The End

"Aargh!!!"

With Akainu's furious roar, the Garganta was consumed by the Great Eruption, and his massive fist shot straight towards Cifer.

A colossal amount of Spiritual Pressure was wrapped around the Moonlight Sword, and Cifer thrust it towards the punch.

This clash was a test of physical prowess, and simultaneously, Cifer's Spiritual Pressure against Akainu's Haki and Devil Fruit abilities.

"Ulquiorra Cifer! You're strong, but not strong enough!" Akainu tensed the muscles in his entire body, the heat from his magma growing more intense.

A crisp sound rang out, and the Moonlight Sword shattered. Akainu's fist continued forward, smashing into Cifer's body, which was covered in Spiritual Pressure.

My bones feel like they're going to crack!

This was Cifer's first sensation, accompanied by an intense, scorching heat.

He was sent flying.

After breaking who knew how many trees and killing how many beasts with the residual force, Cifer finally stopped himself hundreds of meters away.

"This hurts like hell. Fighting Akainu with just a Rank 1 Resurrección is indeed a bit difficult!"

At this moment, Cifer's upper clothing had been completely incinerated by the magma, and large areas of his body were burned. However, thanks to his regeneration ability, he was healed within three seconds.

Whether it was physical combat or Haki, Akainu was undoubtedly a top-tier powerhouse. In Cifer's opinion, his strength was comparable to the current Whitebeard, but he posed a far greater threat to himself than Whitebeard.

Whitebeard was old; his physical prowess, Haki, and durability could no longer support him in a prolonged battle. If they were to fight, Cifer could simply outlast him until he died.

Akainu, on the other hand, was in his prime. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could fight Cifer for ten days and ten nights.

"What's wrong, are you unable to fight any longer, Black Winged Great Demon?" Provoking the enemy with words was always Akainu's preference.

He walked slowly from not far away, magma constantly dripping from his semi-elemental right hand. Where he passed, nothing grew.

At the same time, he noticed the hollow in Cifer's collarbone and his smooth body.

Had the burns from the magma already healed?

Akainu didn't believe that Cifer would emerge unscathed after taking his full-power Great Eruption head-on.

However, he was more curious about what kind of person could have left such a hole in Cifer that it couldn't heal.

"You might be more likable if you didn't have that mouth."

Cifer retorted without hesitation, his hand flashing as the Moonlight Sword reformed.

At this moment, an astonishing roar echoed, shaking the entire forest. In the vast wilderness, it was as if two bright lamps had appeared.

"It seems the king of this island has arrived. This is going to be troublesome."

Looking at the eyes larger than a human, Cifer spoke of trouble, but his face showed no concern.

It finally appeared! It was a Mighty Lion!

With a height of nearly 50 meters, its massive eyes stared intently at the two small figures below. It couldn't comprehend how two such small humans could cause such a commotion in its territory.

It opened its cavernous maw, revealing huge, sharp teeth, and let out a roar, attempting to intimidate the two before it. Unfortunately...

"Shut up!"

"Inugama Kurenai!"

The Garganta and the dog head struck simultaneously. The Garganta hit its chest, and the dog head struck its head. With just these two attacks, Rexeno's king couldn't even let out a whimper before falling to the ground, unable to rise again.

The sound of the giant lion falling and its strong scent of blood drifted through the forest to the distance.

The beasts that had gathered around, wanting to fight the two alongside the lion, began to flee in panic. Everything returned to silence.

The ground began to grow scorching hot. Mountains that were once covered in trees exploded, spewing magma!

"Meteor Volcano!"

With a few Shunpo, Akainu widened the distance between himself and Cifer, shooting countless magma projectiles towards the sky with his fists, which then transformed into lava like falling meteors, descending upon Cifer.

"Tricks!"

Cifer dodged the projectiles, charging towards Akainu, occasionally kicking one or two back at him.

"Ulquiorra Cifer!"

"Sakazuki!"

The Moonlight Sword and the magma fists clashed once more.

"Vice Admiral Jonathan, is it really okay to let them keep fighting like this?"

Hina's face was filled with unease. It was already the third day of Cifer and Akainu's battle. More than half of Rexeno had been destroyed, and the forest was unrecognizable.

Looking at Rexeno from the warship, it was simply a ruin. If not for the occasional tremors from the island, Hina would have suspected that both of them were dead.

"The power of monsters cannot be explained by common sense. Let them be; there's nothing we can do to stop them."

Jonathan had been worried at first, but then he thought that this was beyond his scope of concern. So, he simply spent his days playing chess with Wright, enjoying himself immensely.

On Rexeno Island, the terrain had been completely altered.

In the area where the two were fighting, half of the once pleasant climate had been taken over by volcanoes due to Akainu's abilities erupting to their fullest. Bubbles of molten lava occasionally surfaced.

The other half was like a ruin, filled with an aura of death, untouched even by lava.

Cifer and Akainu stood facing each other. Although Cifer bore no wounds, his aura was extremely chaotic, and he was clearly struggling to breathe.

Looking at Akainu, his upper garment had been destroyed during the three days of fighting, revealing his burly physique and tattoos covering half of his body.

Akainu bore numerous scars, large and small. Some were still bleeding, while others had scabbed over, but his aura was far more stable than Cifer's.

"Your self-healing ability is incredibly powerful. It's a shame your physical combat skills and your bizarre offensive methods are still a step behind mine."

Akainu picked up the hat he had casually tossed aside and put it back on his head. He intended to end this meaningless battle, having already gauged Cifer's strength.

"There's no point in continuing this fight. You're no match for me!"

Indeed! If he was a step behind in multiple aspects, his overall strength would be more than just a step behind. It seemed like a close match, but the outcome was already decided.

After three days of fighting, Cifer had reached the same conclusion. Akainu couldn't leave any lasting wounds on him, but he also hadn't inflicted significant damage on Akainu.

If they continued fighting, at most a few more days and he would be completely exhausted, leading to a very embarrassing defeat.

Furthermore, this was the first time he had maintained his Resurrección for such an extended period, and his body was finally feeling the strain. This was one of the reasons his aura was so chaotic.

"It's not over yet."

Cifer held up one finger. Under Akainu's bewildered gaze, he declared:

"One more time! My form has one more stage!"

Upon hearing this, Akainu clenched his fists. Cifer's current form was enough to fight him for so many days without defeat. What kind of power would his next form possess?

"Let me show you..."

"Ouch, it burns!"

A little girl, about five or six years old, suddenly emerged from underground and jumped onto Cifer, wrapping her arms around his neck. Large teardrops rolled down her cheeks.