Chapter 876: Chapter 533: Gin and Sanji, Battle of Reunion! (Part 2)
A string of ability activations—whether it was him or Kid, neither of them was feeling great right now.
"How’s that?!"
Kid swung his mechanical arm and yelled, "How’s the taste of this great lord’s power? Not too pleasant, huh?!"
This continuous surge of Repulsive Force wasn’t just simply pushing someone away; the impact it carried, even with Haki...
"Not bad."
BOOM!!
Before Kid’s thoughts could settle, the dust that had been blasted up was swept away by a raging wind, spiraling as it blew the smoke apart.
Within that spiral wind, Kid and Law instinctively looked up, their eyes full of disbelief, with a hint of panic.
In the whirlwind, Sage’s cloak fluttered with the wind, his body drifting within it, without a single injury on him.
He stepped forward, and the wind gently carried him ahead, then slowly set him down.
"Sealing off my thunderclouds, not a bad idea. But who told you... that the thunderclouds are the Homiez’ true bodies?"
Sage bared his teeth in a grin and reached back to undo his cloak. As the cloak billowed in the wind and kept rising, the sky, which had been relatively clear, began to grow thick with dark clouds.
Massive thunderclouds rose into the high sky, their shadows gradually covering the two men beneath. As their gazes followed the mass upward, they could see that huge bank of clouds completely merging with the sky, becoming the dark canopy hanging high above.
"My Homiez are different from Big Mom’s. After I stole them from her, they fused with the things I carry with me. Thunderclouds are nothing—I can mass-produce them anytime I want... You can seal off one cloud, but can you seal off the entire sky?"
Sage looked at the two whose faces had hardened, spread his arms, and lined up his left and right feet, smiling as he said:
"You dragged me down because you want to fight me? Fine, have it your way. Let me see just how much you two have grown."
"Don’t look down on people!"
Kid roared, "I’ll definitely beat you!"
Law drew his Long Sword Kikoku and took a deep breath. "Looks like this won’t be over for a while."
"Heh-heh-heh-heh... Nice confidence. I wonder how long it’ll take to crush it. Will Kaido beat Straw Hat first, or will I beat you two first?"
Sage glared at the two of them, and at once a shockwave gathered right above their heads, exploding in an instant and blowing both of them backward.
Swish!
In that same instant, Sage reached the two of them, one hand on each of their heads, slamming them toward each other.
BANG!!
Inside the keep.
Sanji was bound up in a spider web, and a woman so huge she was practically gigantic was pounding his face with a fist clad in a Finger Tiger.
"Ah... what a cute guy. You’d rather die than lay a hand on a lady, huh?"
One of the "Toby Roppo," standing a full eight-point-two meters tall, Black Maria, was punching Sanji in the face again and again, her smile gentle as she said:
"But if this keeps up, you’re going to get beaten to death, you know. Why don’t you try resisting a little? I’m being very generous with you."
"I-I’ll never raise a hand against a lady!"
Sanji spat out a mouthful of blood and said firmly, "Even if I die, I’ll never attack any lady! Save me! Robin-chan!!"
"You really are adorable, but you’re not being good. You mustn’t be such a flirt."
Black Maria tightened her Finger-Tiger-clad fist, her gentle smile twisting into a ferocious grin. "I need to turn you into someone who can’t live without me first!"
Whoosh!
The Finger Tiger swung, bringing a gust of wind with it as it went straight for Sanji’s face.
At that moment, a blaze of crimson suddenly appeared in front of Sanji and smashed straight into Black Maria’s face, sending her flying with a cry of pain.
Maybe it was the light streaming in from outside, or maybe his vision was already blurred from the beating, but to Sanji, that figure that appeared was covered in a sakura-colored glow. As the figure landed, the silhouette was gentle and graceful like that of a Divine Maiden...
Sanji’s eyes slowly widened. "Ro..."
"Mr. Sanji."
Crack!
It was like some kind of filter shattered. A deep voice entered his ears, and when he focused, there was no Robin to be seen.
Right now, a crew-cut man was standing with his back to him, his whole body shimmering crimson. Under the light refracted through the freshly blasted hole in the wall, that fiery-red body was cast in a sakura-tinted glow.
"You..." Sanji murmured.
The crew-cut man let the flames in his hands go out, and in a wave of melting and reshaping, they turned into two war hammers. He slung one over his shoulder, slowly turned his head, and smiled.
"It’s been a while, Mr. Sanji. This time, I’ve repaid the debt I owed you for saving my life."
"Why are you a guy, Gin!!" Sanji’s eyes rolled white as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Gin: "..."
Master Sage went up to Ghost Island, while they took a ship straight for the mainland of Wano Country, aiming to wipe out all of Kaido’s underlings.
Originally they were ready to start fighting the moment they made landfall, but looking at it now, something’s off—Wano Country is already in the middle of a war. Just as well, it saves Lily and the others some trouble; now they can just head straight for the capital here.
Their speed wasn’t slow either. The grunts were riding motorcycles, the officers directly used Soru, and after blazing into the Flower Capital they immediately scattered to act according to the situation.
As for Gin, he headed straight to the location inside the keep, and by sheer coincidence, he sensed a familiar aura and rushed over.
Then he saw Sanji being beaten up.
Gin threw a punch, the crutch-hammer in his hand once again turning into molten iron, burning and melting away the web that bound Sanji.
"Mr. Sanji, I’ve saved you."
"Ah, thanks a lot!"
Sanji was still seething with anger.
His brain short-circuited—how the hell did he mistake Gin for Robin...
Sanji, who always prided himself on being a ladies’ radar, now only felt ashamed. He’d rather be beaten to death by Black Maria.
Did the aftereffects from those two years of training in the Kamabakka Kingdom still not wear off?
"Sanji? That guy is..."
Just as he undid the bindings, Robin and Brook also arrived here. Robin’s gaze hardened; she first glanced at the huge woman sprawled on the ground, then turned her eyes to Gin and frowned:
"Gin? Why are you here."
She had been to O’hara and knew this old subordinate who had followed Sage since the East Sea days, and had gathered intel on him.
"Demon Man" Gin was the Combat Commander and a permanent member of the Death Star’s crew. He normally wouldn’t be dispatched lightly. Once he moved, that meant...
"Lady Robin."
Gin lowered his head slightly toward Robin. "By Master Sage’s orders, we have..."
His voice paused. Then he lifted his head, his tone turning firm: "Come to take down Kaido."
Those words made Robin’s pupils contract. "So they’ve come..."
After seeing the news of Sage defeating Big Mom, based on what she knew of him, Robin understood that Sage would definitely come to Wano Country to deal with Kaido.
Because in the first half of the New World, only Kaido’s forces stood out like a sore thumb. Once he’s removed, in these seas Sage will be the only remaining "Four Emperors"!
"Yes, Master Sage is already here."
Gin said slowly, "Lady Robin, Mr. Sanji... one of you is Master Sage’s cousin, and the other is my benefactor. I don’t wish to become your enemy. If you’re willing to withdraw from Wano Country, that would be for the best."
"Yohohohoho, an acquaintance? Hello, I’m Brook. Seeing an ally really lets me breathe a sigh of relief—though as a skeleton, I don’t actually have any breath." Brook laughed.
Gin gave him a glance but ignored him, continuing to look at Robin.
"I’m sorry, even though you saved our crewmate."
Robin crossed her arms and said firmly, "But Luffy is challenging Kaido. He’s the man who’s going to become Pirate King. I firmly believe he’ll win. There’s no such thing as us leaving while our Captain stays behind."
"I see..."
Gin closed his eyes and let out a slight sigh. "In that case..."
"Watch out!!"
Sanji suddenly shouted.
"Furisode Wanyudo!"
From directly behind Gin, a mass of flames suddenly surged up, swinging in a half-arc and smashing viciously toward his body.
Boom!!
A long hammer with a flaming wheel on its front end slammed into Gin, and the exploding fire instantly engulfed him.
Black Maria, gripping the long hammer, her lower body transformed into that of a spider, wore a ferocious expression, nothing like her earlier gentleness.
"Go to hell!" she snarled viciously.
But just as the words left her mouth, her expression changed. Within the blazing flames, that unmoving silhouette grew clearer. As the fire spread outward, it revealed Gin’s torso, his upper clothing burned away, his body gleaming with a metallic sheen.
"Then we can only be enemies."
Gin didn’t even look behind him. He just placed one hand on the wheel and slowly pushed it away. The force he exerted left Black Maria unable to hold her ground; she could only let him shove the hammer-wheeled weapon aside.
He said in a low voice, "Unlike last time in Alabasta, Mr. Sanji, I just saved your life and have repaid my debt, so I won’t be merciful anymore. Lady Robin, even though you’re Master Sage’s elder cousin, anyone who stands in the way of Master Sage’s plans..."
He raised his head, his eyes filled with savagery. "Can be executed!"
