CHAPTER 154 — then don't believe
Diana raised her sword.
She did not shout. She did not glare. There was no anger in her face, no heat in her voice. She stood straight, calm even as the ground around her was cracked and burned, lightning faintly crawling along the edge of her blade.
"Since you won't believe," she said evenly, "then don't believe."
Akainu's eyes stayed locked on her.
"I also want to fight this world's warriors."
She leveled the sword forward, the tip pointing straight at him.
Akainu let out a short hmph.
That was all.
Then he moved.
The ground shattered beneath his feet as he launched forward. Magma burst from the stone like blood from an open wound, spraying outward in violent arcs. Heat rolled across the plaza, strong enough that nearby Marines flinched and stepped back without thinking.
Akainu's fist came first.
It was not just magma. It was compressed, dense, packed tight like molten stone forced into shape by pure will. It flew straight toward Diana's head, fast enough to blur, hot enough to make the air ripple.
Diana met him halfway.
She crossed her bracelets.
The impact detonated the air between them.
It was not an explosion in the normal sense. There was no fireball, no smoke. The air itself seemed to collapse, then burst outward. Magma splashed away in all directions, forced aside by the shockwave as if struck by an invisible wall.
Diana slid back half a step.
Her boots cut shallow lines into the stone, sparks jumping where metal scraped rock. She stopped herself instantly, shoulders steady, stance unbroken.
She countered.
Lightning surged along her blade, tight and controlled, not wild. She slashed upward in one clean motion.
The sword cut through Akainu's arm.
Not cleanly.
The magma split apart, bubbling and tearing as the lightning bit into it. For a fraction of a second, Akainu's shape faltered. The molten mass that made up his arm stuttered, struggling to reform under the divine energy cutting through it.
Akainu recoiled.
It was small, barely visible, but it was there.
Surprise crossed his face.
Then he answered with force.
A point-blank eruption burst outward from his chest. Magma slammed forward like a wave, heat roaring loud enough to drown out screams nearby.
Diana brought her shield up.
The magma crashed into it, splashing across its surface. The heat washed over her, sharp and heavy, pressing against her armor. The shield glowed faintly, lines of energy flaring across it—
and held.
Diana pushed forward.
She stepped into the blast and slammed her shield into Akainu's torso.
The impact sent him flying.
He smashed into a stone barricade, magma spraying violently as his body tore through it. Stone shattered. He ripped himself free, molten form reforming with a low snarl as he landed, feet digging into scorched ground.
The stone around him turned black.
"So you can hit me," Akainu said, voice low. "Good."
He did not sense Haki.
That bothered him.
The damage was real. He had felt it. But it was not coated in the familiar willpower of this world. Instead, it was the lightning. The strange energy wrapped around her weapons disrupted his form, forcing his magma to lose cohesion.
He raised both arms.
The plaza turned red.
Heat built instantly, heavy and suffocating. Magma formed in the air above, thick fists taking shape mid-fall, crashing downward toward Diana from multiple angles.
Marines and pirates nearby broke away from their fights.
They ran.
Akainu's attacks did not care who stood nearby. Anyone who stayed would die.
Diana did not retreat.
She moved.
Her lasso snapped free, glowing faintly with lightning as she spun once. The golden rope whipped outward, cracking through the air. It struck incoming magma fists, slicing through them like a blade through water, deflecting others aside.
She stepped between impacts.
Shield angled. Sword cutting precise lines.
Magma smashed into the ground around her, blowing stone apart, heat roaring. One fist slipped through the gaps.
It struck her side.
The impact hurled her backward. She skidded across the stone, armor scraping hard, steam rising where heat met metal. She caught herself on one knee, hand braced against the ground.
She stood immediately.
No pause.
Lightning flared brighter, crawling across her armor, reinforcing it. Her sword hummed as energy focused along its edge, sharp and steady.
She charged.
Akainu met her head-on.
Sword and magma collided.
Lightning detonated against heat, the clash loud and violent. Akainu swung wide, molten arm cutting through the air. Diana ducked under the arc and drove her shield into his ribs.
The ground beneath them shattered.
Akainu answered with a magma-coated knee. Diana caught it with her shield, twisted her body, and slashed across his torso.
This time, the lightning burned deeper.
Akainu hissed as his body destabilized again, magma splattering unevenly before pulling itself back together.
"You're not using Haki," he growled.
Diana did not answer.
She pressed forward.
Her movements were efficient and direct. No wasted swings. No wild strikes. Every blow aimed to disrupt Akainu's balance, to break his rhythm. Lightning-enhanced strikes came faster now, forcing him to block instead of overwhelm.
Akainu adapted.
Heat intensified. The air thickened, heavy enough to feel like breathing through fire. The stone beneath them softened, edges blurring as the ground began to melt.
He slammed both fists into the ground.
A magma pillar erupted beneath Diana.
She jumped.
The blast chased her upward, heat snapping at her heels. She twisted mid-air
and something moved behind her.
Heavy.
Stone cracked under massive weight as a Vice Admiral giant swung a colossal halberd downward. The weapon carried enough force to crush buildings.
Diana sensed it.
She turned before the blow could land.
The halberd smashed into the ground where she had been, pulverizing stone and sending debris flying. Diana slid past the impact zone, already inside the giant's reach.
She did not hesitate.
Her sword flashed.
Lightning surged along the blade as she cut across the giant's torso in a clean, horizontal arc.
The strike did not explode.
It carved.
The steel parted flesh and muscle in one smooth motion. The giant staggered, his halberd slipping from numb fingers as a massive wound opened across his chest.
He took one step.
Then fell.
The impact shook the Ground. Blood spread rapidly across the stone.
Diana turned back at once.
Akainu was already coming.
She snapped her lasso downward, anchoring it to his arm. Lightning surged through the rope.
Akainu felt it.
His body convulsed, magma flickering violently as the energy tore through his form. Diana used the pull, reversing her momentum, and slammed both boots into his chest.
He hit the ground hard.
Cracks spread across the plaza like broken glass.
For the first time, Akainu stayed down a fraction longer than intended.
Diana landed lightly, sword raised, shield forward, lightning still flowing along her weapons.
Around them, the Marines had stopped firing.
Shock rippled through their ranks as they watched an Admiral being held back, suppressed, by that woman.
This wasn't about tricks or tactics.
It was about force.
Akainu rose again, slower this time. Magma boiled thickly around him, killing intent rolling off his presence like heat from a furnace.
"Good," he said, voice low. "Then I'll reduce you to cinders."
The fight was not over.
Away from that clash, the war did not slow.
Naruto, Saeko, and Mindy stood together amid broken stone and fallen bodies. Marines closed in from all sides. Vice Admirals moved through the lines with clear intent.
Doberman.
Dalmatian.
Danger pressed in.
Saeko drew her knives, shoulders loose, eyes sharp. The smell of blood filled the air, and something dark stirred behind her smile.
Mindy clicked her tongue and slung her sniper rifle across her back. Two Heckler & Koch MP5s appeared in her hands. One in each. Her eyes sparkled as she checked angles, reading the fight.
Naruto grinned, forming a clone beside him.
Then
A whoosh.
Marco the Phoenix landed in front of them, blue flames flaring around him, bird-like feet touching the ground lightly.
"It seems like you guys need some help?" he said with a smile.
"It's Marco the Phoenix!" Marines shouted.
Before they could react, Marco kicked Doberman.
The Vice Admiral flew back, crashing into Marines behind him.
Mindy opened fire.
The MP5s roared, bullets tearing through the encircling Marines with precise bursts. Continuous fire. Clean kills.
Saeko moved like a dancer, dodging shots easily before slicing a Marine down, her smile widening.
Dalmatian struck from behind.
Saeko dodged, twisting aside, and slashed back in the same motion, her blade striking Dalmatian square in the torso.
Clang.
Steel rang against iron.
Naruto reacted instantly.
"Rasengan!"
The spinning sphere slammed into Dalmatian, overwhelming even his hardened body.
Marco watched them, then spoke calmly.
"Come with me. Giants are coming."
Saeko nodded. She felt them too, the ground shaking under the weight of something massive approaching.
Mindy hesitated, then saw it for herself. Giants were coming their way.
Naruto wasn't afraid. If anything, he wanted to fight, but seeing his friends move, he followed without hesitation.
~~~
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