Extra chapter for all the readers who kindly encouraged the author!
Ritter unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to the maximum, surging through Marineford like a blood-colored storm.
"Hahaha! Nicely done, kid!" roared the Golden Lion, laughing wildly as he hurled floating islands toward Garp and Kong. "Don't get distracted now, you two!"
"Golden Lion! Don't get too cocky!" Sengoku shouted, eyes blazing with fury.
Garp clenched his fists, Armament Haki swirling around his arms. "Let's take care of you first then I'll deal with that brat Ritter!"
Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru stood firm, their eyes locked on Ritter.
"Your Conqueror's Haki is impressive," Akainu said coldly. "But Haki alone won't win you this fight."
Ritter grinned, lowering his Black Tide Greatsword until its tip grazed the ground. "Is that so? Then how about this—"
"Fog Realm: Decay of Life!"
Crimson mist erupted, enveloping all three admirals.
Don't be fooled by their current rank as admiral candidates these three only needed an opportunity to be promoted. Their current strength already rivaled the top. But even among admirals, there are levels.
If you're not going to let me properly activate my domain, how am I supposed to play I mean, fight? Too bad, I'm doing it anyway.
Aokiji tried to freeze the mist into shards of ice, but quickly realized he couldn't fully succeed.
He knew then Ritter was getting serious.
Earlier, when he managed to freeze the mist, Ritter had only been playing around. Back when he was chasing Roger's crew with Garp, he'd always been the one getting beaten up.
Now, within the blood-colored fog, crystalline frost shimmered, making Ritter look both divine and terrifying.
Ritter: Oops, sorry for the dramatic effects. It's kind of embarrassing how flashy this gets.
In an instant, the mist thickened, blanketing the battlefield. Ritter's silhouette flickered within it, barely visible.
"Is our Observation Haki being interfered with?" Akainu frowned.
"Tch, what a troublesome power," muttered Kizaru as golden light danced at his fingertips. He tried to clear the mist with a laser blast but Ritter's voice echoed from every direction.
"Style of the Fog God: No-Blade!"
A silent slash burst forth! Akainu barely dodged on instinct, but a deep gash still appeared on his shoulder.
"This guy… he's even faster in the fog!"
"Don't give him room to move!" Aokiji slammed his hands to the ground. "Ice Age!"
A wave of freezing cold surged forward, turning the mist into ice crystals but the effect was temporary. As soon as Ritter's domain weakened, it instantly regenerated.
Aokiji had launched a full-blown ultimate, and all he got in return was one of Ritter's basic slashes.
"Ara ara, Aokiji-san's Devil Fruit really is a pain…" Ritter clicked his tongue.
With a sudden stomp, his Conqueror's Haki surged around his blade. Black lightning crackled across the Black Tide Greatsword
"Conqueror's Coating Style of the Fog God: Hidden Mist Slash Super Invincible Form Three!"
(Sponsored by the Fourth Hokage.)
With a single swing, the very air seemed to rip apart!
Akainu roared in response: "Hellhound!"
Lava and Haki collided, sending out a deafening shockwave!
Aokiji used the opening to flank Ritter from behind, ice blade in hand
"Ice Saber: Pheasant Beak!"
But Ritter was ready. His body instantly dissolved into mist, and the ice blade passed harmlessly through.
"What?!" Aokiji's pupils shrank in disbelief.
"Style of the Fog God: Phantom Strike!"
Ritter's true body reformed behind Aokiji his sword swung down in a deadly arc! At the last moment, Kizaru flashed into position, delivering a blindingly fast kick.
"Ama no Murakumo!"
A sword of pure light clashed against Ritter's obsidian greatsword!
Clang—!
Sparks flew. Ritter was knocked back several steps, but a wild grin spread across his face. "Now this is what I call a fight! All three of you coming at me that's more like it!"
Akainu wiped blood from his mouth, eyes cold as ice. "Arrogant pirate… today, you will be crushed."
Garp's got the hardest fists in the world this guy's got the toughest body. Makes sense.
Aokiji exhaled a frosty breath. "This time, I'm not backing down."
In One Piece, battles often lasted three to four days of course they did. Akainu had already taken two Haki-infused slashes and acted like it was nothing.
Aokiji, when alone, had been nearly overwhelmed by Ritter. When two fought together, they could handle him. Even with all three combined, Ritter could still hold his own but victory was out of reach.
Don't let Ritter's carefree banter fool you he was under immense pressure. Part of his Observation Haki had to be diverted to monitor Shiki's battle. The moment Shiki began to lose, Ritter would retreat.
Never underestimate the three admirals. Sengoku relied on just a few of them to keep the seas from descending into total chaos.
"Gyahahaha! Sengoku, Garp! Is that all you've got, even working together?" the Golden Lion bellowed with laughter.
"Lion's Wrath: Earth-Spiral!"
"Shockwave of the Golden Buddha!" Sengoku, in his golden Buddha form, shattered a massive boulder with an explosive burst.
Garp rushed in, his Armament-clad fist cocked back "Meteor Fist: Iron Justice!"
Golden Lion blocked with his twin sabers but was still knocked back several meters, blood trickling from his mouth. "Tch… Garp's punch is still as ridiculous as ever…"
"You can't escape, Golden Lion!" Sengoku warned sternly.
"Escape?" Golden Lion sneered. "I'm the damn Golden Lion!"
Meanwhile, Ritter's clash with the three admirals reached its boiling point. Every blow triggered explosions, and Marineford's buildings collapsed one after another. Navy soldiers ran for their lives in sheer panic.
"We can't drag this out any longer…" Akainu growled, lava churning across his body. "Meteor Volcano!"
A storm of magma fists rained from the sky in a devastating bombardment!
Aokiji clapped his hands together: "Freezing Moment!"
Icy air blanketed the land, trying to freeze Ritter's footing.
Kizaru raised his blade of light high: "Yasakani no Magatama!"
A barrage of brilliant golden bullets rained down like a storm!
Faced with the three admirals' ultimate combo, Ritter took a deep breath and let his Conqueror's Haki erupt with unrestrained fury!
"Come on, then let's end this!"
"Style of the Fog God: Final Slash!"
A pitch-black blade tore through the fabric of space itself, colliding head-on with the triple assault.
BOOOOM—!!!
The shockwave engulfed the entire Marineford, knocking even Golden Lion, Sengoku, and Garp back from the impact.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Ritter was still standing. His Black Tide Greatsword was plunged into the ground, barely holding him upright. He was half-kneeling, blood dripping from his lips.
On the other side, the three admirals weren't faring much better though none had fallen completely.
They got back up quickly, of course this is One Piece, after all.
Akainu had a deep gash across his chest, Aokiji's ice armor was shattered, and even Kizaru's signature sunglasses had cracked.
After five straight days of battle, all of them were completely exhausted.
"Hah… hah…" Ritter panted, but laughed heartily. "Now that was a fight."
He glanced toward Golden Lion who was getting wrecked and knew it was time to leave. Garp's fists were no joke.
Time to disappear.
The moment Golden Lion fell, Ritter pushed his Devil Fruit powers to the limit. He pulled out a small pouch filled with ground Seastone.
Unfortunately, Seastone is deadly to Devil Fruit users. Even making it float took tremendous effort. That was why Ritter had saved his last bit of energy.
He'd had his fun, got it out of his system now it was time to run. Maybe next time they'd meet would be in Loguetown.
Hajishi, I won't forget your sacrifice. Even though you'll never see Roger again in Impel Down…
That's what it means to love someone you can't have. It hurts so damn much.
A few days after the Marineford battle, Ritter returned to Water 7.
The chaos he and the Golden Lion unleashed had become a global sensation. The headlines were everywhere Ritter had practically gone numb reading them.
"Shocking! 'Phantom in the Mist' Ritter Fights All Three Future Admirals Marine HQ Devastated! Is There Any Hope Left for the Navy?"
"A New King Has Risen! The World Government Trembles in Fear!"
"Exclusive Scoop: The Secret Connection Between Ritter and Red-Haired Shanks!"
Ritter stared at the thick stack of World Economic News papers, his expression twitching.
"What the hell… There's even a photo of me pointing my Black Tide at Aokiji. Journalism students must be learning a lot from this guy."
Sure, it was all technically true but…
The photos only showed Ritter slashing at the admirals, not getting slapped around. And the paper ended the report with a dramatic photo of Ritter's entrance, sword planted in the ground like some kind of dark hero.
They did label it as his entrance, but come on putting it last? That's pure manipulation.
Ritter knew perfectly well how strong he really was. The moment he ran into Garp, he turned tail.
"'Devastated Marine HQ'? 'New Era King'? Did Morgans drink bad rum or something?!"
(Morgans: "Golden Lion? You mean that has-been? Never heard of him!")
Ordinarily, you'd expect people to dismiss such exaggerated reports. But guess what
You know who the Golden Lion is, right? Former division commander under Rocks.
He got captured. Ritter got away.
The two of them attacked Marineford together and only one walked out.
That said it all.
Ritter: "…"
A new wanted poster arrived.
"Scarlet Mist" Ritter Bounty: 2.5 billion Berries!
Ritter frowned. "Tch. Stingy bastards. Some guy slaps a Celestial Dragon and gets a 1 billion boost. I nearly destroyed Marine HQ and only got five hundred million? The Navy's really lost its prestige…"
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