As Shiki's words fell, his body plunged downward at high speed, landing on the already ruined Sabah Island. His broad palm slammed straight into the ground.
"Rise!"
Under Shiki's savage grin, the entire sea began to churn violently. The sea level visibly rose, and enormous stone pillars broke through the surface one after another. They were the landmass buried beneath the ocean, now dragged upward directly under Shiki's control.
In just a few breaths, the terrain around all of Sabah Island had been completely changed.
Across a hundred kilometers of sea, towering pillars rose one after another, forming a dense forest of stone.
Floating in the sky before that stone forest, Yemu looked as tiny as an ant.
Even so, he was already prepared. He had entered his Entei form and watched the scene warily, excitement burning in his eyes.
"Has Shiki's Devil Fruit awakened too? But of course it has! This is the true power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi!"
For a powerhouse like Shiki, it would be strange if his Devil Fruit had not awakened.
At that moment, Shiki, already covered in blood, let out a demon-like grin. He stretched his palm toward Yemu in the sky, then clenched his fist.
The sea shook once more.
Under Shiki's control, the towering stone pillars shot out of the ocean and flew like arrows, all aimed at Yemu in the sky.
"Die! Earth Explosion Funeral!"
Faced with that dense barrage of stone pillars, spanning a hundred kilometers and rushing toward him like a storm of arrows, Yemu realized there was nowhere to dodge.
"In that case, let's see who can last until the end!"
"Secret Art: True Mahavairocana!"
Yemu pressed his hands together. Like the true Great Sun Tathagata, golden light blazed from his entire body.
Starting from him, scorching golden flames spun outward in a vortex. Behind Yemu, a massive golden fireball appeared, like a true sun.
In an instant, the pitch-black night was lit as bright as day, and the searing heat made the entire sea boil.
Visible to the naked eye, every stone pillar that drew near the blazing sun began to melt on the spot, turning into molten lava that dripped from the sky into the sea.
Shiki froze at the sight, feeling that scorching heat, but then his face filled with excitement.
"That's what makes it interesting! Shihahaha!"
As his words fell, he swung his other arm. Countless columns of seawater rose from the ocean, spinning and wrapping around the stone pillars.
The move took effect immediately.
Under Yemu's somewhat surprised gaze, with the help of the seawater, the pillars began to melt more and more slowly, drawing closer and closer to him.
The dazzling sun in the sky slowly had its light swallowed by the stone pillars, like a heavenly dog devouring the sun.
At last, after an unknown amount of time, the final trace of light vanished, and the last trace of resistance disappeared with it.
"This is my chance!"
Under Shiki's excited control, more and more stone pillars rose from the sea, trying to swallow Yemu completely.
But just then, a violent pain struck. Shiki's body began to sway, and the world before his eyes blurred with phantom images. Along with this change, the pillars flying toward the sky began to tremble fiercely.
At that moment, Shiki naturally understood.
The backlash from his body had finally come.
"Why..."
Shiki's face was filled with unwillingness.
"Just give me one more minute. Just one minute, and I can seal this brat completely inside the stone sphere, then sink him into the sea forever! Hold on!"
Under Shiki's powerful will, the stone pillars seemed to stabilize again and continued flying toward the sky.
But only a second later, an even fiercer backlash struck him. The intense pain from his brain twisted his expression.
For this decisive battle, to ensure his body was at its peak, he had taken medicine with severe side effects. Yet after the battle dragged on, he was the one who had gradually fallen behind.
Now, to use the awakened power of his Devil Fruit and claim victory, he had even taken the risk of pulling out the ship's wheel on his head, the very thing affecting his abilities.
That act was extremely dangerous, but he had no other choice.
Just as he had said, pirates were thieves who would do whatever it took to win.
And that ruthlessness applied not only to others, but to himself as well.
If he failed to win this decisive battle, then any talk of the future would lose all meaning.
So this was a gamble.
He had thought he had won the bet, but now...
At this moment, he desperately wanted to endure through sheer willpower, but the unbearable pain in his brain was blurring his consciousness, and the world before his eyes was filling with illusions.
"Am I going to fail? Is this fate?"
Just as Shiki was about to bow to fate, he suddenly thought of something.
"When Roger fought me back then, was he enduring this same kind of pain too? If he could do it, why can't I..."
"Don't screw with me! I'm Shiki! How could I give in to a little pain like this?"
In an instant, a powerful will that surpassed the limits of the body erupted from Shiki. His once-clouded eyes became clear again, and his expression turned ferocious.
The shaking stone pillars in the sky stabilized once more and surged upward like a storm.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Continuous thunderous roars rang through the sky.
Under Shiki's power, the stone sphere in the sky grew larger and larger, until it finally took full shape.
Under the night sky, two moons appeared.
Seeing this, joy flashed across Shiki's face.
"It worked!"
With a sweep of Shiki's arm, the massive moon-like stone sphere in the sky suddenly broke free of his control. Under gravity, it plummeted rapidly toward the sea. As it tore through the air, the friction set the sky itself ablaze.
"Brat, now be buried in the sea!"
But just then, a crack appeared on the stone sphere that had completely swallowed the light. From within came a dark red glow.
"Impossible..."
Shiki's blood-covered face, now visibly aged, was filled with shock.
And as Shiki's words fell, the dark red light inside the crack grew brighter and brighter, as if something were about to burst out.
Finally, golden flames surged from within. Centered on that crack, they swept across the entire stone sphere.
In an instant, the whole stone sphere burst into flames, turning back into a golden sun.
Looking at that scene, Shiki's eyes finally filled with defeat. His body fell backward onto the ground.
Through his still-blurred vision, Yemu slowly walked out from the golden sun.
"I lost again, huh? Roger, I really never could measure up to you!"
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