The explosive roar from the island scraping against the air grew louder and louder, almost enough to rupture eardrums.
The air's crushing pressure spread outward, and even the ground of Marine Headquarters began to show signs of splitting apart.
The howling wind was mournful and violent.
Everyone continued their assault with everything they had, teeth clenched tight. Cannon blasts and waves of sword qi crashed down like a torrential storm onto the base of the island.
But the harder they fought, the deeper the despair grew in their eyes. The light in their pupils was beginning to fade.
The island was simply too massive. Even with everyone working together, they could only shatter the outermost layer of rock at its base—nowhere near enough to stop its descent.
What was truly terrifying wasn't just the impact to come, but the speed of the fall. Because of its sheer size, it wasn't plummeting like a meteorite; it was descending with an ominous slowness, like the calm before a devastating storm.
That unbearable, suffocating pressure—knowing death was inevitable, yet powerless to stop it—was what truly tore at the human will.
A silent wave of despair slowly spread across the land of Marineford.
"Damn it... I haven't even made it to Admiral yet... I can't... die here..."
Kuzan gritted his teeth, struggling to get up off the ground, only to stumble and fall to one knee again, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He had always been the one who rose through the ranks the fastest, much faster than Sakazuki and the others. But his stamina and physical resilience couldn't match theirs. And earlier in battle, he had forcibly unleashed "Ice Age," a technique he hadn't yet fully mastered...
Now, with the weight of that attack and his serious injuries, his body had already reached its limit. He was on the verge of collapse.
Elsewhere, Sengoku had already taken the form of a towering golden Buddha.
His massive golden palm carried immense force as it unleashed shockwaves again and again into the air.
Each blast ripped through the sky and carved out craters over a hundred meters wide at the island's base. But the distance blunted much of his attack's power, weakening it by more than half.
Even Sengoku, one of the Marine Headquarters' top Admirals, couldn't help but feel a deep helplessness, visible in his bloodshot eyes.
His Devil Fruit power had never been suited for wide-range attacks.
The Mythical Zoan type could grant all sorts of unbelievable abilities, but at the end of the day, it was still a Zoan—it existed to boost close-combat prowess.
Up close and personal was where Sengoku thrived. But against an opponent like Shiki, using such underhanded and large-scale tactics, he was powerless.
"So... looks like this time, we're all gonna die here, huh..."
Amid the rubble of a collapsed building, Borsalino leaned back with a lazy grin, totally unbothered by decorum.
He glanced over at Sakazuki, who was still firing off magma fists. The latter's complexion had gone pale, blood dripping from his mouth. Borsalino gave a small chuckle and shake of his head, then turned to look at Daren.
"So... got any bright ideas?"
Daren had been silent ever since the floating island appeared. At those words, he paused.
Then, after a beat of silence, he let out a laugh.
"You don't seem too worried, Borsalino."
Borsalino shrugged, relaxed as ever, and smirked.
"Sure, Shiki's move is terrifying and all... but I'm the flashy guy, remember? I'm not dying that easily."
Daren chuckled under his breath.
"Yeah... you're not dying."
Above, the thunderous noise grew louder still. The sky looked like it was being torn apart. Wild winds raged across the land.
"With your ability, you could leave anytime. You're not dying either."
Borsalino gave him a knowing look.
Daren went quiet again.
His uniform was soaked in blood and in tatters. His face was streaked with dirt and crimson, and his body looked like it could collapse at any second.
With trembling hands, he pulled a crumpled cigarette pack from inside his coat, took one out, placed it between his lips, and lit it.
The acrid smoke hit his throat hard, making his windpipe and lungs burn with every breath.
Without realizing it, Daren's Observation Haki had already spread outward.
Images flickered through his mind like snapshots.
He saw civilians kneeling in pools of blood, screaming and sobbing.
He saw familiar faces struggling to keep fighting, refusing to fall.
He saw the bloodshot eyes of Admiral Sengoku and Zephyr-sensei.
He saw Tokikake, Yamakaji, Onigumo...
He saw Amatsuki Toki standing in the crowd, hands clasped, eyes reddened, looking his way.
…
"Daren! If you have any ideas, use them now!"
At that moment, Sengoku's loud shout suddenly interrupted Daren's wandering thoughts.
He stared at the figure of the Commodore with bloodshot eyes, his frosty gaze filled with a hint of supplication.
Faced with such a desperate situation, Sengoku racked his brains but couldn't think of a way out.
Although it sounded ridiculous, for some reason, Sengoku felt that if it were that brat Daren, he would definitely have a way out!
Countless missions in the past had proven this!
Sengoku's words instantly caught the attention of the others.
The Marines turned their heads in unison, their eyes focused on the Commodore.
"Jihahaha! Don't be ridiculous!"
Shiki naturally heard Sengoku's voice and couldn't help but laugh sarcastically:
"This is the power to destroy the world! No one can fight it!"
"Just accept reality! Marineford... will sink into the sea today!"
His face was filled with a twisted, maniacal smile.
There was nothing in this world more intoxicating than the scene before his eyes.
ust thinking about that scene made Shiki tremble with excitement.
"As for that brat Daren... He's probably having a hard time even standing, right?"
He stared at Daren with a mocking look on his face, the blood from his arms dripping onto his twin swords.
"If he really had a way, he would have used it long ago, Jihahaha!"
Shiki's words fell like a thunderbolt, striking all the Marines as if they had been struck by lightning.
They stared blankly at the figure of the Commodore, their hands gradually slowing down and finally stopping their attacks.
Could it be... there really was no way out?
Would all of us die here today?
"Hoo..."
However, just at that moment, Daren suddenly exhaled a long stream of smoke from his mouth like a dragon.
In the strong wind filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood, he suddenly smiled.
"I haven't moved because I wanted to recover some of my strength."
Upon hearing this, the Marines were stunned.
Shiki was also taken aback.
Daren turned his head to look at Borsalino and asked with a smile,
"So, is that experiment... complete?"
A look of interest flashed across Borsalino's sunglasses.
"It should be almost done."
"Very good."
Daren looked up at the Great Pirate in the sky, his expression calm beyond everyone's expectations, his calm eyes hiding a fierce and passionate madness.
"Enma."
He raised his hand.
Suddenly—
A fierce and demonic black light burst out from the ground in the distance and instantly appeared in front of Daren at an unimaginable speed.
The three-bladed sword had a cold black body and was engraved with purple-black flame patterns.
A murderous and bloody smell instantly spread.
Without Daren making a move, the sharp Meito slowly shifted, pointing the tip of the blade at the huge island falling from the sky.
"Hm?"
Shiki narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but sneer:
"So you tried to recover your strength so you could use your metal manipulation to pierce this island with that sword? Jihahaha, how foolish!"
He had seen Daren use a similar move before.
That move was indeed powerful, but it was far from enough to completely destroy this island!
Daren didn't say anything.
He stood in the ruins amidst the strong winds and flying debris, his blood-stained cloak of justice fluttering behind him.
Boom!
The magnetic field instantly erupted and boiled, and Enma suddenly shot out from where he stood, breaking the sound barrier in an instant and exploding into circles of white air waves.
Like a flash of fierce black light, this world-famous Cursed Sword... shot into the sky!
"Jihahaha! Impossible! Such power is impossible..."
Shiki's ferocious laughter stopped abruptly.
It was as if he sensed something, his expression suddenly changed, and his pupils contracted tightly.
Sengoku and Zephyr also froze in their tracks.
At this moment, the indifferent voice of the Commodore echoed across the battlefield.
"It is undeniable that you do possess the strength to destroy the world, Shiki."
A fierce smile appeared on Daren's lips.
"Therefore..."
"Only the strength to destroy the world can fight you."
He clenched his fists tightly and his eyes narrowed.
"Shoot it, Enma!"
As soon as he finished speaking...
Under the incredulous gaze of countless Marines, and with Shiki staring in amazement, Enma shot into the sky... Its size instantly increased dozens of times!
Enma, which was originally nearly two meters long, instantly grew larger and longer... turning into a giant sword about five meters wide and a hundred meters long!
Even more unbelievable was that under the boost of this magical power, Enma's speed also skyrocketed from several times the speed of sound to dozens of times the speed of sound!
"More-More Fiftyfold Slash: Island Collapse!"
Under the shocked and horrified gaze of everyone, Enma, transformed into a giant sword, frictioned with the air at high speed, creating astonishing sparks, like a fiery blade wielded by an invisible god, tearing through the atmosphere...
It suddenly pierced through the floating island that had fallen from the sky!