"You actually did it!"
No matter what Cyrus had said before, as long as the Celestial Dragons weren't killed, everything was still negotiable.
But now, a Celestial Dragon was dead, and not just one.
During the rapid rotation of the massive flames just now, the CP agents who had tried to evacuate the nobles were all swept into the inferno, and even Kizaru, with his Armament Haki deployed, would have found it difficult to withstand that temperature.
Kizaru looked at Cyrus, who had flames rising behind him, then turned his head to look at the remnants of the Fire Tornado that had been cut in two.
Not even a corpse was left.
At such a high temperature, those people were completely annihilated shortly after being drawn in.
Not far away, a disheveled Akainu wore a grim expression.
His anger wasn't because the Celestial Dragons were killed, but because Cyrus had done something strictly forbidden by the Marines.
And in Akainu's eyes, there was no distinction between the two offenses.
The broadcast screen was filled with flames, rendering the News Birds completely unable to film the scene within the inferno.
Just as the viewers of the live broadcast were growing anxious and Morgans was fuming, the spreading flames began to recede.
The vast amount of fire condensed into more than a dozen fiery threads, all converging toward Cyrus, and in a brief moment, he had gathered all the flames back into himself.
The entire area of Grove 1, which had just been engulfed in fire, was now scorched black.
Amidst the blackened earth, a red glow was rapidly dimming to leave a faint reflective sheen of melted rock.
Aside from the three men standing in a standoff, everyone else had vanished.
'Where are the Celestial Dragons?'
This question simultaneously arose in the minds of everyone watching the broadcast.
No matter how earth-shattering the battle between the three monsters was, the fate of the World Nobles remained everyone's primary concern.
The last time the Celestial Dragons were attacked was by Fisher Tiger of the Sun Pirates, but even then, they were only affected and not killed.
Going further back, those with knowledge of more secret history all thought of the great battle in God Valley, remembering the Rocks Pirates who had attacked the island.
The Celestial Dragons had completely disappeared, and a terrifying thought appeared in everyone's mind.
'Were the Celestial Dragons killed? And more than one of them?'
...
At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku watched the projected image and closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them again, they were filled with absolute helplessness.
"Relay my orders. All officers at Headquarters are to drop everything and be on standby."
As soon as Sengoku's voice fell, a Den Den Mushi rang.
Already having his suspicions, the Fleet Admiral answered it directly, finding that it wasn't Commander-in-Chief Kong on the other end, but one of the Five Elders.
"Sengoku, take that man down."
The Elder's voice betrayed little emotion, but he was surely furious to the extreme.
"I understand," Sengoku replied before hanging up the receiver.
He turned to look at Vice Admiral Tsuru. "Is there no other way?"
Tsuru's face was also full of helplessness. "No other options have presented themselves."
Sengoku nodded.
He had already warned Cyrus that the Celestial Dragons were the absolute bottom line, and as long as that line wasn't crossed, there was room for negotiation.
But now, Celestial Dragons were dead, and the Marines had no other choice.
"I misjudged him. I thought he would be more rational, that he would understand my words. No, perhaps he did understand, but he just didn't care." Sengoku straightened his uniform and strode outside, with Tsuru rising to follow behind him.
...
At the same time, a large number of CP agents began to close in on Grove 1 as the Marines completely locked down the Sabaody Archipelago.
The pirates on the island who had witnessed the broadcast knew that now was their only chance to escape, and naval battles quickly erupted on the outskirts of the archipelago.
In the lawless zone, the cigar Crocodile was biting fell from his mouth, but he didn't even notice.
'That guy actually did it.'
By doing something like this, Cyrus had achieved his goal, but he would also become a massive thorn in the side of the World Government side.
"This is big trouble," Crocodile muttered, his expression grave.
"What's there to be afraid of? If Cyrus can do it, so can I!" Enel declared with a look of displeasure upon hearing the Warlord's words.
"Preparing to retreat, Crocodile?" Hawkeye's voice rang out, making Crocodile's face darken as he looked at the swordsman who had just walked in.
"As per Cyrus's request, I've delivered the three Devil Fruits." Hawkeye raised his hand and tossed the box containing the fruits to Crocodile.
"Has the Crocodile who once challenged Whitebeard become afraid of what's before him?"
Hawkeye's words made Crocodile's expression turn ugly, but he didn't retort, simply glancing at the box that Daz Bones had caught.
"Hah, I'm not afraid of anything," Crocodile snorted coldly and said no more.
Hawkeye didn't mind his attitude, knowing his job was done, he turned to leave.
"Get ready. We might have to fight next," Crocodile said, looking at Enel.
"Suits me just fine!"
...
Boom!
A fiery shockwave exploded.
Akainu was sent flying backward as a pillar of light descended from the sky, striking the exact spot where Cyrus had just been.
A massive explosion erupted after the golden light landed, but Cyrus's vanished figure had already appeared at Kizaru's side.
His longsword, marked with strange flame patterns, swept out as black lightning erupted along the edge.
The golden light scattered, and when it reformed, Kizaru was standing together with the blasted-away Akainu.
Kizaru looked down at his chest, noting a conspicuous sword mark that had slashed open his yellow suit and left a scorched black line across his skin.
As for Akainu, he was in an even more wretched state.
If Akainu was stronger in terms of raw attack power, then Kizaru had the clear upper hand when it came to evasion.
Cyrus hovered in mid-air, looking down at the two Admirals below.
"There's nothing holding you back now. So, how about you get serious?"
"Since you've put it that way," Kizaru said, turning to look at Akainu, who nodded slightly.
With no Celestial Dragons here, they indeed no longer needed to worry about collateral damage.
With a pull of his hand, a golden longsword appeared.
Kizaru's body turned into golden light, and at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
He was in front of Cyrus with his sword already at the young man's face, carried by his extreme velocity.
Clang!
This time, however, Cyrus neither used Elemental Transformation nor dodged.
Tilting his head slightly, he took the sword strike directly on his shoulder, which was covered in dense Armament Haki.
At the same time, Cyrus's left hand shot out and grabbed Kizaru's wrist.
Akainu also flew over at this moment, his magma-formed fist smashing toward Cyrus.
Instead of blocking, Cyrus swung his arm, spinning Kizaru twice with his left hand and using the Admiral as a living weapon to slam into the charging Akainu.
Boom!
Kizaru and Akainu collided heavily.
Akainu was smashed out of the sky, while the golden sword in Kizaru's hand stabbed directly at Cyrus's eye.
Watching the blade approach, Cyrus simply closed his left eye.
Ting!
The golden sword struck Cyrus's eyelid, producing the sharp, ringing sound of metal striking metal!