The sea area of the Sabaody Archipelago.
The moment the Marine soldiers fished Saint Elaine out of the water, Akainu raised his arm and waved.
"All Marines, hear my command: execute the Buster Call."
Though he didn't know why Beelzebul hadn't retreated, it didn't matter. Whether the other party was fearless or had other plans, he was determined to completely crush him today.
Want to head to the New World? Fat chance!
All pirates must die!
The roar of twenty Marine warships' steam engines erupted simultaneously as they prepared to charge toward the east blue emperor.
However, the warships suddenly and eerily sank a few inches, even beginning to shake violently for no apparent reason.
At the bow of the dog-headed warship, Akainu's brow furrowed. Something was off; given Beelzebul's habits, he usually would have used Haoshoku to clear the field first.
The Marines on the deck also noticed something was wrong.
"What's going on? Is the sea level dropping?"
A Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral pointed at the sea ahead.
"No, look! It looks like something is about to crawl out from under the sea."
Under the gaze of the entire Marine force, huge waves arched upward on the sea surface in front of the fleet, as if something was about to break through the water.
In the blink of an eye, the first things to emerge were a pair of dragon horns, formed entirely of seawater, their outlines flickering amidst the churning foam.
Then,
A pair of azure dragon eyes slowly opened, each as massive as a warship and as deep as an ocean abyss, with dragon whiskers curling and flowing like ripples in the air.
Subsequently, the entire dragon head completely surfaced.
The size of the giant dragon's head alone exceeded the scale of a small island.
The dragon composed of seawater raised its head to the sky, its colossal body rising inch by inch, blotting out the light and casting a deep gloom over the entire Marine Buster Call fleet.
"A dragon head bigger than an island..."
"How terrifying."
Kizaru's mouth hung slightly open, unsure of how to describe his current state of mind. Wasn't Beelzebul a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user? Why could he control the sea?
A racial talent? Or Lineage Factor?
My friend, you really are a treasure trove.
Whenever someone thinks they are about to see the full extent of your strength, you always bring unexpected surprises. Controlling seawater... this is already a shock.
On the Marine fleet, the sound of the Marines swallowing their saliva was completely drowned out by the noise of the dragon soaring.
"Isn't he a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user? Why can he control the sea?"
"Controlling the sea while on the sea?!"
"How are we supposed to fight!?"
Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~
"Is there more?" Kizaru looked up.
The dark clouds churned frantically, and in the depths of the cloud layer, even more violent creatures were being born amidst the flashing lightning.
Finally, purple lightning split the sea of clouds.
Thousands of thunderstorms rapidly condensed, stretched, and manifested into a rugged skeleton and a wild silhouette—
A giant dragon with purple plasma flowing through its entire body. Its scales were condensed thunderstorms, its claws were tearing bolts of lightning, and its two massive dragon eyes, like searchlights, scanned the Marine formation on the sea level.
One azure seawater dragon and one purple lightning dragon—two dragons as massive as continuous mountain ranges—completely surrounded the Marine Buster Call fleet.
Between the sky and the sea, two dragons soared.
Beside Akainu, Garp picked his nose, an unusual light flowing in his eyes: Roger, you weren't wrong. This kid is indeed full of secrets.
A dual-fruit ability user?
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit and sea control... could it be that this kid killed Golden Lion Shiki and ate the Float-Float Fruit?
Then the question arises: how on earth did this Beelzebul kid obtain the Float-Float Fruit after killing Golden Lion?
Does he possess a method to recover Devil Fruits?
He really is full of secrets.
Only a few seconds had passed since the Marine soldiers fished Saint Elaine out. In that lightning-fast interval, the positions of offense and defense between Seven and the Marine Buster Call fleet had reversed.
The Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals, who had been full of fighting spirit and intent on wiping out the Emperor of the Sea, no longer possessed their previous passion. Their pupils reflected only confusion toward the unknown.
How can the Rumble-Rumble Fruit control two types of power at once, especially the sea!
Doesn't this mean that from now on, any fleet in front of Beelzebul will be like paper, easily destroyed by him?
"This... we'll be completely wiped out!"
Sensing the wavering morale spreading through the fleet, Akainu barked out a command, attempting to restore the Marines' spirit.
"Beelzebul!"
"Is this the extent of your abilities? You think you can make the Marines bow with just this?!"
People who can fly are truly annoying. What annoyed Akainu even more was that Beelzebul, by his own strength alone, was forcibly stalling the entire Buster Call fleet.
"Oh~~?"
Seven's tone was drawn out, carrying a hint of playfulness. "Not satisfied?"
Before his voice had even faded, the pair of blazing wings behind Seven snapped open, and an incredibly hot and violent aura immediately permeated the air.
Under Akainu's stunned gaze and the dumbfounded stares of all the Marines,
A sky full of flowing fire erupted from the blazing wings behind Seven. The flames gathered and intertwined frantically in the air, transforming into a rugged dragon skeleton, scorching claws, and a wide-open dragon head!
In an instant, a third giant dragon, condensed from crimson flames, spiraled upward.
At this moment, the sky and sea lost their color.
The vastness of azure, the violence of deep purple, and the heat of golden-red—three elemental dragons with vastly different attributes occupied the entire sky and field of vision.
What their colossal dragon bodies cast were no longer shadows, but three distinct domains of destruction, locking the entire Marine fleet firmly within.
The Marines looked up, suddenly feeling the weapons in their hands become incredibly heavy.
Their faces were simultaneously illuminated by the alternating glows of deep blue water, blinding lightning, and scorching fire, leaving behind only the most primal shock and despair.
Three dragons soaring, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
These were not the small lightning dragons Seven usually released, but giant dragons each comparable to a continuous mountain range. With his heaven-defying stamina, he could release five at most.
Just as Seven was preparing to have the three dragons strike the Marine Buster Call fleet, a burst of wild laughter rang out.
"Jie-ha-ha-ha-ha~"
"Beelzebul, you really are surprising!"
Golden Lion Shiki's golden hair danced wildly as he hovered beside Seven with a cigar in his mouth. Floating in the sky behind them were the east blue emperor and the Giant Yacht.
"The legendary great pirate Golden Lion... has even a pirate like him joined the Morning Star Pirates?"
"Their ship is flying."
"Golden Lion." Garp became uncharacteristically serious.
Two and a half years ago, when Golden Lion raided Marineford, it was Garp and Sengoku who worked together to take him down and lock him in Impel Down.
A few months ago, Golden Lion escaped from Impel Down.
"Jie-ha-ha, Garp!"
"Try locking me in Impel Down again if you have the guts!"
With the steering wheel safely removed from his head, Shiki now looked at everyone as if they were just dead men walking, a bunch of useless nobodies, and vulnerable trash.
Garp flexed his fists.
Kizaru kept his hands in his pockets, remaining silent.
Only Akainu finally realized that Beelzebul and the Morning Star Pirates had never intended to dive to Fish-Man Island. The coating was just a ruse; Beelzebul was going to fly over the Red Line.
Beelzebul was going to escape again.
Dammit!!!
A smile curled at the corners of Seven's lips.
"I hope you all enjoy the role that is about to be yours."
"Senior Shiki, let's go."
Golden Lion gave a cold snort, but for once he didn't argue, instead silently following Seven as they swaggered out of the Marines' sight.
As the two returned to the east blue emperor, the three elemental dragons seemed to respond, raising their heads simultaneously as the air between heaven and earth froze.
Seeing this, Akainu's magma erupted as he swung a magma fist, charging toward the flame elemental dragon.
"Meigo!"
Kizaru flew into mid-air, his hands surrounded by countless rays of light, completely covering the lightning dragon.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Garp used the momentum to leap into the air, his iron fist covered in Haoshoku and Armament Haki colliding head-on with the dragon made entirely of seawater.
"Fist Bone Impact!"
As he swung his fist, a thought flashed through Garp's mind: This Beelzebul kid has some damn good luck. If Kuzan hadn't taken a vacation to go home, they might have actually captured the Morning Star Pirates this time.
Boom~ Boom~
Two violent explosions echoed over the Buster Call fleet. Immediately after, Akainu landed expressionlessly on the bow of the dog-headed warship, while Kizaru flew even higher.
Only Garp was left cursing.
"Get out of the way!"
The azure dragon was shattered by Garp, but it turned into countless towering waves that crashed down. Of the twenty Marine warships executing the Buster Call, eighteen were directly overturned.
At the bow of the dog-headed warship,
Akainu was covered in water vapor, and the cigar in his mouth had long since been extinguished by the seawater, but the fire of rage in his heart burned even brighter.
"Beelzebul!!!"
...In the sea area of the Sabaody Archipelago, a hot air balloon ship was floating above the Buster Call fleet. Morgans stood with his hands on his hips, laughing unrestrainedly.
"Big news! Now this is big news!"
"Beelzebul!!"
"You truly didn't disappoint me."
Following his bold intrusion into the Ohara Buster Call, he had once again defeated a Marine Buster Call formation.
Amidst his wild laughter, the den den mushi in his pocket suddenly vibrated. Morgans quickly pulled it out to answer; this was a private line den den mushi belonging exclusively to Beelzebul, obtained through the Shipping King's connections.
"Beelzebul, congratulations! After this Buster Call, your bounty is definitely going to skyrocket!"
The den den mushi showed a friendly smile.
"Mr. Morgans, since our cooperation has always been pleasant, I'll reveal two pieces of news to you—"
Morgans swallowed and said while grabbing a pen and paper,
"Go ahead, I'm taking notes."
The den den mushi spoke slowly: "First, the fruit I ate is the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu. Second, Golden Lion has joined the Morning Star Pirates..."
"I hope these two pieces of news can double your newspaper sales again."
Morgans took several deep breaths to suppress his excitement. "Beelzebul, could you conveniently reveal how you recruited the legendary great pirate Golden Lion?"
The den den mushi smiled slightly.
"When Senior Shiki was at the absolute lowest point of his life, I was by his side. As for how that low point came about, don't worry about it."
After hanging up the den den mushi, Morgans was stunned for a long time.
"Nani?!"