Seeing Daren soar into the sky and vanish into the distance in the blink of an eye, the three Vice Admirals hurried over, unable to hide the envy in their eyes.
Flight was an exceedingly rare ability—across this vast sea, only a handful of Devil Fruits could grant it, making it even rarer than Logia abilities in some respects.
But they knew this wasn't something they could envy into existence.
"Vice Admiral Borsalino, what should we do next?"
"The cannons are fully deployed and ready to fire at any time!"
The three Vice Admirals, eyes fixed on the island growing larger in the distance, couldn't help but ask.
They were all older than Borsalino, at least in their forties or fifties, highly experienced elite Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters, each with formidable strength.
However, a Buster Call was an exceedingly rare event.
Some Vice Admirals spent their entire careers without ever being part of one. Now that they had the chance, they were naturally eager to act.
"Why don't we follow him and open fire directly?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Borsalino, we could support Vice Admiral Daren with heavy artillery."
The three Vice Admirals looked at Borsalino expectantly.
Normally, they were Borsalino's seniors, and their ranks were the same.
In this operation, they only needed to follow the orders of the commander—Daren.
But Daren hadn't given any orders at all. He had simply broken away from the main force and rushed ahead toward the target, leaving them no choice but to ask Borsalino for guidance.
After all, Borsalino wasn't just a Vice Admiral of the Headquarters; he was also Admiral Sengoku's adjutant, representing Sengoku's authority to some extent.
More importantly, in the Marines, strength spoke louder than anything else.
The strong held the right to speak, and they understood this well.
"Sorry, but I'm not the commander of this operation. I don't have the authority to order an attack," Borsalino said, scratching his head with a helpless expression.
The three Vice Admirals froze.
Borsalino casually turned around, lay down on a beach chair, picked up a glass of watermelon juice someone had prepared, and said with a teasing smile,
"Let's just cruise around the island."
"We've been rushing nonstop to get here. Everyone's tired, aren't they? Let's take this chance to relax a little."
He raised his glass of watermelon juice with a grin.
Watching the show?
The corners of the three Vice Admirals' mouths twitched as they instantly caught on to Borsalino's true intention, their faces darkening.
They had always been dutiful and had never acted like this before.
Especially when Admiral Sengoku had taken this mission so seriously, even going so far as to issue a Buster Call!
"But Vice Admiral Borsalino, are we really not going to support Vice Admiral Daren?"
"Wouldn't that be... irresponsible?"
"Vice Admiral Daren is undeniably strong, we acknowledge that. But that's Douglas Bullet! The 'Demon Heir' of Roger's pirate crew!"
"Yeah, and Vice Admiral Daren's injuries aren't fully healed yet. If something happens to him..."
Borsalino looked at their anxious faces and chuckled,
"If you think you can intervene in a battle between those two, then be my guest."
He took a leisurely sip of watermelon juice and made a casual gesture.
"Well, if you're not afraid of dying, that is."
The three Vice Admirals stiffened.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from behind them.
The violent blast stirred up massive waves, causing the colossal warship, sturdy as a fortress, to shake violently.
The overwhelming noise made the three Vice Admirals' expressions change. They quickly turned around.
Focusing their gazes, what they saw made their eyes widen in shock, their pupils shrinking into pinpricks.
The island was engulfed in a towering inferno, flames roaring upward like giant wings.
Through the raging fire, a towering, inhuman figure slowly emerged.
Fierce winds whipped his wide white cloak into a frenzy, and the flickering flames cast his silhouette in a mysterious, overwhelming light.
In front of him, a massive shadow as tall as a skyscraper surged upward, breaking through the thick black smoke with unstoppable momentum, letting out an earth-shaking roar.
It was a war giant, its entire body bristling with countless cannons!
The war giant, towering like a mountain, was covered from head to toe with heavy artillery.
Every step it took made the earth tremble and groan, making the lone Marine Vice Admiral facing it seem impossibly small...
"Demon Heir" Douglas Bullet!
Latest bounty... 2,174,000,000 Belly!
"Kahahahaha! Daren, you're finally here!"
The war giant let out a deafening laugh, with the town behind him reduced to scorched earth, like a hellish beast crawling out of the ruins, crushing everything in its path.
"Come on! Let's have a thrilling battle!"
As soon as he finished speaking, countless shells and missiles shot out from the cannons on the giant's body, trailing flames like a storm, and covered the Vice Admiral of the Marines.
"What fierce firepower!"
"This is just as good as a Buster Call!"
"This is Douglas Bullet!"
The three Vice Admirals' faces changed drastically, and they gasped.
However, at that moment...
The three Vice Admirals and nearly 10,000 Marines on the ten warships saw a terrifying scene that they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
They were all speechless, their hearts pounding, looking as if they had seen a ghost.
Facing artillery fire that could wipe out a town, the Vice Admiral seemed completely oblivious to it, calmly maintaining his pace.
He walked leisurely... toward the sky filled with artillery fire!
Boom!!
Cannon fire rained down!
The Vice Admiral's head, face, body... and the ground around him were covered in a 100-meter radius of destruction!
Continuous bursts of fire exploded across the ground, accompanied by deafening roars.
The earth shook!
It was as if the entire island was trembling.
Amidst the twisted, spreading waves of flame, the Vice Admiral's footsteps did not slow down in the slightest.
The three Vice Admirals could even vaguely see Daren leisurely take out a cigar and light it with the help of the cannon fire!
He was practically taking a stroll!
Gulping...
The three Vice Admirals swallowed hard, their faces stiff and the corners of their eyes twitching.
"Didn't you say you were going to provide support?"
Borsalino's slow voice came from behind them.
The three of them looked at each other nervously, and suddenly their expressions became extremely serious.
"Since Vice Admiral Daren hasn't given the order to attack, let's just wait and see what happens!"
"That's right! That's Vice Admiral Daren's order!"
"I agree!"
The three Vice Admirals said solemnly.