Vincent struck without mercy.
Leaping high, he brought his right fist down in a devastating blow.
Akainu's face twisted in alarm. The force behind that punch could crush him where he stood. With a snarl, he turned to flee.
Blood still poured from the deep gash Whitebeard's blade had carved across his abdomen. His strength was waning, his stamina burned away in the earlier clash with the world's strongest man. Now, even moving was a torment.
And yet, he ran.
Fear crept into the eyes of the fearsome admiral.
This pirate this upstart had ruined every one of his killing strikes aimed at Whitebeard. The only wounds inflicted had come from his ambush, not a true victory. Against Vincent, every effort had been nullified.
Grinding his teeth, Akainu forced what magma he could muster into his right fist and slammed it into the ground, melting the rock and tunneling through in a desperate escape.
"You won't get away!"
Vincent didn't chase into the narrow hole. If Akainu unleashed a surprise attack inside, he'd have no choice but to tank it head-on. Instead, he stood above ground, eyes sharp, feeling the tremors and heat below.
The predator waited.
Then his gaze sharpened. He lashed out with a punch that could shatter mountains.
BOOM!
The weakened earth erupted under his fist, exploding into rubble. From the pit, Akainu's form burst into sight.
"Inugami Guren!"
With a blood-choked roar, Akainu hurled his deadliest magma strike upward.
But Vincent's instincts screamed. He twisted aside, retreating in a blur, evading the molten hound.
Missed.
Akainu's glare burned, his face a mask of rage.
"You filth! I swear I'll kill you!"
His body shattered into four surging masses of lava, scattering in different directions.
"Don't let him escape!"
Marco had spotted the fight and saw the admiral's weakened state. He tore free from Aokiji's encirclement and shot toward Vincent.
"Split up!" Vincent barked.
Marco nodded, veering off in the opposite direction while Vincent's body exploded forward, streaking low over the ground like a missile.
He smashed through a squad of Marines, closing on one of the magma clusters. His fist detonated against it, blasting it into molten shards.
But his eyes remained cold.
"Not the real one."
Without hesitation, he pushed toward the next.
"Stop him!"
A voice thundered.
A massive Marine officer stepped into his path. His body was thick with muscle, chest broad, black hair tied in a wild ponytail, a cigarette clamped in his teeth.
Blood stained the blade in his hand a testament to the pirates he had already cut down.
"You bastard! Attacking Admiral Akainu? You'll go no further unless it's over my corpse!"
The vice admiral's swollen muscles flexed with power. He believed his strength would hold long enough to buy Akainu time.
Vincent's eyes narrowed. The magma trail was slipping further away.
"I don't have time for this."
"Then die!"
The Marine lunged, blade flashing for Vincent's throat.
Vincent's instincts barely stirred a threat so small it was almost nothing.
"Courting death."
With a roar, his fist slammed forward.
Steel shrieked. The vice admiral's sword shattered into splinters.
The man's eyes widened in disbelief as Vincent's punch crushed into his chest. His ribs caved like paper, the shockwave ripping his organs apart and blowing them out in a spray.
He was dead before his body hit the ground.
Wiping his knuckles clean, Vincent bolted on, chasing the next magma form.
Elsewhere, Marco shattered another lava cluster, only to find it false as well. A vice admiral latched onto him, dragging him into a bitter clash.
The man bled, his body battered, yet he fought on, smiling grimly. "I won't let you pass."
Marco's eyes darkened. He respected such a man. But mercy in war was cruelty to oneself.
"You're a true man. But this is war. So… die."
Wreathed in azure flames, Marco's talons pierced through the man's chest, ending him without hesitation. Then he shot off again, closing in on Vincent's side.
"Careful! Akainu's with you!"
"I know," Vincent muttered. His fist clenched.
"Serious Punch!"
The blow thundered toward the last magma body.
"Brat… you're far too green!"
Akainu's voice erupted from within. A massive magma fist burst out to meet his strike.
The collision shook the battlefield.
Vincent stood his ground. The admiral's strength, though diminished, was still immense.
Marco's shout cut through the chaos. "Hold on, kid!"
But Vincent didn't falter. He drew back his left fist and drove it forward.
BOOM!
Both fists smashed into Akainu's molten strike, overwhelming it and blasting him backward.
The magma fizzled, hardening.
Akainu's true form emerged, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed and tumbled like a broken beast.
Writhing on the ground, his face twisted with agony, the earlier wound Whitebeard had carved open now torn even wider by Vincent's blows.
"Die, Akainu! Talon Strike!"
Marco swooped, claw aglow.
But Akainu rolled at the last second, narrowly evading the fatal blow.
He staggered to his feet, magma dripping, eyes cold as ice.
"Today… both of you will die."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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