Chapter 745: Interception, former commander of the Revolutionary Army! (2 in 1)

“Da-da-da-da—”

In the long underground corridor, the Straw Hat Pirates were moving rapidly towards the underground treasure house. Vivi and Brook were riding on Chopper and were moving quickly with Chopper leading them.

Not long ago, Brook used the power of the Yomiuri Fruit to find the location of the underground treasure house. The Yomiuri Fruit has been developed to his level so that his soul can leave his body and travel freely underground. The complex corridor design of the New Navy has no way to block his soul.

However, although the Straw Hat Pirates and others knew the location of the treasure, it was not easy for them to reach it quickly.

Brook's soul can indeed travel freely without paying attention to walls, but Luffy and his companions cannot do that. They must find the exact path to get directly to the underground treasure house.

However, compared with their previous situation where they were rushing around in the underground fortifications of the New Navy like headless flies, the Straw Hat Pirates and their companions now at least have a clear direction and goal.

Luffy and the others also knew that they were very pressed for time. They had to copy the historical text of the red road sign before the strong men of the new navy could react, and then quickly leave Cake Island.

The domineering aura released by the battle between Dragon and Mihawk was extremely terrifying, and the range of its coverage and influence was extremely wide. Even underground, Luffy and others could feel it clearly.

Luffy knew that his father was buying time for him. Although Luffy had only known Dragon for a short time, the connection engraved in their blood was indelible. After only a few days of getting along, Luffy and Dragon had already established a deep relationship.

Luffy is well aware of the strength of the new navy. In order to prevent his father from getting into trouble, he does not want to waste time. Therefore, along the way, Luffy is very decisive in taking action against the navy that dares to block him.

Since he broke into the new naval base until now, countless naval teams have been defeated by them.

Although Luffy showed no mercy, he did not go to extremes. After all, the Straw Hat Pirates were not truly vicious pirates. At most, they beat the New Navy that tried to stop them and left them without any more power to fight, and then left in a hurry without paying any more attention to them.

But correspondingly, the relatively soft tactics of Luffy and others also enabled some new navy officers to report the location of Luffy and others to their superiors after failing to intercept them.

The location of the Straw Hat Pirates and others is almost obvious to the New Navy, which gives the New Navy enough time and energy to mobilize strong men to intercept them.

"Luffy, there's someone!"

After passing through the archive room, the Straw Hat Pirates entered a relatively spacious underground square. They were now in one of the passages connecting to the square. Opposite the square, there were three more passages connecting to the square.

One of the passages leading to the underground treasury is also connected to this square.

However, as soon as Straw Hat Luffy and the others walked out of the passage, they noticed that a group of navy had gathered in the square. When they came out, they all looked at the Straw Hat Pirates with eager eyes.

This team of navy had forty or fifty people, led by a tall "giant". The man was wearing a white navy uniform, holding a large Bible in his hands, and wearing a bear-shaped felt hat on his head. He had a serious look on his face, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Behind the man, the new navy members raised their spears after seeing the Straw Hat Pirates and others appear, and opened fire at Luffy's men without saying a word.

"Bang bang bang bang-"

Intensive gunfire rang out in the underground square. Luffy, who was rushing in the front, reacted quickly. He jumped out from in front of the passage and landed on the square. Then he put his thumb in his mouth and blew hard. His rubber-like body swelled up and quickly blocked the entrance to the passage, protecting the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates behind him.

The bullets landed on Luffy's body one after another. The huge force stretched Luffy's rubber-like skin. After penetrating for dozens of centimeters, they lost their strength and were bounced back by Luffy.

Although the firearms of the New Navy are far from comparable to the commonly circulated matchlock guns in this world, the power of these firearms is still not enough to hurt Luffy, who is a person with special abilities.

On the contrary, the bullets rebounded by Luffy's rubber fruit are fatal to ordinary navy personnel.

"spread!"

The offensive of the new navy was blocked and counterattacked. The giant navy leader in the square let out a low roar, then raised his right hand towards Xiang Qianping nonchalantly.

A shock wave appeared in the square without warning, directly shooting down all the bullets that were fired at it. Not only that, this terrifying shock wave also poured towards Luffy and the others.

Luffy himself did not expect that the opponent would have such a means of attack. At this moment, his inflated body became a huge target of attack.

The shock wave instantly hit Luffy's belly. The terrifying force directly blew out all the air that Luffy had been holding in his stomach. Luffy himself, like a balloon with its mouth opened, flew backwards and hit the thick wall, creating a huge hole.

"Luffy?!"

"Luffy, are you okay?!"

After just a face-to-face encounter, Luffy was knocked flying by the unknown navy. When Luffy was knocked flying, the huge noise attracted the attention of everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates. Seeing Luffy's embarrassed look with his body embedded in the wall, Sanji, Vivi and others exclaimed in surprise, and then looked towards the square with vigilance.

"who are you?!"

Sanji sensed the strength of his enemy, and quickly stood in front of his companions, questioning angrily.

"I am the new Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, Bartholomew Kuma."

"That's it for the Straw Hat Pirates."

The one who appeared in the square to block Straw Hat Luffy and others was not Abel, the fighter named by Yixiao, but Bartholomew Kuma, who has now retreated to the second line and is usually only responsible for the transportation of supplies.

Since having a child, Xiong's focus has returned to his family. He is the kind of person who values ​​family. For people like him, family is far more important than work.

Xiong's retreat to the second line has a certain impact on the combat effectiveness of the new navy, but Jikuni Yuichiro unconditionally supports his partner's decision. Everyone's pursuits are different. For some people, ideals are more important than family affection, but for some people, family affection is above everything.

Although Xiong retreated to the second line, he did not leave the ranks of the new navy. Xiong was very clear about how much benefit his abilities could bring to the new navy. Even if he worked nine to five like an ordinary office worker, the help he could bring to the new navy was unmatched by ordinary people.

Moreover, Xiong has a strong sense of belonging to the New Navy, and he has always been grateful to Yoshiichi Tsugakuni for helping him rescue Ginny.

Now that he heard from Yixiao that there were invaders at the new naval base, he naturally came to help.

Mihawk was held back by a super strong man, and Yixiao not only needed to coordinate the overall situation to deal with the natural disaster and tsunami, but also needed to help Mihawk to scout the enemy. He would never move unless it was necessary.

The Straw Hat Pirates are the "big pirates" who once caused a big stir on Fishman Island. The New Navy does not dare to take it lightly. Yixiao thinks that since the other party has the confidence to break into Cake Island to plot against the Red Road Sign Historical Text, it is obviously not safe to rely on Abel alone to stop them.

After Kuma knocked Straw Hat Luffy away with one blow, he also looked at the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates. From the information Kuma got, he already knew that the Straw Hat Luffy he had just knocked away was Dragon's son, but even so, Kuma had no intention of letting Straw Hat Luffy's men run wild in the headquarters.

It is true that Xiong had received various favors from Long before, but correspondingly, he and Ginny had also done a lot for the Revolutionary Army. Compared with the favors given by Long, the things he and Ginny did were enough to make up for it.

On the contrary, the favor that Tsugikoku Yoshiichi and the new navy showed to Ginny and Kuma was something Kuma could never repay.

When the World Government was at its peak, Tsugumi Yoshikazu attacked the Celestial Dragons to rescue Ginny for the sake of Bear. This kindness was far greater than what the dragon had brought him back then.

What's more, it was the Straw Hat Pirates who broke into the Marine Headquarters, and it was Straw Hat Luffy who took the initiative to provoke the New Navy. From this perspective, the New Navy's arrest of Straw Hat Luffy was merely a countermeasure.

For this reason, Kuma didn't feel any guilt at all for attacking Straw Hat Luffy and the others.

Of course, he would not kill Long's son, but arresting him was what he should do as a vice admiral.

Xiong is not a small figure in the New Navy. His reputation is actually loud enough around the world. He used to be the commander of the Revolutionary Army and is now a vice admiral of the New Navy. Although he has retired to the second line, the reputation he made back then still remains.

When they heard Xiong introduce himself, the expressions of Sanji and others also changed.

"Wow--"

The soil fell to the ground, Luffy got out of the pit with difficulty, and then walked in front of Sanji and others.

"Hey, Luffy, that guy is a vice admiral of the new navy. He's very dangerous."

"We can't waste time here. This is the home of the new navy. The longer we delay, the more powerful enemies will appear."

"You take them away first, I will stop these navy!"

Seeing that Luffy was about to fight the enemy, Sanji quickly grabbed Luffy's wrist and said in a deep voice.

After just one encounter, Sanji already felt the enemy's strength. He didn't think that he could easily defeat the man in front of him. The best way now was to divide his forces.

Sanji felt that he was the only one in his team who could take on this task.

Luffy is the captain, and no one knows how many powerful enemies are waiting for them on the road ahead, so Luffy cannot be left behind.

"Sanji?"

When Luffy heard Sanji speak, his expression became extremely serious. He looked back at Sanji, and seeing his determined expression, he nodded:
"Okay, I'll take them away first, you hurry up and follow me!"

At this critical moment, Luffy also became extremely decisive. After saying this, he shouted to his companions behind him:

"let's go!"

As he spoke, Luffy had already taken the lead and rushed towards the passage that Brook pointed to. Some marines wanted to stop them, but they were swept away by Luffy's outstretched arm and were all blown aside with screams.

"I said that's it!"

Just when Luffy was leading a group of Straw Hat Pirates near the entrance of the passage, a huge figure appeared beside Luffy without warning, and a pair of huge bear paws slapped Luffy directly on the forehead.

Luffy, who was looking forward, didn't even look at the attack from the oncoming person and just kept moving forward. Just when the bear's attack was about to hit Luffy, Sanji suddenly appeared beside Luffy and kicked him directly on the palm of the bear.

"Boom!!!"

A muffled sound rang out in the square. The powerful domineering auras of Kuma and Sanji collided with each other, and a hurricane swept around in this relatively closed space.

While Sanji was trying to resist the bear, Luffy and the others hurried away and disappeared from the bear's sight.

"."

Watching Luffy and the others leave, Kuma did not show any intention of continuing to chase them. Instead, he focused his eyes on Sanji, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint smile.

Sanji's obstruction was actually exactly what Kuma wanted. To be honest, he was somewhat conflicted when facing Straw Hat Luffy and the others.

Although it is reasonable that he should leave Luffy and the others here to repay the trust and kindness that Yoriichi Tsugakuni has shown him, Luffy is Dragon's son after all. If he really leaves all the Straw Hat Pirates here, he would seem a bit "heartless and ungrateful".

The appearance of Sanji also helped Kuma escape from this predicament, and it was also a disguised way for Kuma to provide a way out.

And it is fortunate that in this brief fight just now, Kuma also felt Sanji's powerful strength, and he could explain it if he was briefly resisted by the blond young man in front of him.

Of course, what is more important is that by the time he has dealt with the blond young man in front of him, Straw Hat Luffy and his men should have successfully reached the treasure house. There is a high probability that they will be successfully captured by the people guarding there!
As Xiong thought so in his heart, he felt a little better. Then his figure flashed and he suddenly appeared behind Sanji, slapping Sanji on the back with his palm.

"?!"

"when!"

The whistling wind behind him made Sanji's hair stand on end. He had no idea how the other party moved behind him.

But at this moment he had no time to think. His body reacted before his brain. He rolled forward, then kicked the ground with his feet and quickly left the place, avoiding the bear's sudden palm.

When Kuma saw that Sanji actually dodged his attack, he was not angry but happy. Now, he had even more reason to stay here and focus on dealing with the powerful young man in front of him.

"Thank you so much!"

"In return, I'll invite you to tea."

(End of this chapter)