PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

BOOM!!!

The raging aftershock of the Elbaf Spear: Sovereign Nation collided head-on with Luo Yu's Conqueror's Haki. The resulting winds exploded backward like a reverse hurricane.

And from within Luo Yu, an even more terrifying surge detonated again.

It felt like watching a dormant volcano suddenly awaken.

Dorry the Blue Ogre, seeing that his strike had entered a stalemate with the admiral's Haki, allowed a flicker of joy to cross his face.

A ridiculous thought even surfaced—

Maybe this fight… isn't unwinnable?

But before he could entertain the idea any further, a chilling wave of killing intent washed over him, like being plunged into an arctic sea.

Just as he regained awareness, a second, more ferocious wave of Conqueror's Haki burst from Luo Yu's body like a tidal wave.

BOOM!!!

The deadlock shattered instantly.

Dorry's ultimate technique—Sovereign Nation—was obliterated like it was made of paper.

The unstoppable wave of Conqueror's Haki surged forward, slamming down with full force.

"Dorry, I'm with you!"

Brogy the Red Ogre, who had been standing watch and observing the battle, immediately moved.

He had never expected Dorry's upper hand to be overturned in a single instant.

Especially when he saw Sovereign Nation shattered so effortlessly.

Without a second's hesitation, he grabbed his massive axe and shield, leapt to Dorry's side, and brought his weapons down in unison.

BOOM!!!

The resulting explosion was cataclysmic.

Everything within several hundred meters was flattened.

The two mountain-sized giants were hurled like cannonballs, crashing through rocky cliffs far in the distance.

Mountains shattered, stone fragments exploded into the sky, and dust clouds rolled up into the heavens.

—

Far away, Vivi, her face pale as snow, was being hurried away by Igaram and Chaka.

What she had just witnessed overturned everything she thought she knew.

Were these not the same mighty giants she had always revered?

How could they not even withstand a single blow?

Was it because the giants were weak?

No.

It could only be one thing:

The Marine admiral was too strong.

"Th-that was… Conqueror's Haki?" Doll, who had barely caught her breath, whispered with a look of shock. "No… this isn't normal Conqueror's Haki… He's layering Armament Haki on top of it—creating a reinforced shockwave!"

"Is… is that even possible?"

As a Vice Admiral and the head of a Marine base, Doll had mastered the Six Powers and both forms of Haki.

Her level of Armament Haki could even reach the Ryuo stage—already elite in the Navy.

And yet, what she was witnessing from Luo Yu made her feel utterly outclassed.

His sheer volume of Haki was staggering.

But more than that—it was his technique. To combine Armament Haki with Conqueror's Haki… she had never seen it before.

"Vice Admiral Doll! Admiral Luo Yu is about to clock out—use everything you've got and RUN!!" Smoker roared, eyes darting to his pocket watch. His face paled.

"White Serpent Dispersal: Yamata-no-Orochi!!"

BOOM!!

From his body exploded thick streams of smoke, twisting into eight serpent-like tendrils.

In an instant, they shot out—covered in Armament Haki—and wrapped tightly around Vivi and the others before they even realized what was happening.

Before Doll could react, Smoker generated a smoke vortex beneath him and blasted forward like a railgun, dragging the entire group with him.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished hundreds of meters away—like teleportation.

Smoker didn't get many chances to shine around Luo Yu.

But he'd had plenty of opportunities to practice running for his life.

Could he beat a Warlord or an Emperor? No.

But could he evacuate a princess faster than anyone else?

Absolutely.

Because Smoker knew one unshakable truth:

If Luo Yu was clocking out, even his allies might get hit.

Doll stood frozen.

She stared dumbfounded at the streak of smoke vanishing into the horizon, her brain struggling to process what just happened.

But that stunned silence lasted only a heartbeat.

Suddenly—an overwhelming pressure flooded over her, a presence so suffocating it felt like death itself had gripped her spine.

"One minute until clock-out." Luo Yu's voice was calm, as if stating a fact.

"If you can withstand this next strike, then my earlier offer still stands."

"But if you die—don't worry. I'll make sure your ashes are delivered back to Elbaf."

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!!

Three earth-shaking detonations echoed across the sky.

Luo Yu's Conqueror's Haki erupted skyward, condensing into the form of a celestial Qilin.

His Hundred-Armed Guanyin converged, its massive hands channeling power into a single point—its mouth.

Above them, a nine-layer magic circle formed in the sky:

Super-Tier Magic: Heavenfall

The entire island felt as though it were trembling beneath an apocalyptic force.

High in the heavens, the three pillars of power—Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and super-tier magic—merged into a descending calamity.

Doll's pupils contracted sharply.

She finally understood why Smoker, a Logia user, had trained his Devil Fruit just to run away faster.

Facing this kind of attack…

Escape was the only lesson worth learning.

"Dorry! Wake up!! This kid isn't bluffing—he means to kill us! Stop thinking you'll survive—we'll die!!" Brogy stood bloodied amidst the ruins, his instincts screaming at him.

He and Dorry both realized—

This was no longer a battle.

It was an execution.

They had to go all in, or die where they stood.

Without hesitation, the two giants raised their weapons.

With a deafening cry, they gathered all the strength they had hoarded over a century of battle.

"Giant Combined Technique: Hakoku!!"

"Death Trio!!"

KRA-KA-BOOOOM!!!

The resulting impact could no longer be described in words.

Doll only felt everything—sound, light, breath, time—being swallowed up.

The only thing left was the suffocating sense of inevitable death.

With no other option, she forced every ounce of her Armament Haki outward, covering her entire body like armor.

And then—

In the very next moment—

As she fled as fast as her moonwalk could take her—

The explosion's shockwave caught up to her, swallowed her whole.