The battle on Sabaody Archipelago raged on. The clash between Admiral Akainu and Yamato had moved from the sea to the island itself, and with every passing moment, the destruction spread.
"Rumble..."
Violent explosions erupted one after another, transforming the landscape into a hellscape of ice and fire. Everything in the path of their fight was obliterated.
As the battle intensified, Yamato felt an ever-increasing pressure. She was finally beginning to understand that the beatings she had endured from her father her whole life were nothing compared to this. He had always been holding back. So this is the true strength of an Admiral, she thought, parrying another molten fist that sent shudders up her arm. A power that can stand shoulder to shoulder with that monster.
Fortunately, her lifelong opponent had been Kaido, one of the Four Emperors and arguably the most durable creature in the world. That brutal training, combined with the incredible regenerative abilities of her Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, was the only reason she was still standing against Akainu's relentless assault.
Even so, the tide of the battle had turned. Where she was once able to launch her own attacks and even wound the Admiral, she was now forced into a desperate, passive defense, doing everything she could just to block his endless barrage of magma. Anxiety began to creep into her heart.
What should I do? At this rate...
While Yamato grappled with her growing desperation, the awe and terror on the faces of those watching had not faded in the slightest. They were horrified by the Admiral's overwhelming power, where every attack was a natural disaster capable of reshaping the island. At the same time, they were stunned that this unknown young woman could withstand such a force for so long.
"This is the scoop of a lifetime!" Somewhere on the island, a reporter for the World Economic Journal risked life and limb, inching closer to the battle to capture every devastating moment.
"If this continues, Kaido's daughter will lose," Shakky remarked, her voice grim. "He's an Admiral, after all. The kid is still outmatched."
Rayleigh's eyes remained calm and focused. "Don't be so sure. There are plenty of people watching this battle far more closely than we are."
Shakky followed his gaze and noticed several familiar, powerful figures scattered across the archipelago. "Well now, it's getting lively. Looks like everyone's here."
On the massive trunk of a Yarukiman Mangrove, Donquixote Doflamingo squatted with his signature grin, watching the distant fight as if it were the most amusing show on earth. On the roof of a tall building, the imposing figure of Bartholomew Kuma sat motionless, with Dracule Mihawk standing silently beside him, both observing the battle with keen interest.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the waves, Jinbe was using his Fishman Karate to manipulate the ocean currents, silently guiding Yamato's pirate ship away from the battlefield and the crippled Marine warship. The Marines on board noticed the ship slipping away, but their propulsion was destroyed, leaving them unable to give chase.
On the deck of the escaping vessel, Yamato's new crewmates felt the ship moving on its own. They didn't know who was responsible, but they knew one thing for certain: someone was helping them.
Just as they were about to break free from the Marine cordon, a lazy, frivolous voice echoed from the sky. "Y'know, you can't just run away like that. It would be awfully hard to explain to the Celestial Dragons!"
A blinding golden light filled the sky.
"Oh no!"
"That light is...!?"
Despair washed over the faces of everyone on the ship. They knew exactly who that light belonged to. If their captain was barely holding off one Admiral, there was no hope of escaping two.
Just as a beam of golden light was about to pierce through their ship, a massive pillar of water erupted from the sea, meeting the beam head-on like a liquid sword.
BOOM!
The dazzling explosion forced everyone to shield their eyes. When the light faded, the water pillar collapsed into a torrential downpour. The crew opened their eyes to see a burly, blue-skinned Fishman standing on the waves before them.
"The Knight of the Sea, Jinbe!" Bonney and the others recognized him instantly, breathing a collective sigh of relief. But their relief was short-lived.
Above them, the golden light converged into a man in a yellow-and-white striped suit, a Marine "Justice" coat draped over his shoulders. Admiral Kizaru looked down lazily. "Ooh, scary. Knight of the Sea Jinbe, do you have any idea what you're doing? Are you abandoning your Warlord status to oppose the Marines and the World Government?"
"No," Jinbe replied, his stance unwavering and his voice firm as he stared up at Kizaru. "I am only here to protect my friends."
"Friends?" Kizaru drawled. "Do you know what your 'friends' have done? You, of all people, should know the price for harming a Celestial Dragon, Jinbe..."
Jinbe's expression tightened, but his gaze only grew more resolute. "Of course, I know. And it is for that very reason that I cannot retreat a single step. I am a member of the Sun Pirates."
The moment he uttered the name "Sun Pirates," the atmosphere shifted. Everyone present knew the name—and the story of their legendary captain, Fisher Tiger, the hero who climbed the Red Line to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and freed thousands of slaves.
Even Kizaru's lazy expression became somber. "Is that so? Well, that's a shame. An attack on the World Nobles cannot go unpunished. I'll have to take you all in."
Golden light began to flicker around his body.
"Then come!" Jinbe roared, his arms coated in a dark, swirling Armament Haki.
Not far away, on the tall rooftop, Kuma suddenly shifted his weight. Mihawk glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "What's this? Are you going to make a move? How surprising."
Kuma didn't answer, but his expression grew serious. Just as he was about to act, he froze, his head snapping in a different direction. Mihawk didn't need to ask why. He had sensed it too.
"It seems the show is over," Mihawk said, his voice flat.
As the words left his mouth, two streaks of lightning—one red, one black—tore across the sky from the distant horizon. They moved with impossible speed and power, striking down onto the Sabaody Archipelago.
"What!?"
Akainu, locked in combat with Yamato, and Kizaru, preparing to engage Jinbe, both felt the immense presence. Their expressions changed instantly as they tried to retreat, but the lightning was too fast. It struck both of them simultaneously. The two Admirals grimaced, their elemental Logia forms forcibly dispelled as a jolt of raw power coursed through them. Beads of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Doflamingo, still perched on the mangrove tree, broke out in a cold sweat. "That's just too exaggerated. To project Haki with that kind of power from so far away..."
"Has Kaido arrived?" Shakky murmured, immediately understanding what had just happened. She looked to the horizon and saw it: a mass of dark clouds rolling in, swallowing the sky.
Rayleigh's voice, now tinged with a rare seriousness, sounded beside her. "I never thought that kid Kaido's Haki would become this strong..."
"Huh?" Shakky turned to ask him what he meant, but she saw that Rayleigh had no intention of explaining. He simply turned to leave.
"Let's go," he said. "There's nothing good left to see here."
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