One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

"Fufufufu... Wright, you truly are well-versed..." Doflamingo's grin widened as he suddenly crossed his arms inward. "Thousand Blades Piercing Heart: Feather Strike Threads!"

From the ground before Wright, thousands of threads infused with Armament Haki surged upward, forming wing-like structures. They encircled Wright in a tight embrace, then hurtled mercilessly toward him at their center!

"Holy Light Barrier: Sphere!"

Wright summoned a radiant sphere of Holy Light around himself, just barely withstanding Doflamingo's assault.

"Hmph... Quite a powerful attack." Wright calmly assessed the situation, raising his voice. "Smoker! Rosinante! Drag those unconscious ones onto the ship and have the Marines cuff them with Seastone handcuffs!"

Since Smoker and Rosinante were both Devil Fruit users, they couldn't directly handle the Seastone cuffs, and neither could Wright. This was precisely why Monet and Diamante had managed a desperate escape earlier.

Reflecting on the earlier battle, Diamante had indeed proven his worth as one of the top officers of the Donquixote Family.

As for Monet's Snow-Snow Fruit, while it was a weaker version of Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit and lacked its immediate combat power, its stealth capabilities were undeniably superior. Given Monet's limited mastery of her newly acquired powers, the fact that she managed to avoid detection by Smoker for so long was already a significant achievement.

The three who couldn't be roused were Lao G, Machvise, and Señor Pink, who had fought Rosinante. Having their hearts subjected to such devastating blows, they were far beyond the reach of any quick revival methods.

"Damn it!"

Doflamingo clenched his teeth. Even with his Devil Fruit having awakened—a feat he had just recently achieved—he knew that holding off the three in front of him was already a miracle. Trying to reclaim his unconscious subordinates? A fool's errand.

"One day..."

He had to secure a position as a Warlord of the Sea. Only then could he rescue them!

"Fufufufu... Wright, Rosinante, Smoker—I've taken note of you three."

Doflamingo abruptly retreated. With his awakened Devil Fruit powers, the environment around him was assimilated into his control. Though Wright could undoubtedly defeat him in a prolonged fight, intercepting a determined escape was another matter entirely.

Wright sheathed his sword, watching as Doflamingo left after throwing his parting words. He sighed.

"To think he awakened his abilities this quickly... That caught me off guard. I thought we'd be able to take them all down this time."

Rosinante quickly returned to Wright's side. "You're letting him go just like that?"

"What else can we do?" Wright shook his head, heading toward the shoreline. "If his ability hadn't awakened, I would never have let him escape. Even if it drained me, I was confident I could take him out."

"But with his abilities awakened, he now has the means to fight me on even ground. If he had recklessly shifted his focus to attack our warship or allied officials, the consequences would have been catastrophic."

Rosinante thought for a moment, then nodded. "Doffy would definitely resort to such measures... Still, taking down two top officers and capturing three others has already dealt a devastating blow to his forces."

"This operation's main objective was to protect the Heavenly Tribute and prevent Doflamingo from leveraging it to secure a Warlord position. By that measure, we've succeeded."

Wright snorted. "Heavenly Tribute... Tch!"

"Careful with your words." Rosinante chuckled at Wright's sudden irritation. "We both know what the Celestial Dragons are like. There's still plenty of time. Though, I admit, seeing them threatened by Doffy would have been satisfying... This result isn't bad either."

"Fair enough." Wright, Smoker, and Rosinante boarded the ship amid the cheers of their fellow Marines. Wright issued his orders:

"The enemy pirates—the Donquixote Family—have been repelled! Secure the prisoners, inventory the supplies, and replenish anything that's missing. We set sail for Mariejois at dawn!"

"Yes, Rear Admiral!"

"Well done, Wright, and you too, Smoker and Rosinante."

At Marineford, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, beneath the imposing "Absolute Justice" plaque, Sengoku sat at his desk. Stroking his braided beard, he looked approvingly at the three young Marines before him.

"However, there's one thing I need to inform you..." Sengoku coughed and handed a file to the goat chewing papers by his desk. The little goat bleated and started nibbling on the new document.

"Let me guess," Wright interrupted nonchalantly, picking his ear. "The details of the Donquixote Family's attack on the Heavenly Tribute are classified, and our achievements will be downplayed. Got it."

"Ahem!" Sengoku coughed awkwardly. Wright had indeed been through enough similar incidents to anticipate this outcome.

From the combined fleet operation to the Lightforged Crystal incident, from the Ope-Ope Fruit event to the Vergo case, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, and now the Heavenly Tribute—Wright's accolades had already far exceeded the qualifications for promotion to Vice Admiral.

"I don't mind," Smoker added. "Combat experience like this is far more valuable than medals or promotions."

This sentiment was unsurprising coming from Smoker. If not for Kuzan keeping him in check, he'd likely have caused chaos long ago, rank and decorum be damned.

"I've always been fine working in the shadows," Rosinante added, lighting a cigarette. He then noticed Sengoku's exasperated expression and quickly extinguished it as his coat of justice caught fire, frantically beating it out.

"...Anyway," Sengoku continued, wiping his brow, "the ambassadors from the allied nations were full of praise for your performance. You three have significantly raised the bar for what's expected of Rear Admirals, Captains, and Commanders!"

"Ha..." Wright yawned, sprawling on the office couch. "Old man Sengoku, let's get to the real rewards."

Sengoku adjusted his glasses, which reflected a gleam of light. "Very well. Wright, Rosinante, Smoker—hear this!"

The three immediately stood at attention, their earlier informality replaced by military precision. Even Wright wouldn't slack off when Sengoku spoke as Fleet Admiral.

"Effective immediately, Wright is promoted to Vice Admiral, Rosinante to Rear Admiral, and Smoker to Captain!"

"You're the last ones to know," Sengoku added with a wry smile.

"..." The room fell into silence.

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