Chapter 77: Big News: Akainu Defeated!
"Mr. Ulquiorra!"
Dorry's booming shout cut through the haze of sulfur and ash.
"The Marine reinforcements are on the horizon! We can see the sails!"
The Giant Captain pointed his massive sword toward the sea. A fleet of ten battleships—a Buster Call in all but name—was approaching rapidly, their cannons primed.
"We should retreat!" Dorry continued, his voice rough with urgency. "Our main goal is to bring our companions back to the ship. And the goal of causing a ruckus... well, I'd say this island is sufficiently ruined!"
Brogy laughed, though it was a tense sound. "Gababababa! We turned it upside down, alright!"
Ulquiorra heard this. A ripple flickered in his emerald eyes. His powerful perception—his Pesquisa—had already captured the aura of thousands of Marine elites speeding toward them.
He turned his head slowly. He scanned the island, which had been scarred and desolate by his battle with the Admiral. Everywhere were black rocks formed by cooled magma, and the remains of countless white buildings blazed in the fire.
"Mission complete," Ulquiorra noted internally. "Prolonged combat is inefficient."
He slowly released the Luz de la Luna—the spirit lance impaled in Akainu's leg. The weapon dissolved into green particles of light.
He drifted backward, floating away from the Admiral like a ghost.
"It seems your luck is quite good," Ulquiorra spoke indifferently to the kneeling Admiral. "Our objective has been completed. Your death is not required."
Before he finished speaking, Ulquiorra's figure flashed.
ZWOOP.
He appeared instantly beside the two Giant Captains at the edge of the island, near the rear port where a massive Elbaf ship—far sturdier than the raft—was docked.
"Mr. Ulquiorra!" Kashi came forward, his eyes shining with hero worship. "That was... that was amazing! You actually defeated an Admiral! The Marine's top combat power!"
"Let's leave here quickly," Oimo urged, pushing the ship off the dock. "We set off from Elbaf years ago to find you. It took a long time, but... it's great that the Captains are safe!"
The group no longer delayed. Led by Kashi, the four Giants boarded the massive viking-style ship. Ulquiorra stood on the stern, watching the ruins recede.
"DAMN PIRATES!"
A roar, mixed with endless fury and pain, exploded from the plaza.
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN RUN!"
From the crater, a figure rose.
Sakazuki, the Red Dog, was not done.
He dragged his injured leg. Dark blood was still pumping from the hole Ulquiorra had punched through his thigh.
"Justice... does not let evil escape!"
SSSSSS!
Akainu grabbed his own leg. His hand turned into white-hot magma. He pressed it against the open wound.
The sound of searing flesh was sickening. He cauterized his own artery, sealing the hole with molten rock. He didn't scream. He simply grunted, his eyes burning with a fanatical light.
BOOM!
He transformed his lower body into a geyser of magma. He launched himself into the sky, becoming an angry red meteor.
He soared over the ruins, chasing after the retreating ship with the speed of a rocket.
"Admiral!" the Giants shouted, raising their shields. "He's coming!"
Dorry and Brogy gripped their weapons, prepared to deflect the suicide charge.
However, Ulquiorra slowly turned around. He raised his right index finger.
Hummm...
The ominous emerald light lit up at his fingertip once more.
"Damn it, that move again!"
Having witnessed the terrifying power of the Cero, Akainu's heart tightened. He knew he couldn't tank that in his current state. He prepared to dodge mid-air.
However, he quickly noticed something was wrong.
The direction Ulquiorra was aiming... was not at him.
The green light was pointed past him. Behind him. Toward the horizon.
Toward the Marine fleet that had just entered range.
"Cero."
"DAMN IT!"
Akainu instantly understood the monster's intention.
While he could ignore colleagues affected in the heat of battle on the ground, he absolutely could not watch this elite reinforcement unit—ten battleships carrying thousands of men—be completely annihilated by a single strike before they even fired a shot.
That would be a stain on Justice that could never be washed away.
There was no time for hesitation. No time to think.
Just as the beam of destruction fired from Ulquiorra's fingertip, Akainu made his choice.
He gritted his teeth until they cracked. He pushed his propulsion to the absolute limit.
"ABSOLUTE JUSTICE!"
He transformed into a dark red wall of lava and Haki. He forcefully interposed himself directly in the path of the Cero's trajectory.
He became the shield.
BOOM—!!!
The collision shook the world.
A pillar of emerald light that pierced through heaven and earth slammed into Akainu.
An unimaginably violent explosion detonated in mid-air. A dazzling flash of green and red light blinded everyone for miles. A terrifying energy storm swept in all directions, stirring up monstrous waves that nearly capsized the retreating Giant ship.
Ulquiorra didn't even look at the center of the explosion. He knew the result.
He turned, his white coat fluttering. "Proceed."
The Giant ship caught the wind and the waves, sailing away into the safety of the open sea.
Behind them, the Marine warships were rocking violently in the turbulence.
On the deck of the lead battleship, the soldiers lowered their arms, shielding their eyes from the glare. They looked up.
They witnessed a scene that would haunt them forever.
The explosion faded. And from the smoke, a figure fell.
It was charred. It was smoking. It looked like a bird with broken wings.
It was Admiral Sakazuki.
He was violently thrown backward by the aftershock of the explosion. He plummeted powerlessly from the sky.
SPLASH.
The Admiral hit the sea.
On the warships, silence reigned. Countless Marine soldiers stood with their mouths open, dumbfounded.
"I... I think I saw..." a sharp-eyed soldier stammered, dropping his rifle. "That figure just now... was Admiral Sakazuki!"
"How is that possible?!" his companion retorted, sweating profusely. "Are you drunk? That's the Red Dog! He's invincible! How could an Admiral be defeated?!"
"I saw it too! It really... seemed to be Admiral Sakazuki falling into the sea!"
"WHAT?!"
On the flagship, a Marine Vice Admiral's face instantly turned as pale as a sheet. He grabbed the railing, nearly crushing it.
"HE'S A HAMMER! DEVIL FRUIT USERS CAN'T SWIM!"
The Vice Admiral roared into the Den Den Mushi, panic cracking his voice.
"ATTENTION, ALL UNITS! EMERGENCY!"
"MAN OVERBOARD!"
"SEARCH FOR THE ADMIRAL! GET INTO THE SEA IMMEDIATELY! RESCUE ADMIRAL SAKAZUKI OR WE ARE ALL DEAD!"
Hundreds of Marines dove into the water. Lifeboats were launched. The pursuit of the pirates was forgotten in the chaos of saving their strongest weapon.
As the fleet slowly docked at the ruined Enies Lobby, the Vice Admiral looked at the devastation.
The Gates of Justice were broken. The Tower was leaning. Magma covered everything.
"What kind of terrifying battle... happened here?" he whispered.
At this moment, no one noticed that several News Coos, wearing aviator caps and carrying cameras, flapped their wings high in the sky. They snapped a final picture and quietly vanished into the depths of the clouds, carrying the scoop of the century.
[The Next Day - Marineford]
The atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's office was so oppressive it seemed to have solidified into lead.
Buruburu... Buruburu...
The Den Den Mushi on the desk struggled to imitate the terrified expression of the reporter—the Vice Admiral who had led the rescue mission.
"...That's how it happened, sir!" the Vice Admiral's voice trembled over the speaker.
"Admiral Sakazuki is severely injured. He has third-degree burns from an energy attack and a stab wound through his leg. He is receiving emergency treatment on the medical ship as we speak!"
"According to the information provided by Admiral Sakazuki after he briefly woke up... the one who defeated him was a pirate named Ulquiorra Cifer!"
"Ulquiorra..."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, sitting behind his desk with his pet goat chewing on a file, frowned deeply. The veins on his temples throbbed.
"A name never heard before," Sengoku muttered. "And you say he was with the Giants?"
"Yes, sir! The Captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, 'Blue Ogre' Dorry and 'Red Ogre' Brogy! The ones from a hundred years ago! They destroyed the gates!"
The office fell into a deathly silence.
The Marine's top combat power. The toughest, most ruthless Admiral. Defeated head-on. By an unknown pirate. Right on the World Government's doorstep.
"Oh my... how terrifying."
A lazy, drawling voice broke the silence.
Admiral Kizaru sat on the sofa, trimming his fingernails. He wore his usual yellow suit and a lewd, uncaring smile.
"Sakazuki-san... beaten by a rookie? That's quite the scary story, isn't it?"
"Shut up! Kizaru!" Sengoku roared, slamming his fist on the desk. "This isn't a joke!"
Chief of Staff Tsuru, standing by the window, had remained silent. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her wrinkled face etched with unprecedented solemnity.
"Sengoku," Tsuru said slowly, her voice hoarse. "The consequences of this incident are too severe."
She turned around.
"Enies Lobby destroyed. The lie about the Giants exposed. An Admiral defeated. If this gets out..."
"We must blockade the news," Tsuru advised coldly. "Immediately. This matter absolutely cannot be allowed to spread. Otherwise, it will be a devastating blow to the Marine's prestige. The aura of invincibility will be broken."
Sengoku nodded heavily. He grabbed the phone receiver.
"I agree. The situation on the seas is becoming critical. Why are so many monsters popping up all at once under this 'Suzaku's' banner?!"
"Contact the World Economy News Paper! Tell Morgans I will pay him triple to bury this—"
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
A frantic knocking on the office door interrupted him.
"Come in!" Sengoku roared impatiently.
A Marine communications officer pushed the door open. He was pale, sweating, and holding a bundle of paper.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Bad news! This... this just arrived!"
He respectfully handed over the paper with shaking hands.
"It's the latest issue of the World Economy News Press! It's already being distributed worldwide!"
Sengoku took the newspaper. He intended to casually dismiss the soldier, but his gaze swept across the cover.
Instantly, his pupils constricted to the size of pinpricks.
The front page headline was written in shocking, bold, blood-red characters:
[WORLD SHOCKED!]
[ENIES LOBBY FALLS!]
[MARINE ADMIRAL SAKAZUKI SUFFERS CRUSHING DEFEAT!]
Below the title were two incredibly clear, high-definition photographs.
The first was a snapshot of Ulquiorra in his Resurrección form—massive black wings spread wide, a lance of light in his hand—fiercely clashing with Akainu, whose magma was being blown away.
The second... was even worse.
It was a picture of Akainu, charred and unconscious, falling vertically into the sea like a piece of trash.
CRACK!
The desk under Sengoku's hand splintered. The newspaper crumpled in his grip. His face turned purple with extreme rage.
"MORGANS!!!" Sengoku bellowed, his shockwave knocking the soldier over. "HE PRINTED IT!"
Tsuru took the paper from his hand. She looked at the photos. She closed her eyes and let out a deep, resigned sigh.
"It's too late," Tsuru whispered. "The world knows."
"Damn that bird," Sengoku growled, sinking into his chair. "The era... is shifting."
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