Murphy turned and met Akainu's surprised gaze.
"I gave you a chance, why didn't you run away with her?" Akainu asked, holding the cigar in his mouth and taking a deep drag. The sparks on the tip of the cigar flared brightly.
"Even from 20 meters away, your lust for murder gives me goosebumps," Murphy replied calmly.
He had his doubts from the start - the strength Akainu was displaying didn't seem as terrifying as he expected. But one well-timed attack from Akainu dispelled those doubts, making him think that Akainu simply wanted to capture them alive.
Murphy thought so because he knew the enemy's true strength well, and he hadn't planned to escape across the sea from the start. But what if it was a person who didn't know Akainu's true strength?
The fire fists Akainu released weren't that inevitable, and the sudden attack to capture must be Akainu's strength. Strong, but not so strong that it would make you despair. It was possible to escape across the sea.
That's probably what an ordinary person would think!
But once you choose this path, you can only encounter despair and pain.
The appearance of a desire to capture him alive was merely a way to drive the criminal into a corner so that he could then be killed with a clear conscience.
A cold light flashed in Murphy's eyes as he looked at Akainu. This big man did not look like an outstanding intellectual, but his thoughts were deep. Well, a mere man would hardly be able to occupy the post of Fleet Admiral in the future.
"Okay, then I'll just kill him," Akainu slowly exhaled smoke that rose up and enveloped his body, and then a muffled voice came from his mouth. "I'll kill him. Just deal with this criminal who beat up Tenryubito, and his mission will be accomplished. As for Tenryubito's questions about the escape of a slave, let Fleet Admiral Kong deal with that!"
Akainu no longer paid attention to the orders of the Holy Charm and went straight to the killing blows.
Magma Fist!
Same attack, but it felt completely different. Magma erupted from Akainu's hand, and a stream of lava with great force instantly approached Murphy's body.
Extremely dangerous!
Murphy intuitively felt that if he did not dodge this attack, in the next moment his soul would go to the afterlife.
Fifty times the speed!
He instantly disappeared, leaving his place. The magma passed through his afterimage, cut through the large tree, and without delay continued moving forward, disappearing into the distance.
There was not even the slightest trace left of the tree.
Murphy, terrified, didn't let himself relax. And sure enough, soon more columns of magma were heading straight for him.
Fifty times the speed again.
This consumption of a huge amount of energy made Murphy feel slightly dizzy. One moment he was calm, and the next he was breathing heavily.
He glanced at the system - the points were still jumping up and down furiously, there were now more than seven hundred thousand of them.
We need to hold on a little longer!
"You go too! Catch that boy, don't let him escape again!" Saint Charm roared, giving the order to Eugene, who was standing next to him.
It was unclear to Saint Charm how many mental clashes had occurred during that brief escape. All he could see was that the mermaid had escaped under Akainu's pressure. This meant that he had suddenly lost a slave, and while the Marines would certainly compensate him for the loss, he was still furious.
Fortunately, it was not this boy who escaped. He felt a special dislike for him, because both he and his sister Saint Itilia had suffered at the hands of this man. And if this main culprit also escaped, it would be simply unbearable...
"Your safety, Saint Charm, is paramount," Eugene explained. Even as he spoke, his eyes never left Murphy. Without engaging in combat, he kept him feeling a constant sense of tension.
Murphy was really worried that at some point Eugene would suddenly appear in front of him and grab him unexpectedly. This meant that he couldn't let him act, because under the pressure of Eugene's speed, his stamina wouldn't be enough!
"He doesn't care about me anyway, what attack on me! I order you, go now!" Saint Charm shouted, jumping up and down with rage, not listening to the explanations at all. From his point of view, the outcome of the battle was obvious.
Eugene continued to explain, but did not move.
Dark Dog!
A furious scream rang out. Akainu's arm, which had turned into magma, suddenly lengthened, and his palm transformed into a dog's head with terrifying teeth aimed at Murphy.
Hundredfold speed!
The attack was incredibly fast and maneuverable. Murphy narrowed his eyes and immediately increased his speed to his current maximum, quickly dodging.
A wave of discomfort ran through his body, which he ignored. Then, without stopping, he reached the previously chosen place and picked up a piece of stone from the ground.
Aiming at Akainu's head, he threw it with all his might!
Hundredfold speed!
However, with his current level of skill, Murphy was still unable to imbue the Will of Armament into objects separated from his body, which did not play into his hands.
Akainu didn't move, with a disdainful expression on his face, allowing the rock to fly through him at high speed, causing only a few splashes of magma to appear on his body.
However...
Boom!
Still, there was a sound of something hitting an object.
Akainu turned around abruptly.
Eugene stood before Saint Charm with his wings spread out, a surprised expression on his face. His wings, like iron feathers, shone with a metallic luster, but now blood was oozing out of them.
At the critical moment, he used the Armament Will, which, together with his strong wings, still could not completely protect against this blow, which surprised him greatly. And Saint Charm fell to the ground, his face distorted with fear, his trembling lips opened and closed, but there was no sound.
A little while later, a trembling voice burst from the lips of Saint Charm: "Protect me, my life is more important than anything, everyone to the defense!"
Nobody answered.
At that moment, all three of them had a blind spot!
Murphy deliberately chose a position so that all three men were in a line.
Eugene and Saint Charm, covered by Akainu, did not see Murphy's attack. And when the attack came, Busoshoku Haki had to be used in a hurry.
Likewise, Murphy didn't see Eugene and the Saint Charm, but all he had to do was attack Akainu, and the stone, which wasn't imbued with the Haki of Busoshoku, naturally passed through Akainu's body, who was a Logia user, and flew on.
Speed is power!
Although the attack couldn't hit Akainu, it didn't reduce the stone's striking power. Even without Haki against Eugene, he still got injured even with a hundredfold acceleration.
This could be considered a surprise attack by Murphy, as well as a warning. A warning to Eugene not to interfere unnecessarily, otherwise, even if Murphy was captured, the life of Saint Charm would remain in question.
Akainu in that situation saw Murphy's actions, but didn't pay attention to the people behind him, or perhaps even knowing that the Holy Charm was behind him, he didn't worry, since Eugene was providing immediate protection.
However, although Saint Charm remained unharmed, Eugene's injury caught Akainu off guard. He looked at Murphy intently, his eyes no longer showing the same impatience.
This boy had surprised him several times already, and not taking him seriously would be too presumptuous.
The next moment, a wave of heat hit. Magma rose from the ground, forming a huge dog's head in the air, aimed at Murphy.
Murphy sped up to dodge, but the attack in the air continued to follow him, more and more magma pouring into the dog's hovering head, the frequency of the attacks increasing, and the area of effect expanding.
As time went on, Murphy clearly felt that not only was his stamina waning, but his room to maneuver was also becoming smaller.
With their backs to the sea, with magma spreading across the ground and into the air, there was nowhere to run.
Shuh! - A drop of magma hit his hand, and a sharp pain pierced his body. He gritted his teeth, enduring the burning pain, and continued to dodge the attacks.
The downside of speed alone is that attack, stamina, and focus can't keep up. Just lightly hit with an attack and you can't avoid getting hurt.
Akainu was no master of speed, but he had a way to narrow Murphy's range of movement. After all, when Murphy no longer had room to maneuver, death would come. Fortunately, however, Murphy managed to buy enough time. And although the heat was close, the points were now enough.
[Spend one million points to purchase a mid-level speed fruit?]
- Yes!