A hundred nautical miles from Dressrosa, five Navy warships sped through the sea. Each ship's deck was packed with dozens or hundreds of marines. The commander aboard each warship was a Navy Rear Admiral. On the lead vessel's deck, draped in a cloak of justice with a red lining and wearing a stern expression, stood the towering figure of Admiral Sakazuki — Akainu himself.
Pirates in the New World watched the Navy's formation from afar and turned ashen. This force was already comparable to a purge order — no, even more terrifying. One Admiral was worth countless warships and Rear Admirals; the presence of an Admiral changed everything.
"What are the Marines doing — attacking a Yonkō?" someone muttered.
"Look at their heading — Dressrosa. The Navy is going after the Beast Pirates!"
"Flamingo's death must have really riled the Marines and the World Government, if they sent Admiral Akainu."
"The Beast Pirates are in for trouble."
The New World's pirates whispered among themselves, most secretly taking delight. The Beast Pirates had stolen from both the Marines and other pirates; under Kaido's shadow, few dared speak. Now the Navy was planning to teach the Beast Pirates a lesson — they approved of that.
"Let's tail them. But keep some distance — if Akainu notices us, we're finished."
"Dressrosa's Beast Pirates are toast. I heard they only have three All-Stars; that's not even enough for Akainu to fight."
"They probably already got a warning that Akainu was coming."
"Who could have warned them? Unless Kaido himself came…"
The fleet pushed on at speed. After an hour or so, the marines spotted Dressrosa's coast. On the lead ship, Vice Admiral Bentham (Moumouse) peered through binoculars and said gravely, "Admiral Sakazuki, the Beast Pirates were ready — Kaido has sent the Three Disasters."
"The Three Disasters?" Akainu snorted coldly. "Perfect — I'll slaughter them all and cut Kaido's support down to the bone!"
When Akainu had escorted the Heavenly Tribute before, he'd faced Jack and nearly killed him — Jack's lungs had been burned through. If not for that genius inventor the Beast-son-in-law and his miracle bean that restored Jack, he'd have been crippled. The others Akainu hadn't met — he assumed they couldn't be much stronger than Jack. To Akainu, eliminating them would be no problem.
As the ships closed to within a hundred meters of Dressrosa's port, the two sides could see each other's faces. Akainu frowned. He first noticed Jack — his body had roughly doubled in size; perhaps he'd eaten Monster Cells. Jack's power seemed to have risen.
But Akainu felt no worry. Vegapunk had analyzed Monster Cells that had leaked from Big Mom's camp and determined that while they enhanced users, they didn't elevate someone to Admiral level. Tukifune (the crane?) had fought Pegivan and Runmi and judged them strong but still far from Admiral rank. That was why Akainu felt secure.
What Akainu did not know was that the Monster Cells Jack and the others had consumed were not Tiger-class but Dragon-class. The gap between Tiger and Dragon was comparable to the difference between a Rear Admiral and an Admiral.
On Dressrosa's shore, Jack's gaze locked onto Akainu. Remembering that day when his lungs had been destroyed, his eyes flashed red. He roared at the ship: "Akainu! Bring your vessel close — today I'll make you know Jack's might!"
Akainu sneered. "A vanquished defeated fool dares to be arrogant? I spared you before; today I'll send you straight to hell!" Then he ordered his men, "Bring the ship closer."
Bentham hesitated and advised, "Admiral, perhaps we should bombard them first instead of rapidly closing in?" His suggestion was strategic: use the cannons to reduce enemy numbers before boarding.
Akainu dismissed the idea — he was confident in his strength and looked down on the Three Disasters and a few All-Stars. If Kaido himself were present, maybe he'd hesitate; without him, no. Akainu ordered, "Do as I say — bring the ship alongside." Moumouse reluctantly complied but kept a contingency: his ship didn't come too close to shore and didn't drop anchor. If something went wrong, the vessel could bolt.
Hundreds of marines set foot on the beach and formed lines. On the Navy side were Admiral Akainu at the front and five Headquarters Vice Admirals behind him. Opposing them were the Beast Pirates' Three Disasters — King, Queen, Jack — followed by Fuzz-Fu, Runmi, and Pegivan.
Akainu stood proud and scanned the Three Disasters. "Who'll come die first? Or all of you together, if you like."
"Madness!" Jack could not hold back. He charged straight at Akainu.
Thud — thud — thud! A titan at over ten meters tall and weighing thousands of tons, each step shook the earth.
"Die, Akainu!"
Jack leapt and swung a fist the size of a sandbag down toward Akainu. Akainu sneered, unimpressed. The marines bristled — to them, Jack's unilateral attempt to attack an Admiral looked like suicide.
When Jack's fist neared, Akainu let his arm drop. A blast erupted — Akainu's arm became molten magma. He punched back at Jack's incoming blow.
"Meigoku!" (A magma dog attack.)
The magma-formed arm extended and struck Jack's fist, and Akainu sneered, "Melt away, you fool!"
But the grin froze on his face the next instant. He realized his Meigoku had collided with Jack's fist, yet Jack's punch hadn't immediately melted or even burned away.
How was this possible? Akainu had never seen anyone withstand a Meigoku blow and remain unharmed. "What in the world…?" he wondered, baffled.
Then Jack roared, "Die!" and the force on his fist magnified several times. Akainu, taken aback, found himself pushed back a step.
The marines behind him were stunned: Akainu had been forced to retreat — even by a single step, that was unimaginable. How could Jack's hand survive magma without being severely burned? Akainu himself was at a loss.
Previously, a graze from Akainu's flame had perforated Jack's lungs. Now, after directly facing his magma, Jack seemed unscathed. How could mere Monster Cells confer such defense?
Akainu hadn't considered that Jack's Monster Cell was Dragon-class. Dragon-class Monster Cells had raised Jack's Mammoth Fruit to a new level: exceptional defense and the ability for his trunk to exhale fire and tornadoes. Akainu couldn't have predicted any of this.
Jack increased his force, and Akainu, confused, took a step back to avoid. The marines gaped — the Admiral had been forced to yield. Akainu felt humiliated; he needed to regain face. He decided to up the ante.
He slammed both hands to the ground. "Let the Admiral's bath of magma begin!" he declared, using his Devil Fruit awakening to turn the ground beneath Jack into molten lava.
Jack slipped — and fell into the lava.
"Jack!" Pegivan cried in alarm. "Lord King! He'll be burned to nothing — get him out!"
But King remained unmoved. Calmly he said, "Jack's defensive power — not even I can match it. It's comparable to Lord Kaido. A little lava won't kill him."
Pegivan froze. Comparable to Kaido? He was stunned.
Queen grinned and clapped Pegivan on the shoulder: "Little Peg, you don't understand the strength of Mythical Zoans." Pegivan nearly spat blood at Queen's casual cruelty.
Jack was submerged in lava — his skin turned red from being baked and it looked like he couldn't hold on. But then he shifted into his elephantiform. His outer skin transformed to a dark, adamantine color that resisted the lava's assault.
Jack swam through the lava toward Akainu, as if taking a bath.
Akainu was utterly bewildered — he gaped in disbelief as if he'd seen a ghost.
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