Blackbeard decided to make a move.
If the situation wasn't explosive enough, he would add a little more fuel and force them to fight.
"Van Augur," Blackbeard said in a low voice.
"Find an opportunity. Kill one."
Van Augur paused for a moment.
Was he serious?
They had just escaped the depths of Level Six, and now he wanted him to provoke this group?
Before he could even refuse, Blackbeard continued:
"Choose whoever you want—someone from Leno's side, or someone from the Navy!"
"But remember—under no circumstances can the bullet appear to come from our direction!"
Blackbeard was cautious.
Escalating conflict was one thing.
Exposing themselves and risking their lives was another.
He had no intention of dying here.
"That shouldn't be difficult for you," he said while staring at Van Augur.
At their current hiding distance, ordinary Observation Haki wouldn't detect them.
If he hadn't run out of patience, Blackbeard wouldn't have risked revealing their presence.
But for a top sniper—
Making a bullet subtly change direction mid-flight wasn't impossible.
Have you heard of gun-fu?
In a world where martial arts could produce absurd feats, bending a bullet's trajectory wasn't strange.
At least not for Van Augur.
He calmly nodded and raised his beloved rifle—Senriku.
Through the scope, he began searching for a suitable target.
His gaze immediately skipped over Leno's crew.
No one understood better than he did how monstrous Leno was.
Every encounter with Leno had shattered his expectations.
How could he not feel wary?
Who knew if Leno had some strange method to detect the bullet's trajectory—
Or trace it back to them?
Too risky.
He didn't want to gamble.
Compared to that, Akainu and Sengoku were powerful—
But Van Augur was confident he could deceive them.
No matter what, he wouldn't attack Leno's people.
Besides, targeting the Navy would be easier—
And more likely to provoke conflict.
Having decided, Van Augur held his breath and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh—!
A specially made sniper round tore through the sky.
Carried by air currents, the bullet curved mid-flight, avoiding a direct line from Blackbeard's position.
Finally—
Bang!
The bullet struck the deck of Akainu's warship.
At the moment the bullet arrived, Sengoku seemed to sense something wrong.
Using his Conqueror's Haki, he forcibly altered the bullet's trajectory.
Otherwise, the Marine Rear Admiral it had been aimed at would have died instantly.
"What's going on?! Where did that shot come from?!"
"Damn it! A hidden sniper?!"
"Who fired that?!"
The Navy formation immediately fell into commotion.
As for Leno—
He had sensed the incoming bullet as well.
But since it wasn't aimed at his people, he simply watched coldly.
At the same time—
Far out on the sea, a large fleet of Marine warships was rapidly approaching Amazon Lily.
Clearly Sengoku's reinforcements.
And coincidentally—
The direction the bullet had come from overlapped with the fleet's approach.
Sengoku and Akainu's expressions darkened like the bottom of a pot.
The sudden shot had completely disrupted their attempt to stabilize the situation.
And since the bullet had come from roughly behind their fleet—
If the target hadn't been a Marine—
Sengoku might have suspected one of his own soldiers, enraged by their commanders being humiliated, had fired recklessly.
But that obviously wasn't the case.
However—
Leno wasn't about to waste such a perfect opportunity.
"So the Navy dares to fire now, Sengoku?!"
Who cared who actually did it?
Blaming the Navy was good enough.
Hearing Leno's accusation, Sengoku was about to explain—
But Akainu erupted first.
"Damn it! Which idiot fired that shot?! Who gave the order to shoot?!"
His furious gaze swept toward Sengoku's fleet.
He was burning with rage.
What if this provoked Leno into harming Hibari?
That would be helping the enemy!
Sure enough—
Old Sengoku still had his worth.
Or perhaps Akainu's attention was entirely focused on Hibari.
Just then—
Whoosh—!
Another bullet tore through the air at an even more bizarre angle!
This time the target wasn't the Navy.
It was Kujaku's heart.
Van Augur hadn't originally intended to provoke Leno.
But his previous mistake had displeased Blackbeard.
So he decided to target Kujaku instead.
After all—
In his mind, Kujaku wasn't one of Leno's crew.
This shot was meant to kill.
A lethal strike.
"Nani?!" Sengoku's pupils shrank.
"Kujaku!!"
Akainu's heart also lurched.
Not because he cared about Kujaku—
But because if she died, Hibari would be next.
Everything happened too fast.
Too suddenly.
Attacking Kujaku couldn't possibly be the Navy's doing.
That thought flashed through Akainu's mind.
Sengoku, the seasoned Fleet Admiral, reacted instantly.
From the moment the first bullet appeared, he had already realized a third party was interfering.
Their goal—
To force him and Leno into a deadly clash.
But there was no time to analyze the mastermind behind it.
The second bullet was racing straight for Kujaku's heart!
Leno and the people around him clearly had no intention of saving her.
If they hesitated—
She would die.
Fortunately, Sengoku had already been on guard after the first bullet.
"Impudent!"
Sengoku roared.
His figure moved like lightning, the Buddha's palm striking out faster than the bullet itself.
He caught the lethal round in his hand.
The impact—
And the Armament Haki coating the bullet—
Made Sengoku's heart sink.
"That level of Armament Haki… Whoever fired this isn't ordinary. A true expert."
With a grim face, he dropped the bullet.
He and Akainu released Observation Haki, searching for the hidden culprit.
Kujaku, only realizing what had happened after being saved, turned pale.
Her heart pounded wildly.
Instinctively she looked toward Leno.
But he remained cold and indifferent, watching the entire scene unfold.
A strange mixture of grievance and lingering fear rose in her heart.
"He… he really wouldn't save me?"
Everything had changed.
Leno had truly changed.
She barely recognized him anymore.
But no one cared about Kujaku's little thoughts.
Leno's mood had turned sour.
The constant interruptions—
Especially the hidden sniper—
Had completely worn down his last shred of patience.
His icy gaze swept toward Sengoku and Akainu.
"Sengoku! Akainu!"
"Looks like you really don't care about these two 'sparrows' after all!"
"You even dare have someone attack from the shadows?"
Of course, Leno wasn't stupid.
He knew the Navy probably hadn't done it.
But that didn't stop him from pinning the blame on them first.
As for the truth—
He didn't care.
"Leno! Have you lost your mind?!" Sengoku snapped.
"The bullets targeted both the Marines and Kujaku! How could it possibly be us?!"
He refused to believe Leno was stupid enough not to see that.
Yet no matter what Sengoku said—
Leno ignored him.
Instead, he calmly issued his final ultimatum.
"I'm giving you one last chance."
"Immediately. Right now."
"Take your people and get out of the Calm Belt."
His tone left no room for negotiation.
"Otherwise, I guarantee it."
"Neither of these two will leave here alive."
The reason he was pushing them away wasn't just impatience.
The more important reason—
Was that the statue inside his body had begun to stir restlessly.
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