Chapter 108: Sabaody Archipelago: Battle with Akainu, Part 9
"You're nothing more than a glorified thug working under the government, pretending to represent justice. Without the Magma Fruit, who knows where you'd be—probably pissing in the mud somewhere."
Eric unleashed his full-blown keyboard warrior mode, mercilessly mocking Akainu. "A watchdog raised by the World Government daring to call itself justice? You bark and bite at everything in sight. Really living up to your nickname, Red Dog. Hahahahahaha…"
The earlier facts left Sakazuki speechless. The taunts that followed completely shattered his composure.
"Perfect timing! Negative Ghost!"
With Akainu's emotional turbulence preventing him from using Observation Haki, Perona—hidden in the tree roots—seized her chance. A Negative Ghost passed right through Akainu's body.
Akainu dropped to all fours, kneeling on the ground, a hoarse voice escaping his lips: "I'm sorry I wasn't born a dog…"
Click, click! Dozens of shutters went off, capturing photos from every angle.
The Visual Den Den Mushi zoomed in, recording Akainu's face and voice in full detail.
"Damn it!" Akainu shook off the negative energy in just one second.
"Die!" A magma fist launched at Perona's spiritual form.
"Ah!" Perona screamed in terror, nearly crying, frozen on the spot, unable to control her body.
"Seventh Bullet (Zain)!" From the clock on Kurumi's back, a shadow-like red entity emerged from the Roman numeral "Ⅶ" and was instantly drawn into the barrel of her short pistol.
As the shadow appeared, the clock in Kurumi's left eye began to spin wildly clockwise.
Without hesitation, Kurumi fired at Akainu.
Bang!
Akainu didn't even acknowledge the shot, intent on killing the girl who had humiliated him.
But the moment the bullet hit, Akainu froze mid-punch, completely motionless in the air.
According to their original plan, Perona would use Negative Ghosts to paralyze the target. To extend the duration and ensure success, Kurumi would follow up with her Seventh Bullet to stop time.
They hadn't expected the ghost's effect to last only a second, but this time it worked.
"I've been on defense long enough—now it's my turn to attack!"
Esdeath had been patiently waiting for her opening. The moment Akainu froze completely, she burst forward. Her ice arm morphed into a long blade that slashed hard at the immobilized target.
She dashed past him in a flash. Half of the ice blade melted from the heat, but it came back drenched in magma and thick blood. A deep, gaping wound stretched from Akainu's left chest to his lower right abdomen, bone visible within.
Scáthach wasn't about to waste the opportunity. She once again unleashed the ultimate technique she had refined.
"Pierce!" She became a streak of red lightning, surging toward the wounded Akainu with a sonic boom.
"Thrust!" Two rapid spear strikes lifted Akainu into the air.
"—Spear of Deathpierce!" With a mighty throw, the red magic spear flew straight at the airborne Admiral.
Finally regaining control, Akainu bled profusely from his chest, coughing up blood from the spear's force.
Suspended midair, unable to move, he saw the incoming spear and—like during Whitebeard's blow years ago—his expression turned to shock.
The magic spear punched a hole the size of a plate through his body. But Akainu didn't take fatal damage—he narrowly used his elemental form to dodge at the last second.
Attempting to adjust his position with Moonwalk, he suddenly found he couldn't move.
Though he had avoided the full damage, the spear's residual paralysis still passed into his body from the point of contact.
"Damn it!" Akainu cursed, helpless as he continued rising from the spear's momentum. Then he saw a massive black sphere above him.
Glancing back, he caught a glimpse of a huge storm cloud descending, laced with arcs of blue lightning—closing in like a crushing mountain.
"What is this?!" Akainu sensed powerful electric currents within—clearly the handiwork of that Thunder Fruit user, Eric .
"Take this! Spirit Bomb!"
Eric raised both arms high, then swung down hard. The storm cloud accelerated, engulfing Akainu.
Kurumi snarked from behind: "Somebody's been watching too much Dragon Ball."
The thundercloud that swallowed Akainu erupted, unleashing countless violent currents upon him.
"Esdeath! You're in charge of making us an ice boat!"
"Eric ~ leave it to me!"
Within seconds, Esdeath created a small ice speedboat large enough to hold ten people.
Everyone jumped aboard. Perona, back in control of her spiritual body, floated overhead.
They quickly evacuated the Sabaody Archipelago, heading toward the Fearless Eternity.
Eric turned and shouted, "RaiKing's Wrath!"
The cloud, with Akainu inside, crashed into the root of the Yarukiman Mangrove, erupting in a dazzling blue explosion. The black storm mass turned into a glowing electric sphere.
Bzzzzzz
BOOM!
The thundercloud detonated violently, its massive electrical discharge destroying everything around it.
Already heavily damaged by magma and ice, Root 27 of the Yarukiman Mangrove completely shattered. The colossal red tree began to fall as its root collapsed.
…
Though Morgans had cut off the global feed, he was still receiving footage and audio from Eric 's camera, witnessing the conclusion of their battle with Akainu.
When Kurumi stopped Akainu midair, Morgans was stunned by her power.
When Esdeath and Scáthach landed devastating blows, he was amazed by their strength.
And when Eric 's final attack—RaiKing's Wrath—engulfed Akainu and shattered a tree the size of a small island, Morgans was utterly speechless.
"Hahahahahaha…" Morgans burst into laughter in front of his monitor. He felt like he had unearthed a gold mine—one that would never stop producing explosive news.
"Power, ambition… he lacks nothing! Eric , all you need now is a massive crew…" Then his eyes widened again, as if suddenly understanding something. "So this is how you planned to rise to fame—by stepping over an Admiral's reputation?!"
"He killed a Celestial Dragon on global broadcast to show pirates his brutality. He exposed the World Government's sins to show the people his discontent. He fought an Admiral to show other pirates he could hold his own—and recruit them to his cause."
"Everything connects perfectly! Darin Eric !" Believing he had uncovered Eric 's entire master plan, Morgans now admired him deeply.
The truth? Eric had just been winging it all along, doing what he had to, without overthinking. But Morgans had already crowned him a master strategist.
"Even if Akainu survives, he won't be able to chase after them. The Admirals' reputation has taken a hit, the World Government's authority is diminished again, and pirates will start stirring… their numbers may even rise slightly."
"And at the eye of this storm… is Eric . Let's see what kind of waves your hurricane will stir."
Morgans gazed at Eric 's silhouette in the footage—arms still raised, his figure seemingly grand despite not being tall.
Kurumi rolled her eyes and snapped, "Alright, stop with your edgy anime pose already."
Any longer and even her own chuunibyou urges would be reawakened.
(END CHAPTER)
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