Clouds as thick and heavy as mountains covered the sky for hundreds of kilometers. On the sea, the water churned and surged violently. On the distant horizon, the silhouettes of countless ships, large and small, gathered from all directions, filling the entire field of vision.
A fierce wind swept across the land. From the mouth of a giant dragon in the clouds, an orange-red pillar of flame shot out, carrying an aura of absolute destruction as it streaked toward them.
The faces of the tens of thousands of Marines looking up at the sky were illuminated a fiery red by the approaching flame pillar.
For a moment, their pupils were almost completely filled by this column of fire descending from the heavens.
But in that same instant, just as everyone was shaken by the dragon's breath, a tall and imposing figure stepped forward, and wisps of black smoke rose from his entire right arm.
At the same time, a ruby-like crimson light bloomed from the body of the man who seemed to be holding up the sky all by himself.
That crimson light, that searing heat, instantly overshadowed the descending pillar of flame, exploding onto the G1 island with an even more violent and destructive force!
"It's Admiral Akainu!"
An unknown Marine, perhaps trying to dispel the fear of death that was gripping his heart, shouted out the name of the man who was like a pillar of stability with a hysterical roar.
The next second!
Boiling, scorching, and powerful enough to boil rivers and seas, crimson magma surged out of Akainu's right arm, forming a massive magma fist the size of a house, and shot into the sky!
"Dai Funka!"
It wasn't just magma; it was also a terrifying shockwave, like a volcanic eruption.
The crimson magma fist flew through the air, heading straight for the incoming heat breath and flame pillar.
When these two terrifying forces, equally scorching and equally full of destructive energy, collided hundreds of meters above G1 island, a sun that pierced the night sky for thousands of miles instantly expanded and appeared, illuminating the dark world.
"Boom!"
Hundreds of meters in the air, the pillar of flame that had shot down like a fiery spear shattered, turning into a rain of fire that covered the entire plaza of G1 island and fell with a whooshing sound.
"Everyone, scatter! Stay away from the Admiral's battlefield! Keep calm and face the pirates!"
In the center of the plaza, Gion, who was short in stature but let out a roar like a wild beast, shouted out his orders.
"Yes, sir!"
Although nervous about the falling rain of fire, the Marines immediately followed orders, running to their usual posts under the leadership of the various naval officers.
"It really makes sense that they haven't promoted me to Admiral yet. I'm still so far behind Admiral Sakazuki." Gion spat out the cigarette butt he was holding in his mouth, pulled a flintlock pistol from his waist, and with incredibly nimble fingers, he spun it and shot at the clusters of falling fire with lightning speed.
With a rapid series of gunshots, the clusters of falling fire burst open with a bang, turning into small sparks that couldn't cause any effective harm to the Marines and dissipated into the air.
In the sky, the magma fist Akainu had unleashed, which had shattered the blue dragon's heat breath, didn't stop. Instead, it continued upward, flying toward the blue dragon in the sky.
Clearly, a solid fist made of magma had a stronger impact than a gaseous pillar of fire.
"Wororororo, that's more like it. If you've got what it takes, kill me here!"
"Tornado Bagua!"
In the sky, the blue dragon's massive, hundreds-of-meters-long body slid out from the clouds. It coiled, churning the air, and in an instant compressed the air into giant wind blades dozens of meters long. They shot out with a whooshing sound, slicing the approaching magma fist into pieces, which paused in mid-air and then fell back to the ground below.
Following the falling magma, Kaido's body rapidly contracted, returning to his human form.
He held his spiked club and swooped down, a look of excitement on his face, heading straight for where Akainu was.
Before he even got close, his Hassaikai was raised high. Muscles bulged on his thick right arm, and thick, advanced Armament Haki formed a flowing armor, covering the spiked club and locking onto Akainu's head before swinging down!
"Ragnaraku!"
Akainu's expression was cold and his eyes were icy. He took a step with his left foot, and the ground for a hundred meters around him shattered. His right fist glowed crimson, and his magma fist, wrapped in advanced Haki, shot out to meet Kaido's swinging Hassaikai.
"Meigo!"
With Kaido's head pointing down and Akainu's feet planted on the ground, the club and fist collided like a meteorite hitting the earth.
"Boom!"
The deafening explosion of the clash between the two men standing at the pinnacle of the seas roared across the sky like a thunderstorm.
With the point of their clash as the center, a wave of shockwaves that were so powerful they felt tangible swept in all directions.
Kaido, who was holding the Hassaikai in the air, bounced upward little by little. He was sent flying hundreds of meters high by Akainu's punch, like a cannonball, and flew back faster than he had come.
On the ground below, the earth where Akainu stood shattered with a rumble like a spiderweb.
Thick cracks spread wildly across the hard bluestone ground of the G1 plaza. In just over ten seconds, the huge island was left in tatters, a giant crater several hundred meters in diameter sinking into the ground.
Rocks and dirt shot out with a 'thud, thud, thud' in all directions. Some of the Marines who were hit had no chance to resist. Their bodies were directly pierced by the screaming rocks and turned into sieves, painting the ground with their blood.
Just the aftermath of a single clash between the two men resulted in the tragic deaths of dozens of Marines and the injury of many more.
Not only that, but in the sky, the magma fist that had been sliced apart by Kaido before turned into dazzling volcanic bombs, tearing through the night sky and raining down on the island.
"Scatter! Scatter even further! If you don't want to die, get away from the battlefield of the Admiral and Kaido!"
Gion was still shouting.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness and regret at the sight of the Marines who had died tragically from the shockwaves.
However, this was the cruel and naked reality of this world.
Even the most elite warriors, in the eyes of world-class fighters like Admirals and Emperors, were no different from ordinary people.
In a world where individual power could split mountains and seas and destroying a country was as easy as drinking water, the outcome of a war was never decided by the sheer number of soldiers but by the top-tier powerhouses.
On this kind of chaotic battlefield, it wasn't just the enemy that could kill you; your own powerful allies could just as easily destroy you.
Because the power gap was too great.
When two giant dragons fight, how can they possibly care about the lives of the ants around them?
Just then, a huge shadow fell over Gion, who was continuously shooting at the falling volcanic bombs, chilling his heart.
A terrifying face instantly appeared in his mind.
"Damn it! I almost forgot there's another Emperor here!"
He spun around abruptly and, without thinking, raised his gun and shot at the grinning Charlotte Linlin behind him.
"Bang!"
The bullet, propelled by gunpowder, shot out of the gun barrel and whistled toward Charlotte Linlin's eye.
Watching the bullet, which was imbued with advanced Haki, fly toward her eye, Charlotte Linlin showed no intention of dodging or raising her hand to block it.
"Snap!"
With a crisp pop, the bullet, its power amplified many times by advanced Armament Haki and acting like a cannonball, exploded in a ball of fire in front of Charlotte Linlin's left eye.
But Charlotte Linlin, behind the fireball, was completely unaffected.
She didn't even blink. Her large mouth was stretched open as she stared straight at Gion, and a wisp of crimson light gradually appeared in her eyes.
"Mamamamama, your soul must taste delicious, Marine. Life or..."
"Or your mother's head!"
Gion knew his flintlock pistol was useless and didn't even hope to kill Charlotte Linlin with it.
He stomped the ground, and his short body shot out like a cannonball, skimming along the ground. The moment he reached Charlotte Linlin's feet, he bounced up like a rubber ball, got to her side, and with his right fist wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki, he punched her in the temple.
"Bang!"
A dull thud, like a drum being beaten, sounded, and Gion's face changed slightly.
Looking at Charlotte Linlin, who had easily blocked his punch with her open hand, Gion's eye twitched.
This fat old lady, she was as fat as a pig, so how was she so fast?
He had thought that he could use his nimble footwork and speed to hit Charlotte Linlin.
But...
"Prometheus, Zeus! Get him for me, I want to properly taste his soul."
Charlotte Linlin grinned, looking at Gion with a greedy gaze. The fiery and thunder clouds floating above her head surged, raining down balls of scorching fire and streaks of lightning on Gion.
On the other side, Akainu and Kaido were already locked in combat.
The scorching magma fists and Kaido's swinging spiked club wildly clashed, sending magma splashing everywhere, twisting the air and rapidly raising the temperature in their immediate vicinity. The ground was littered with scattered clumps of magma, making it look like a volcanic crater.
The air was scalding and turbulent, like boiling water. Kaido felt as if the air he was breathing was fire, and it had a burning sensation.
But he was completely unfazed.
This level of high temperature could not cause even the slightest bit of damage to his physique.
What he was most concerned about was Akainu's magma fists.
In Kaido's memory, the last person to dare to fight him with their fists was that old geezer, Garp.
The spiked club swung down from above, carrying enough power to smash a small mountain in a single blow, heading for Akainu's neck.
Akainu's eyes snapped open, and his left hand suddenly expanded dozens of times, transforming into a massive, surging magma hand that reached out and completely enveloped the incoming spiked club.
At the same time, a red light burst from his right fist. The crimson, blood-red fist burned through the air and struck Kaido in the abdomen.
"Boom!"
Magma exploded from the fist, and a tidal wave of force erupted. The terrifying heat and impact, like a volcanic eruption, burned and melted the thick Haki armor covering Kaido's body, rapidly wearing it away under the scorching magma.
Large amounts of magma continuously gushed out from inside Akainu's body, transmitting along his right arm, pouring down on Kaido's chest like a waterfall and fiercely consuming his Armament Haki.
Kaido gritted his teeth and stared, his muscles bulging on his right arm. He gave a yank, pulling the spiked club out of Akainu's magma hand, and raised it high. Black and red lightning crackled from the spiked club, causing the rain of magma in front of him to splatter everywhere.
"Descending Thunderbolts and Hades!"
The spiked club, wrapped in top-tier Conqueror's Haki, came crashing down, aiming for Akainu's head.
A ferocious light flashed in Akainu's eyes, and he seemed to ignore the incoming Conqueror's Haki-infused attack.
His entire right arm, boiling with magma, transformed into a crimson magma hellhound. Propelled by the torrent of magma, it violently burned through the advanced Haki defense on Kaido's chest and solidly struck him in the abdomen.
"Inugami Guren!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Two explosions occurred almost simultaneously.
Akainu's head was struck by the spiked club, which was covered in spikes and crackling with black and red lightning. The armor of advanced Haki was mercilessly torn apart, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and he was smashed a hundred meters deep into the ground by Kaido's club.
The Marine cap he was wearing was shredded, and dark red blood flowed from his head, staining Akainu's entire face and making him look like a demon.
On the ground, Kaido, whose Haki defense had been pierced by the scorching magma, coughed up a mouthful of blood. A distinct, sunken fist print appeared on his abdomen.
With that fist print as the center, large patches of skin were scorched and burned through by the magma, and even the muscle tissue underneath was charred black.
His body, which was as big as a mountain, was sent flying backward, plowing a deep gash hundreds of meters long and a dozen meters wide into the ground of G1 island, shattering countless rocks along the way before finally smashing into a building at the rear of the base.
The building, which had been smashed through, rumbled and collapsed. Kaido lay on his back on a table that had been flattened into sawdust, letting the slanted concrete floor slam down hard on his face.
The fanatical excitement in his eyes grew even more intense.
Kaido raised his right arm, which was covered in a few blue scales, and smashed the concrete floor covering his face to pieces with a single slap. His shoulders shook, and a maniacal laugh erupted from his large mouth, which was full of four sharp fangs.
"Worororo, wororororo!"
"This is amazing! This is amazing! This is the fight I wanted! Come on, Akainu!"
"Come on! Kill me!"
A wave of sound burst from Kaido's open mouth, turning into a tangible shockwave that exploded the building he was in from the inside out.
Amidst the swirling dust, Kaido, whose body had transformed into a dragon-man and grown two or three meters taller, raised his spiked club and roared up at the sky.
Beneath his feet, the ground for a hundred meters around suddenly turned crimson.
The rocks and dirt rapidly melted into fiery-red magma, and magma bubbles gurgled and burst on the ground.
In front of Kaido, the fiery-red magma on the ground slowly rose, solidifying into a man with a blood-stained face but eyes that were as cold as blades.
"As you wish, Kaido."
"Boom!"
The magma lake beneath Akainu's feet exploded, propelling him up into the sky. He arced through the air, clenched his right hand into a fist, and punched straight toward Kaido's face.
"Wororororo! Come on!"
The dragon-man Kaido gripped his spiked club, which was shooting out black and red lightning, with both hands, and shattered the air with a single strike, sending it toward the charging Akainu.
"Rumble!"
End of Chapter)
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