Having finished his move, Ren instantly returned to the ship and stood beside Hill. Since he had already struck, there was no turning back now—fleeing was no longer an option.
By this point, Law and the others had moved past their trepidation and hesitation. Facing the halved luxury liner, their lips curled into confident smirks.
"Since the Captain has made his decision, we can't be the ones holding him back. Let's go!" Klin gave his long blade a practiced flourish. In the next heartbeat, the steel was coated in pitch-black Armament Haki. He lunged out as a dark blur, treading on thin air (Moonwalk) as he charged straight for the Celestial Dragon on the sinking ship.
In truth, the people of this world didn't fear the Celestial Dragons themselves; they feared the Marine Admirals they could summon. After all, Admirals represented the pinnacle of global combat power, and very few people could claim to ignore such a threat.
Unfortunately for this particular Celestial Dragon, today he had run into a powerhouse who could do exactly that!
Having merged the abilities of his alternate selves, Ren's strength had long since transcended the rank of Admiral, reaching an entirely different realm. Especially after the "fist bump" with Hollow Ren, there was no place on this sea he couldn't go and no one he couldn't provoke.
As Klin charged, Law refused to be outdone. His Room expanded, and his silhouette flickered across the sea, arriving on the cruise ship even faster than Klin.
Looking at the Celestial Dragon shielded by a group of agents, Law's lips curled up. "Trash, have you decided how you'd like to die?"
Facing Law, the Celestial Dragon didn't look panicked at all. He even boasted to the surrounding agents: "I was last year's swimming champion! Once the ship sinks, I'll show you my elegant form in the water!"
But no one was listening to him. The moment the Vice Admiral saw Law, alarm bells rang in his head. He screamed at the pirate: "Pirate! I've already notified an Admiral; he'll be here any moment! If you start running for your lives now, you might still have a slim chance of survival!"
Law didn't even give him a glance. Looking at the Celestial Dragon, he gave a casual flick of his blade, slicing the man into eight pieces. The severed parts of the body floated in the air, yet the Celestial Dragon didn't scream—he actually looked quite stable.
"Eh? I'm flying?" He flailed his limbs as if swimming through the air. As he said before, he really was quite skilled at swimming.
However, when he noticed the CP agents around him were also floating in the sky, his expression immediately turned to rage! "Bastards! Who gave you permission to imitate me? Get away! Or I'll kill you all!"
The agents couldn't control their bodies. Even though their fear of the Celestial Dragon was etched into their very souls, they could only watch as their bodies drifted aimlessly, drawing the nobleman's ire!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three gunshots rang out. The Celestial Dragon steadied his floating torso, pulled a pistol from his waist, and fired without hesitation at the agents beside him!
"Truly a madman," Law muttered with a frown. These CP8 agents were the Celestial Dragon's loyal hounds; even while controlled by Law's power, they were still trying to protect their master. Yet, the person who ultimately dealt them a lethal blow was the very man they were sacrificing themselves to shield.
A flash of fleeting pity crossed Law's eyes.
In that brief window, Klin dropped from the sky. Looking at the vicious Celestial Dragon below, he swung his blade down without a shred of mercy!
"Stop!" Vice Admiral Milly roared, his eyes nearly bursting. Faced with Klin's murderous strike, he threw his own body in front of the Celestial Dragon without a second thought, intending to use his own flesh as a shield!
Klin had no intention of being soft-hearted. A dog of the Celestial Dragons was a dog nonetheless; if he dared to stand in the way of his blade, he'd find out what real steel felt like!
Watching the black blade draw closer, Milly closed his eyes and prayed: I hope my life is enough to secure my family's safety.
Something this massive going wrong during his escort duty meant he would surely be held accountable. His life was likely forfeit, and if he didn't die here, his family might be targeted too. Even if he survived the purge, he'd be exiled to the East Blue, far from the center of power.
As the cold edge neared, images of his child—who had just graduated from the Marine Academy—and his wife, who waited for him every day, flashed through his mind.
"Sorry... I guess I won't be back for dinner..."
At the critical moment, a lazy voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Partisan!"
The next second, two ice spears shot from the distance. Just as Klin's black blade was about to hit Milly, the spears struck the flat of the sword, parrying the trajectory. Instead of hitting the Vice Admiral, the blade sliced a nearby, unlucky CP agent in half.
Without Law's protection, the agent died instantly without a sound.
Simultaneously, Ren's gaze shifted to a figure in the distance. A man was casually riding a bicycle across the ocean. Wherever he went, the sea froze solid. A bone-chilling cold swept over the area, making everyone shiver.
"Admiral Aokiji. Why is he here?" Hill's face paled. "And how did he get here so fast?"
They had only been fighting the Celestial Dragon for a few minutes. This location shouldn't be close to Marine Headquarters; even Kizaru, the fastest, shouldn't have made it this quickly. Why was Aokiji here?
Hill looked at Ren with concern, but the latter's expression remained unchanged. He even wore a faint, excited smile.
"Finally, someone worth fighting." Ren's eyes gleamed. He vanished instantly and reappeared in front of Aokiji, his feet standing firmly on the surface of the sea without sinking an inch.
Aokiji's pupils shrank. He hadn't seen Ren's movement at all; it was as if the boy had stepped through space to appear before him.
A Space-Space Fruit?
But looking at Ren's feet on the water, Aokiji had to scrap that theory. No, it must be some other special ability.
Aokiji spoke lazily, "An ability that lets you walk on water... you're quite gifted on this sea. But meeting me is truly your misfortune."
As he spoke, the cold air emanating from his body surged. In a matter of seconds, the entire ocean within his line of sight was frozen solid.
"Now, not only is your ability useless, but you can't even sail away," Aokiji said, looking at Ren. "So, why attack a Celestial Dragon? I really hate having to clean up after those guys!"