Leo could only watch the giant, burning fist of Admiral Akainu hurtle toward the crying form of Koby. The magma fist was less than a meter away, a literal embodiment of lethal, inescapable justice.
In that split second, Leo's survival instinct—not his system knowledge—screamed. He didn't think; he just acted. He threw himself forward, shoving Koby out of the line of fire, his hand slamming down on the gauntlet.
DING!
[GUARDIAN SHIELD ACTIVATED - USE COUNT: 3 REMAINING]
"USE ONE!" Leo shrieked.
A blinding sphere of celestial blue light erupted from his wrist, instantaneously coalescing into a perfect, massive, gold-rimmed shield just as Akainu's Meigō attack impacted.
The Divine Deflection
BOOOOOOM!
The sound was less like an explosion and more like the simultaneous cracking of a thousand mountain peaks. The raw, violent force of the magma fist collided with the unyielding, divine matter of the shield. The energy of the attack did not dissipate; it was simply pushed back.
A massive shockwave of blue-tinged pressure roared out, flattening the rubble, tearing through the smoke, and sending debris flying high into the sky.
Admiral Akainu, already injured from Whitebeard's previous beatdown, felt a force he couldn't comprehend. His magma fist met an immovable object, and the backlash of his own terrifying power slammed into him. The Admiral was blasted backward, skidding violently across the plaza before collapsing into a smoking pile of broken Marine headquarters rubble.
The entire battlefield fell silent, the clash of steel and roar of cannons momentarily forgotten.
Up on the execution platform, Sengoku shot out of his position, his massive golden form watching. "What is that shield?! And who is this boy?! He deflected an Admiral's strike!"
He looks like a soldier, but his uniform is different. Is he a pirate?
Aokiji (Kuzan), leaning against a pillar, finally looked genuinely perplexed. "What the hell… that's not Haki. What kind of ability is that?"
Kizaru (Borsalino) simply held his sunglasses up, his usual bored expression replaced by a look of stunned disbelief. "Oooohh… now that's a troublesome light. Did he just get hit by his own power? How uncool…"
Blackbeard, also watching this, says, "A shield?! A glowing, shiny shield that stops an Admiral?! I don't care now; I want that shield more than anything! It's better than any treasure I have seen!"
Jimbei, as always, was sweating profusely, his face etched with deep alarm as he carried the unconscious Luffy.
"That power… it pushed back an Admiral's Logia attack! Does such a frightening artifact exist? The World Government is hiding too much!"
Holy crap, that shield doesn't just block; it leaped me here! That was an amazing skill!
Leo looked back at Koby, who was staring at him like he had just grown a second head.
"H-Hey! Who are you even? How did you… leap like that?" Koby stammered, his mind short-circuiting from the impossible physics he had just witnessed.
Leo opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, the celestial blue light of the shield vanished. POP! The metallic gauntlet on his wrist was now just a normal, dull piece of metal.
Then, Akainu rose from the rubble. He was smoking, his face etched with a deeper, more lethal rage. He focused all his volcanic fury on the tiny, insolent figure.
"Didn't I kill you already, boy? How are you still alive?" the Admiral snarled, his voice a low, terrifying growl.
Leo's inner voice screamed with a fresh wave of panic, immediately followed by dark humor. (inner thoughts) Akainu, you're looking at a transmigrator, Admiral. Of course, I can't die without first making a complete fool of myself on a global stage.
and I can't die without doing one completely unnecessary, self-sacrificing thing first!"
Akainu with angry eyes. "I will reduce you to ash!" He channeled his power, and his arm swelled into the colossal, concentrated magma drill of the Meigō (Dark Hound).
The Fatal Flaw
"Koby, run! Now!" Leo yelled, pushing Koby away one last time.
Leo knew the drill. This was the final blow. He slammed his fist down on the gauntlet, preparing to sacrifice his last use of the Guardian Shield.
But instead of the brilliant blue light, a jarring red warning flashed across his vision.
ERROR!
CANNOT SUMMON GUARDIAN SHIELD
COOL DOWN TIME REMAINING: 7 DAYS, 0 HOURS, 0 MINUTES
Leo froze, his blood turning to ice. Seven days?! What in the actual hell is this shitty system?! His mouth fell open, all traces of his previous bravado evaporating into pure terror. The Dark Hound was less than ten feet away, hurtling toward him like a planet-killer missile.
He looked at the attack, then at the ridiculous "7 DAYS" cooldown. His eyes welled up with unshed tears, and a painful, defeated smile appeared on his lips.
First, the shield teleports me directly into the kill zone. Now, it has a week-long cooldown. This isn't a system; it's a horror show.
"I guess this transmigrator," Leo rasped, closing his eyes as the searing heat of the magma consumed him, "dies at the hands of the tutorial's final boss!"
The final, earth-shattering KABOOM of the Dark Hound hitting the spot where Leo stood shook the entire bay.
The resulting blast cloud was pure magma and smoke. Sengoku stared at the expanding cloud where the strange soldier had been.
"That was… regrettable. But necessary. That power, whatever it was, is too dangerous to exist.
Just then, a calm, authoritative voice cut through the carnage, silencing even the still-smoking Akainu.
"That is enough, Sakazuki."
Note: Please give some Powerstones if you think this story is worth it.