instantly severely wounded and knocked unconscious!
He couldn't withstand even a single move.
The sight made Garp, Dragon, and everyone else who noticed the scene nearly pop their eyes out.
No one had expected that inconspicuous little civet cat on the Golden Lion's shoulder to possess such an absurd Devil Fruit ability.
Then came the familiar self-explanation segment.
The Golden Lion laughed smugly. "Jiehahaha! Patton's phantoms possess thirty percent of the original's strength!"
"And no matter who it is—as long as she knows their appearance, she can summon them!"
Of course, such a powerful fruit had its drawbacks.
The stronger the target, the greater the drain on Patton.
There were also other limitations and details he didn't elaborate on.
But even thirty percent of Big Mom's power was more than enough to crush Garp's adjutant, Bogard.
Patton sat with her hands on her hips, an arrogant little expression on her face, perched atop phantom Big Mom's shoulder.
She stood guard over the women of the Leno Pirates.
After all, with thirty percent of Big Mom's strength, unless an Admiral personally stepped in, no one was getting past!
Seeing this, Leno was overjoyed.
The Golden Lion had truly been a huge help this time!
And while Garp was momentarily distracted by Bogard's severe injury—
Leno seized the opening and mercilessly drove a punch into Garp's abdomen!
A sneak attack? Don't be ridiculous—this was simply making proper use of changes in the battlefield.
The punch didn't send Garp flying.
Instead, a strange adhesion and suction force surged from Leno's fist!
Devour activated!
Garp felt his life force, Haki, stamina—every form of energy in his body—draining away at alarming speed!
In just a few breaths, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.
Startled and furious, Garp roared, "Nani…?! Get your hands off me!"
He forcibly shook off Leno's grip and rapidly retreated, putting distance between them.
Shock filled his face.
In all his years, he had never encountered an ability like this.
Leno rolled his wrist, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Thanks for the treat."
"Thank You for the Offering" was defensive devouring—neutralizing attacks while taking a bite of the delivered power.
"Thanks for the Treat" was offensive devouring—directly siphoning the opponent's strength to replenish himself.
(The skill names have been adjusted slightly—my apologies.)
This ability made Leno's endurance in prolonged battles utterly terrifying.
Mm. In any kind of battle, things would last a very long time.
Hearing the blatant taunt to his face, Garp's anger flared. He wanted nothing more than to smash Leno's face in immediately.
But he restrained himself.
That bizarre ability made him deeply wary.
In that brief contact just now, he had already felt fatigue creeping in—while Leno looked revitalized.
If this continued, he would simply be "feeding" Leno with his own strength.
"Brat… I truly underestimated you," Garp said in a low voice.
"You've underestimated far more than that," Leno sneered in reply.
Elsewhere—
Whitebeard and Akainu's battle raged on without pause. Without three days and nights, there would be no decisive outcome.
As expected of the one and only eternal scapegoat, Akainu.
Marco, who had finally managed to approach the execution platform, was seized upon by Sengoku and blasted away with a single Buddha Shockwave.
On the execution platform—
Sengoku reverted to his original form, his expression dark as water.
He swept his gaze across the battlefield. "Golden Lion… Leno… There are too many variables! We can't wait any longer!"
He turned to the Marines in charge of the execution and gave the order:
"Advance the execution! Carry it out immediately!"
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