Whitebeard stared at the falling rain of magma and pulled back his right fist before swinging it out with a roar.
Crack!
The atmosphere shattered, and at the same time, his arm burst with a loud "boom"—muscles tearing, blood spraying.
An invisible shockwave twisted the air.
The magma that had been raining down surged backward, reversing its flow, slamming into the newly forming magma bombs behind.
Sakazuki stood atop a towering magma pillar.
Looking at Whitebeard, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he said:
"Not a fan of extravagant funerals, are you, Whitebeard?"
Whitebeard grinned in kind.
"Why don't you go light some candles on a birthday cake, you little magma brat?"
With that, his power exploded beneath his feet. His naginata crackled with Conqueror's Haki as he charged toward Sakazuki.
Sakazuki gathered his power, forming a long blade to meet the attack. Several massive magma dragons trailed behind him, pressing forward with overwhelming force.
The two, eyes filled with murderous intent, clashed again.
Boom!!!
...
Oro Jackson.
With one foot, Zephyr crushed Sunbell's wrist and snatched away the harpoon. He lifted his leg, ready to finish him off.
Whoosh—!
A green, arrow-shaped slash shot toward his ankle.
Zephyr vanished in a blink.
In the next instant, he reappeared behind the blond, spiky-haired swordsman.
With his blackened left hand, he grabbed the arm swinging the sword.
Crack!
The wrist bone shattered instantly. With his right hand, he caught the falling longsword and slashed upward at an angle.
Clang!
Splat!
The sword, cloaked in Haki, only held for a moment before the blond swordsman was bisected at the waist.
"Taro!!!"
"You bastard!!!"
"Ahhhh!!"
Everyone on the ship stared at the bisected Taro, filled with both rage and horror.
Sunbell, the fish-man who had struggled back to his feet at the railing, eyes bloodshot, roared:
"Fish-Man Karate!"
Despite his bulky build, he moved with surprising agility, launching a spinning kick at Zephyr.
Zephyr's expression remained blank. He gripped his sword with both hands.
Hum—!
The blade surged with Armament Haki and slashed down.
The sword edge collided with Sunbell's foot—only for a moment—before a massive shockwave sent the fish-man flying into the sea.
Zephyr turned, blade in hand, and rushed toward the one with the strongest aura.
Clang!
A battered figure appeared, blocking the blade:
"I can't let you go on any further."
Rayleigh's low voice rang out, laced with killing intent.
Zephyr snorted softly and pressed forward with force:
"Then try me."
Zephyr's overwhelming strength forced Rayleigh back step by step.
The powerhouses of the pirate world could be roughly divided into two categories: high attack, low defense assassins, and high attack, high defense tanks.
The former included Rayleigh and Shiki, while the latter included Garp and Roger.
In his youth, Zephyr clearly belonged to the latter.
Boom!
A loud bang sounded as Rayleigh was sent flying.
Zephyr chased after him. A slash of sword energy greeted him—Zephyr raised his blade and cut it apart.
With both hands gripping the sword, Zephyr channeled Armament Haki and slashed down again.
Clang!
Twin shockwaves of sword energy erupted, blasting winds so fierce that everyone on the ship had to shield their faces, unable to open their eyes.
...
Sea surface battlefield.
Sengoku's giant golden form hovered a hundred meters above the ocean, gazing down like a god.
Semi-transparent energy orbs swirled around his palms, ready to launch.
Suddenly, he spun around and thrust both palms forward.
The orbs remained attached to his hands, leaving long trails as they shot toward the sea.
Boom!
A massive shockwave erupted underwater, with the energy trails stretching from Sengoku in the sky, channeling power continuously.
"Ugh!"
Caught off guard, Gaban was struck directly by the shockwave. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Sengoku, hovering above, sensed the impact on Gaban.
"Haaaa!!!"
He let out a thunderous shout. Golden light surged from his massive palms as the trail connecting to the underwater shockwave tripled in size.
At full output, the shockwave rapidly spread through the sea.
A circular blast hundreds of meters wide formed, with Gaban caught at the center, pupils contracting sharply.
The sensation of death gripped his nerves.
He covered himself in Armament Haki for defense.
The shockwave in the sea seemed to reach its limit—then blazed with golden light.
Boom!!!
A devastating explosion blasted a massive crater thousands of meters wide across the ocean.
The violent airflow forced Sengoku's dozens-meter-tall golden form upward.
Tidal waves spread outward. From afar, Rayleigh and Roger snapped their heads toward Sengoku's direction, their killing intent exploding.
"Gaban!!!!!!"
Rampaging Conqueror's Haki swept across sea and sky. Beneath Sengoku, a figure with broken sunglasses floated on the water's surface.
The future Pirate King's left hand—Gaban—had died in battle!
...
Three-way battlefield.
Roger had completely lost control.
With both hands gripping his sword, Conqueror's Haki flaring, the veins on his arms bulged as he slashed in a wide arc.
A circular shockwave of sword energy burst forth, expanding endlessly.
It forced Kong and Garp away from him.
He charged toward the Oro Jackson.
The two, sent flying by the shockwave, surged with Armament Haki in their fists.
They shouted simultaneously mid-air, smashing through the shockwave with blackened fists.
Then, with a sonic boom, their figures flickered and rushed after Roger.
Sengoku, who had killed Gaban, suddenly appeared in Roger's path.
In his massive golden palms, two more orbs of shock energy swirled.
From behind, Garp and Kong flanked him in a pincer move.
Roger stared at Sengoku, killing intent surging.
The Haki around his blade solidified—it was about to swing down.
Just then, a wild, domineering voice rang out from afar.
Golden Lion Shiki came soaring just above the sea surface, twin swords in hand.
One blade trailed through the water.
With his power in full swing, wherever he flew, small blocks of water lifted from the ocean.
Behind him, those water blocks extended endlessly, as though he had flown a great distance.
With Shiki's thunderous roar, the ocean water converged and fused in an instant, forming three gigantic lion heads made of seawater.
Roaring with energy, they surged toward Sengoku.
In the air, Sengoku's gaze darkened slightly at the sight of the watery lion heads.
He turned, clasped his palms together, and pushed the orbs forward as one.
They shot straight toward the lion heads. The moment they collided—
Boom!
Golden light burst. The orbs and water lions perished together.
The intense impact caused the seawater to lose buoyancy and fall back into the ocean.
Shiki grinned wide, unconcerned. Distracting them for a moment was enough.
Roger, charging toward Sengoku, erupted with fury, eyes bloodshot as he slashed.
Sss—!
The massive slash struck Sengoku's Haki-coated arm, sizzling upon impact.
Boom!!!
Sengoku was blasted backward. A deep wound opened on his golden arm.
Shiki followed up with several slashes toward Kong and Garp:
"Jiehahahahahahaha!"
"Not late, am I, Roger?!"
Roger, eyes still red, looked toward the Oro Jackson. Rayleigh's aura there was clearly weakening.
"Perfect timing, Shiki."
With that, he surged forward, bloodlust blazing, heading toward the distant ships.
Shiki grinned, turning toward Kong and Garp:
"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
Several slashes flew down—not imbued with Conqueror's Haki like Roger's devastating attacks, but probing strikes of pure sword energy.
Kong and Garp gathered Armament Haki around themselves. With one step, they exploded forward.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!...
Like shattering glass, the slashes were smashed apart.
Their fists cloaked in Haki, they closed in on Shiki from both sides.
...
At the edge of the Skegli Sea, Shiki's fleet sailed rapidly toward G4 Branch.
The moment they entered the sea zone, Shiki left the fleet behind and flew toward the battlefield alone.
Among the fleet was the Snow-Snow Fruit user, Mike Frank, Captain of the Blizzard Pirates, who was growing impatient.
Even from the sea's edge, he could feel the lingering waves of Conqueror's Haki raging from the battlefield.
His body trembled uncontrollably, his voice manic with excitement:
"It's just... it's just... so beautiful!!!"
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!!"
His body turned into snow and wind, spinning outward.
From a distance, he looked like a massive white cloud.
Dozens of ships around him felt the sudden chill.
He soared skyward, a giant spinning snow cloud tearing through the air, heading straight for the battle.
And as it flew, the snowstorm grew larger and larger...
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