The volcano roared.
Magma spilled across the battlefield as Akainu appeared, cloaked in steam and fury.
Kyle blinked. The system chimed in his head —
> [You've gained the attention of the Golden Lion. +2000 Attention Points.]
He didn't have time to react.
Golden Lion Shiki was already eyeing him like a hawk circling a wounded mouse.
Kyle's gut twisted. He's going to try to kill me.
It made sense. Shiki saw his gravity powers as a threat — and in his shoes, Kyle would've done the same. Wipe out the unpredictable factor early.
"Die, brat!" Shiki roared, launching skyward in a golden blur.
Kyle leapt back just in time, dodging by a hair's breadth. Sengoku and Zephyr moved instantly, flanking Kyle.
Their expressions were grim.
"Gravity..." Zephyr muttered. "A power like that... in the wrong hands..."
Sengoku nodded. "In the right hands, he'll be the future of the Marines."
The battle reignited with terrifying intensity.
Shiki's moves were erratic but lethal, darting between attacks using a variant of Geppo, pushing through openings even Sengoku couldn't close.
Then — in a blur of movement — Shiki appeared right in front of Kyle.
Kyle's heart jumped. He drew both blades instinctively.
"Gravity Blade: Carnage!"
He slashed — but too late. Clang! His swords shattered against Shiki's Sakura Juumoku.
"Tch... What kind of justice is that?" Shiki sneered. "Die with your flashy powers, boy!"
He vanished again, only to reappear right in front of Kyle. Two golden blades already mid-strike.
"Lion's Sting!"
Kyle's fingers shot open. A dome of gravitational distortion rippled around him, warping the air, blurring the light.
But Shiki's swords tore through it.
Too fast. Too strong.
"Kid... DIE!!!" Shiki's roar echoed in his skull.
Kyle's breath caught. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't—
And then someone stepped in front of him.
Akainu.
The blades pierced through Akainu's chest.
Time froze.
Kyle's eyes widened as he stared at the shining tips of Shiki's swords, soaked in magma instead of blood.
"Wh—"
Akainu wouldn't take a hit for anyone... Kyle knew the stories. The Marineford War, the cold-blooded justice. Ace's death. Akainu, striking down anything in his path.
So why now?
Then it hit him.
He's Logia. Lava. He let himself be stabbed.
The famous scene played out in reverse — where once Akainu was the attacker, now he was the shield.
If Kyle hadn't known better, he might've cried out, "Brother Dog!"
Sengoku and Zephyr tensed — but relaxed a moment later.
They knew too.
Akainu wasn't a martyr. He was a strategist.
Shiki laughed bitterly, "HAH! Is this what justice is now? Taking swords for green recruits?!"
He looked down at Akainu with disdain. "What, trying to die in his place? Admirals have fallen low."
But Akainu didn't answer.
Instead, lava dripped from the edges of Sakura Juumoku, hissing as it hit the ground. Slowly, deliberately, Akainu reached up and grabbed both blades with his bare hands.
The heat in his palms turned the metal red.
Shiki's eyes widened. He could feel it — the temperature, the pressure, the rising power.
"Wait... this is bad...!" Shiki muttered. "He's not just a soldier. He's—"
Kyle backed up instinctively as heat swirled around Akainu like a volcanic storm.
"Lava Demon..." Shiki breathed.
Akainu's body swelled with pressure. His back smoked like a furnace, molten energy bubbling at his shoulders.
Kyle staggered backward as the heat became unbearable.
Then came the voice — low, volcanic, final.
"Lava... Eruption."