"Wh-what terrifying power…"
!
The dark energy gathering in the Nine-Tails' mouth was so overwhelming it was almost beyond imagination. There was no shortage of powerful pirates on the Sabaody Archipelago, nor deep-rooted criminal organizations. But at this moment, all of them were shocked.
"Wait… that direction is—!"
Someone suddenly realized where the Nine-Tails' enormous mouth was pointing, and his face turned pale.
Saint Chadwick also turned his eyes in that direction, and his whole body went cold.
"You… how dare you?!"
His voice was shaking with both shock and fear, but the Nine-Tails didn't care about the words of an ant below. It suddenly swallowed the black sphere in its mouth, the energy swelling in its throat. Its massive body stared at the distant prosperous island, then its jaws opened wide again!
This time, the enormous energy that had built up was unleashed in a single blast. The heavens and earth trembled, as if the world was about to end.
The beam's target wasn't even this island, yet everything in its path was utterly destroyed. For countless years, humans had left their so-called "civilized" marks of savagery on the Sabaody Archipelago. This island also stood as proof of nature's mysterious craftsmanship. But in this moment, everything was erased…
Because…
All that remained was destruction!
Boom!
The beam tore through every building in its path, leaving behind a massive trench across the island, so long and wide that no one could measure it. Wherever the light touched, nothing was left behind. But the beam's final target was even more terrifying…
Because it cut straight across the ocean, splitting the sea in two, waves rising on both sides, and struck directly at…
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the home of the Celestial Dragons, standing above the Red Line!
If just the leftover shockwaves of the beam were this terrifying, then how much more horrifying would the final explosion itself be?
Mary Geoise, the residence of the Celestial Dragons, the most "sacred" and powerful place in the world, the very heart of the World Government that has ruled for eight hundred years. Not even the wildest pirates dared attack the Celestial Dragons' palace.
But today, everything changed!
Because the Nine-Tails had fired its strongest attack, its very first Tailed Beast Bomb!
Rumble!
Even from the Sabaody Archipelago, people could see the massive explosion rising in the distance. A dazzling fireball bloomed at the horizon, spreading like a mushroom cloud across the world. It was so bright, many times brighter than the sun, that people felt as if the air around them had grown hotter.
It was as if something heavy had fallen in their hearts, and with a crack, shattered into pieces…
Someone actually…
Someone really attacked the Holy Land of Mary Geoise?!!!
Did it not fear death?!
What was this monster that had suddenly appeared? No one even knew for sure. Yet it dared to attack Mariejois. That alone made it the greatest criminal the world had ever seen!
But along with shock and fear, another feeling began to grow in people's hearts—ambition.
Someone had dared to trample on the Celestial Dragons' holy land, and in front of so many witnesses. It felt as if the authority of the Celestial Dragons had been shattered in that single blast. And once someone dares to strike the first blow, there will always be others ready to strike the second.
The one most deeply consumed by fear was the Celestial Dragon, Saint Chadwick, who had stayed behind. Now, staring at the giant Nine-Tails, he could no longer shout his arrogant words. Faced with such overwhelming power, he was drowning in terror. Born and raised in privilege, he had never known fear in his entire life. But his very first taste of it was this—fear of being erased in the next instant.
"Don't kill…"
He screamed until his voice broke, but it was useless. The Nine-Tails…
Or rather, Genichi, who had already merged his mind with the Nine-Tails after leaving safely. That blast at Mary Geoise had been his doing. His hatred for the Celestial Dragons ran deep. Even in just a few days as a slave, he had seen more than enough of their cruelty.
The greatest evil in this world was the Celestial Dragons. Their tastes and indulgence were what allowed lawless lands to wear a mask of "civilization." He would rip that mask off, and with it, strip away their false status as "gods."
So-called gods… were nothing but arrogant monkeys!
He looked coldly at the Celestial Dragon who had collapsed on the ground. Reaching out his massive claw, he grabbed him and stared with blood-red eyes. The terrified man had never experienced anything like this, his mind nearly breaking apart from fear.
Fool!
Genichi thought with disdain. He squeezed a little harder, and in an instant, every bone in Saint Chadwick's body shattered. The man let out a blood-curdling scream, before losing consciousness from the pain, and then…
Dying completely.
Genichi tossed him aside like trash. The limp body fell among the crowd. Never before had people seen a Celestial Dragon in such a miserable state. Never had they imagined such a thing could actually happen.
And alongside their terror, the spark of rebellion that had been lit by the Nine-Tails' first blast grew even faster in their hearts.
People had no time to think about anything else. All they could feel was the crushing fear of the Nine Tails' power. They were terrified and could only run for their lives. Some even stepped on Saint Chadwick's body, which had been smashed into a bloody pulp by the Nine Tails, and after a few steps, he was completely trampled into mush.
The Nine Tails shook the ground with every move, tearing through the Sabaody Archipelago without restraint. Everywhere it passed was left in ruins. Pirates and the navy who rushed in fired bullets and cannons at it, but they didn't do a thing.
Genichi's Nine Tails power was one-time use, but he didn't care. Spending a hundred thousand emotion points to draw a card like this was more than worth it. What he would gain from this was going to be far more than what he spent.
He could clearly feel just how terrifying the Nine Tails' power was. A single Tailed Beast Bomb could level an entire island. Even without that, just its body crashing forward was unstoppable. Every step was like a natural disaster. Earthquakes and tsunamis had nothing on this.
"Come on, Admiral…"
On the open sea, Genichi stood on the water, looking at the huge Nine Tails raging across the Sabaody Archipelago, and whispered.
"Let's see how much I can gain from fighting someone at Admiral level."