"Two-Pronged Spear!"
"Underworld Hound!"
Even so, Admirals were still Admirals — the pillars of Marine Headquarters.
Arthur's earlier strike, Judgment of the Gods, had caught them completely off guard and hit with terrifying precision.
But though it rattled them, it hadn't broken them.
And now—while his momentum had just faded and his strength was in transition—
the counterattack came.
Two lethal techniques fired off simultaneously, both blindingly fast.
There was no time to dodge.
Arthur gritted his teeth, flaring Armament Haki across his entire back, hardening it into pitch-black steel, and took both hits head-on!
BOOM! BOOM!
The twin impacts thundered through the air.
His back took the full brunt—
his body tensed, brow furrowed, but before he could react—
a golden light flashed.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
Kizaru's signature move!
The same strike that had once smashed Redfield came again, descending from above like divine punishment!
A glowing leg of light cleaved downward, aimed squarely at Arthur's skull.
His eyes narrowed.
He crossed both forearms over his head—just in time.
CRASH!
Even so, the sheer kinetic force of light itself sent him hurtling downward like a meteor, spiraling toward the sea below.
The moment he neared the surface, a massive whirlpool surged up—
and from within it burst Garp, eyes blazing with fury!
"Fist of Love—Iron Fist!"
That legendary punch shot straight for Arthur's spine, intending to break his back in a single blow.
But at that very instant, Arthur finally unleashed the trump card he'd been holding back—
Lightning Elementalization.
Most people thought Logia users could shift forms at will.
But only true masters knew—there was always a fraction of a heartbeat required.
The Admirals had tried to exploit that fraction to end the fight.
But they'd still underestimated his toughness—
and his reaction speed.
SHOOOM!
Garp's fist struck nothing but air.
Arthur's body dissolved into lightning, vanishing in a flash and reappearing high above the clouds.
Hovering in the sky, he looked down at the battlefield below.
"Three Admirals of Marine Headquarters… the Hero Garp… truly deserving of your titles."
"That was a satisfying fight."
"Unfortunately, I'm short on time—so I'll take my leave here."
"Leave?!"
"You think you can just leave?!" Akainu roared, magma seething from his shoulders.
"Oh, I can leave whenever I want," Arthur replied, smirking.
"Brat! Even if it kills me, I'll drag you down myself!" Garp bellowed.
"Old man," Arthur sneered, "maybe you should see a doctor first."
At that, all eyes turned toward Garp—
and the color drained from the Marines' faces.
Blood was flowing freely down his arm.
"V-Vice Admiral Garp… he's bleeding?!"
"No way! Did that brat actually break through Garp's Armament Haki?!"
"Impossible! That's Garp the Hero!"
"Hit me! Quick! Tell me I'm dreaming!"
SLAP.
SPLURT.
"Nope. It's real."
"…"
The crowd went silent.
None of them had thought Garp had been hurt—maybe pushed back, maybe singed, but hurt?
Never.
Even a light wound carried terrifying implications.
If Arthur's blow could pierce Garp's Armament Haki—
then his mastery was beyond the hero himself.
Minds shattered.
Confidence collapsed.
Sweat drenched uniforms.
Some Marines even lost control of their footing, crashing into the sea below despite their Moonwalks.
For the first time, the unshakable image of Marine supremacy cracked.
The Admirals' faces twisted with rage.
They hadn't realized until now—
the psychological damage this battle was inflicting on their forces was even worse than the physical.
"No matter what it takes," Akainu growled, veins pulsing,
"you're not leaving here alive!"
"Great Eruption!"
His right arm became a colossal inferno, molten lava churning into the shape of a giant's fist.
"Ice Fang Spear!" Aokiji followed, his voice cold and sharp as frost.
"Yata no Kagami—"
"Shut up!"
"…"
"…"
Kizaru, scolded mid-sentence, just blinked awkwardly.
A torrent of destruction followed.
A magma titan's arm surged skyward, while a frost phoenix the size of a battleship screamed through the air.
Fueled by fury, their techniques swelled to twice their normal size and power.
Together, they tore toward Arthur—
one red, one white—
pure elemental rage aimed to obliterate him.
But Arthur only smiled.
"You really think I kept talking just to pass the time?"
His lips curved upward.
His eyes gleamed with unshakable confidence.
The wind howled around him, whipping his coat and hair.
Then, the clouds above began to move—
not darkening, but dispersing.
The Admirals froze.
The Marines below craned their necks, eyes widening.
"What… what is that?!"
"Holy—what the hell is that?"
Above them, where storm clouds had been—
now hovered something enormous.
A sphere of lightning.
No, not a sphere—
a celestial sun made of thunder.
An orb of crackling energy so vast it dwarfed islands.
For a heartbeat, every soul on the battlefield forgot to breathe.
From below, it looked like a colossal beast of pure lightning had opened its jaws to devour the world.
Awe.
Terror.
Hopelessness.
It swallowed them whole.
"We… we can't fight that…"
"Even if we ran, it'd still hit us…"
"Oh my god… we're dead."
Even the bravest Marines felt despair take root.
The giant thunder orb began to descend.
It looked slow—
but its movement was faster than light.
In the blink of an eye, it engulfed Arthur entirely.
The magma titan's hand, the icy phoenix — all vanished upon contact.
Not even cinders remained.
The power of heaven itself erased them.
Bathed in radiant lightning, Arthur stood within the storm,
his figure blazing with divine light.
At that moment, he looked less like a pirate—
and more like a god come to earth.
All across the Sabaody Archipelago, people looked up from faraway islands, eyes wide with fear.
"What is that?! The end of the world?!"
"That lightning—it's going to hit us!"
"I'm too young to die! I haven't even fallen in love yet!"
"Wait, you're single too? What a coincidence—I'm handsome, talented, we could—"
"Shut up."
"…Okay."
"Arthur! You'll doom everyone!"
"This is between pirates and Marines!
That attack will slaughter thousands of innocent civilians!"
"Put down your weapon and seek enlightenment!"
"...What the hell kind of line is that?"
Even the Admirals were panicking now.
If that lightning struck, they might survive—
but their men, and the countless civilians behind them… would be vaporized.
This wasn't a battle anymore.
It was judgment.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786