Water 7, at the Galley-La Company.
The mayor of Water 7, Iceberg, was handling official matters in his office when the door suddenly burst open.
The foreman, Bari, stumbled inside.
Iceberg froze.
The moment he saw Bari's condition, he shot up from his chair in alarm.
"Bari, what happened to you?!"
Bari's face was covered in blood, and one of his arms hung limply at his side. He struggled to catch his breath before urgently shouting,
"This is bad! Those guys from CP9 are back!"
"What?!"
Iceberg's expression changed instantly.
"You mean Lucci and the others? How is that possible? Weren't they still being hunted by the World Government?"
Bari wiped the blood from his face, his expression grim.
"It's them, I know I'm not mistaken. They injured many of our shipwrights. Kashi and Oimo are fighting them right now!"
Kashi and Oimo, the two giant warriors who had remained in Water 7, had yet to leave. As members of the Giant Warrior Pirates, their strength was naturally extraordinary.
Iceberg immediately nodded.
"Let's go! Gather the guards, we're going to support them!"
Without another word, he rushed out of the office.
Because of that, he failed to notice the conflicted expression on Bari's face.
Bari clenched his teeth and muttered to himself,
"No... this shouldn't be possible. I must've seen wrong..."
...
At Dock 1, the battle had already turned chaotic.
The surrounding buildings had been heavily damaged, debris scattered across the area.
Kashi and Oimo, both heavily injured, were desperately swinging their giant axe and spiked club against six comparatively tiny figures dressed in black suits.
Kashi roared as he swung his massive axe downward at Lucci.
Lucci instantly used Moonwalk to leap into the air, combining it with Shave to dodge the attack effortlessly.
Boom!
The axe smashed into the ground, completely missing its target.
Kashi widened his eyes and searched around frantically, but Lucci had vanished.
Then, a cold voice sounded from behind him.
"Tempest Kick, Rankyaku Kaiju!"
A massive bird-shaped wind blade tore through the air and struck the back of Kashi's neck.
Slash!
Blood sprayed violently.
Kashi let out a pained roar, clutching the back of his neck as one knee slammed into the ground.
Not far away, Oimo was battling the remaining five members of CP9.
The moment he saw Kashi injured, anxiety surged through him.
"Kashi!"
He immediately turned to help.
But just then,
"Soap Sheep!"
Kalifa's voice rang out.
Large masses of slippery white soap suddenly spread beneath Oimo's feet, covering the ground like a thick carpet.
Caught off guard, Oimo slipped instantly.
His massive body crashed backward.
Boom!
Before he could recover, long strands of hair suddenly wrapped tightly around his neck like restraints.
The suffocating pressure made Oimo's eyes widen.
His spiked club slipped from his grip as he desperately clawed at the restraints around his throat.
Kumadori gritted his teeth, his hair tightened through Life Return.
Controlling a giant of this size was clearly difficult, but he still shouted,
"Now!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Kaku, Fukuro, and Jabra instantly appeared before Oimo.
The three attacked simultaneously using the Six Powers.
Punches and kicks rained down mercilessly.
Even a giant could not withstand such concentrated attacks.
Oimo's eyes rolled back.
His enormous body finally went limp.
On the other side, Lucci had already closed the distance with Kashi.
"Six King Gun!"
Boom!
The devastating strike landed directly on Kashi.
The giant warrior trembled violently before collapsing to the ground.
Both giants had been defeated.
At that moment, Iceberg finally arrived with a group of guards.
Standing atop Kashi's forehead, Lucci slowly turned to look at him.
His body shifted back into human form.
His expression remained cold and indifferent, as if Iceberg and the guards were beneath notice.
Behind him, Kaku and the others used Shave, instantly appearing beside Lucci.
Iceberg's expression darkened.
"Lucci, you came back here just to cause trouble? Aren't you afraid of being arrested by the World Government?"
Lucci merely stared at him in silence.
Jabra sneered from behind.
"Iceberg, we work for the World Government. Are we supposed to arrest ourselves?"
Iceberg's unease deepened.
He swallowed hard and was about to speak again.
Suddenly, Lucci's eyes narrowed.
Shave!
His figure vanished.
In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Iceberg.
A finger shot toward Iceberg's eye.
The guards behind him had no time to react.
Just as Iceberg was about to lose an eye,
"Enough."
A flat, indifferent voice echoed through the area.
Lucci's fingertip stopped less than a centimeter from Iceberg's eyeball.
Iceberg's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead.
Only then did the guards react, hurriedly raising their weapons.
But in the next second, something horrifying happened.
Their shadows suddenly rose from the ground.
Like living creatures, they restrained their owners and forced them down.
The bizarre scene shocked everyone present.
Even Lucci subconsciously glanced at his own shadow.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and knelt on one knee toward a distant direction.
Kalifa and the others immediately followed suit.
Iceberg instinctively looked where they were facing.
A relatively undamaged clock tower stood in the distance.
Under the sunlight, he could vaguely make out a dark figure standing at the top.
Iceberg blinked hard, trying to get a clearer look.
But the moment he blinked, the figure vanished.
The next second,
A tall, slender figure stood directly before him.
Iceberg staggered backward in shock.
When he raised his head to see the newcomer clearly, his entire body stiffened.
His face turned pale.
"You... you've got to be kidding me..."
Bari finally arrived, dragging his injured body.
The moment he saw the figure, despair filled his eyes.
His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to his knees.
Lucci lowered his head respectfully.
"Saint Lloyd."
The person standing there was Saint Lloyd.
He casually raised a hand.
Lucci and the others immediately understood and rose to their feet.
Behind Lloyd, a door materialized out of thin air.
Bruno stepped out from within.
Earlier, he had remained atop the tower, quietly preparing drinks for Lloyd.
After all, during his undercover years, he had worked as a bartender. It was only natural for him to handle such tasks.
Lloyd glanced at Iceberg.
Instantly, Iceberg's body trembled violently.
Forcing a stiff smile onto his face, he spoke cautiously,
"To think the Celestial Dragon Marshal would personally visit Water 7... I wonder what brings you here?"
Lloyd looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"You were involved in building the Straw Hat Pirates' ship, correct?"