“Use the Prison Bullets! That guy’s a Logia user! Do I really need to remind you of that?!”
To deal with Devil Fruit users, the Marines developed a special ammunition that fires Seastone nets. Since the iron net fixed with Seastone can restrain the movements of Devil Fruit users upon contact, it creates a small prison-like effect, earning it the name Prison Bullet.
However, the Prison Bullet’s firing speed is slow, making it difficult to directly hit pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million berries. The Marines’ usual strategy is to wear down their stamina with regular artillery shells first, then consider using the Prison Bullet.
Due to the high cost of Seastone, Prison Bullets are expensive. Even though the nets can be retrieved, there’s still wear and tear, so they aren’t standard equipment and are limited in number.
If they run out early, the Marines will lose their countermeasures—though this is typically an issue when dealing with Zoan and Paramecia users. Against Logia-type, regular cannonballs are ineffective in depleting their stamina.
Ace was their primary target for capture. Catching a Super Rookie like him at Sabaody Archipelago would be a significant achievement. In that case, there would be no need to engage head-on with pirates from the New World.
In the original timeline, there was still an open position among the Shichibukai at this time. As a rising star and one of the rare Logia User, Ace was offered a position in the Shichibukai at the suggestion of Marine Ensign Isuka.
In the original timeline, Isuka naturally didn’t have the influence to make this happen. However, at that time, her report caught Garp’s attention. Garp had hoped both Ace and Luffy would become Marines, but saw them take the path of pirates instead.
Compared to an ordinary pirate, he believed the Shichibukai position was a better alternative, so he secretly lent a helping hand.
Ace, however, had no interest in becoming a Shichibukai and outright rejected the invitation.
But now, the situation is different. The rapid expansion of the Beasts Pirates had accelerated conflicts across the seas. The Shichibukai roster was already full, and without someone to guide him, there was no possibility for Ace to accept the Shichibukai invitation. Instead, he was seen as a formidable threat as a pirate.
Still, from the Marines’ perspective, a pirate who hadn’t yet entered the New World—even a Logia User—wasn’t as much of a threat as the officers of the Emperors of the Sea. Capturing him would be ideal, but it wasn’t a necessity. That’s why they brought their entire supply of Prison Bullets.
“It seems you’ve agreed.”
While the Marines began switching ammunition, seeing that he hadn’t received a response from Isuka, nor had she attacked him, Ace assumed Isuka had tacitly agreed to his request.
“I admit, my impression of you has changed slightly. However, pirates in Paradise are really naive. Lami, handle it. We’re withdrawing.”
“Leave it to me, Sister Isuka.”
Different individuals have different strengths. Isuka wasn’t adept at group battles; she lacked large-scale AoE skills. It wasn’t that she had none, but those kinds of attacks were hard to control without collateral damage.
Isuka disliked that kind of approach. In contrast, Lami was better suited for such combat.
…
“Move faster!”
There was a stark difference in strength between Marine branches. The branches in Four Seas and Grand Line couldn’t be compared at all.
Even among Grand Line branches, there were significant disparities. For example, G-5 was notorious as the most unruly Marine branch.
The Marines stationed at Sabaody Archipelago didn’t have a specific branch number, but they were undoubtedly one of the most chaotic groups in the Grand Line.
The sneak attack failed to yield any results. The two groups of pirates even stopped fighting each other, which was far from ideal for him. The enemy of an enemy could join forces—a simple truth even pirates understood.
Of course, things developed in a way entirely different from what he expected. Just as he was about to order his subordinates to resume their attack, a girl suddenly appeared in front of him. Isuka, who was standing before Ace just now, had arrived in front of this Rear Admiral.
“Bullet Punch!”
Her dual pincers swung out, leaving behind crimson afterimages, as a series of Bullet Punches struck the chest of the Rear Admiral one after another. She followed up with a sidekick, sending him crashing into a nearby dilapidated ruin.
The already crumbling building collapsed under the force of the impact, burying the Rear Admiral in the rubble.
“Sir!”
Even his lieutenant nearby hadn’t realized what had happened. In the chaos of battle, he didn’t have time to check on his commanding officer because a bigger problem had appeared in their ranks.
A colorful figure darted through the Marine formation, weaving unpredictably and wildly lashing out with two liquid whips. Though there seemed to be no pattern to the attacks, any Marine who was struck would collapse stiffly to the ground within ten seconds.
Marines fell like wheat under a scythe. Whenever the soldiers’ attention focused on one spot, the figure would move to a new location. Although he himself couldn’t use it, the lieutenant immediately recognized the technique.
“Soru?! How do you even know that?!”
“Are you a young master who came here to gild his reputation? Why would your enemy share this kind of information with you?”
Isuka didn’t even bother attacking him as one of her hands was already resting on his shoulder.
“Have a good sleep, Mr. Marine.”
Lami lightly tapped his neck, leaving behind a liquid that quickly seeped into his skin. Within seconds, he experienced the same sensation as his soldiers—a creeping paralysis that spread to his central nervous system, knocking him unconscious as he slumped to the ground.
“Sister Isuka, I was faster than you this time!”
“I didn’t attack because I saw you coming,” Isuka replied.
This was their coordinated tactic: Isuka deals with the strongest enemy leader while Lami uses her ability to swiftly eliminate the grunts. As Who’s-Who’s first student to successfully graduate, Lami was highly proficient in Rokushiki.
Due to her unique ability, she focused on perfecting Soru, allowing her to zip amongst the crowd with near-teleportation speed while using her synthesized toxins to knock them out.
For her, taking down a few hundred troops was just a matter of minutes.
…
At this point, Ace was still frozen mid-punch. Even someone like him would typically choose to retreat when faced with the Marines. His original plan had been to break through the encirclement, but Isuka and Lami wiped out the entire Marine squad before he even had the chance to attack.
This was exactly why Isuka called him naive. Against Marines of this caliber, she didn’t need to join forces with anyone.
“Stop staring. The trouble’s coming back….”
“Deuce? You’re okay?”
“I’m not sure. That girl tapped me earlier, and now I can move again. But that’s not important. Don’t you think we should figure out how to end this situation?”
Within a few minutes, the Marines surrounding the area had been taken care of, then Isuka’s gaze returned to Ace.
“This time, I’ll let it slide. You can leave.”
Seeing that Isuka had no intention of fighting them anymore, Deuce hurriedly tried to pull Ace away, but Ace wouldn’t budge an inch.
“Can you tell me… where you’re taking those kids?”
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!