The battle between the three "Five Emperors" was abruptly interrupted by the late-arriving Marines.
"The Navy's here too? Fine by me. Let's see if you can push me that far!"
Arima scanned the battlefield, his gaze sweeping over the host of fierce, predatory faces surrounding him. Strangely enough, he felt a thrill of excitement rising within.
"Arima, our first meeting. I am Sengoku, Fleet Admiral of the Marines."
Standing tall at the prow of his flagship, Sengoku's sharp eyes locked onto the man encircled by countless enemies.
"The Buddha, Sengoku! I've long heard of you… So the Marines and pirates are working together now?"
Arima asked with a mocking smile.
To the Marine officers, his words were nothing short of pure provocation.
Sengoku's face remained impassive. "Arima, everything I've done is for the sake of justice."
"Oh? Justice? You mean the justice built on the interests of the Celestial Dragons? Hah… laughable justice!"
Arima couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"I wasn't planning on judging your ideals, really. But seeing those maggots feeding on rot, you'll have to forgive me if I feel a little disgusted.
Ah, sorry, that might've been a bit harsh. Still, among the Marines, I've always respected you the most, Vice Admiral Garp."
He turned his head toward Garp, who was still chewing on a doughnut.
"Arima, brat, I told you to join the Navy. Now look at this damn mess you've made!"
"Haha, Vice Admiral Garp, I appreciate the offer. But honestly, I'm not even a pirate. If we're being technical… I'm actually a good person."
Arima said it with a grin, teasingly.
"You, a good person? Hahaha! You'll make me die laughing!"
Kaido, gripping his iron club in one hand, clutched his stomach with the other and roared with laughter.
"Fufufufu… Arima, we meet again."
Doflamingo stood on the deck of a Marine ship, hands in his pockets, grinning smugly.
"Doffy, you too? You're joining this circus?"
"No, no. This is your funeral. I'll be right here, watching you get crushed into the dirt! Fufufufufufu!"
Doflamingo laughed wildly, his voice echoing through the battlefield.
Arima looked at Doflamingo's smug face, then turned to Sengoku with a faint smile.
"Sengoku, is this what you call Marine justice? …My apologies, I couldn't resist commenting again."
Sengoku felt a flicker of embarrassment. He couldn't defend Joker's behavior even if he wanted to.
He had opposed the Five Elders' decision to form the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the first place, but in the end, orders were orders.
"Our justice doesn't need to be judged by a criminal like you!"
Akainu, who had been glaring at Arima from the start, finally barked furiously.
Arima only shrugged. "So it's a crime now just to speak the truth?"
At that moment, Sengoku received a call from the Five Elders.
"This is Sengoku."
"Sengoku, your battle's being broadcast live to the entire world! Take him down immediately. I've already sent reinforcements, move before it's too late!"
After hanging up, Sengoku ordered the Marine base to bring up the transmission feed.
The image on screen showed him, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, fighting side by side with two of the Five Emperors against Arima.
Such a scene, Marines and pirates united, was nothing less than a devastating blow to the Navy's reputation.
The realization hit Sengoku like a thunderclap.
He quickly pinpointed the source of the recording, but what shocked him more was that there were transponder snails transmitting from all three sides.
Others soon noticed too. If Sengoku hadn't pointed it out, none of them would've realized there were "traitors" among their own ranks.
As several people began to retrieve their scattered transponder snails, Arima shook his head.
"I've still got one left! If you want the broadcast stopped… you'd better beat me first."
He pulled out another image transponder snail from his Kamui space and pointed it toward the battlefield with mock seriousness.
Sengoku sighed. "So your real target was us Marines all along, Arima… Fine then. We'll capture you first and deal with the rest later!"
With Sengoku's command, the strongest on the sea surged forward at once.
Arima's mind stirred. In an instant, his Rinnegan activated, and beneath his feet appeared a colossal armored figure clad in blue.
Under his Observation Haki, he could see every motion of the incoming attacks with crystal clarity.
The giant moved as he willed, raising its massive hands toward the enemies around him.
"Sage Art, Susanoo: Shinra Tensei!"
A monstrous repulsive force burst outward from the giant's body.
The sea beneath them caved inward as if crushed by an invisible mountain. The coalition forces charging toward him were blasted away like leaves in a storm.
That single strike annihilated the weaker combatants outright. Only a handful could remain standing without being forced back.
Sengoku transformed into a golden giant, his immense fist descending toward Arima.
Kong, who had remained silent until now, clenched his fists and drove a devastating blow forward.
Former Admiral Zephyr joined in with a roar.
Garp, too, refused to stand idle and unleashed his full strength.
The three Admirals followed suit, each launching their ultimate techniques.
Sakazuki's arm turned to molten magma, forming a giant hound that lunged for Arima.
Kuzan gathered freezing mist into his arm, firing a massive bird of ice.
Borsalino turned into light, appearing above Arima as countless beams rained down.
Kaido and Big Mom unleashed their own devastating attacks in unison, determined to end Arima right there.
Such a combined onslaught, no one alive could take it head-on and remain unscathed.
Though Arima's mastery of Haki had reached profound heights, even he couldn't withstand so many top-tier attacks at once.
But for the sake of purifying his bloodline, he refused to rely on his Devil Fruit powers.
He restrained the urge even to use ninjutsu, drawing only upon his physical prowess and Sage energy.
In Sage Mode, Arima could heal without hand seals, and his stamina could be restored through special elixirs crafted by Nono using the Heal-Heal Fruit.
Even so, his body was reaching its limit. He fought and retreated, the tide of battle gradually turning against him.
By the next morning, his strength was nearly spent. Every limb felt heavy as stone; even lifting his arms was agony.
The recovery potions Nono had made were losing their effect, where once a single vial restored all his energy, now even ten could barely replenish half.
Worse still, his stock had completely run out.
What puzzled Arima most was that he still couldn't break through that final barrier of bloodline awakening.
The powers of the Tenseigan and Rinne Sharingan were right within reach, yet maddeningly beyond his grasp.
He could have unlocked them instantly through his system, especially now that their cost had dropped drastically after his bloodline purification.
But deep down, a voice kept echoing in his mind, 'Do not waste this chance for true awakening.'
Exhausted, his Haki could no longer sustain high-intensity combat. He was forced to pour what remained into Armament defense, drastically weakening his Observation Haki.
And in that brief moment of distraction,
A shadow appeared behind him. Before Arima could react, an arm pierced straight through his chest, crushing his heart to pieces.
---------------
Guys do leave some power stones and reviews.
🤞pa treon . com / plotplanner🤞
Remove all the spaces in between and then search.
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to 30 Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.