Chapter 82: Breathn't

Luo Ning demanded aggressively again, his voice laced with hostility. "Why are you silent? Don't you speak? Has everyone become mute? Doesn't a single one of you Marines dare to answer this question?"

Akainu, unable to bear Luo Ning's taunts any longer, lashed out with a fiery magma punch. He understood the Marines' predicament – answering the question would be disastrous. Silence, however infuriating, was the only option. Akainu reasoned it was better to act decisively than be subjected to further humiliation.

"Look," Luo Ning taunted from a safe distance, dodging Akainu's attack with ease. "Just do it if you can't say it! You Marines are only so capable!"

Sengoku and the other Marines seethed silently. If their glares could kill, Luo Ning would have perished a thousand deaths.

"By the way," Luo Ning continued with a sly grin, "just to remind you, I may have accidentally reactivated the live Den Den Mushi you deactivated. Remember, 'four seven three'? This entire scene has been broadcasted live."

Luo Ning's next words sent a wave of dread through everyone present. They noticed the surrounding Marine soldiers and officers lying incapacitated on the ground. A clone of Luo Ning held the now-active Den Den Mushi, confirming that the entire confrontation had indeed been streamed live.

"It's over," Garp muttered, his voice heavy with despair. These two words echoed the collective sentiment of the Marines. Their reputation was in tatters.

"Hahahaha, that's fantastic! With news like this, the sea will start to boil again."

The Sabaody Archipelago, as well as reporters on several surrounding islands, have gone crazy. They quickly recorded the news, took pictures with Den Den Mushis, and then rapidly disseminated it to newspapers.

There's no time to waste. Any delay could result in their scoop being stolen by others, and the Marines will definitely try to stop them. They need to be fast and release the news before any opposing voices emerge.

Now, they're not afraid of the Marines settling accounts later. After all, every newspaper is reporting on this matter. Do the Marines really have the audacity to take down all the newspapers? They simply don't have the guts.

So, they've become unscrupulous now, but Morgans stands to profit the most.

Morgans' newspaper offices are scattered all over the seas, reaching every corner. With such a big story, he's now printing newspapers faster than anyone else. Today, explosive news arrives one after another, and the newspapers are sent out in wave after wave.

"How about it, is it a surprise? Is it a shock?"

Luo Ning asks with a smile. After this wave of operations, the Marines' situation will be abysmal.

"Don't worry about what this guy says! Take him down!"

Now, the only way for the Marines to save face is to capture Luo Ning and then use the fishing boat incident as a scapegoat.

While there's no guarantee the Marines' reputation will fully recover, at least the damage can be contained. Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that they can capture Luo Ning and rescue the Celestial Dragons. Otherwise, their situation will only worsen.

After the voice fell, several Marine executives, including Garp, took action again.

They have no choice now. Though Garp utterly despises the Marines' actions this time, he still wants to salvage their reputation.

"Enough games. What do you think my dozen clones are for?"

Luo Ning, tired of this prolonged fight, directly linked the fantasies of all his avatars except the one in Cocoyashi Village. This connection caused his own fantasy power to soar.

"Attack those clones!"

Though Sengoku didn't understand the purpose of the clones summoned right before Luo Ning unleashed, he instinctively ordered an attack on them.

The exact function of these clones remained unclear, but one thing was certain: their number likely correlated to the power of the technique used. Therefore, Sengoku wasted no time in giving the attack command.

"It's too late to react now"

The avatars had already surrounded the Marines at this point, forming a circle of confinement.

The moment Luo Ning activated his fantasy, the surrounding space underwent a drastic transformation. A special zone materialized with Luo Ning and his avatars as nodes.

This zone was directly transformed into a cosmic starry sky – the most extraordinary ability of a visionary: the fantasy space.

By leveraging the shared fantasy power of his numerous avatars, Luo Ning could even directly imagine the universe itself.

While the area wasn't vast, it was indeed a genuine vacuum environment.

Exposure to a vacuum environment causes human death within a mere ten seconds. Of course, beings in the Pirate World possess different physiques and wouldn't succumb that quickly. However, this doesn't imply they'll be unharmed.

Even the strongest require oxygen, and in the vacuum of space, failing to expel the air from your lungs would be a grave misfortune.

Without fully exhaling, their lungs will continue to expand and rupture.

Even hardened veterans of the Pirate World wouldn't be immune to the sudden disappearance of oxygen.

This space, created by Luo Ning, was inescapable. The Marines wouldn't be able to cross the barrier unless someone with the Door-Door Fruit from CP9 arrived to create an exit.

"I can't breathe! What's happening?"

Trapped within the space, the Marines struggled to breathe. Even when they opened their mouths, no sound emerged – the vacuum carried no sound waves.

Soon, they felt the strain on their lungs. Fortunately, those with Armament Haki could harden their lungs, offering some protection against rupturing.

However, oxygen deprivation is a universal threat. Even the powerful Saiyans from the Dragon Ball world eventually succumbed to the lack of oxygen. Without it, their strength becomes meaningless.

The Marines were now in a state of extreme hypoxia, their bodies breaking into a sweat – a common physiological response to such an environment. Were it not for Armament Haki, they would also be succumbing to radiation burns.

While they could resist some aspects of the vacuum, oxygen deprivation remained the most critical issue.

As their body's oxygen reserves dwindled, veins on their foreheads bulged, and their faces flushed red from suffocation. There was no escape.

The weaker Marines soon lost consciousness. Luo Ning then expelled them from the space.

Truthfully, eliminating them wouldn't have been excessive, but Luo Ning didn't want complete chaos in the seas. While he despised Roger's actions, keeping these Marines alive served two purposes: Luo Ning could continue to learn and grow from their experiences, and it would help maintain a semblance of stability in the world.