Chapter 69: Greetings

North Blue, Fleurieu Island.

Late at night.

Blood and fire lit up the sky.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Gunfire and explosions thundered through the streets as hundreds of Marines launched a fierce assault on a mafia stronghold.

Thick smoke rolled across the battlefield. The compound's fortified walls were torn apart by the relentless shelling, blasted open with gaping holes as rubble flew in every direction.

"Damn Marines! Where the hell did they get these weapons!?"

A mafia officer in a black suit crawled out from under a collapsed wall, face smeared with blood and eyes bloodshot as he roared in fury.

As one of the top mafia powers on Fleurieu Island, the Snoke family controlled over half the underground operations within several hundred nautical miles—illicit trades like brewing, smuggling, gambling, and brothels.

Within their territory, they ruled like kings, raking in mountains of wealth. With hundreds of members under their command and stockpiles of firearms and explosives, even mid-sized pirate crews didn't dare provoke the Snoke family lightly.

But it all fell apart in an instant.

Their once lavish, carefree lives were shattered by the sound of explosions—blown to pieces, dreams turned to ash.

A sudden blast snapped York Snoke out of chaotic sleep. Countless attacks screamed past his ears—he couldn't even tell what was hitting them anymore.

The family estate, the armory, the courtyard, the meeting hall, the commerce chamber, the ground itself, the buildings, the very air... everything trembled.

Under the nonstop barrage, the Snoke family officers couldn't react in time and were buried under the rubble, crushed by overwhelming firepower.

York Snoke's ears rang. Then everything went numb.

He stared blankly as wave after wave of well-trained North Blue Marines closed in on the compound, wielding all manner of advanced weapons, crushing everything in their path with chilling precision.

Flamethrowers spitting scorching fire.

 Stun guns crackling with arcs of blue lightning.

 Compact machine guns blazing.

 And York Snoke could hardly believe his eyes—an entire row of Marines, each with a rocket launcher hoisted on their shoulders!

Weapons he had never seen before. The cutting edge of warfare.

BOOM!

A portable missile suddenly detonated overhead. The domed church building exploded into rubble in an instant.

Debris rained down as stones shattered and collapsed around him.

A massive shadow loomed above, swallowing York Snoke whole.

Despair filled his eyes.

Just before the rockfall buried him, he saw a scruffy-looking Marine step out from the crowd, hands casually in his pockets, wearing wooden clogs...

Then—

He lifted an entire house.

...BOOM!

The civilian building soared into the air, then crashed down with a deafening impact, obliterating the Snoke family estate and reducing it to rubble.

Surrounded by black smoke, Tokikake stared at his hands in stunned disbelief.

When... did I get this strong?

He had only meant to test his strength—he never thought he could actually throw an entire house into the air with his bare hands.

"Lieutenant Commander Tokikake is incredible!!"

"Even Germa's tech can't compare to Tokikake's raw power!"

"He's way too strong! Truly the pride of Marine Headquarters!"

The nearby North Blue Marines stared at Tokikake in awe, breaking into thunderous cheers.

As the shouts of praise rang out, Tokikake was instantly overwhelmed with emotion. He threw his hands on his hips and let out a hearty laugh.

"Damn right! I'm a genius!"

He glanced dismissively at a Marine holding a rapid-fire machine gun and scoffed,

"Guns... what a crude and outdated way to fight."

 ...

At the same time…

On another island in the North Blue, a similar scene was unfolding.

At a secret base of a mafia family, Marine forces had already launched a swift assault.

"Marines! Damn Marines! You're not leaving us any way out!"

A mafia boss with a thick mustache shouted furiously.

Gripping a massive steel shield in both hands, he charged like a raging bull into the oncoming Marines, knocking them flying with brute force.

"Hahahaha!! You see that? That's my strength!"

He laughed wildly—only for his laughter to stop cold a second later.

Clang!

A sharp sword ring echoed through the air.

Following the sound, he saw a tall, black-haired figure emerging slowly from the raging inferno.

The click of high heels on the ground was crisp, almost pleasant to the ear—but carried with it a bone-chilling coldness.

It was a woman.

A beauty mark adorned the corner of her lips. Her long black hair was pinned in an elegant bun, and a pink short skirt hugged her graceful curves.

With every step she took, the pristine white Marine cloak on her back seemed to sway and dance in the firelight.

In her hand, she carried a long blade—slender and gleaming gold, reflecting the flickering flames.

She was striking—intensely so.

Under normal circumstances, the mafia boss might have done everything in his power to seduce and conquer her.

But now...

He didn't dare think such thoughts.

A narrow cut had begun to spread down his massive metal shield.

From the toughest part of the shield... to his arm... to his throat—

A thin red line slowly surfaced.

"Such a fast blade..."

He rasped.

Then both the shield and the man split cleanly in two and crashed to the ground.

Gion stood before him, expression icy, calmly sheathing her sword.

"In the name of justice... capital punishment."

The moment her words fell, Marines surged in behind her.

Shouts of battle and agonized screams rang from all directions.

Gion remained where she was, silent, lost in thought.

"I've... gotten much stronger," she murmured to herself.

In that moment, she understood many things.

Just over ten days of intense training had boosted her strength by at least thirty percent.

But because her opponent had always been that monstrous man—someone who constantly dominated her, the gap between them always so vast—she had never realized how far she'd come.

But the reflection lasted only a few seconds. Gion quickly clenched her fists again, silver teeth gritting.

"Not enough... Still nowhere near enough."

…

Elsewhere—

A lavish private mansion built at enormous expense.

The estate of the Rockefeller family boss, one of the most notorious mafia clans in the Great Britannia Islands.

Inside an ornate bedroom—

Germansa, head of the Rockefeller family, suddenly jolted awake from sleep.

Without even glancing, he yanked a pistol from under his pillow and fired repeatedly at a shadow in the room.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Bullets collided with steel—sparks flew, revealing the face of a stern man beneath a Marine cap.

Germansa's pupils shrank.

"You—!"

His mistress shrieked and backed away in terror, clutching the sheets around her.

Momonga stepped out of the darkness, a bloodstained military saber hanging loosely in his hand.

"You broke the rules," he said coldly.

"So... Rogers Daren, Supreme Commander of the North Blue, sends his regards."

As the words fell, a flash of steel lit up the shadows.

Slice.

Blood sprayed across the satin curtains, staining the luxurious bed canopy red.

The next second—

"Aaaahhhhhhh!!!"

A woman's terrified scream pierced through the entire mansion.

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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