Chapter 798: Chapter 798: Jason’s Ace in the Hole

BOOM!

In an instant, the black giant’s foot collided with a blackened fist. The impact sounded like a thunderclap, releasing a terrifying force that caused the ground to cave in and sag. Dozens of thick fissures spiderwebbed outward across the landscape.

RUMBLE...

A second later, a violent gale erupted, creating a visible shockwave that stripped the layer of snow from everything within dozens of meters, whipping it into a blinding white-out.

"Dammit!"

With his strike stalled, Luffy gritted his teeth. He shifted the air from his leg to his right arm, forming a massive giant’s limb. He hardened it again, preparing for a follow-up attack.

"ROAAAAR!"

Beast-Man Slash: Raging Billows!

Suddenly, Otto let out a low growl and leaped upward. Carried by a violent gust, he was in front of Luffy in the blink of an eye. His beastial claws were hardened with Armament Haki until they looked like they were forged from steel. He unleashed a high-speed barrage of claw strikes that tore the air apart, leaving dozens of afterimages.

"Oh no! Gomu Gomu no... Balloon!"

Shocked, Luffy rapidly deflated his arm and pumped massive amounts of air into his torso. Combined with the Armament Haki hardening, he transformed into a giant, black metallic balloon.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The dense barrage of claw strikes hammered against Luffy’s balloon-like body. The collision of Haki against Haki produced a continuous, ear-piercing screech, like the clashing of steel.

"It’s no use!"

Seeing that the opponent couldn’t penetrate his Armament Haki defense, Luffy lunged forward with his stomach, forcefully bouncing Otto back.

BOOM!

Otto flipped in mid-air and landed heavily in the snow, his legs sinking in up to his thighs.

Phew...

Luffy exhaled the excess air, his body returning to normal as he landed opposite Otto.

At that moment, Sanji, nursing an aching body, stepped up beside Luffy. "Luffy, this guy isn’t a Devil Fruit user. He’s a biological cyborg, modified with genes. He has a physical body and monstrous strength beyond normal humans. Who knows what other tricks he has up his sleeve?"

"Not a Fruit user?" Luffy blinked in surprise. "Wow, he’s actually that strong!"

On the other side of the field, Zoro and Hakuba were locked in a fierce duel of swordsmanship.

"Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Oni Giri!!"

Zoro held his blades in a cross-formation and slashed forward instantly, his mouth-blade sealing off any room for Hakuba to dodge.

"Hehehehe~"

Hakuba’s shrill, manic laughter echoed as a gale whipped past.

SHINK—

A spark flew in the void, followed immediately by a spray of fresh blood.

"Such a fast blade!" Zoro frowned. A bloody gash had appeared on his right shoulder.

Not far away, Hakuba stood with his back to Zoro. A long, shallow wound had opened across his chest, oozing blood.

"Blood! I was cut?!" Hakuba said in disbelief. Despite his high-speed movement and lethal technique, he hadn’t just failed to kill his opponent, he had been wounded in return.

"Interesting! This is getting very interesting! Hehehehe—!"

In the next moment, Hakuba’s eyes filled with madness. He transformed once more into a "strange wind," vanishing from his spot to circle Zoro at high speed, launching a relentless assault.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Zoro slashed out in all directions, his blades seemingly colliding with invisible steel in the air. Sparks flew and the sound of clashing metal was unending.

On a snowy slope by the river, Jason stood protected by a group of burly pirates, watching the surrounding Marines close in.

"That man is Jason, the Head Physician of the Chris Pirates. Capture him!" Tashigi commanded, waving her blade as she directed the G-5 Marines. She intended to use Jason as a hostage to force Otto and Cavendish to stand down.

"Kill them!"

"Charge! Take them out!"

"Protect Jason-sama!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Pathetic Marines! Wipe them out!"

The two sides clashed in a chaotic symphony of war cries, bullets, and cannonfire.

"Pirate! Prepare to die!" Tashigi swung her sword, Shigure, at a sturdy, brown-haired pirate.

CLANK!

A bright knight’s longsword intercepted her, the massive force vibrating through her arms and knocking her back two steps.

"You’re... Blood Butcher Edmond!" Tashigi gasped, recognizing the muscular man before her. He was a combatant of the Chris Pirates, a cold-blooded butcher known for being drenched in blood after every battle.

"Captain Tashigi, I’m honored you remember me," Edmond said, casually twirling his longsword.

Tashigi ignored his flippant tone and said grimly, "Two executives, a combat officer, and hundreds of pirates... It seems ’Head Physician’ Jason holds a very high status in the Chris Pirates."

She then turned and shouted, "Straw Hats! That man in the white coat is the key! Capture him and we can turn the tide of this battle!"

"G-5! Charge with me!" Tashigi screamed, desperately hacking her way toward Edmond.

The onlookers were stunned; they hadn’t expected a Marine like Tashigi to treat the Straw Hat Pirates as her "ace in the hole."

Nami and the others were surprised but didn’t doubt her. They were old acquaintances with the G-5; despite being on opposite sides of the law, there was a mutual respect for each other’s convictions.

"Did you hear that? Move it! Grab that guy!" Nami’s eyes turned into Berry symbols. "We might even be able to extort a fortune out of them!"

"On it!" Usopp, Franky, Chopper, and Brook immediately dashed toward Jason, with Nami and Robin providing support from the rear.

"Go, take care of them," Jason said with a wave of his hand. Over a dozen muscular men, each over three meters tall, lunged forward like tigers. These were the Elite Strike Team members, and within breaths, they had reached the front lines.

With these experts joined in, the momentum of the Straw Hats and G-5 Marines was momentarily halted.

As the battle ground to a stalemate, Jason’s brow furrowed. This isn’t good. The Straw Hats’ combat power is higher than expected. I need a way to put them all down at once.

Having made his decision, Jason pulled a palm-sized metal case from his coat. Inside lay four test tubes filled with a transparent liquid.

"The wind and snow will dilute the effect, and the area is quite large... I’ll use two." Jason looked at the swirling blizzard, feeling a bit pained at the cost as he took out two tubes.

He smashed them together.

Ting.

The crisp sound of breaking glass echoed. Transparent liquid splashed out and immediately vaporized, drifting away on the wind.

A few breaths later...

"I feel... so dizzy..."

On the battlefield, people began to feel a fog clouding their minds, as if they hadn’t slept for days. Their eyelids grew heavy.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

One by one, they collapsed into the snow, G-5 Marines and Chris Pirates alike. It started with individuals, but within seconds, entire groups were dropping like flies.