One Piece: My code name is Green Bull

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Katakuri was completely overwhelmed.

The relentless barrage of attacks left him unable to focus, and his Observation Haki was deteriorating rapidly. His evasion ability plummeted, and he was getting beaten badly.

Even though his Armament Haki offered some protection, the repeated devastating blows had inflicted serious injuries. At this point, he barely had any strength left to fight back.

Another powerful strike sent Katakuri crashing into the ground. Before he could react, a wooden construct stomped down, burying him deep underground.

Just watching it looked painful.

And in reality, it was excruciating.

Katakuri had been a prodigy since childhood, undefeated throughout his career. But now, for the first time, he was getting thoroughly beaten.

Moments ago, he was fighting evenly.

But after a single shift in the battle, everything had turned upside down.

"What the hell is that sound?"

Lying half-buried in the ground, Katakuri struggled to free himself.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he coughed up blood.

His pupils reflected pure shock as he stared at Jon behind the wooden construct.

He had no idea what the sound ringing in his ears was, but he knew one thing for sure—

It had something to do with Jon.

"You're still standing? Damn, you're tough."

Jon was genuinely surprised to see Katakuri get back up.

After taking so many hits from his wooden construct, a normal person would've died dozens of times over.

Yet, Katakuri still had fight left in him.

"Well then… let's finish this in one go."

Jon was just about to press the attack when—

"Katakuri! The Navy was prepared for us! We're retreating!"

From the other side of the battlefield, Perospero shouted while fighting Gaji.

Katakuri's face darkened.

He had already noticed that their position was worsening.

But hearing Perospero call for a retreat?

That was hard for him to accept.

Katakuri was not the type to surrender easily.

But after Perospero's command, the other pirates immediately rushed toward their ships.

If he didn't leave now, he'd be fighting the Navy alone.

"..."

Even someone as prideful as Katakuri had no choice but to retreat.

As frustrated as he was, he knew they had underestimated these Marines and had been caught off guard.

Though unwilling, he turned to leave.

But before departing, he gave Jon one last deep look—

As if to engrave his face into memory forever.

The BIG MOM Pirates' retreat was sudden.

Although the Navy continued attacking, the pirates were already near the shore.

With their ships at the ready, they escaped swiftly, setting sail before the Navy could stop them.

"Commander Jon, the pirates are retreating. Should we pursue them?"

As the remaining pirates boarded their ships, Gaji and his team gathered around Jon.

Nion stepped forward and asked.

Jon shook his head.

"Our warships aren't here yet. Even if we wanted to chase them, we couldn't."

Of course, he wanted to wipe them all out.

But he knew it was unrealistic.

Defeating Katakuri alone had already been challenging enough.

If the BIG MOM Pirates were determined to flee, he had no way to stop them.

"Without a ship, how do we even chase them?"

Before arriving, he had ordered his subordinates to sail the warships over.

But their battle had ended too quickly.

By the time the BIG MOM Pirates retreated, the Navy's ships hadn't even arrived.

"Never chase a cornered enemy," White advised.

"The BIG MOM Pirates are still powerful. If we recklessly pursue them and engage in a naval battle, even if we catch them, we'll suffer heavy casualties."

As a seasoned fighter, White knew better than to underestimate the enemy.

"But isn't the BIG MOM Pirates one of the strongest crews in the New World?"

Nion grumbled unhappily.

"They barely fought before retreating! How weak can they be?"

The young Marine was eager to prove himself.

Watching his chance at glory slip away made him furious.

"That's because BIG MOM herself wasn't here," White said grimly.

"If she had shown up, this battle would've ended very differently."

Having spent years in the New World, White knew how much of a monster Charlotte Linlin truly was.

From what he could tell, none of the enemy's famous fighters had even shown up.

"This wasn't their full strength," he concluded.

The fact that they had won this battle was nothing to brag about.

"Does this mean our mission is complete?" Gaji asked.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru ordered us to resolve Rhodes Kingdom's problem," Gion replied.

"Just repelling the BIG MOM Pirates might not be enough."

"What, are we supposed to stay here and guard Rhodes Kingdom forever?"

Pemberton frowned.

Even Gion was unsure, so she looked to Jon for a decision.

Jon hesitated.

Tsuru's orders were to help resolve the Rhodes Kingdom's crisis.

Although they had defeated Katakuri, the real problem was whether Charlotte Linlin would retaliate.

Besides, Tsuru had mentioned that if they encountered BIG MOM herself, they were free to retreat.

This implied that they weren't expected to fight her head-on and could abandon the mission if necessary.

Given how the King and Prince of Rhodes Kingdom had treated them, Jon was tempted to leave.

But if they left now, and the BIG MOM Pirates returned, the royal family would likely slander the Navy.

Jon didn't care about their opinions—

But he didn't want to cause trouble for Vice Admiral Tsuru.

Seeing Jon hesitate, Pemberton spoke up.

"Jon, you're thinking too much. Why bother? The people of Rhodes Kingdom treated us like garbage. We already did our job by repelling the BIG MOM Pirates. What, are we supposed to stick around just to get insulted? Be decisive—let's leave!"

Jon was speechless.

Pemberton made a valid point, but Jon knew what he was really thinking—

He was more afraid of the BIG MOM Pirates retaliating than anything else.

"Gion, contact Vice Admiral Tsuru."

Jon decided that abandoning the mission outright wasn't a good idea.

Instead, he instructed Gion to request orders from Tsuru.

If Tsuru approved their departure, then there would be no issue.

"Alright, I'll call her as soon as we get back to the warship."

Gion nodded.

"Commander Jon, the people of Rhodes Kingdom are approaching."

Hearing his soldier's report, Jon's group visibly frowned.

During the battle, the royal family and their men had been nowhere to be seen.

But now that they had repelled the BIG MOM Pirates, they suddenly showed up.

Clearly, they had been watching from a safe distance the entire time.

Jon sneered.

"Pemberton, you handle them."

"The rest of you, with me—we're cleaning up the battlefield and treating the wounded."

He had no interest in dealing with the Rhodes royals.

He left the negotiations to the smooth-talking Pemberton and focused on helping his troops.

Though the battle had been short, many soldiers had been injured or killed.

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