Chapter 75: Admiral!
High above the turbulent clouds of the Grand Line, a crimson star tore through the atmosphere with the force of a celestial judgment.
It wasn't a comet. It wasn't a meteor. It was a man who embodied the wrath of the World Government.
Sakazuki, the Marine Admiral known to the world as "Akainu" (Red Dog), propelled himself through the sky with terrifying velocity. His arms had transformed into molten rock, exploding continuously like twin jet engines fueled by the planet's core.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each explosion of magma pushed him forward, shattering the sound barrier again and again. His white Justice coat, heavy and imposing, flapped wildly in the slipstream, miraculously not burning up in the intense heat radiating from his body.
From miles away, his keen Observation Haki had detected the anomaly. The spiritual pressure—the chaotic, overwhelming Haki—erupting from Enies Lobby was monstrous. It wasn't just a raid; it was a calamity that threatened the very symbol of Justice.
"Filthy criminals," Akainu growled, his voice lost in the wind but heavy with contempt. "Daring to attack the Judicial Island... You chose the wrong day to seek glory."
He abandoned his slow battleship without hesitation. He didn't need a fleet. He was the vanguard. He was the executioner.
He angled his descent. Gravity took hold, combined with his volcanic propulsion. He became a meteorite of absolute judgment falling upon the sinners below.
CRASH!
Akainu landed in the center of the Main Plaza with the force of a tactical nuke.
The impact was cataclysmic. The stone ground liquefied instantly, turning into a crater of bubbling, hissing lava. A shockwave of heat rolled out, vaporizing the moisture in the air instantly, creating a dense fog of superheated steam. Nearby wooden barricades didn't just burn; they sublimated into ash.
When the steam cleared, Akainu stood tall in the center of the crater. He was a towering figure in a crimson suit, black smoke rising from his shoulders like the breath of a demon.
His eyes, hidden under the brim of his cap, swept across the battlefield like a hawk hunting for prey.
He saw the carnage. He saw the thousands of elite Marines lying unconscious, foam at their mouths, victims of a spiritual pressure they couldn't comprehend. He saw the broken gates, the shattered pride of the Marines.
And he saw the perpetrators.
Two mountain-like Giants, holding weapons the size of battleships. They were conspicuous, legendary figures that should have been dead or retired. But Akainu's gaze didn't linger on them.
His eyes locked instantly onto the small, black-haired man standing in front of the Giants. The man whose hands were still buried deep in his pockets. The man whose white uniform was pristine amidst the blood, dirt, and ash.
Their eyes met.
Magma versus Void.
"It's... it's him!"
Kashi and Oimo, who had been celebrating their victory just moments ago, froze. The color drained from their faces, replaced by the grey pallor of terror. They knew this man. Every pirate, every marine, every civilian in the world knew this man.
"Marine Admiral! 'Akainu' Sakazuki!"
The name alone carried the weight of death sentences.
"Oh?"
Dorry narrowed his eyes, leaning down. His Viking helmet gleaned in the firelight of the burning plaza. "A formidable fellow has arrived! A Marine Admiral, you say?"
He gripped the hilt of Terry Sword. He could feel the heat radiating from the man even from this distance. It felt like standing next to an active volcano.
"Gababababa!" Brogy laughed, though his grip on Bruiser Axe tightened until his knuckles cracked loudly. "This is what we need to stretch our muscles! A real challenge worthy of Elbaf!"
The two Captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates didn't need to speak. A century of fighting side-by-side on Little Garden had given them a telepathic understanding of battle.
They moved as one fluid entity of destruction.
"Hey, Red Dog!" Dorry roared, his voice shaking the remaining windows of the Tower of Justice. "Get out of the way, or get crushed!"
The two Giants raised their weapons high. They twisted their massive torsos, coiling their muscles like springs. A sphere of compressed air pressure began to form between their weapons, distorting the light.
"Taste the might of Elbaf's warriors..."
"HAKOKU (SOVEREIGNTY)!!!"
They swung.
BOOOOOOM!
A colossal cylinder of pressurized air—a shockwave capable of punching a clean hole through a Sea King or obliterating an island fortress—erupted from their weapons. It tore up the ground, creating a deep trench as it rushed toward Akainu. It was a natural disaster in the form of an attack.
Facing this combined ultimate technique, Akainu didn't dodge. He didn't step back. He didn't even flinch.
A fierce, annoyed glint flashed in his eyes under the cap.
"Insolent."
His right arm expanded violently. It turned into a massive, snarling fist of dark red, viscous magma, shaped like a dog's head barking at the heavens.
"MEIGOU (HELL HOUND)!"
Akainu punched forward.
CRACK-FWOOSH!
The magma fist collided head-on with the Elbaf air blast.
Physics seemed to break. The collision created a sphere of energy that expanded outward, blowing away the unconscious bodies of the Marines like dry leaves in a hurricane. The ocean water surrounding the plaza evaporated instantly into steam, creating a whiteout.
The magma ate the wind. The sheer heat and density of the Logia attack neutralized the shockwave in mid-air, grinding the Giants' attack to a halt.
"Hmph!"
Akainu retracted his smoking fist. He shook off the cooling rock shards.
"Such an attack..." Akainu's voice was deep, gravelly, and filled with oppressive power that vibrated in the chests of everyone present. "It doesn't seem like something a pirate with only a 100-million-berry bounty could unleash. The records are clearly outdated."
He looked up at the Giants, unimpressed by their size.
"'Blue Ogre' Dorry. 'Red Ogre' Brogy. You two have been dormant for a hundred years. And the moment you crawl out of your hole, you choose to attack Enies Lobby?"
Magma dripped from his fingers, sizzling as it ate through the stone pavement.
"You certainly have a lot of guts. But unfortunately, your luck ends here."
His gaze shifted, finally settling on Ulquiorra. His killing intent spiked, sharp and focused like a laser.
"Meeting me... don't even dream of having a way out. Absolute Justice allows no escape for trash."
Akainu raised both arms.
"DAI FUNKA (GREAT ERUPTION)!"
He didn't waste words. He transformed his arms into massive fists of lava, launching countless volcanic bombs into the air.
It was an orbital bombardment. Scorching magma rained down like a meteor shower, covering the entire plaza. The heat was intense enough to turn the stone city into a sea of fire instantly.
"Wait!" Kashi screamed, realizing the horror. "There are still Marines on the ground! They're just unconscious! You'll kill your own men!"
Akainu didn't care. His expression remained cold and hard. In his eyes, soldiers who failed to stop the enemy were weak. And weakness was a sin against Justice. If they died in the purge of evil, it was a necessary sacrifice.
The magma fell.
"Mr. Ulquiorra!" Dorry shouted, raising his shield to cover Brogy. But the magma was everywhere. It was a curtain of death.
Just at this critical moment, Ulquiorra moved.
Zwoop.
One second, he was standing behind the Giants. The next, he was in the air, right in front of them.
He stood between the falling magma and his "subordinates." He didn't raise a barrier. He didn't fire a blast. He simply stood there.
"Mr. Ulquiorra!"
BOOM—!!!
The deafening explosion swallowed his figure. Scorching magma engulfed him completely. The terrifying high temperature melted the surrounding ground into a rolling pool of lava.
The unconscious Marines near the impact zone were vaporized instantly, leaving not even ash behind. The cruelty of the attack was absolute.
Silence fell, broken only by the bubbling of molten rock and the hissing of steam.
"He... he took it head-on?" Oimo gasped, his eyes watering from the heat.
Slowly, the magma rain ceased. Scorching white steam permeated the air.
Under the anxious gaze of the Giants, a figure walked out of the fire.
Ulquiorra stood there.
His pristine white Arrancar jacket was burned to tatters on his upper body, the edges charred and curling away. But beneath the ruined clothes...
His pale skin was perfectly intact.
Not a burn. Not a blister. Not a scratch.
His Hierro (Steel Skin)—the condensed spiritual pressure that protected his body—was harder than steel, denser than diamond. The magma had simply slid off him like water off a duck's back. The stark contrast between the dark red magma dripping from his shoulders and his milky white skin was terrifying.
He reached out a pale hand and brushed a spark from his shoulder with casual indifference. His emerald pupils gazed calmly at Akainu through the steam, devoid of any ripple of emotion.
"Mr. Ulquiorra! Are you alright?!"
The Giants' anxious shouts came from behind him. The sheer volume of their concern made the ground shake.
Ulquiorra paused slightly. He tilted his head.
Concern?
Is this... what Suzaku meant by "companionship"? Why do they care if I am damaged? I am a tool.
A strange, unfamiliar ripple stirred in his void-like heart. It wasn't warmth, exactly, but it was... distinct.
He did not turn back. He only responded calmly in his unmodulated, monotone voice.
"I am fine. This level of attack... is not enough to threaten me."
Akainu's eyes narrowed. The veins on his forehead bulged.
"What boastful words," the Admiral growled, his body bubbling more violently. "Arrogant pirate."
He didn't wait for the opponent to regain his footing. Akainu was a soldier, not a duelist. He attacked to kill.
BOOM!
Using the explosive propulsion of a magma jet from his elbow, Akainu closed the distance instantly. He moved with a speed disproportionate to his bulk, a red blur of violence.
"MEIGOU!"
His heavy fist, covered in dark red, concentrating lava, tore through the air. It aimed directly for Ulquiorra's head. This was the punch that would later take off Whitebeard's face. It was lethal.
Ulquiorra didn't panic. He didn't blink.
He shifted his weight.
Whoosh.
He sidestepped. The movement was minimal, efficient.
Akainu's fist passed inches from his nose. The heat singed the air, but Ulquiorra was already gone.
The spot where Ulquiorra had stood was instantly swallowed by the punch, turning into a crater of boiling rock.
The battle instantly entered a white-hot phase.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Akainu's offensive was relentless. He was a walking volcano, throwing punch after punch, turning the plaza into a landscape of fire and death. He didn't care about the surroundings. He only cared about eradication.
Ulquiorra weaved through the attacks. He moved like a ghost, his hands still in his pockets. He jumped, slid, and vanished using Sonido—the Arrancar's high-speed movement technique that moved faster than the eye could track.
Wherever they passed, the earth cracked. Buildings melted. The bridge to the Tower of Justice began to sag from the heat.
"Captain!" Kashi watched the magma offensive, gripping his club nervously. "Things are not looking good! That's an Admiral! He's destroying the island just to kill one man! Should we join in?"
Dorry and Brogy watched the battle with serious expressions. But they weren't flustered. They were smiling grimly.
"Calm down, Kashi," Dorry said, his voice deep and rumbling. "Watch closely."
"Mr. Ulquiorra..." Brogy grinned, leaning on his axe. "He hasn't even taken his hands out of his pockets yet."
"What?" Oimo blinked, looking closer. It was true.
"He hasn't started fighting seriously," Dorry confirmed. "The power he showed us on the ship... the Resurrección... he hasn't even touched it."
At the same time, Akainu, who was fiercely battling Ulquiorra, grew increasingly frustrated.
His attacks held the initiative. He was pushing the enemy back. He was dominating the space.
But... he wasn't hitting him.
No matter how fiercely he attacked, no matter how much lava he flooded the field with, the expressionless man before him remained untouched. Those green eyes were like still water—dead, empty, and observant.
He's fast, Akainu analyzed coldly. And his skin... he took a glancing blow earlier and didn't burn. Is it Tekkai? Or a Devil Fruit? Why can't I sense his Haki?
What shocked the Admiral even more was the lack of information.
A man with this level of speed, durability, and combat instinct... he should be famous. He should be a Yonko Commander. He should be in the bingo book.
But Akainu searched his encyclopedic memory of wanted criminals, and came up with nothing.
Unknown variable.
Akainu stopped his barrage. He stood on a pool of lava, hot magma dripping from his arm with a sizzling sound. Steam rose around him like a shroud.
He glared at Ulquiorra, who stood perched on a piece of un-melted rubble, looking completely bored.
"Who exactly are you, scum?" Akainu asked, his voice deep and authoritative. "You possess strength that doesn't belong to a nobody."
"Did you lead the Giant Warrior Pirates to attack Enies Lobby? Are you the captain?"
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