Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Immediately, this seemingly dignified and composed "Cobra" touched the ground with one toe and spun around a few times as if dancing the Swan Dance, muttering to himself.

"I'm sorry, but the orders I received do not allow you to pass."

[Chapter 307 Mr. 1]

Meanwhile, Yann's feet, hidden beneath his cloak, moved slowly and awkwardly toward the Alabasta Palace.

However, Yann's eyebrows, hidden beneath the mask, furrowed slightly.

'It seems... we've been discovered...'

With his Observation Haki deliberately sensing his surroundings, Yann clearly noticed that many pirates were brazenly searching for something in the vicinity.

'And something's not right; isn't this a bit too blatant?'

Arn continued walking, but under the detection of his Observation Haki, he perfectly avoided the pirates' search gaze each time, and his pace did not change at all throughout the entire process.

However, the pirates seemed to have known something in advance, as they completely blocked the road leading to the palace in this area, forcing Yann to turn around and continue wandering in other directions.

'Well, taking a stroll under the moon with a little girl isn't such a bad thing. I just hope those palace guards can hurry up, otherwise it'll affect my sleep tonight.'

Princess Vivi, who was hiding in Yann's cloak, quickly sensed the change of direction. She cautiously poked her head out from under the cloak, looked around, and asked tentatively.

"Lord Yasuo, this direction doesn't seem to lead to the royal palace."

Yern glanced down at Princess Vivi's face, which seemed to be flushed pink from being held back inside her cloak, and explained, "The roads in that area were blocked by pirates. To avoid conflict, we had to take a detour."

After a pause, Yarrow asked, "Princess Vivi, are you sure there will be reinforcements?"

“Of course,” Princess Vivi said affirmatively.

"I hope so..."

Yaen whispered something, then gently tucked Princess Vivi's head back into her cloak, his gaze fixed on the distant palace.

Despite using his Observation Haki, Yann has yet to detect any signs of a large gathering of people in the palace.

With a vague suspicion in his mind, Arn whispered to Princess Vivi inside the cloak.

"Excuse me, Princess Vivi, I must speed things up."

Immediately, Yann, who had been letting Princess Vivi hold his arm for leverage, pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. He then quickened his pace, moving away from the area being searched by the pirates with the skill expected of an ordinary swordsman.

Hmm, probably...

In fact, Yann had no idea what level an ordinary swordsman should be at.

After all, some of the pirates with bounties of ten million Berries are also known as sword masters. Gion is one such sword master, but Gion can kill hundreds of pirates with bounties of around ten million Berries in one go without even breaking a sweat.

However, for Yann, the best option is to avoid taking action, send Princess Vivi back to the palace as discreetly as possible, and gain the favor of the blue-haired loli princess.

Since those palace guards were unreliable, Yann simply decided to personally escort Princess Vivi back to the palace.

Immediately, Yann headed towards the palace at a speed that an ordinary swordsman could probably manage, skillfully dodging one pirate after another along the way as if he were a chosen one, and quickly approaching the Alabasta Royal Palace.

……

Meanwhile, in the shadows not far from the palace, several figures stood watching from above as Yann broke through the encirclement and rapidly approached the palace.

"Is it confirmed? Princess Vivi is on that person?"

"There's no mistake. We've already searched the hotel where Princess Vivi was deliberately led. The only possibility is with that person."

"Where did this guy come from, daring to ruin the president's plans?"

"But that guy is so fast! He looks like a swordsman who's especially good at speed."

"Those pirates are really useless; hundreds of them couldn't even stop one person."

Amidst these discussions, a distinctive voice rang out and said...

“The pointless argument can end now. We can’t let that guy get any closer to the palace, Mr. 1. You’re in charge of dealing with him. Let’s get the plan back on track.”

"Yes, sir."

……

Just as Yann was getting close enough to see the royal palace clearly under the night sky, he suddenly stopped.

"The swordsman's keen intuition? He sensed that one more step forward would mean death."

The next moment, at the end of the street, a figure that had been leaning against the wall stood up straight and slowly moved towards Yann.

As they drew closer, Yann was able to make out the figure's appearance.

He was a tall, muscular bald man dressed in a monk-style outfit with snake patterns on both sides of the chest and the character "壱" (yi) tattooed on his chest.

'really……'

Arn's eyes narrowed slightly. With the appearance of the man in front of him, his original guesses had been completely confirmed.

Based on his memories from his previous life, although Yann couldn't remember the name of the guy in front of him, he vaguely remembered that he was one of Crocodile's subordinates.

In other words, is Crocodile, the Logia-type "Sand Sand Fruit" user, already in the Alabasta Kingdom?

"This is really troublesome. Has that guy shown up so early?" Yann muttered helplessly.

"trouble??"

The muscular man, codenamed Mr.1, continued to approach Arn and spoke.

"Is it just a nuisance? Hand over that girl, and you might still have a chance to live."

As Mr. 1's voice rang out clearly, Princess Vivi, hiding under Arn's cloak, knew something was wrong. She instinctively tightened her grip on Arn, and her heart began to race.

If they were to fall into the hands of pirates, Princess Vivi knew what her fate would be, but at the very least, the prestige of the Alabasta royal family would be greatly damaged.

Sensing Princess Vivi's nervousness, Arn replied in a calm tone, "I'm sorry, but I have never had the habit of handing over a girl I hold in my hands."

"is it?"

Mr. 1 said with a sneer, "Then let me help you remove your hands."

The next moment, Mr. 1 brought his five fingers together, bent his arms, and activated his "Quick Cut Fruit" ability.

Suddenly, under the moonlight, Mr.1's arms flashed with a cold light similar to blades, and his figure shot towards Yaen.

Faced with the oncoming Mr. 1, and with Princess Vivi attached to him, Arn was somewhat hampered and could only draw his sword with his remaining hand.

"Ding!"

A burst of sparks illuminated Mr. 1's indifferent expression and the mask on Arn's face.

[Chapter 308 Crocodile's Plan]

"Ding!"

A crisp sound rang out as Mr. 1 passed by Arn.

Just as Mr. 1 passed behind Arn, he turned around and used his "Quick Slash Fruit" ability to transform his hands into blade-like forms, slashing at Arn's back again.

This attack was launched from a blind spot in Arn's vision!

"Master the slash!"

A fierce glint flashed in Mr. 1's calm eyes, and one could vaguely see blood splattering everywhere, his spine severed by his own blade-like hands.

The "Quick Cut Fruit" ability allows Mr. 1 to transform his entire body into a blade-like form at will, giving him movements far more agile than ordinary swordsmen, completely freeing him from the limitations of the range of his weapon swings.

With destructive power comparable to a swordsman, but with high agility when unarmed, this is Mr.1's biggest advantage in fighting against top-tier swordsmen!

"Die!"

However, just when Mr. 1 thought that this unexpected attack was bound to hit, Yaen, who had his back to Mr. 1, took a step forward and perfectly dodged Mr. 1's slash.

? !

Mr.1.

The next moment, the two quickly created distance between them, which made Mr. 1's expression more serious, and he said, "Not bad."

Hearing Mr.1's evaluation, Arn's expression was completely strange.

This guy is so confident.

However, this is the Kingdom of Alabasta, and Yann wanted to keep a low profile. He was also worried that displaying special abilities here would easily reach the ears of the World Government. More importantly, Yann had a little blue-haired girl wrapped around his waist.

This also meant that Yann had to restrain his movements, otherwise he could easily pinch and injure the blue-haired little girl if he used too much force.

Of course, Yann could also consider putting the blue-haired little girl down and quickly killing Mr. 1.

But Yann knew that Crocodile was probably lurking nearby, and under these circumstances, putting the blue-haired little girl down was clearly not a wise choice.

Seeing that Yann had no reaction, Mr. 1 slowly assumed a stance, his hands transforming into blades that emitted a cold glint, and spoke again.

"However, you have no chance of winning. After all, I am the nemesis of all swordsmen. I am the blade myself. Compared to you swordsmen who wield blades, I am not even in the same league."

After a pause, Mr.1 continued.

"I was just worried about hurting the little girl. Now I'll ask you one more time: hand over the little girl."

Yaen slowly raised his Zanpakuto, holding it upright in front of him with one hand, and replied in a slightly hoarse and low voice, "I refuse."

Mr.1 suddenly seemed to remember something and said sarcastically.

"I see, so you wanted to take that little girl hostage? But all of that will be in vain under my 'Quick Cut Fruit' power!"

The next moment, Mr.1 shot towards Arn again.

Of course, Mr.1's speed seemed slow to Arn.

Even with his Observation Haki, Aon was able to clearly perceive every detail of Mr. 1's movements and any subtle changes in his expression.

"Ding!"

With another precise strike, Yone's Zanpakuto accurately blocked Mr. 1's attack.

Immediately, Mr. 1's hands, which had transformed into blades, swung repeatedly, raining down on Arn like a storm.

Despite being severely restricted, and hoping to buy some time with his physical strength and swordsmanship, Arn, who was completing the mission in the most unremarkable way, retreated step by step, but his Zanpakuto perfectly blocked every attack from Mr. 1.

After all, even if Yann's physique was extremely weak, it was still insignificant compared to the strongest beings in the ocean, but...

As Yan felt the power continuously emanating from the Zanpakuto, he felt that this level of power was not a big problem.

As for swordsmanship, Arn has been catching up on his skills in recent years. He wouldn't say he's an expert, but he has no problem with the basic techniques.

But at this moment, the expressions of the several dark figures not far away became serious.