Ghosts, Changes in the World (4K)

"Kid, do you think even four Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals working together couldn’t beat that guy?"

Whether in dress or manner of speech, Tokikake, codenamed Chaton, was unlike the other Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals in his seriousness. Instead, he seemed rather frivolous. It was obvious that he had a lazy personality, with a bit of Kizaru’s shadow in him.

However, Bai Cangshu could not take him lightly. So-called Admiral Candidates were special candidates universally recognized as stronger than all other vice admirals, with Garp being the exception. Once a Marine Admiral position became vacant, barring any surprises, these people would fill it.

Whether in martial arts, physical ability, Haki training, or mastery of the Six Powers, he surpassed those Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals.

In Bai Cangshu’s view, someone like this would probably rank in the upper range of the Strong-tier within the space’s power system. Given enough time, becoming a one-man army would be effortless for them.

Moreover, as close-combat fighters in a world like the One Piece World, where physical fitness and direct combat ability were emphasized, their defensive and survival capabilities were terrifyingly strong. They were true humanoid weapons.

"Heh, I haven’t really seen any big scenes after all…"

Tokikake waved a hand, signaling Bai Cangshu not to bother with such useless modesty and flattery. He did not care about the Marines’ reputation. If they could win, they could win; if they could not, they could not.

Bai Cangshu was not particularly modest himself. Such pleasantries were basically no different from unreliable lies when they came from him, completely made-up nonsense uttered on a whim. Seeing that the other man wanted the truth, he suddenly looked at him with a strange smile and said,

"Vice Admiral Tokikake—Admiral Candidate is only a special title; his rank is still vice admiral—if we’re talking about my feelings…"

"You’ll die."

"That guy’s Devil Fruit Ability is terrifying even among Logia Types."

"Vice Admiral, if necessary, it would be best if you treated him directly as a hostile Marine Admiral…"

Tokikake showed no reaction to Bai Cangshu’s words.

Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals were the backbone of these seas. Nearly every one of them had clashed with the strongest monsters, faced the peerless Whitebeard head-on, and participated in the hunt for the monster Kaido.

No one understood better than them just how powerful the top figures of this world were.

They were powerful, but they also maintained reverence for power.

Yet precisely because of that, they felt even more deeply just how powerful the Marine faction they belonged to was.

No matter how powerful a One Piece crew was, it could never contend with the Marines. Once the Marines made up their minds to eliminate you, they would surely gain an overwhelming advantage in strength.

No matter how strong the Four Emperors were, they were still individual entities. But the Marines were a colossal force.

No matter how strong Whitebeard was, could he stand against three Marine Admirals working together?

Could he stand against Sengoku and Garp joining forces?

No matter how many captains Whitebeard had, could they outnumber the Marines’ vice admirals?

Tokikake rose and walked to the bow. Ever since he had appeared, even the arrogant Onigumo had to obey his orders.

"Onigumo, sacrificing your warship for a bit shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

Onigumo nodded, understanding what he meant. He immediately directed all the Marine Soldiers aboard to cross over by makeshift bridges onto Dalmatian’s warship behind them.

Tokikake shook his shoulders, casting off his Cloak of Justice. Then he vanished in an instant. The next moment, immense force erupted from the sea behind them.

Bai Cangshu jumped onto Dalmatian’s warship. Looking down at Tokikake standing in the sea below, pushing a Marine warship nearly a hundred meters long rapidly forward with one hand, his eyelids twitched and delight appeared on his face.

This kind of power was wonderful…

Tokikake did not know how to operate a warship, but he also did not want other Marine Soldiers to risk their lives alongside him. Thus, he chose to push the warship into the target waters himself.

Although Bai Cangshu had told him that Enel’s Observation Haki was extremely refined, and that he could clearly sense how many people were aboard the ship, Tokikake still insisted on doing this.

In this regard, Tokikake displayed a trait common among the strong of the One Piece World—strange stubbornness.

Nearly everyone standing at the pinnacle of this world possessed their own unique ambitions or some peculiar obsession.

Whitebeard’s desire for family, Kaido’s thirst for slaughter and death—these people had never suppressed their desires, nor had they ever been persuaded otherwise. They were exceptionally honest with their hearts.

Nearly every one of them possessed an obstinacy that would not change until death.

Bai Cangshu was not sure whether such abnormal mindsets had some connection to their tremendous power.

But he was certain that this Admiral Candidate before him was also walking this same path.

Splash, splash~

The waves churned as the warship rapidly departed the fleet and advanced toward the target waters.

Once they had gained sufficient speed, Tokikake leaped back onto the ship. He raised his head and shouted toward the sky.

"Enel, surrender yourself!"

His voice echoed through the outer waters of Skuld Island.

Onigumo and the others watched everything from ten nautical miles away.

They were ready to intervene in battle at any moment.

At the same time, Vergo and the others had broken into smaller groups. Once the battle began, they would infiltrate Skuld Island and investigate the truth behind Eldorado.

This was the Marines’ first-stage battle plan.

Bai Cangshu had no particular opinion on it. He knew the Marine higher-ups were likely under pressure from the World Government and wanted to quickly confirm whether Eldorado existed before proceeding with later operations.

But this strategy was nothing more than a dangerous gamble.

If Tokikake suffered a crushing defeat, this group of elite Marines would suffer a devastating blow as well.

Rumble~

Muffled thunder began to explode in the sky.

Dalmatian’s feet transformed into beast paws. He activated his Devil Fruit Ability right away and entered Human-Beast Form. Everyone focused intently on the sky.

Through their Observation Haki, an extremely dangerous premonition had already enveloped the surroundings.

Crackle~

The next moment, blue-white lightning began flashing through the air.

Tokikake raised his head, his eyes shifting as he watched the flickering electricity all around the sky.

Then he looked up and saw blue-white lightning suddenly crash down from the heavens.

Tokikake vanished in an instant.

Crack!

Blinding lightning swallowed everyone’s vision.

"Marines, it seems you still haven’t learned how to respect a god."

Enel’s figure flickered several times before condensing into physical form.

His upper body was bare, several drums on his back seeming to grow directly from his body. His earlobes were astonishingly long, like two dangling earrings.

Enel’s eyelids drooped as he sat cross-legged in the air. He was not particularly surprised by the Marines’ arrival.

After all, as the rulers of these seas in name, they were bound to challenge a god like him eventually.

Whoosh!

Tokikake instantly appeared before Enel, his pitch-black fist shooting toward Enel’s chest.

Crackle~

Enel’s body dispersed of its own accord, turning into several currents of electricity that scattered in every direction. Tokikake stepped through the air dozens of times, appearing in an instant along the path where one current was spreading.

Enel happened to reform there at that very moment. Tokikake threw a punch, causing the air to burst repeatedly as a sonic boom cloud exploded.

Enel had only just condensed when the violent wind made the skin of his face ripple.

Bang!

His head exploded instantly.

From far behind, even the Observation Haki of the Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals could only sense a rough outline due to the immense distance.

At this moment, several of them were stirred.

"Vice Admiral Tokikake won?!"

Dalmatian wanted to rush over in support, but the next moment—

Violent lightning abruptly exploded.

Chaton’s figure fell from the air trailing black smoke and plunged into the sea.

Bai Cangshu withdrew his gaze, turned, and lowered a lifeboat into the ocean by himself.

Brina frowned.

"You’re going ashore?"

Bai Cangshu nodded, then said to the ambitious woman,

"Woman, if the Marines are going to launch a full-scale attack, you can suggest they do it seven days from now."

Then he followed Vergo’s infiltration squad and vanished into the sea fog that had reappeared due to the lightning strike.

Elsewhere, Tokikake, having fallen into the sea, stepped through the air and rose again. He fled toward the rear, his expression still calm.

Enel’s Devil Fruit Ability was indeed too powerful. Even with the strength of his Armament Haki, he had nearly been killed in an instant.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Several figures stepped through the air from behind as the Marine Vice Admirals began to gather.

Tokikake knew that the gap between his strength and that of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was not great. He might have been stronger than those at the bottom, but he was weaker than the ones at the top.

Therefore, after learning that Doflamingo had been defeated, he knew he alone would likely be unable to match the opponent.

But he was not the only Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral who had come this time.

The Marines had always excelled at crushing enemies with superior force.

Boom!

Knowing Enel was stronger than them, the Marine Vice Admirals fought in a particularly clever manner.

Dalmatian rushed forward in an instant, blasting apart both the air around him and everything before his fist, then vanished immediately.

The hair on Onigumo’s back moved freely like arms, drawing several blades as he activated Life Return.

With a swing, Flying Slashes tore through the air.

The Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals possessed strong Observation Haki and moved at extreme speeds. They dodged Enel’s lightning strikes repeatedly before they landed.

Furthermore, in a multi-person battle, Enel’s mind-reading ability was not as convenient as it was in one-on-one combat. The battle unexpectedly reached a temporary stalemate.

After fighting for a while, Enel grew irritated. He spread his arms, and intense lightning instantly expanded from around his body.

"Sixty Million Volts: Discharge!"

The voltage engulfed several hundred meters of space. The Marine Vice Admirals instantly used Moonwalk to evade it, but Enel used the opportunity to gain some distance.

He raised his right hand high.

Over the sea, the ionized particles left behind by every one of Enel’s missed lightning strikes, which had remained condensed without dispersing, began to shine again.

Sensing the attack, Tokikake recalled Brina’s and Bai Cangshu’s warnings and immediately shouted,

"Careful, it’s that move!"

Dalmatian’s heart sank. He swiftly swept his eyes around. The range of the opponent’s ability was so great that among all the Logia-type Devil Fruit users he had seen, perhaps only Marine Admiral Aokiji could rival it.

The men exchanged looks, then all kicked off at once and charged toward the sea. Even Dalmatian, a Devil Fruit Ability User, was no exception.

Splash!

The instant they plunged into the sea, terrifying lightning once more completely electrolyzed the space spanning more than ten nautical miles.

Against ordinary lightning strikes, entering the water would be utterly useless. But when facing this wide-range Devil Fruit Ability attack, diving into the sea was the only solution the Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals could think of.

Seawater could not nullify Devil Fruit Abilities, but it could exert a certain effect on them.

For example, those ionized particles would not spread beneath the sea surface.

A Logia-type Devil Fruit user’s attacks could affect the sea, but they could not actively spread the elementalized parts of their own body beneath its surface.

Like Aokiji: although he could freeze the sea, he still could not transfer himself into the water. Lightning was the same.

By hiding beneath the surface, they would still suffer lightning conducted through the water, but they would not be wrapped in countless ionized particles as they would in the air and roasted into charcoal.

The moment Dalmatian entered the sea, he lost his ability to move. Onigumo grabbed him, plugging his nose and mouth with hair. Armament Haki covered their bodies as they protected Dalmatian in the middle.

Crack!

Intense lightning crashed into the sea. Their bodies all convulsed, but they did not lose consciousness.

The next moment, they kicked off and reappeared above the sea surface.

Dalmatian was still somewhat weak after leaving the sea, but he quickly recovered after moving a few times.

Seeing that they remained full of vitality despite being struck by his Raigo, Enel’s face darkened completely.

"Don’t you know that dying in accordance with a god’s will is a form of mercy?"

Under Tokikake’s horrified gaze, Enel raised his right hand again, and the ionized particles in the air lit up once more.

"Does this ability have no limits at all…"

At the same time, Enel sneered.

"You don’t seriously think that just because you keep me here, those bugs you sent onto the island will have a good ending, do you?"

"Did that woman Brina tell you about the legend of the ghosts… Yahahaha!"

Crackle~ Boom!

Bai Cangshu rowed his boat and approached the beach once more. Turning back, he saw Blazing White lightning engulfing all vision again. He narrowed his eyes and turned away.

Perhaps next time, a real Marine Admiral would come.

Bai Cangshu lowered his heartbeat, breathing, and pulse, entering that "concealed" state once again. But then, fierce winds suddenly rose over the sea.

A vast amount of white fog blew in from the outer sea, as if it would drown the entire world.

Bai Cangshu turned back and frowned at the distant sea. The fog created where Enel’s Raigo had electrolyzed the ocean had clearly not yet spread this far.

Where had this white fog come from…

The next moment, the white fog completely swallowed the beach where Bai Cangshu stood.

Vergo and that group of elite Marines who had landed alongside him vanished from Bai Cangshu’s sight in an instant.

Not only from his sight—even his sharp hearing could no longer detect the group’s presence.

Huff~

Bai Cangshu slowly exhaled a breath of murky air, and clear white mist appeared. The temperature here was abnormally low, so low that condensation had formed.

Bai Cangshu blinked, then suddenly saw a familiar figure condense out of the white fog.

That "Officer Corey" appeared from the mist again. However, this time, he was not alone. Bai Cangshu could see clearly that behind him, within the white fog, were hundreds upon thousands of ghosts. Together, they came ashore through the mist, then headed toward the mountains where Eldorado was hidden.

Bai Cangshu narrowed his eyes at the sight.

There was something wrong with this world…