One Piece: Silent-Silent Fruit

"How's that possible?! That was a direct hit from our Burning Cannon, and it didn't even leave a scratch!" the Shandian warrior shouted in disbelief.

"This isn't just any ordinary wall… We've been cut off from both sides!" one of the squad members said, panic rising in his voice.

"Wait—what's that?!" another shouted.

Mounted on the inner defense wall, a row of cannons slowly rotated and locked onto them.

"Damn it! They're trying to trap us in here and blast us into pieces!"

"Idiots! Are we the kind to let them have their way? Who do they think we are? A single wall trying to stop us? Ridiculous! Cloud Arrows, ready!" a warrior from Skypiea barked.

"Yeah! Deploy the Cloud Path! Equip the Waiver Units! We're storming up there!" another officer from the Second Division shouted.

"Let's go!" "Charge!!"

In the blink of an eye, warriors readied their bows and fired cloud shell-tipped arrows toward the towering wall. Each arrow blossomed into a stretch of solid cloud—a makeshift ramp. One after another, division members mounted their Waiver-powered skates and boards, racing up the cloud roads toward the defense wall like a wave of storm-chasing spirits.

"Don't let them get up here! Open fire—blast them off!" a Navy Vice Admiral stationed atop the defense wall bellowed.

Boom—boom—BOOM!

Artillery shells rained down like a violent storm, pummeling the attackers. Chaos erupted.

Meanwhile, atop the central tower of Marine Headquarters, Sengoku's brows were furrowed deeply as he monitored the unfolding chaos through binoculars. His face twitched with restrained tension.

The weapons used by the Gray Kingdom were unlike anything the Navy had ever faced—arrows that summoned solid cloud paths, Waivers that allowed for agile midair movement and even temporary flight, shock shells with devastating impact, massively destructive Burning Cannons, and those bizarre, modified guns powered by Impact Shells… each more formidable than the last.

Sengoku had no idea that ever since Rosinante had arrived in Skypiea, he had made the enhancement of Sky Shell technology a top priority. Every island conquered thereafter was required to collect high-powered Sky Shells and send them to the research division. Rosinante even enlisted the top shell experts from Skypiea to study, refine, and breed them. Sadly, most powerful Sky Shells were extremely difficult to cultivate, and even with full efforts, production remained scarce.

It was only because the Second Division was both wealthy and currently leading the main assault that Rosinante had allocated a massive cache of high-tier Sky Shell-based weapons to them—sniper rifles and submachine guns forged from Impact Shells. Though not as potent as Reject Shell-based weapons, they were still leagues ahead of standard Navy firearms.

"These weapons… they must be from Skypiea! I never imagined there were so many strange and powerful tools in that place. No wonder the World Government chose to tolerate its existence back in the day," Sengoku muttered grimly.

Back when the World Government was still forming, weaponry had been even more primitive. Battles were waged by sheer force of arms, and engaging Skypieans with their miraculous shells at ten thousand meters above sea level had been nearly impossible. Sengoku could imagine the immense losses incurred… and why, in the end, they simply gave up.

"Whoa, are these things really made from shells? That's wild!" Garp laughed heartily, finding the bizarre weapons amusing despite the tense situation.

"We can't let them push forward. Mobilize all batteries—fire at will! And someone get Sakazuki here immediately!" Sengoku commanded.

Akainu, meanwhile, had been stationed near the Naval Treasury to guard against infiltration, explaining his absence thus far.

With Sengoku's orders relayed, the Marine Headquarters erupted in cannon fire. The barrage was overwhelming. Thunder boomed in the air as shells screamed down on the Second Division.

"Charge! We need to break through quickly!"

"Snipers! Take out their cannons!" Second Division fighters surged forward with everything they had. But the bombardment was relentless. Many of the cloud roads were shattered midair, sending numerous Waiver riders plummeting from the sky.

Though their snipers could eliminate cannon operators, the gunners manning the wall's interior defenses were well hidden—no clear line of sight, no chance to strike.

"Damn it, they're hammering us hard! Burning Cannon squads, return fire! Blow those cannons to pieces!" roared Raelmann, seething with fury. As a Blast-Blast Fruit user, he wasn't used to being the one under fire.

Rows of fighters leveled their Burning Cannons at the gun ports atop the defense wall.

BOOM! BOOM!

Beams of searing heat roared forth and slammed into the defenses… but as the glow faded, the cannon ports remained untouched.

"What the hell? Even the cannons are made from special material?!"

"This isn't right! Why won't they break?!"

Panic began to ripple through the Second Division. Their most powerful weapons were doing almost nothing.

Just then, some of the cannon fire began to slow.

"Did… did I see that right?" one fighter murmured, eyes darting around. "The number of shells seems to be dropping…"

"Yeah… some of those gun ports aren't firing as fast either! Is it a malfunction? Or… are they running low on ammo?"

"Malfunction maybe… it's hard to believe the Navy could run out of shells…"

"WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE FIRE RATE?!" Kong bellowed from above.

"Marshal! The cannon crews report that they're out of ammunition!" a flustered officer sprinted over with the news.

"OUT?! Why aren't they resupplying?!" Kong's face contorted in disbelief.

"Marshal Kong, the cannon crews did send men for more ammo… but several armories have suddenly come under heavy pirate attack! The transport lines are blocked! The armory officers say the enemy's firepower is too strong—they're requesting urgent reinforcements or they risk being overrun!"

"WHAT?! When did this happen? What about the officers posted to guard the armories? What were they doing?" Sengoku snapped.

"According to the reports, many of the supervising officers were sniped before the battle even began. Almost all of them were killed in an instant. Even the senior officers guarding the armories were picked off by enemy snipers. Their firepower is terrifying—even lieutenant commander-level officers are vulnerable. The remaining guards have retreated into the armories for safety," the officer explained grimly.

"Report! Armory A3 has fallen into pirate hands!" another officer shouted as he sprinted in.

"What?! That fast?! What happened to the troops stationed there?!" Sengoku demanded.

"Sir, enemy numbers were overwhelming. Their leader displayed combat strength on par with a Vice Admiral. He stormed the armory directly—A3 couldn't hold and was overrun. Other armories are in grave danger as well!" the officer reported.

"You, move out! Take back those armories—now! We can't let them fall into enemy hands!" Kong roared at the nearby Vice Admirals.

"Yes, sir!"

Without hesitation, the Vice Admirals launched into action, racing toward the armories under siege…