"!!"
Jack's eyes turned bloodshot—his prideful hairstyle had been ruined!
"Aaargh!"
Like a raging beast, Jack's massive body, as towering as a mountain, crashed down toward Wright. His upper body lunged forward, leaping high into the air—
"Savage Stomp!"
Boom!
The Mammoth, Jack's flagship, must have been reinforced specifically to withstand his brutal combat style! Despite taking the full force of his stomp, the ship miraculously remained intact.
Meanwhile, Wright briefly defended with a wall of Holy Light before soaring into the sky, unleashing a relentless barrage of airborne slashes toward Jack!
Boom boom boom—!
The sheer impact of the slashes was so powerful that it even pushed the massive warship further away from the Dawn!
Onboard the Dawn, Smoker and Hina's combined battlefield control had thrown the invading pirates into disarray, allowing the elite Marine formations to press their advantage.
Though it wasn't quite a slaughter yet, with Wright's blessings enhancing the Marines, each soldier fought as if they had risen an entire rank in strength. Against the elite members of the Beasts Pirates, they held their ground firmly.
"White Squall: Ground Lock!"
The formidable area-of-effect power of Smoker's Logia abilities had evolved into exceptional battlefield control techniques.
Though his powers didn't freeze enemies like Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit, his White Smoke...
"White Squall: Asphyxiation!"
Pirates who had stumbled from the ground trap suddenly found themselves choking in thick, suffocating smoke.
Smoker mercilessly smothered them, covering their noses and mouths with his White Smoke. Their desperate struggles only worsened their fate—some inhaled more of the suffocating cloud, others had their vision completely obscured...
The situation quickly spiraled into chaos.
Some were lucky, merely blinded or left gasping for air. The truly unfortunate ones coughed violently, inhaling even more smoke, and before they could even beg for mercy, Smoker's power sealed their fate.
If he had the stamina to spare, Smoker alone could have wiped out over half the enemy forces. Instead, he focused on eliminating the stronger officers among the pirates.
His massive smoke-formed jitte and spears danced through the air. With his growing mastery of Observation Haki, Smoker efficiently picked off elite enemies.
"White Wall!"
"White Vines!"
A small barrier of smoke blocked an ambushing pirate's strike, then morphed instantly, constricting the attacker. The ambushed Marine wasted no time, turning around and cutting the restrained enemy down.
Here, Smoker's ability to reshape his smoke truly shined. Against weaker enemies, he was an unstoppable force—capable of offense, defense, and support all at once.
Meanwhile, the Dawn's healing capabilities had fully activated. With Smoker's assistance, the Marines gradually gained the upper hand. Even though the pirates outnumbered them more than two-to-one, the battle-hardened Marines systematically turned the tide, shifting from suppression to outright extermination.
Kuina and Tashigi fought side by side, protecting Hina as they relentlessly cut down the oncoming pirates.
Hina's primary role was to restrain enemies with her Devil Fruit ability, leaving the killing blows to the "twin swordswomen"—though not actually twins, their combat synergy was undeniable.
"One-Sword Style: Mountain Cleaver!"
Kuina's blade, the renowned Wado Ichimonji, cleaved straight through an enemy's weapon. Before the stunned pirate could react, her follow-up strike pierced his chest.
"Tashigi, are you holding up?" Kuina asked, sparing a glance at her panting comrade.
"Shigure Slash!"
With a swift motion, Tashigi dispatched another pirate, taking a deep breath. "No problem!"
"With Vice Admiral Wright's blessings, the Dawn's healing, and the support from Commodore Smoker and Commander Hina, if I can't take down more pirates, I'd be a disgrace!"
"You're both doing well. Hina is pleased."
With a graceful swing of her arms, Hina slammed a group of pirates onto the deck using her iron shackles. The surrounding Marines wasted no time, swiftly cutting them down.
"Especially you, Tashigi—you've grown a lot. When you first started, you hesitated to strike at an enemy's vital points."
"You flatter me, Commander!"
The battle aboard the Dawn raged on. Without Jack's support, it was only a matter of time before the Marines wiped out the pirates completely.
Meanwhile, the Mammoth and the Dawn drifted further apart due to the sheer intensity of the duel between Wright and Jack.
The moment Wright had boarded, he had already cleared most of the enemy crew, severing any grappling hooks or boarding ropes in the process.
Now, the Mammoth drifted freely without a helmsman, its movements dictated solely by the shockwaves from their battle.
Stranded pirates screamed as massive waves, stirred by the battle's tremors, pushed them further away from their own ship. Desperate, they tried to reach the Dawn—only to be cut down by the awaiting Marines.
A miserable fate indeed.
Jack and Wright's fight continued. Against most physical fighters, Jack's immense size and near-impenetrable hide gave him a significant advantage—but against a Supreme Swordsman, even his ancient Zoan durability fell short.
Even with Haki reinforcing his defenses, Jack's body was gradually being covered in deep wounds from Wright's devastating slashes.
Thanks to the divine nature of Holy Fire, his wounds bled little, but the searing pain was far beyond natural limits, keeping Jack in a perpetual state of agony.
The recovery powers of his Ancient Zoan fruit worked indiscriminately, rapidly healing his injuries—whether caused by sword or fist.
The last time Wright fought an opponent like this was Weevil, though circumstances were different. Weevil had already lost an arm and had fallen into mindless rage by the end. Jack, on the other hand, was still thinking—reckless, but not brainless.
Moreover, Jack's Devil Fruit, a true Ancient Zoan, fully embodied raw power and resilience.
Even with Wright's Ashes Awakening inflicting devastating damage, Jack's monstrous vitality kept him on his feet, unfazed.
But Wright's goal wasn't just physical damage—it was to shatter Jack's mind as well.
"Repent!"
A golden light flashed in Wright's eyes. Tiny arcs of golden lightning crackled as Jack's enraged expression twisted in sudden agony—his massive elephantine head recoiled as if struck by a battering ram.
Though Jack's body was formidable, his mental resilience was his weakness. In his enraged state, Confession struck him hard, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"Secret Technique—Divine Void Slash!"
Even without Holy Light, Void Slash was already a fearsome sword technique. Now enhanced by Ashes and Holy Light, its destructive power soared even higher!
Swish!
Wright's figure vanished, reappearing on the opposite side of the giant mammoth. Behind him, Jack let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"Aaarghhh!"
No matter how fast he healed, some wounds were simply irreplaceable…
Jack thrashed in agony as a massive, severed elephant trunk flew through the air—cleaved off in a single stroke!
"Regeneration is nice… but can you regrow that?"
Wright ascended into the sky, wings of Holy Light blazing behind him.
"Holy Light Wings: Ignition!"
"Lightspeed!"
"Judgment Strike!"
BOOM!
Descending like divine retribution, Wright's foot stomped Jack's prized braided hair straight into the deck, embedding him deep into the Mammoth's hull!
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