Chapter 49: Desperate Straits

Luffy’s emotions quickly spread to his comrades and the bewildered pirates around them. The Straw Hat Luffy’s reputation among pirates was already quite high, and under the lead of the Straw Hat Pirates, the confused pirates soon all began retreating alongside him.

“Hey, why is everyone running away? Damn it! Stop right there!”

A stout man wearing a red vest stormed out, shouting angrily at the pirates.

With all these pirates running back, how was he supposed to test the power of the Pacifistas?

But the more Sentomaru shouted, the faster the pirates fled, and in the blink of an eye, the area was completely cleared.

“What a bunch of despicable scoundrels... Nami, boss! What? I wasn’t insulting you!”

Sentomaru pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed Nami’s number. According to their prior plan, he was responsible for blocking anyone trying to escape toward the port, while Nami was to lead another twelve Pacifistas to corner the remaining pirates.

“Mm-hmm, okay, got it, I’m on my way!”

Sentomaru nodded repeatedly into the Den Den Mushi. Nami, the big boss, was a woman who could even make Admiral Kizaru obedient. If it had been anyone else giving orders, Sentomaru wouldn’t have listened so easily.

Meanwhile, at the plaza, Rayleigh and Kizaru sparred fiercely, exchanging blows back and forth.

Suddenly, they noticed the pirates who had fled earlier were now returning one after another.

Rayleigh wasn’t foolish enough to think they were coming back to fight alongside him. Recalling what Kizaru had said earlier, it was clear the Navy had a prearranged plan.

“You’re not serious about this, are you?”

Rayleigh’s lips twitched. This wasn’t the Kizaru he knew.

Though Rayleigh had been retired for over a decade,

Kizaru, unlike Akainu and Aokiji who had only recently become Admirals, was a prodigy who had risen in the same era as Sengoku and Garp.

Rayleigh had dealt with Kizaru many times before. While his strength was undeniable, his personality and style were utterly chaotic.

If not for his overwhelming power that silenced all objections, he would never have become an Admiral.

This method of operation—seemingly planned in advance to capture every pirate—could this be the work of Aokiji or even Sengoku personally?

“What do you mean by that? I am an Admiral who hates evil with a passion!”

Kizaru said solemnly, even increasing the force of his strikes against Rayleigh, making their fight appear more serious, though it was obvious they were still just playing.

Rayleigh suddenly felt a sharp pain in his teeth.

Kizaru’s unspoken message was clear: he was putting on a show, and Rayleigh had to play along.

Otherwise, if they tore off the mask, it would be a real fight, and then it would be every man for himself...

If it had been ten or twenty years ago, Rayleigh wouldn’t have cared about Kizaru’s threats.

But now, not only was he past his prime, even at his peak, he might not be a match for this man.

Who knew how Kizaru managed it? He wasn’t exactly a diligent type, yet there was a vague sense that he was about to surpass this level.

Even though they were both acting, Rayleigh felt the same oppressive aura he had when facing Whitebeard—it was absurdly overwhelming.

“You all came back too? What about the port side?”

“What can we do? The Navy is everywhere; there’s no way out!”

“We’re doomed, this time we’re really dead!”

…

The pirates, forced back to the plaza, looked around in confusion. Upon closer inspection, everyone had been driven back, the Navy blocking every exit. Apoo and Drake tried to break through together but were driven off by twelve Pacifistas.

Soon, twenty-four Pacifistas appeared from all directions, encircling the pirates at the plaza’s edge.

At this moment, Kizaru and Rayleigh both ceased fighting. The Navy’s target did not include Rayleigh. Even though Kizaru was stronger, capturing such a big fish was no easy task.

Of course, if Kizaru chose to use his Devil Fruit ability fully, defeating and capturing Rayleigh would be just a matter of time.

But if they touched Rayleigh, they’d have to deal with Red-Haired Shanks and the remnants of Roger’s pirate crew in hiding.

Even after Roger’s death, no one dared underestimate the crew who had followed him.

Including Rayleigh as vice-captain, the remnants of Roger’s crew were no weaker than the Yonko-level pirate crews.

More importantly, even if they caught Rayleigh, Fleet Admiral Sengoku wouldn’t give Kizaru a promotion or raise, so Kizaru had no reason to invite trouble.

“Damn Straw Hat! If you don’t get out of here, I won’t let you off!”

Bonney nearly exploded with anger. These rookies among the Supernovas had no right to provoke an Admiral and the Navy’s secret weapon at the same time.

Most pirates were still puzzled by the number of Pacifistas, but Bonney knew they weren’t real bears.

“This is really bad. We’ll probably be killed by the Pacifistas’ attacks. Hopefully, they’ll aim carefully. If we don’t die the first time, we’ll get hit again...”

Robin said calmly, her terrifying words making Usopp, Koby, and Chopper—the timid trio—shiver uncontrollably.

“Straw Hat Captain, a few of us are planning to break through together. Do you want to join?”

Law, carrying his sword, approached. Behind him were Drake, Apoo, and the injured Kid.

Hawkins and Ulti seemed to have declined the proposal. After experiencing the despair of being crushed by Kizaru, the Supernovas realized they weren’t as strong as they thought.

Even united, they couldn’t contend with someone like Kizaru. It was better to scatter and aim for smaller targets, increasing their chances of escape.

“Ah, count me in!”

Luffy, unusually serious, said in a low voice. Though he didn’t think beating the Celestial Dragons was wrong, he couldn’t deny that because of him, his crew had fallen into such a dangerous situation.

No matter what, he would lead the Straw Hat crew out of the Sabaody Archipelago, even if it meant a battle against an Admiral!

“Rayleigh should be able to hold off Kizaru. We must take advantage of the time when Kizaru can’t act to break through the Navy’s encirclement in one direction.”

Law whispered. With so many pirates, they couldn’t all escape together; that would be too slow and too conspicuous.

Drake and Apoo only planned to take their trusted men; the Straw Hats weren’t many.

Only Kid wanted to bring his entire crew, but he and Killer promised to cover the rear.

Though Kid was severely injured by Kizaru’s strike, considering that Capone Bege and the Fire Tank Pirates were instantly defeated by Kizaru,

and that even the combined Supernovas were no match for Kizaru’s overwhelming power, Kid’s performance wasn’t too bad.

“Wait, what if Rayleigh can’t hold off Kizaru...”

Franky couldn’t help but speak up. Law’s plan relied too heavily on the Pirate King’s right-hand man. If Kizaru was freed, everyone there would be doomed.