Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Saul, who was himself a giant, lifted a steel object several times his own size. This body structure instantly reminded Yone of a creature—an ant.

All I can say is, they truly are worthy of being called a race of giants.

This innate physical advantage was something that the physically weak Yann could only envy.

The next moment, to Arn's astonishment, Saullo raised the entire naval warship high and hurled it at another naval warship that was firing at him.

If these two warships were to collide, it would inevitably result in the deaths of a large number of naval soldiers.

Instinctively, Yan wanted to intervene to stop the collision between the two warships, but he forcibly stopped himself at the critical moment.

Once they've achieved the feat of saving the lives of over two thousand soldiers and preventing two naval warships from colliding, what a disaster that would be!

I probably won't even have to wait until the next day for CP9 to put my information on the desks of World Government officials, and Sengoku the old man will probably make me a general.

In a flash, Yann reached out and tugged at Kuzan beside him, calling out.

"Lieutenant General Kuzan, what are you standing there for? Aren't you going to make a move?"

Kuzan, who was stunned by Saul's appearance, reacted instantly and appeared directly in front of the warship that was falling like a meteorite in a flash.

"Frozen Moment!"

An unimaginable chill emanated from Kuzan's outstretched hands, enveloping most of the warship's hull in an instant.

Beneath the ship, the sea surface was rapidly frozen, and several ice pillars appeared out of thin air, supporting the massive warship in mid-air.

The soldiers, who were initially terrified, looked at the warship that was frozen in mid-air, and soon noticed Kuzan, whose body was half turned into ice, and couldn't help but cheer.

"Lieutenant General Kuzan!"

On the shore of Ohara, Saul looked at the familiar figure and the vast expanse of ice, his expression becoming extremely solemn, and he murmured something.

"Kuzan, you actually came too?"

Immediately, Saul, realizing what was happening, turned around almost without hesitation, grabbed Robin, and tried to escape!

As Kuzan's close friend, Saul knew all too well just how terrifying Kuzan's strength was; pure brute force was meaningless in front of that man.

However, the next moment, Sauro stopped in his tracks, staring at the figure that had suddenly appeared before him.

Compared to his past passion, Kuzan's expression now resembles an unyielding block of ice, and he is holding a handsome, unfamiliar young man in his hand.

"Kuzan..."

Seeing this, Sauro couldn't help but slowly take a few steps back.

“Sauro, as a former member of the Navy, it would be too shameful for you to break the Buster Call. Surrender now,” Kuzan said coldly, as if the two had no connection whatsoever.

This made Yann glance at Kuzan, his lips pursed slightly, and he thought to himself.

'Kuzan, he was just feeling down about his friend Saul's defection, is he just a tsundere with a cold exterior but a warm heart?'

However, upon seeing his old friend again, Saulo couldn't help but get excited and shouted.

"Kuzan, are you proud of the Buster Call attack? You've got it backwards. You should understand that the World Government is making an example of someone to warn others. They're willing to sacrifice and wipe out the entire Ohara to achieve their goal."

Faced with Saul's questioning, Kuzan replied without changing his expression.

"For the sake of world development and ocean stability, this is unavoidable, and the scholars have indeed violated the World Government's ban, haven't they?"

After a pause, Kuzan looked at Saulona's expression, which seemed devoid of any regret, and said...

"Actually, I understand now. Justice takes different forms depending on one's perspective, so I don't intend to criticize your sense of justice. But if you obstruct the Navy's justice, then I have no choice but to..."

Just then, Yann, who had activated his Observation Haki in advance, suddenly sensed the trajectory of a cannonball, which was completely different from the other cannonballs, and its target was heading towards the refugee ship full of civilians from Ohara Island.

If hit by a shell from this naval warship, the refugee ship will instantly turn into a firework on the sea, and the civilians of Ohara will be forever buried in the ocean.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

In the blink of an eye, the Zanpakuto that Yaon drew with a backhand instantly scattered into pink cherry blossoms, sweeping towards the refugee ship on the sea not far away.

'No, it's too far, I can't reach it!'

With gritted teeth, Ya'en decided to reveal one of his key trump cards, abandoning any pretense of concealment, and actively manipulated the hilt of his Zanpakuto to increase the speed of Sakura's movement.

In an instant, with a flick of the hilt of the sword in Ya'en's hand, the speed at which the cherry blossoms danced increased more than twofold.

In an instant, a pink streak of light appeared on the sea, and a large number of cherry blossoms flew past like a dream, blocking the way in front of the refugee ship.

"Boom!"

The next instant, the shell struck the cherry blossoms, causing a massive explosion that rippled across the sea.

The appearance of this shell completely stunned Kuzan, the civilians on the refugee ship, and the soldiers on the other naval warships.

Amidst the horrified screams of the civilians who had survived the ordeal on the refugee boat, and the lively discussions among the naval soldiers on nearby warships, Kuzan's expression was particularly grim, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Clearly, Kuzan never expected that the righteous Navy would fire on a ship full of civilians seeking refuge, who had been screened by the CP9 organization.

Sauro, who had compassion for the weak, was clearly very agitated and questioned Kuzan.

"Kuzan, is this what you call justice? Are these civilians guilty? Why are you slaughtering innocent civilians?"

Kuzan instinctively retorted, "No, I never intended to go to this extent. It was that bastard Sakazuki who did it."

Meanwhile, aboard a distant naval warship, Sakazuki's resolute and iron-blooded expression remained unchanged. His gaze shifted from the vast expanse of cherry blossoms blooming in front of the refugee ship to Yone, who stood beside Kuzan on the shore, and he spoke.

"Where did this brat come from, daring to stop the navy's shelling..."

The adjutant standing beside Sakazuki couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Lieutenant General Sakazuki, should we continue bombarding the refugee ship?"

[Chapter 13. He's a good person]

"Nonsense, since we've already decided to do it, we have to wipe them out completely. Even if they've passed CP9's screening, who knows if there are still archaeologists hiding on the refuge ship..."

After a pause, Sakazuki said without hesitation, "For absolute justice. When dealing with evil, we must leave no room for compromise. Continue bombarding until the refugee ship is blasted into the sea."

"Yes, sir!" The adjutant quickly saluted and then continued to direct the cannons on the naval warships to fire at the refugee ship.

"Bang bang bang!"

Amid the terrified screams of the civilians on the refugee boat, several more shells, powerful enough to easily blast the boat into pieces, rained down on them.

Meanwhile, the seemingly fragile yet beautiful cherry blossoms began to flutter and dance, heading directly toward the cannonballs that had already soared into the air.

"Boom! Boom!"

Almost instantly, the shells that were swept by the cherry blossoms were detonated in mid-air, like pink fireworks blooming on the sea.

"That bastard, he still won't stop..."

Kuzan was deeply disturbed by Sakazuki's continued shelling of the refugee ship, a brutal killing of innocent civilians that deeply challenged the justice Kuzan had upheld in the past.

"Yarn, you hold off Saul, I'll be right back."

After uttering those words, Kuzan instantly transformed into a blast of cold air and hurtled towards Sakazuki's naval warship, roaring angrily.

"Sakazuki, you bastard, what are you trying to do? Stop it right now!"

The next moment, lava and ice rose simultaneously from Sakazuki's naval warships.

Clearly, no one expected that during such an important naval military operation as the Buster Call, Kuzan and Sakazuki, two irreconcilable individuals, would actually start fighting each other in front of numerous naval officers and soldiers due to their ideological clashes.

……

Ya'en.

Immediately, Yann stiffly turned his head slowly to look at Saul, whose finger was bigger than his whole body, and cursed inwardly.

'Kuzan, you idiot! Taking me ashore is one thing, but leaving me here to hold off Saul? With my skinny arms and legs, how am I supposed to stop him?'

To Arn's surprise, Saul's attitude was quite friendly. He showed no intention of making a move, but instead bent down and asked.

"Your name is Ya'en? Are you in the Navy?"

“No, I’m not,” Yann answered truthfully.

"Then how come you're with Kuzan?" Saul asked.

“I…I was forced…” Yann continued to answer truthfully.

"That……"

Sauro turned to look at the naval warships in the distance, which were spewing forth large amounts of lava and ice, and said, "Yarn, do you want to run away with me?"

"Huh?!" Yann was slightly taken aback, not expecting Saul to say such a thing.

Saullo then said...

"I guess you were supposed to be recruited into the Navy by Kuzan, but you ended up taking Sakazuki's artillery fire to save civilians."

After a pause, Saul continued, "Given Sakazuki's personality, he might do something bad to you afterwards. Why don't you run away with me?"

Yone's lips twitched slightly as he declined Saul's offer, saying, "Thank you for your concern, but it's alright. I have reasons for needing to stay in the Navy."

"Hehehe, so that's how it is. You already have your own sense of justice to believe in?"

Sauro let out his peculiar laugh and said.

"Your willingness to take great risks to oppose Sakazuki in order to protect civilians is commendable, and seeing you is a sign of good justice."

Immediately afterwards, Saulro's expression turned serious, and he spoke.

"Anyway, I have to take advantage of the fact that Kuzan and Sakazuki are fighting to start my escape. Yann, since you want to run away with me and want to stop me, then try it."

To be honest, Yann didn't want to stop Saul, not only because he didn't want to make a name for himself, but more importantly because Yann highly respected Saul.

only……

As Arn flicked the hilt of his sword slightly, the cherry blossoms that had been protecting the refugee ship instantly spun around, dancing around Arn and speaking.

"I'm sorry, Saul, but I still have to take some action."

Sometimes, even if he doesn't want to, he still has the resolve to wield his sword.

As Sengoku's adopted son, Yann might be able to save the refugee ship in this "Buster Call" military operation closely watched by the World Government, driven by his personal beliefs.

However, from the perspective of the son of the Warring States, it is not possible to remain indifferent to Saul's escape under these circumstances.

Otherwise, Yan's actions might bring unnecessary trouble and suspicion to Sengoku.

This is something that Yann will not allow.

"I'm sorry, but even if it's just for show, it's necessary."

Yaen sighed inwardly, and then a large number of cherry blossoms rushed towards Sauro.