"So that's the new Admiral?"Gion arched her slender brows and chuckled softly.
"He really does live up to the rumors—always acting unpredictably, never following convention."
Behind her, a veteran soldier faltered slightly, clearly surprised. He had expected Gion to speak out against Luoyu—yet here she was, offering praise instead.
Chaton also let out a rare laugh. "You're right, Gion. This fourth admiral is definitely much younger than the other three."
"But as for strength… that remains to be seen."
He looked out across the plaza, his voice calm but carrying an edge."You and I sat in the position of admiral candidates for three to five years and still never qualified for promotion. Now a newcomer jumps ahead of us all—of course I'm not thrilled."
"But I trust that Fleet Admiral Sengoku had his reasons. I won't let personal feelings cloud the bigger picture."
His easygoing smile caught everyone off guard.
They had assumed that Chaton had returned to the Red Line to express his dissatisfaction with Luoyu's sudden promotion to admiral.
No one had expected him to let it go with a smile.
"Thank you for your understanding, Vice Admiral Chaton," Ain stepped forward, taking a deep breath. "I believe it won't be long before Admiral Luoyu's reputation spreads across the seas. He won't bring shame to Marine Headquarters."
In truth, Luoyu's erratic and unorthodox behavior gave Ain—trained under Zephyr's rigid discipline—a constant headache.
But for the kindness Luoyu had shown her, Ain knew she couldn't repay it with strength. The only thing she could offer… were her words.
Tina and Smoker both stepped forward, preparing to say something to help ease the tension.
But they had barely moved when Chaton's friendly smile suddenly disappeared.
His legs tensed, and in the blink of an eye, his entire body launched like a cannonball.
He vanished from his spot, leaving behind only a chilling statement hanging in the air:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku's decision—I will respect for the sake of the greater good.But this involves Vice Admiral Gion.If he wants to sit in the admiral's chair, he must have strength that commands true respect."
Boom!
The air rippled violently.Dozens of meters collapsed in an instant as Chaton exploded forward.
By the time anyone could react, he was already just three or four meters from Luoyu.
"Chaton, don't be reckless!" Gion's expression changed as she cried out in alarm. She hadn't expected Chaton to act on such flimsy justification.
"Don't worry, Gion," Chaton replied without turning."I'll hold back.But if he can't even handle this much… then what right does he have to be an admiral?"
Jet-black Armament Haki surged across his fists.His fingers clenched into a solid hammer-like form—and he struck.
Tina and Ain cried out in unison:"Admiral Luoyu, watch out!"
Watch out?
Luoyu raised an eyebrow, stepping out from his inner consciousness and casually glanced over his shoulder.
What greeted him was the incoming form of Chaton, barrelling forward.
Three meters—two—one.
There was no time to dodge.The air cracked from the speed of the punch, wrapped in powerful Haki.
Everyone watching tensed.
Luoyu stood still—completely unmoved.
Even Gion snapped."Luoyu, move!"
But he didn't budge.
Just as Chaton's fist was about to slam into his back—
BANG!
A thunderous impact echoed across the square.
A shockwave exploded outward, sending fierce winds howling.
But what truly shocked everyone was—
The punch had stopped.
Just two inches away from Luoyu's back, it froze in place.
Or rather—it had been forcibly halted by a shimmering, translucent golden light.
"…Let me think," Luoyu mumbled, taking a bite of his meat bun. "You must be that guy who's been rejected over a hundred times in marriage proposals, right? Chaton, was it?"
He chewed lazily."I'd move if I were you. If Guanyin really decides to smite someone today, I won't be able to stop her."
The nonsensical words threw Chaton off for a moment. Then his eyes turned cold.
"A Devil Fruit ability?" he scoffed."If you think you can just sit there hiding behind some turtle shell and not fight back—then you're gravely underestimating me."
"That last punch was only 40% of my power. Let's see how long that shell holds up."
Buzz—!
The air trembled again as Chaton clenched his fists. Armament Haki surged, thickening, drawing in the very air around him.
He was about to strike again when—
A dazzling golden light erupted from Luoyu.
A divine radiance bathed the square.It felt… sacred. Holy.
Chaton's vision blurred momentarily.He shook his head quickly—and what he saw next made his heart freeze.
A seven-to-eight-meter-tall golden Thousand-Armed Guanyin rose from behind Luoyu.
Thousands of radiant arms unfurled like a blooming lotus.
Then—those hands came crashing down, like a torrential storm.
Is this… really Guanyin smiting someone?!
An overwhelming sense of danger consumed Chaton's instincts.
"Full-body Armament Haki—NOW!" he shouted.
Inky black Haki spread across his entire body in a flash.
But it was too late.
The golden storm of palm strikes—each a weapon in its own right—descended like the sea itself.
BOOM!
The first ten strikes forced Chaton back seven or eight meters.
Fifty strikes drove him back another thirty meters.
When the hundredth strike rained down, it was no longer an assault—
—it was a tsunami of golden force, crashing from the heavens.
BOOOOM!
A figure flew through the air like a cannonball.
The resulting shockwave was like a hurricane, leveling everything nearby.
The spot where Chaton once stood caved in completely, collapsing over a dozen meters outward.
Gion instinctively moved to intercept.
But she was a second too late.
CRASH!
Chaton smashed straight into her warship, crashing into the deck with massive force.
The entire vessel rocked violently. The thick planks of the deck exploded outward on impact.
Water surged into the sky like a geyser.
Debris rained down as cold seawater swept across the plaza like a flood.
Everyone stood in stunned silence.
Not a soul dared speak.