The Sound of Drums
The heavens and earth roared.
At the summit of the Red Line, raging flames scorched the sky, earth fires churned, and the air was torn apart.
The black magic circle that had devoured Zephyr and Sakazuki pulsed like the mouth of hell, emanating deep roars and the clanging of chains from its depths.
"Boom--!"
The ground exploded!
Crimson and azure pillars of light shot into the sky simultaneously, magma and ghostly fire intertwined, and rolling heat waves swept in, even distorting the heavens.
"Step back!!"
The dragon's roar was accompanied by a burst of air.
Kizaru, Ace, Luffy, and the others were thrown backward by the Shockwave, their vision swallowed by the endless light.
"Teacher Zephyr!!"
"Admiral Sakazuki--!"
Everyone held their breath.
The next moment--
The flames were violently torn apart, and two tall figures slowly emerged from the abyss.
Their bodies were much larger than before, their skin covered with black and red energy patterns, their heads had curved horns, and their backs had wings like blades.
Zephyr's entire body was engulfed in bluish-black flames, and with each breath, a sonic boom of energy exploded.
Sakazuki's skin was like molten gold, with magma flowing through his veins, and with each heartbeat he could hear the "gurgling" sound of magma.
The two looked up simultaneously, their eyes bloodshot, their pupils devoid of reason, filled only with annihilation.
"Roar--!"
That roar seemed to come from the deepest Purgatory, shattering mountains and unleashing a raging inferno!
The dragon's cloak was torn apart in the storm, Kizaru was suspended in mid-air and stopped, and the flow of light momentarily halted.
His expression became more complex than ever before.
"Zephyr- sensei... Sakazuki..."
His voice trembled. At that moment, it wasn't Marine Admiral speaking, but a comrade-in-arms, someone who still remembered "who they were."
"Brother...?"
That tentative sound only elicited two low, Beast- like roars.
"Bang--!"
The Demon Sakazuki suddenly swung his fist, and magma exploded from his fist, turning into a scorching volcanic flow that crashed towards Kizaru like a meteor storm!
On the other side, the Demon Zephyr's Blue Flames surged, and he vanished from the spot in Flash!
"Teacher Zephyr!!"
The dragon roared, and the storm condensed into the shape of a dragon in his palm, "Do you still remember who I am?!"
A burst of azure Flame Explosion, and the colossal figure raised its head from the flames.
"Remember..."
The voice was hoarse and low, retaining a trace of human emotion, but in the next instant, it was completely replaced by malice.
"Kill... all 'people'."
"Boom!!"
The Blue Flames and the storm collided head-on!
The shockwave formed a devastating vortex, where fire and wind intertwined, transforming into a blue and white tornado that completely ripped the sky above the Battlefield!
Kizaru dodged the lava flow, his gaze fixed on the two figures engulfed by the Netherfire.
"Teacher Zephyr... brother..."
He muttered to himself, the Light Sword gathering in his hand, the light trembling in his grasp, unsure whether it was hesitation or anger.
In the air, Ace, Luffy, and Sabo finally reacted, their eyes burning with anger and determination.
Ace roared, the flames on his arms burning to their limit. "We absolutely cannot let them surround us!!"
Luffy clenched his fists, and Conqueror's Haki erupted wildly around him, his hair standing on end, making him look like God of War.
Sabo's eyes turned cold, and the aura of the Float-Float Fruit enveloped his entire body.
On the ground, Zoro and Kuina met on the left side of the battle line, their blades clashing, their bodies covered in burns and blood.
Kuina's hands trembled as she gazed at the towering figure shrouded in ghostly flames, the hands that had once taught her to wield a knife now holding demonic fire.
Her voice was almost broken in her throat. "Teacher Zephyr..."
Zoro remained silent, his veins bulging, and the three swords in his hands unleashed an overwhelming Haki.
He knew they could no longer hesitate.
"Kuina-- "
He spoke in a low voice, his gaze as firm as ever.
"We must stop the teacher!"
Flash of blue light, and the three swords rang out in unison.
Sword energy tore through the wind and waves, sweeping into the Battlefield.
Meanwhile, high above, lightning and darkness intertwined, and space itself continued to crumble.
Roy's anger has turned into a catastrophe.
"Imu--!"
That roar was like thunder tearing the sky apart; Haki and lightning converged in his fist, and space collapsed into a vortex in the force of his punch.
"Instantaneous Infinite Fist Bone!!"
"BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!--!"
Countless fist shadows erupted from the void, like a stampede of thousands of horses.
That wasn't ordinary boxing; it was spatial stacking—
Each punch exists in multiple dimensions, and every punch simultaneously strikes Imu's existence!
The shadow of fists transformed into a storm, and lightning cleaved the sky into fragments.
Imu's entire body was covered in a fiercely flashing Conqueror's Haki barrier, every inch of his defense resisting the almost limitless barrage of attacks.
"Zzz--!"
A strange, resonant sound came from within the shadow of the fist.
Imu's pupils suddenly contracted.
Another force was actually mixed into that punch.
"This fluctuation, is it the Dark-Dark Fruit?!"
Roy's fist, crackling with lightning, emitted a dark aura capable of devouring light.
Haki, space, darkness—three forces perfectly fused together!
Imu's protective Haki began to crumble; the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit was corroding his barrier.
No matter how He repaired Him, darkness seeped in like venom, slowly devouring His body!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom--!"
The fists rained down like a storm, each punch exploding like a star falling!
Imu's body was pierced by countless fist shadows, his blood and black energy mixed together and swirled in the air!
"Useless— Roy!!"
His roar tore through the heavens and earth, his voice a mixture of madness and pain.
Even if you kill me, they won't turn back!
"Then I'll shatter your will as well!!"
Roy roared and unleashed his fists, causing space to collapse into an abyss.
"Boom--!"
Lightning pierced the sky, Imu's figure was forcibly slammed into the ground, causing the entire Red Line to tremble like a tsunami!
The earth cracked open, and a deep red energy pillar shot into the sky, accompanied by a long roar from heaven and earth.
Beneath the ground, the battle had descended into complete chaos.
Kizaru, Dragon, Ace, Luffy, Sabo, Zoro, Kuina barely formed a defensive line.
The attacks of Demon Zephyr and Sakazuki were like a storm, and the Navy was almost unable to retaliate unless they wanted to kill them.
The Demon Saint Garling once again emerged from the shadows, and his arrival completely shattered the situation, as if the entire Battlefield had been dragged into a nightmare.
Zoro and Kuina faced the giant Blue Flames shadow, drawing their twin swords simultaneously.
"Professor Zephyr, I'm so sorry!!"
"Bang--!"
Flames, storms, lava, black fire--
They collided at the same moment!
On the distant, shattered mountain peaks, the wind whipped up blood-red dust.
Shanks knelt on one knee, blood trickling down his left arm and dripping onto the scorched earth.
He looked up at the Battlefield torn apart by flames and darkness, a struggle flickering in his eyes.
"Zephyr... you guys..."
At this very moment--
Shanks suddenly paused, his brow furrowing slightly.
He raised his head and looked towards the distant horizon.
In the depths of the war-torn sky, two beams of white light suddenly pierced the clouds—
One large and one small, moving so fast they almost became shooting stars.
The white light weaved through the sea of clouds, leaving a long trail of flame, and wherever it passed, the air vibrated in circular ripples.
"That is...?"
The wind suddenly stopped.
A peculiar drumbeat came from a distant direction, deep and powerful, as if striking the heart of heaven and earth.
"Thump--"
It was an ancient rhythm, a pulse full of life and will.
"Thump--Thump--Thump--"
With each beat of the drum, the trembling in the air intensified, even the ghostly fire beneath the earth seemed to quiver.