One Piece: Transmigrated as Crocodile

Chapter 356 - CHAPTER 356 - Precision Strike and Threat

"Found them." Enel was drenched in sweat. During a previous meal, Captain Rosen had instructed him: if an emergency arose, expand Observation Haki to its maximum, locate the targets, and have the thunder ready.

"Nothing to worry about? Kill a Celestial Dragon and add a stain to your admiral career—don't mind that, right? Strike her!" Rosen commanded.

Previously, Rosen had refrained from killing that mad Celestial Dragon to avoid drawing an admiral's attention. Now that an admiral had appeared, there were no such concerns.

Aokiji's face darkened at Rosen's words—he cared! If a Celestial Dragon were killed during his mission, the aftermath would be disastrous. The World Nobles would be infuriated, and his competence would be heavily questioned.

"Wait…"

Crack! A bolt of lightning suddenly shot from the man with long earlobes and a drum on his back toward the sky. Coupled with Rosen's words, Aokiji instantly sensed trouble.

He tried to intercept the lightning mid-air, but as he activated Soru, Rosen intercepted him with a single punch.

"Damn it." Aokiji couldn't escape and could only watch the lightning vanish from sight.

Rosen, well-prepared and taking advantage of the situation, struck Aokiji back onto the ice, his expression grim.

Killing a Celestial Dragon… was this really happening?

"Trash! All of you! How is the security in Sabaody Archipelago? Even my brother was beaten! What are the Marines doing?!" Saint Shalria, still recovering from her injuries, was seething.

Though she had just killed that fool Alberton, her anger lingered. She now wanted the pirates responsible punished as well.

She awaited a Marine admiral's arrival to aid in capturing those despised pirates and vent her rage.

"Saint Shalria, Admiral Aokiji has arrived…" a Marine colonel reported, enduring her scolding. Before he could finish, a blinding flash of light and thunderclap enveloped Saint Shalria.

Boom! She didn't even scream before being obliterated by the lightning, leaving a bottomless crater slowly filling with seawater.

"Saint Shalria!!"

"What have you done?" Aokiji's gaze turned darker than ever. His intuition told him Rosen's words were no idle threat.

"I think you'll find out soon. The other two are also on the island," Rosen said, looking at Enel.

Enel held three photographs, all of Celestial Dragons Rosen recognized. Taking their photos was trivial—the Celestial Dragons traveled flamboyantly.

"BOSS!" Robin and the others were stunned. Rosen had just ordered Enel to precisely kill a Celestial Dragon?! This was madness! And it seemed to be for Robin's sake? Since when had Rosen become so ruthless?

"Seems there's history between these two," Hathaway thought. Killing a Celestial Dragon wasn't shocking to her, but she couldn't help feeling a bit envious…

Robin's eyes welled up with tears as she watched Rosen.

"Brrr… brrr…" Aokiji attempted to speak, but a Den Den Mushi rang, confirming his worst fears.

"Admiral Kuzan, something terrible! A lightning bolt just struck Saint Shalria—she's dead!"

"What?!" Aokiji was unsettled. This was serious.

"Ah, so satisfying. Those I dislike… gone. Aokiji, shouldn't you leave? There's no answer for you here," Rosen felt a grim satisfaction. Killing no longer shocked him—but he only killed those who deserved it.

"You're insane! Committing such a grave crime and expecting to leave unscathed?" Aokiji barked. Letting the culprit escape would ruin his Marine career.

He never imagined that a new crew member, worth less than 500 million Berries and from across half of Sabaody Archipelago, could execute such precise strikes. His Observation Haki must be extraordinarily powerful.

"The other two are found and under control," Enel reported.

"See? One Celestial Dragon dead, you may face some blame. But if two more die, even an admiral's career might be ruined," Rosen said calmly, lighting a cigar. Though he didn't dislike Aokiji, he would use every means against an enemy.

"You're threatening me?" Aokiji asked, recovering slightly. It seemed Rosen had anticipated this.

"Yes," Rosen admitted.

"Aren't you afraid of the World Government hunting you?" Aokiji was puzzled. They only targeted someone seemingly irrelevant—why escalate so far?

"If we don't kill them, will you spare me? Debts don't weigh me down, and soon I'll face these problems anyway. You don't care much for Celestial Dragons, right? Higher position, different view of justice. Ten seconds—leave now, or two more die. Even if you don't care, you're still part of this system," Rosen said flatly.

"Not so easy to say," Aokiji replied, not admitting his feelings in front of a pirate.

"Seven seconds left." Rosen counted down calmly.

"Hope you don't regret this." Aokiji considered briefly, then decided to leave. Another two deaths would be catastrophic.

He was an admiral, but he couldn't bear such a loss.

"Oh, by the way, if you have future issues with our vice captain, check with me first. Otherwise, I might do things I usually wouldn't—attack Marine bases, intercept Celestial Dragons, do what a real pirate should. You can tell all of Marine Headquarters this. I'm serious," Rosen warned.

Aokiji paused briefly, then continued on. Rosen, the "Sand Crocodile," differed greatly from intelligence reports. More recent data would be necessary for future planning.

"We'll leave here for now," Rosen told Enel and the others. The location was exposed; they couldn't linger. This was only the beginning of the storm.

"What about the ice?"

"No problem—Great Collapse!" Rosen leapt onto the ice, activating his destruction power. The ice shattered and instantly melted into the air.

"This is going to be troublesome," Aokiji muttered. First priority: secure the Celestial Dragons.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Sabaody Archipelago…

"Haha, already here? So where's the enemy?" Ramirez leaped from his ship, crossing over a thousand meters toward Sabaody Archipelago.

He wielded a massive blood-red cleaver. Landing, he shattered the ground within hundreds of meters—unimaginable strength flowed within his body.