One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 808: The Desperate Battle Rages On

"He-he-he-he-he—!"

Suddenly, Cavendish’s eyes snapped open, but they were filled with a wild, feral energy. His lips pulled back into a jagged grin, and his entire aura turned chilling and sinister as a low, maniacal cackle escaped his throat.

"This feeling..."

Zoro’s eyelid flickered. He recognized that familiar, metallic scent of bloodlust.

"He-he-he... I’m going to slice you to pieces!"

In the blink of an eye, this newly awakened Cavendish vanished from his spot, leaving only his erratic, twisted laughter echoing through the air.

Realization dawned on Zoro as he gasped in surprise, "It’s that guy... a split personality?"

Shink!

A freakish gust of wind lunged from his right. Startled, Zoro twisted away just in time as the ground beneath him was instantly torn asunder, leaving a narrow, jagged fissure several meters long.

"I knew it. That speed... 72 Pound Phoenix!!!"

Zoro glanced sideways and swung both swords through the air. Two crescent-shaped compressed air projectiles erupted, tearing toward the right.

BOOM! BOOM!

The two slashes slammed into a wall dozens of meters away, slicing clean through the thick masonry and leaving two intersecting gashes over ten meters long in a cross formation.

"Tch. Missed!" Zoro clicked his tongue and began scanning his surroundings warily.

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Nami lay flat on the ground, staring tearfully at the ruined remains of the staircase. All that was left was a massive circular crater seven or eight meters wide, surrounded by a dozen thick cracks and countless smaller ones webbing out like a spider’s nest.

The battle earlier had already seen the staircase smashed by Otto when Sanji kicked him into it. Then, Franky’s Radical Beam had completely obliterated the structure, with the blast radius even reaching the second floor.

Now, a gap of nearly fifteen meters completely separated those on the first floor from those on the second.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Tashigi breathed heavily, her gaze fixed solemnly on the "demon-muscled" form of Jason.

With the stairs between the levels destroyed, the G-5 Marines could no longer provide backup. The core members of the Straw Hat crew were pinned down by two Chris Pirate officers. They were, for all intents and purposes, isolated and without aid.

Unless there was a breakthrough elsewhere, like Luffy capturing Caesar, Vice Admiral Smoker and Trafalgar Law defeating Vergo, or the G-5 Marines overrunning the Building B guards, they were on their own.

"Marine Captain-san, I have no idea how you all escaped!" Jason grinned, holding up a hand to measure a tiny gap. "But with just the lot of you... you’re still lacking by this much!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Jason lunged, his massive hand clawing toward Tashigi.

Tashigi remained calm. She took a swift step back, her blade sweeping upward in a cold, sharp arc aimed at Jason’s palm.

Startled, Jason yanked his hand back to avoid the keen edge.

Since he lacked Armament Haki and his physical body wasn’t durable enough to catch a Meito (famed blade) barehanded, and because he wasn’t a battle-hardened master of high-level martial arts, trying to "flex" by grabbing her blade would only result in his hand being lopped off.

CRASH—!

Jason’s mind raced. He reached out and grabbed the stone railing beside him. With a burst of strength, he tore a meter-long section of the thirty-centimeter-thick square railing right out of the floor, sending stone chips flying.

Jason swung the stone pillar like a club, whistling through the air toward Tashigi. Facing such a heavy, momentum-driven blow, Tashigi didn’t dare block it directly; she scrambled backward to stay out of his reach.

THUMP—!

The stone railing slammed into the ground. The floor shook violently as a crater formed where it hit, spraying shards of stone everywhere.

RUMBLE—!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking Jason squarely and causing his entire body to flicker with electrical discharge.

Floating ten meters above were several dark clouds sparking with electricity—thunderclouds.

"You bastard, change Chopper and Robin back to normal!" Nami stood a short distance away, clutching her Sorcery Clima-Tact.

"Ha... it’s... it’s actually man-made thunderclouds..."

Jason fell to one knee, his body scorched and smoking. He exhaled a puff of black soot, staring at Nami in shock. He hadn’t expected this beautiful female pirate to possess the power to control artificial weather.

Whoosh—Whoosh—

Suddenly, a freezing wind howled. A massive amount of snow was blown into the front of Building B through the rear corridor, causing the temperature to plummet instantly.

"Caesar, stand still! Don’t you dare run—!"

A faint, somewhat familiar voice echoed from the tunnel.

BOOM—!

A violent roar followed as a powerful airwave, choked with snow, surged out of the corridor.

"What’s happening?" Tashigi turned her head, her expression grave.

"That voice sounds so familiar... Luffy?" Nami looked puzzled.

"They mentioned Caesar. Could it be that the Straw Hat boy went after him?!" Jason leaned against the wall to stand up, his face looking rather pale.

Whoosh—!

Seconds later, two figures flew rapidly out of the corridor.

One wore a gas-like coat, his lower body transformed into vapor as he floated through the air. His face was bruised and swollen in several places, and blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

The other was a harpy, a woman with bird wings and talons. She beat her wings to stay airborne, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she bit her lip against the pain.

"Caesar! Monet!" Jason cried out.

Thud—!

The two reached the center of the area and, as if unable to hold on any longer, crashed down right into the middle of the fighting crowd.

"Master!"

The guards recognized Caesar and were overcome with shock, swarming forward to help.

Zip—!

The next second, a steam-shrouded dark blur flashed past, landing in the center of the clearing.

"Luffy!"

"Straw Hat!"

Cries went up from the crowd, some in terror, some in joy. The newcomer was indeed Monkey D. Luffy.

"Caesar, you aren’t getting away!" Luffy pressed down on his straw hat, his voice low and determined. "Get ready to be kidnapped by me!"

"Damn it! It’s the Straw Hat kid!"

"Protect the Master, quickly!"

The Research Institute guards immediately formed a human wall around Caesar.

As it turned out, during the battle in the Biscuits Room, Caesar and Monet’s Logia powers had given Luffy some trouble. However, Luffy’s overall strength far surpassed theirs. After a grueling fight, both had been injured and forced to flee, leading to this high-speed pursuit.

It was then that Luffy noticed the state of his friends. Brook, his bones broken in multiple places; Franky, standing by the corridor with only one arm left; and Sanji, struggling to hold his own under Otto’s assault.

Then, he saw Chopper and Robin lying on the second floor.

"Everyone..."

In an instant, Luffy’s eyes turned blood-red with rage.

"ROOOAARRR—!"

At that moment, Otto roared, throwing a berserk punch that slammed directly into Sanji.

BOOM—!

Sanji was sent flying, coughing up blood. He vanished into a blur before slamming into a wall dozens of meters away. The impact carved a massive circular crater into the thick masonry, the surface fractured with spider-web cracks.

"SANJI—!"

Luffy roared, his eyes wide with fury as he charged straight at Otto.