In the other groves of the archipelago, everyone stared in horror toward Grove 1.
Normally, with the tall Red Trees obstructing the view, it was difficult to see between the different areas, but now, a great sun was rising above the canopy.
On the shores of the Sabaody Archipelago, the fighting pirates and Marine soldiers all stopped in their tracks, turning to look at the rising sun with blank faces full of shock.
Rayleigh and Shakky walked out of the Rip-off Bar and stared up at the sky.
"So, when you fought Cyrus before, is this how he fought you?" Shakky asked, her tone strange.
"No, he didn't use this kind of technique," Rayleigh replied, shaking his head.
When Cyrus fought him, although he used his Devil Fruit abilities, it wasn't on a scale anywhere near this.
'That's right,' Rayleigh thought. 'Logia-type fruits represent the terrifying forces of nature. Perhaps this is the true power of this fruit.'
"Should we go?" Shakky asked, glancing once more in the direction of Grove 1.
"Let's go. No matter what happens to Cyrus this time, something major is bound to happen on the Sabaody Archipelago next," Rayleigh sighed.
The Marines usually turned a blind eye to him because he was retired and rarely went out to sea anymore, but after this incident—especially considering the fate of those Celestial Dragons—what would happen to the archipelago?
The two exchanged a knowing look, and without even returning to the bar, they left directly.
...
Aboard a warship heading for Sabaody, Sengoku stared at the rising sun with grave eyes.
"The Flame-Flame Fruit can do something like this?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru could naturally guess who had unleashed this power, noting that Cyrus had used a similar technique when he fought Kizaru in the North Blue.
But according to Kizaru, at that time, Cyrus's technique was still manageable.
Now, however, they could feel the intense light and heat even from such a great distance.
"Full speed ahead!" Sengoku ordered in a deep voice.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Room of Flowers at Mary Geoise, Imu turned to look in the direction of the Sabaody Archipelago with a hint of confusion in their exposed eyes.
'Is that the same power I felt last time? But it feels much weaker than before.'
...
In the Room of Authority, the Five Elders stared at the long-distance broadcast feed in silence.
"He looks tough to deal with."
"Can the Flame-Flame Fruit really do something like this?"
"I don't know. Previous users of the Flame-Flame Fruit have no records of being this strong."
"It seems Kizaru and Akainu can't take him down."
"Sengoku is on his way."
"He might not make it in time."
"Dispatch the God's Knights!"
The five men exchanged a look and nodded in unison.
"We need Lord Imu's permission."
The God's Knights were Mary Geoise's final shield and sharpest blade, the Elders couldn't command them.
The Knights had their own specific duties and could only be mobilized by Imu's direct order.
"I approve!"
Just as the Five Elders made their decision, Imu's voice rang out.
The five men stood up and bowed respectfully before striding out of the Room of Authority to mobilize the God's Knights for battle.
They had to take down the man who assassinated the Celestial Dragons.
"It would be best to capture him alive. There's something strange about his body," Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, said in a deep voice.
The other four frowned slightly at his words, knowing that given the power Cyrus was currently displaying, capturing him alive was much easier said than done.
...
High above Grove 1.
Cyrus's Observation Haki remained locked onto Kizaru and Akainu, noting that the two seemed extremely wary of his current state.
Before he could even get close, they would split up and retreat, constantly maintaining their distance to attack him with long-range techniques.
The lasers and light bullets never stopped, and the dense magma falling from the sky was like rain—except the raindrops were massive and lethal
The entirety of Grove 1 had already become an ocean of magma, which eventually sank and caused seawater to pour in.
Steam rose up in thick clouds, only to be instantly vaporized again by the ambient heat.
[Health: 10%]
His health dropped to 10%.
Cyrus stopped his pursuit of the Admirals, turning to face the direction of the Red Line as he fully released his Observation Haki, just barely able to perceive the edge of the continent.
'If I'm going to do something big, I might as well go all out.'
Kizaru and Akainu noticed that Cyrus had stopped moving, and the giant fireball suspended high in the sky had also become completely still.
Just as they were wondering what was happening, the fireball suddenly contracted.
Like a whale swallowing water, Cyrus's body absorbed all the flames.
Golden fire danced behind him, and his hair turned into burning golden flames that flickered constantly.
Soon, white flames began to dance across his body and mix with the gold as he held his clear, bright longsword at the ready.
Rings of fire appeared and disappeared behind Cyrus, pulsing with raw power.
[Health: 9%]
Akainu and Kizaru were on extremely high alert, knowing that Cyrus's abnormal actions likely meant a thunderous strike was coming next.
"Since you two don't intend to continue, I won't linger here any longer."
As his words fell, Cyrus's sword-wielding body suddenly transformed into a streak of golden fire, crossing the long sky in the blink of an eye.
"He's leaving?" Kizaru was stunned for a moment, but when he saw the direction the line of fire was heading, his pupils suddenly dilated.
That was the exact direction of the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
"Stop him!"
As the shout fell, a golden light flared brightly in the sky before a line of light shot forward, catching up to the fiery streak that was Cyrus in an instant.
Although Cyrus could fly incredibly fast using his flames, it was still clearly inferior to the speed of light; after all, one of the defining aspects of light was ultimate speed.
"Get out of my way!"
Facing Kizaru's descending kick, Cyrus threw a punch in return.
Gold clashed with gold as black lightning flashed across the sky.
Kizaru was sent flying backward, while Cyrus, still transformed into flame, continued his trajectory toward Mary Geoise.
Swoosh!
Just as Cyrus moved again, a black object shot across the sea's surface and stabbed straight up at him from below.
He swung his sword down, but the black object changed direction, coiling around the blade in Cyrus's hand and spiraling upward to instantly wrap his body in a black cocoon.
Kizaru froze, halting his attack. Golden patterns appeared on the black cocoon-like object before it abruptly exploded, revealing Cyrus's figure once more.
He turned his head to look back toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
Under the blanket of his Observation Haki, a few vaguely familiar figures had appeared there.
The one who had just attacked was a young woman with no arms.
She wore a black uniform, and her legs and face were wrapped in bandages.
At that moment, a black arrow extended from her sleeve and coiled around her leg before shooting forward to appear right in front of Cyrus.
'It can be used like this from so far away?' Cyrus wondered as he watched the black arrow stab toward his face.
'It seems Gunko didn't have this kind of power, did she?'
Although she had suppressed a few of the Straw Hat crew's second-tier fighters in the original story, anyone who knew anything knew what their combat power was actually worth at that time.
Cyrus casually tilted his head, letting the black arrow graze past his face before it changed direction to attack again.
'Oh, right. This thing can track its target.'
Clang!
[Health: 3%]