Akainu was the first to strike. The moment his high-temperature magma body neared Bege, Bege felt as if his entire being was about to ignite.
A massive magma fist ruthlessly smashed towards Bege's head.
"Clang!"
In the nick of time, Bege drew the Fire Cloud Sword from his waist, holding it single-handedly above his head.
"Boom!"
A dull, reverberating impact thundered out. Immediately, the ground beneath Bege's feet caved in, sending a large spray of rubble flying as a fierce wind blasted outwards in all directions.
Akainu's magma fist struck the Fire Cloud Sword, his entire body leaning forward, suspended in mid-air. His eyes were chilling to the extreme, as if he wanted to swallow Bege whole.
"Capone Bege, today you will undoubtedly fall before me!"
Akainu's expression was incredibly sinister. With a ruthless look, he pressed down fiercely again. Simultaneously, his entire arm turned to magma, and a torrent of scorching magma erupted from his fist, surging towards Bege.
"Ohm!"
The ground beneath Bege's feet collapsed further. The sunken crater suddenly buckled again, and cracks spread out in all directions, forming a vast spiderweb pattern. Even more terrifying was the gushing magma. Bege instantly activated his externalized space, forming an invisible barrier to block the magma's impact.
"Want to catch me? You, Akainu, don't have that ability yet!" Bege suddenly roared. Exerting his full strength, he swung his sword and flung Akainu away. Immediately, he followed up with another extremely fast slash, a streak of sword aura cleaving the air as it shot towards Akainu.
Akainu shattered the sword aura with a punch. Half of his body began to turn to magma, the temperature around him soaring, even causing the air to distort.
"Akainu, I'll indulge you for a couple of rounds today," Bege's eyes turned cold. He broke into a run, instantly charging towards Akainu. The Fire Cloud Sword swung down furiously, an terrifyingly savage and ferocious sword aura erupting violently.
Akainu's eyes were icy. Magma surged from both his fists as he raised them and, without hesitation, clashed directly with the Fire Cloud Sword.
Violent sword aura and rushing magma shot out in all directions. Black lightning crackled between them. From the first exchange, both were using their full power. The ground began to collapse rapidly, countless fissures spreading into the distance, and wave after wave of shockwaves pushed back the nearby Marines.
In a battle between top-tier powerhouses, those without sufficient strength didn't even have the qualification to watch.
"Akainu, looks like you've improved quite a bit these past three years," Bege sneered.
"Dark Hound!"
Akainu's expression hardened. He kicked towards Bege, his right leg transforming into a vicious magma hound that bit at Bege's body.
Bege lifted his left leg, coated it in Armament Haki, and his pitch-black leg kicked the magma hound apart. Akainu's severed right leg instantly reformed from magma. Akainu's eyes were sinister. His entire body, except for his head, transformed into magma, thick black smoke billowing upwards. Akainu seemed to have become a volcano, endless magma spreading out from beneath his feet.
Bege's eyebrows twitched, and he instantly withdrew his sword and retreated.
"Trying to run?!"
Akainu took a large stride, closely pursuing Bege, his fists instantly unleashing a barrage of magma punches.
Bege swung his sword, cleaving the magma fists apart. Suddenly, his feet paused; the ground beneath him was rapidly turning into magma. If not for the invisible barrier formed by his externalized space, he likely would have been injured by the magma.
But in the next moment, he frowned again. Akainu plunged both hands into the magma. Roiling magma surged into the ground, and then, the magma beneath Bege's feet erupted upwards like a volcanic explosion, instantly engulfing him.
To be enveloped in magma—any other powerhouse would likely only escape unscathed by using full-body Armament Haki. Bege, with his Devil Fruit ability, could still use his invisible barrier to block the high-temperature magma for a short time.
Bege quickly burst out of the magma, but ferocious-looking magma hounds leaped at him from all around.
His externalized space abruptly expanded to three meters. All the magma hounds slowed, and his blade instantly dispatched them all.
Akainu had leaped into the air a moment earlier, his entire being seemingly transformed into a giant fireball. He punched downwards, and the surging magma on his body coalesced in an instant, forming a magma giant fist dozens of meters in size, which then smashed down towards Bege.
"Scorching River Great Eruption!"
The magma giant fist struck the ground, pulverizing dozens of meters of earth and causing hundreds of meters of ground to completely buckle. Thick smoke billowed, and surging magma shot out in all directions. Some Marines, unable to dodge in time, were hit by a splash of magma and fell to the ground, wailing in agony.
Akainu paid no heed to the injured Marines. His gaze was fixed on the shattered ground, his Observation Haki spreading out. His eyes instantly focused, and he began to run across the magma. With a wave of his hands, the magma on the ground seemed to come under his control, surging up and transforming into magma hounds that charged out.
Their target was a figure within the billowing smoke.
Several sharp streaks of sword aura quickly flew out from the smoke, slicing all the magma hounds apart.
Akainu rushed over quickly, his right fist lashing out. His entire magma-fied right arm shot forward, heading straight into the dense smoke.
A clang sounded, followed by a gust of wind that dispersed the smoke.
Only then was the figure within the smoke revealed—it was Bege. He held his sword in one hand, parrying Akainu's magma fist. His left hand formed a fist and shattered the magma arm. Akainu's fist instantly dissolved into scattered magma, while the magma on Akainu's right arm roiled and reformed his arm once more.
"Bege, we're leaving first!" At this moment, Shanks' shout came from the distance. Bege knew Shanks and his crew had escaped from Aokiji.
"Not playing with you anymore." Bege immediately vanished from his spot, dashing towards the coast.
After Shanks escaped, Aokiji would definitely return to support Akainu. If two Admirals blocked his path then, he had no confidence he could escape from both of them.
"Don't even think about running!"
Akainu roared, chasing after Bege while simultaneously launching a series of magma fists, wreaking havoc on the forest.
"Akainu, you really are a pain," Bege suddenly turned and stopped. A ferocious aura erupted from him, and he directly slashed at Akainu. A violent blood-fire sword aura pushed horizontally outwards. The forest was instantly cut down, and countless severed tree trunks flew into the sky.
Akainu's expression changed. Magma erupted from both his fists, once again forming a massive magma giant fist that slammed into the blood-fire sword aura. An instant explosion occurred, and the terrifying blast sent Akainu's body flying, shattering parts of it.
Akainu landed dozens of meters away, magma continuously surging from his body to repair his broken form. Before his body had fully recovered, he immediately got up and continued the pursuit.
At this moment, an icy mist rose in the distance. A winding ice path shot out from the forest at astonishing speed, extending towards Bege's direction. On the ice path, Aokiji was rushing over at extreme speed.
"That bastard Shanks, why didn't he lead him further away?!" Bege's face turned ugly. He secretly decided that the next time he encountered Shanks, he would definitely get his 'revenge'.
Actually, it wasn't Shanks' fault. When Aokiji was intercepting Shanks, he realized he couldn't stop them and immediately turned back to help capture Bege.
Aokiji, sliding along the ice path and running at full speed, was incredibly fast. The distance of half an island was covered in just a minute or two.
Bege immediately accelerated, leaped into the air, and sprinted across the sky, rushing out of Purple Grape Island and speeding over the open sea.