Chapter 474: Sneak Attack
That sentence detonated like a hidden landmine in the dead silence of the air.
"...!!"
Shanks's pupils shrank abruptly. Three familiar waves of killing intent locked onto him from all directions, and his hand instinctively fell to the hilt of his sword.
The auras of the three Admirals instantly intertwined. Three completely different powers trapped him within an invisible "killing formation."
He had no doubt that as long as Roy revealed his killing intent, even if he was now "Commander of the God's Knights, Saint Shanks," he would be eradicated on the spot right here at the summit of the Holy Land.
The air was taut like a bowstring about to snap.
The wind dared not blow.
The dust dared not settle.
Right at this moment, Roy chuckled softly.
"Never mind..."
He waved his hand slightly, and the killing intent dissipated.
The air finally loosened. Shanks's hand remained on his hilt, but his palm was already slick with cold sweat.
Roy lowered his head, his gaze falling onto Saint Garling, his tone calm: "We have delivered the notification regarding the selection of the Marine Fleet Admiral."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
At this moment, everyone looked toward Saint Garling.
But suddenly, a bizarre, whispered muttering seemed to seep from the cracks in the air.
"Gu... hehehe..."
Shanks furrowed his brow, his eyes instantly shifting as he caught the meaning hidden within.
His heart tightened, and he hurriedly looked up at Saint Garling—
Only to see that gloomy face now bearing an almost grotesque, bizarre smile.
Saint Garling slowly spoke. His voice was deep, yet laced with a chilling, eccentric mockery: "Heh—the Marines..."
"A pathetic bunch of playthings."
He slowly stepped forward, his gaze landing on Sakazuki. His tone was composed, icy, and carried a hair-raising mockery.
"Akainu... no, Sakazuki."
"This 'Absolute Justice' you worship sounds so great it makes one want to laugh."
"Do you really think that by ascending to the seat of Fleet Admiral, the Marines will possess independent dignity?"
He chuckled lightly, a cold glint sweeping past the depths of his eyes.
"After that day, every one of your campaigns, every one of your judgments, every one of your slaughters—"
"Will be nothing more than washing the hands of the 'Gods' for them."
"Those fists of justice of yours will ultimately become the 'burning stakes used to cover up the truth'."
"When that day comes, your so-called justice will be even filthier than evil itself."
Magma began to drip from Sakazuki's fists, searing scorch marks into the ground as the temperature skyrocketed.
Saint Garling continued to press closer step by step, his tone becoming increasingly caustic: "And what about you, Kuzan?"
"Your so-called 'Lazy Justice'—hahaha..."
"It sounds noble, but in practice, it is nothing more than sloth."
"You don't want to take orders from the Gods, yet you dare not rebel against them."
"Lazy justice is just an excuse for your inaction."
He grinned, a dark crimson aura seeping from between his teeth: "At the end of the day, you all—"
"Are nothing more than two guard dogs raised in captivity by the Gods."
Boom.
Kuzan's aura instantly sank. Frost spread from beneath his feet, freezing the earth.
On the other side, blistering heatwaves burned madly.
Sakazuki's fury completely erupted.
Magma spewed from the cracks beneath his feet. The searing red light dyed the sky crimson, and the intense heat made even the air emit a wailing sizzle.
His footsteps were heavy, yet terrifyingly steady.
With every step, the ground melted.
His face was devoid of expression; only an extremely suppressed rage burned within.
"You—"
He raised his head, his eyes like volcanic craters wanting to devour heaven and earth.
"Say that again?!!"
The low voice was like a volcano suppressed to its absolute limit. He stepped forward, step by step—walking toward Saint Garling.
"Sakazuki—!"
Kuzan reached out his hand, his tone unprecedentedly grave.
But before he could even take a step forward, the ground was burned through by magma.
"Oh my~ This is really not good at all~"
High in the sky, Kizaru's voice carried his usual laziness, yet the pitch was unprecedentedly low.
Roy didn't say a word, his stern gaze locked dead onto Saint Garling below.
That aura... was not right.
He felt a bizarre pulsation—a foreign, yet familiar darkness.
In the next instant, a familiar scene flashed through his mind.
—God Valley.
That scene of the "Dark Devouring," that bizarre fluctuation of divine power; the cracks in the sky when Rocks roared under manipulation, the collapse of the earth, and that grotesque darkness...
Roy's expression drastically changed as he bellowed furiously: "Saint Garling—!!!"
But it was too late—
Saint Garling's smile completely tore open into a twisted grin. He slammed both hands onto the ground, his voice deep like an incantation:
"—Black Reversal: Domination!!!"
"BOOM—!!!"
The colors of heaven and earth changed.
The ground beneath Sakazuki's feet instantly cracked open!
An incomparably massive black magic circle instantly expanded—
Runes flipped along illogical trajectories, writhing as if alive. Deep within the central ring was a bottomless abyss!
All light was thoroughly devoured within that darkness.
"Wh—!!!"
Sakazuki's footing sank; even the magma beneath his feet was swallowed into nothingness!
The air warped, the temperature vanished, as if the world itself was being erased.
"Kuzan—fall back!"
Roy and Kizaru made their move in almost the exact same instant.
Swoosh!!!
Roy teleported, grabbing Sakazuki's cape with one hand, his Conqueror's Haki instantly detonating to blast apart the magic circle!
VMM—!!!
Photons and black flames intertwined. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, forcibly grabbed Sakazuki and Kuzan, taking them and vanishing in a flash!
"RUMBLE—!!!!"
In the next moment, the ground where Sakazuki had just been standing was swallowed by the darkness. Even rocks, air, and blood were swept into nothingness.
When the magic circle finally disintegrated, all that remained was a stretch of scorched earth crisscrossed with fissures, and—that spine-chilling silence.
The dust dispersed.
Saint Garling stood amidst the ruins, his hair disheveled, yet a smile still hung on his lips.
It was the smile of a victor, and also the smile of a madman.
He licked his lips, a violent, dark glint flashing in his eyes.
"Hmph..."
Dozens of kilometers away from the Holy Land, on an unnamed small island, the sea breeze howled and seabirds scattered in alarm.
VMM—!!!
Space abruptly distorted. Roy and Sakazuki appeared first, the earth beneath their feet cracking from the impact force.
Immediately after, Kizaru condensed from countless golden points of light, slowly floating down from the sky with Kuzan.
Sakazuki panted heavily, the residual heat of the magma not yet fully dissipated.
He looked up at Roy, his voice low but laced with sincerity: "...Thanks, Roy."
Roy didn't respond, merely waving his hand slightly.
His gaze remained locked on the distance. At the end of the horizon, churning dark clouds could be faintly seen still swirling, like an abyssal behemoth that had yet to disperse.
Roy's expression was unprecedentedly grave: "To think it would be... this fast."
Kizaru dropped his frivolous smile, falling uncharacteristically silent.
Roy remained silent for a moment before the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a cold smirk. He murmured:
"However—"
"It's not like there isn't a way..."
In that instant, the wind stopped.
Sakazuki and Kuzan exchanged a glance, both feeling a long-lost sensation within Roy's smile—the omen of a hunt.
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