In the chaos of the Paramount War, the Navy's three Admirals displayed starkly different attitudes.
Aokiji, the chill strategist, was like a hidden yellow-neutral unit on a game board his actions ambiguous, his motivations unclear. Kizaru, meanwhile, drifted like a red rogue, a wild card who seemed more interested in wandering than in war. His only real show of kindness during the battle had been a fleeting moment of leniency toward Luffy.
But Akainu? He was the unmistakable skull-marked boss unit.
He bore a burning hatred toward pirates and, in the name of "Absolute Justice," refused to give any ground even to Garp. Not only was he determined to execute Ace, Garp's adoptive grandson, but he wouldn't hesitate to kill Luffy, his biological one, either.
In the original timeline, Ace had died by his hand. That grudge ran deep, so deep that forums across the Grand Line erupted in outrage for hundreds of threads. If Ace didn't have a legion of devoted female fans, he might have ended up buried in the same ridicule as the Third Hokage.
At this moment, Akainu had intended to deal with the so-called "Pink-Haired King of Cowards" down on the frozen bay. As for Ace bound to the execution platform even if he broke free, he would inevitably fall to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
But then that old mutt Garp had the nerve to single-handedly hold off Sengoku.
Once I'm Fleet Admiral, Akainu thought bitterly, I'm sending that fossil to guard the fish ponds.
And as for the ancient swordsman Rayleigh if he didn't want to retire peacefully, he could die right here alongside Ace.
With the other two Admirals out of action a ghost and a slacker the full weight of the Navy's might now rested on Akainu's shoulders.
His body began to smolder, half-molten, as he glared at the execution platform. Ace stood there defiantly, flames blazing around him, making no move to flee. Instead, he looked ready to charge.
Was it arrogance? Was he counting on his Logia-type fruit to save him?
Fool. The Magma-Magma Fruit utterly overpowered the Flame-Flame Fruit. And with Haki added to the mix, did Ace really think an Admiral would be afraid?
"AKAINU! I've trained two hundred times harder in that prison for this moment!!" Ace bellowed.
Both Garp and Sengoku turned sharply. They had expected Ace to run. That's what Logia users did best.
Why aren't you running, Ace?! Garp screamed silently, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Sengoku reached over, placing a heavy hand on Garp's shoulder and shaking his head. There was no stopping this.
Akainu stepped forward, each boot cracking the ground beneath him, molten scars left in his wake. Lava bubbled over his fists. His killing intent was almost tangible.
But Ace didn't back down. Instead, his flames surged even hotter as he took a combat stance.
He wasn't being reckless. He understood Akainu's nature. Turning his back on this man was suicide.
"Fool," Akainu growled. "Flame will always kneel to magma!"
Just as he prepared to unleash another tirade against Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates
Ace beat him to it.
"A broken dog dares to bark at kings?" Ace shouted, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "You talk about justice yet you're nothing but the Celestial Dragons' lapdog. You've no honor, no shame. That word 'Justice' on your back should be replaced with 'Dog Food.'"
"You call yourself righteous? If you had any dignity left, you'd kneel before the people and help overthrow Mary Geoise! Seize Imu and expose the truth! That would be true justice!"
Garp and Sengoku's eyes widened in disbelief.
Did this prisoner just insult us?!
Akainu exploded with fury. This wasn't just insubordination. This was heresy.
To challenge his justice?
Unforgivable.
"Hellhound!" Akainu roared.
"Flame King's Wrath!" Ace countered.
Their fists collided.
Flame and magma met in a cataclysmic explosion. Black lightning of Conqueror's Haki surged from the impact.
And then the impossible happened.
The so-called inferior Flame-Flame Fruit began pushing back the superior Magma-Magma Fruit.
"No… this can't be!" Akainu's pupils shrank in disbelief.
His magma-coated fist cracked. Threads of fire crept through the fissures, burning through the molten rock.
Ace's flames surged upward, overpowering the magma. "You've become far too reliant on your Devil Fruit, Akainu!"
With a deafening roar, Ace's flame-wrapped punch imbued with Conqueror's Haki slammed into Akainu's chin.
A sharp crack rang out. Akainu's massive frame was launched skyward, his nose spurting blood. For a moment, he lost control of his elemental form, his body forced back into full human shape before crashing into the ruins over a hundred meters away.
Ace stood tall, flames dancing around him.
"Only Haki," he declared, "can reign above all!"
Akainu had let his guard down and paid the price.
Garp and Sengoku stared, mouths agape.
Even Kizaru and Rayleigh paused mid-fight, stunned.
Aokiji no longer pretending to fight casually stepped away from Marco's flames, pushing up his sunglasses with a sigh. Well, that ought to earn me points with Garp.
Whitebeard, grinning ear to ear, stopped his advance. "Gurararara! Well done, Ace!"
Dracule Mihawk, blade locked with Flower Sword Vista, turned his head slightly. "So… another one has awakened that power."
But from the smoke… Akainu rose again.
Lava dripped from his body, hissing as it ate through the ground.
"Seems I underestimated you," he muttered. "You really are the son of the Pirate King."
Snap. Crack.
He rotated his neck, bones cracking unnervingly. The broken lava armor began to reform around him.
"Time to get serious."
BOOM!
The ground beneath him erupted, transforming into a lake of molten rock. Akainu vanished within the blast of rising magma.
"Great Eruption!"
The sky darkened as a colossal lava fist larger than any ship descended from above. A meteor of molten death. Worse still, it was covered in black Haki, armored like a god's fist.
"Everyone, move!" Whitebeard bellowed. "The Navy's top power is about to unleash hell!"
In the middle of that chaos…
"Marco! Now's our chance!"
Uchiha Itachi's voice pierced the battlefield. The Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly in his eyes, three-bladed pinwheels of fate.
Having fought together many times, Marco responded instantly. His phoenix flames flared, blasting back nearby Marines as he soared skyward.
The giant blue phoenix hovered in the sky.
Itachi leapt onto Marco's back, his black cloak with crimson clouds whipping in the wind.
Susanoo!
Scarlet chakra burst forth, forming a skeletal titan around him. Bones grew, tendons stretched. A glowing blade formed in its right hand, a radiant shield in its left.
The Susanoo expanded rapidly then enveloped the entire phoenix within its armor.
The strain blinded Itachi for a moment. But then, Marco's regenerative flames surged, clearing his vision again.
"Thank you, Marco," Itachi said.
"Haha! We're partners, Itachi!" Marco grinned.
Twin rings of flame one red, one blue burned around the Susanoo.
This was the Trial of the Phoenix.
"Marco," Itachi called, tightening his grip. "Let's go."
"Right behind you!" Marco roared.
No one could stop the armored phoenix now.
Every enemy in their path was cleaved aside by the chakra blade.
The god of war descended straight toward Admiral Akainu.
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