In a certain sea area within the Calm Belt, between the New World and the West Blue.
Several massive warships slowly advanced.
"Great Eruption!"
An enormous, mountain-like magma fist heavily slammed into the colossal sea king, whose half-body extended out of the water. The scorching heat was so intense that the beast didn't even have time to scream; a good portion of its body instantly melted, and a strong smell of burnt flesh diffused across the sea.
Boom!
The leviathan crashed into the ocean, stirring up monstrous waves.
"What are you standing around for?"
Sakazuki, with the rank of Colonel on his shoulder, watched the thick smoke dissipate from his arm. "Row, quickly!"
The Marines, as if waking from a dream, furiously rowed their oars, causing the overly large naval warships to pick up a little speed. Navigating the Calm Belt was always a hassle; relying solely on human power made progress incredibly slow, and sea kings would often attack.
Sakazuki walked to the bow of the ship and looked at his teacher, who had remained silent. His voice, filled with surging emotion, erupted like his own ability: "Teacher Zephyr, finally! We're finally going to face that guy again!"
He could never forget the utter defeat more than a year ago. They, a righteous army, had been crushed by pirates like stray dogs, forced to flee in disarray.
"Took you long enough, you bastard!"
Zephyr's only remaining left fist suddenly clenched, the fabric of his sleeve straining against his bulging muscles. He seemed as if he wanted to crush the very air.
"Roa!!"
The sound was laden with hatred and killing intent, like that of a vengeful fiend crawling out from hell.
"Accelerate! Keep accelerating!"
In a certain sea area of the West Blue, a black Pteranodon flapped its wings, soaring high. On its back sat a short, stout young man, quietly. His eyes were lifeless, as if he had lost his mind.
Within his body:
"Oh! This is nice, a portable castle and villa, very nice!"
Roa looked around with curiosity. "With a few more daily necessities, I could totally live here permanently."
"Living inside someone else's body all the time," King chuckled, "seems a bit gross."
"Hmph, I didn't ask you to come in!" On a nearby couch, a second Bege sat, huffing disdainfully at King's comment.
Bege could create a second version of himself within his body, thereby controlling everything inside. His external self had now become a puppet under his command.
"Fufufufu, don't be mad, Bege!" Doflamingo, a good brother, patted Bege's shoulder, grinning, "If they don't want to, don't you still have me?"
Bege lowered his eyes, This bastard is using me as a warehouse and still dares to speak! Just you wait, I'm not strong yet, but when I am, things will change!
"But, Boss," Bullet, who had been quietly sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby, suddenly spoke, "Are you sure letting them participate in the battle won't drag us down?" He was referring to Doflamingo, Bege, and the perpetually silent Moria.
"It doesn't matter," Roa said indifferently. "Sengoku's forces are just a few Vice Admirals, plus that 'flashy' guy from last year. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's not a bad idea to let Doflamingo, Bege, and Moria get used to our combat intensity." After all, the Marines initially only wanted to drive them back to the New World; the forces they brought weren't truly sufficient. Ultimately, the Marines' power was indeed stretched thin in this era.
"Fufufufu! Finally, it's my turn to show off!" Doflamingo was completely unafraid. Are you kidding? With Historical Poneglyph armor, a combat suit, and Bege, what do I have to be afraid of? He even had the leisure to comfort his little brother, "Don't worry, Bege, I'll protect you."
"...Okay." Bege nodded with some difficulty. The enemy was a Marine Admiral. For the Capone Family, even a Marine branch was a level that needed careful handling, and a Marine Admiral was basically the pinnacle of the Marines. Moria shared a similar sentiment. Not being very familiar with anyone, Moria could only silently sit aside, wiping his blade. But there was no choice but to go, right?
"Cheer up," Roa said with a smile, "Our goal this time isn't to kill Sengoku. I told you, this trip is just to have a good time with them."
Not far outside the port city of a World Government affiliated country in the West Blue, lay Marine Branch 421.
Currently, several excessively large warships, far beyond what would be typical for the West Blue, were docked in its harbor. On the top floor of the branch's base building, the base commander respectfully stood aside, his usual seat occupied by Admiral Sengoku from Marine Headquarters.
"Still no news of them?" Sengoku rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"The West Blue is simply too vast, Mr. Sengoku," a Marine Vice Admiral on the opposite couch said, looking troubled. "Although there have been a few sightings, they seem to have realized something; their course keeps changing."
"If we wait for them to return to the New World, it'll be too late." Sengoku sighed. Roa's connections in the New World were too strong; Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were both his allies, making it difficult to act against him in that sea.
"Not entirely, Mr. Sengoku," Borsalino lazily leaned against a nearby wall, slowly clipping his fingernails. "Didn't the Government's order only require us to deal with that man named Vinsmoke Judge?"
"If a direct assault isn't possible, aren't there still the CPs?" he said leisurely. "Otherwise, let's just call this off for now." That Roa guy was truly terrifying. He really didn't want to fight him again.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Sengoku glared fiercely at Borsalino. "Germa Kingdom, how could the CPs possibly infiltrate it?" That country was extremely closed off, so much so that ordinary people couldn't even find it, let alone infiltrate it.
Borsalino sighed helplessly. Now what?
"We'll have to get CP to—hmm?" Sengoku suddenly looked up.
"Mr. Sengoku?" The Marines were a bit puzzled, not knowing what was wrong.
Sengoku's eyes beneath his glasses instantly widened. "Careful!"
Time rewound a few seconds.
In the sky, a black, broad-winged Pteranodon slowly descended. More than a year had passed, and in his beast form, Roa's size had grown considerably again. A year ago, when he first left the Land of War Without End, Roa's beast form was over fifteen meters long. Now, it was nearly twenty meters, reaching the level of an adult giant.
Roa quietly overlooked the Marine base below. "Alright, let's say hello first."
Patterns spread across the huge twin horns on his head. High in the sky, three spherical meteors quickly condensed, each a colossal object over a hundred meters in diameter. The moment they formed, the massive meteors began to plummet rapidly under the pull of gravity. The air shrieked under the strain, spreading out violent gusts of wind.
At the Marine base's harbor, Marines had already noticed the three colossal objects plummeting from the sky, and each of them was instantly terrified out of their wits.
"Me-meteorites!!"
But all they could do was scream. Faced with this sudden natural disaster, they were naturally powerless. However, just at that moment—
Boom!
The top of the branch base building instantly exploded, and a figure shot into the sky like a human cannon.
"Hah!"
Sengoku's pitch-black right fist trailed a long streak of black lightning as he powerfully punched the leading meteor plunging down.
Boom!
A fireworks display of earth and rock exploded in the sky; this massive meteor was shattered by a single punch.
It wasn't over yet! Because there were still two more meteors!
So, at that instant, golden light erupted around Sengoku, and the golden Buddha instantly descended upon the human world.
"Ha!"
The giant Buddha pushed its hands outwards to each side.
"Hmph!"
A roaring shockwave instantly traversed the sky, directly smashing into the two plummeting meteors. It must be said that earth and rock were the most fragile substances in this world; the two colossal objects, over a hundred meters in diameter, had no resistance whatsoever against Sengoku's shockwave and were instantly pulverized.
"Oh! My greeting failed, did it?" Roa looked down with a grin. "But never mind," his voice began to amplify, "I heard you were looking for me, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Boom!
Sengoku landed heavily on the top of the base building, looking up at the majestic tiger quietly flapping its wings in the sky. "Roa!"
To see him in person, this was the first time!
The next instant, light converged around him.
"Oh!"
Borsalino pushed up his glasses, his face bitter. "How did he come looking for us himself?" Now, they had no choice but to fight.
Behind him, Marine Vice Admirals, covered in dust and ash, crawled out of the rubble, a wave of fear washing over them. If not for Fleet Admiral Sengoku's intervention, they would probably have been completely wiped out by now! Is this the 'Calamity' Roa? He's truly a monster who casually uses natural disasters to attack people!
"Arrogant brat!" Sengoku looked up, his tone cold. "He actually dares to walk into a trap!" He was truly being underestimated; even knowing he was here, this kid still dared to come to him!
"A trap?" Roa's savage face slowly curved into a smirk. "Do you expect to trap a natural disaster with a net?"
"Presumptuous!"
Sengoku had no intention of wasting more words with Roa. His right hand suddenly slammed towards Roa. A massive golden shockwave instantly transformed into a torrent of light, surging towards Roa.
Roa took a deep breath.
Then.
"Roar!"
An earth-shattering tiger roar!
The sound waves, which should have spread, were forcibly converged into a beam, mixed with internal destructive Armament Haki and the shockwaves of the Eight Impact Fists. The triple-layered technique violently collided with Sengoku's shockwave.
Two different waves clashed fiercely at this moment. The air was instantly churned into chaos; even the aftershocks caused violent winds in the sky and sent dust and stones flying on the ground below.
What?
Sengoku's pupils slightly contracted. This brat has gotten even stronger! According to Zephyr, in the battle more than a year ago, this kid shouldn't have had the power to defeat him; it was because Zephyr had weakened and was also verbally harassed by this kid that he lost. Zephyr had asserted that Roa a year ago absolutely could not reach the realm of top-tier powerhouses.
But now, he blocked his attack?
"You seem surprised, Sengoku," Roa leisurely flapped his wings. "Don't underestimate the growth of a teenager during puberty."
Sengoku's eyes had become extremely serious. He absolutely couldn't underestimate this kid.
"Everyone else retreat! The first priority is to protect the soldiers! Borsalino, you're coming with me!" At this point, Sengoku knew he couldn't hesitate and immediately gave the order: "I'll attack head-on, you'll provide diversion from the side!" Once he transformed into the Great Buddha, his mobility significantly decreased; if Roa wanted to run, he definitely wouldn't be able to catch him. But luckily, there was Borsalino! As for the other Vice Admirals, merely protecting themselves in front of Roa was already a challenge for them; they couldn't be expected to participate in the battle.
"Such a headache." Borsalino sighed slightly. But there was no choice; he had to tough it out.
"Want to bully us with numbers?" Roa chuckled. "That won't do."
Higher in the sky, a Pteranodon swooped down.
"Bloody Hand Dilon, is that him?" Borsalino narrowed his eyes. "Only him? Hmm? There's a kid on his back? What does that mean?"
But the next moment, two figures appeared almost out of thin air.
"What?" Borsalino's face suddenly changed. What's going on? Where did they come from? And they're all familiar faces!
Roar!
Blazing flames were already falling from above.
"Long time no see!" King, as he unleashed flames, didn't forget to greet his old opponent.
"Don't get in the way!" But his response was a fierce shockwave. The massive shockwave instantly swept away the flames in the sky, but fortunately, King's speed was astonishing; he instantly flapped his wings and avoided the attack.
At the same time, Bullet, who had emerged from Bege's stomach with him, had heavily crashed onto the base's plaza. Close behind him was Dilon, who swooped down and landed steadily, allowing Bege to carefully disembark. Then, from Bege's stomach, Moria also crawled out.
"Fufufufu! It's my turn to make an appearance!"
Finally, a small purple giant stepped out. "Bege, let's become one!" Doflamingo hadn't forgotten his good brother; purple light spread again, directly enveloping Bege. The Combination Fruit couldn't combine living beings, but it could create a dedicated space for Bege inside the little giant's stomach and even design corresponding firing ports.
Inside the little giant, Bege took a deep breath. Small windows opened on his chest and stomach, and tiny muzzles were pushed out by the soldiers hidden inside him, perfectly aligning with the firing ports. This was their newly perfected combined ultimate technique.
On top of the base building, Sengoku's expression had turned very ugly. Roa aside, his subordinates Bullet, King, and Dilon were all extraordinarily powerful individuals! If it was just Borsalino...
"Here I come! Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
Without giving Sengoku much time to think, Roa directly pounced on him. As he flapped his wings downward, patterns spread across the horns on Roa's forehead. Field magic, activate!
Rumble!
The earth suddenly began to tremble. An earthquake had arrived.
The intense tremors caused cracks to appear in the ground of the Marine base, the base building began to collapse, and the sea outside the harbor constantly churned, with giant waves rising and falling.
"What?"
Sengoku, plummeting with the collapsing building, frowned deeply. What did this mean? While the ability to cause an earthquake was certainly unusual, how could such an attack cause harm to anyone? He couldn't understand.
But Roa's goal had been achieved. The intense earthquake naturally affected the nearby port city. Houses were collapsing, roads were cracking. In just an instant, screams and cries already permeated the entire city. The sudden meteorites earlier had already caused considerable shock to the city, and now this powerful earthquake pushed the panic to its extreme.
Roa took a deep breath, and a brilliant smile instantly appeared on his face. "This is getting exciting!"
His massive tiger body suddenly began to shrink, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed back into the roughly 1.8-meter-tall Tiger Samurai. To fight against a top-tier expert like Sengoku, it would be absolutely impossible without the assistance of Enma and Huppa! And even with the assistance of these two swords, close-quarters combat would never guarantee victory.
So...
Roa instantly drew his twin swords. The moment the two famous swords crossed, flames expanded.
"What is this?"
Sengoku felt an intense heat wave assault him, his entire body illuminated by a crimson glow. A giant, nearly his size, descended from the sky, its body entirely composed of crimson flames. The flame giant held a crimson blade in each hand. On the blades, lightning and fierce winds danced. Invisible waves converged the two forces, transforming the two violent powers into soft, spiraling twin snakes wrapped around the fiery blades.
Not bad. After adding the shockwaves of the Eight Impact Fists, it's become even smoother.
"Flame War God: Tiger Devourer: Four Directions Annihilation!"
Both swords slashed down with a roar.
"Come on!"
The golden Buddha's right fist was dyed in a pitch-black hue, as if revealing the form of a Wisdom King, ready to subdue demons at this moment. Besides the thick black lightning extending from it, Sengoku's right fist also glowed with golden light—that was the Great Buddha's shockwave.
Boom!!
The Great Buddha's heavy punch collided violently with the descending twin swords. In just an instant, the rubble where Sengoku stood was completely blown away, and even the ground beneath his feet exploded into a huge crater. The surrounding Marine soldiers, still somewhat bewildered, were like powerless paper boats in a giant wave, instantly sent flying to unknown locations.
In the thunderous collision, the twin swords in the Flame Giant's hands shattered. As it rapidly retreated backward, even its right arm, along with the right half of its body, was pulverized.
"What kind of power is this!" Roa couldn't help but exclaim.
In terms of pure physical strength, it completely overwhelms Big Brother Kaido and Auntie Linlin! It's even much stronger than me!
That makes no sense. Can the Great Buddha form really boost him to this extent?
So strong! He's incredibly strong, this guy!