Old Friend

"Koby! How could this be..."

Helmeppo was completely terrified.

Right before his eyes, his good friend, with whom he had worked hard in the navy for more than three years, had a hole punched in his stomach by lava.

A very large, very hot hole.

As Akainu pulled his fist out, Koby coughed up blood and collapsed into Helmeppo's arms.

"Why did it turn out like this..."

Even now, he still can't understand why he, who was fighting for "justice," has ended up like this.

He couldn't understand why he, who was usually timid, dared to stand in front of the most terrifying person in the navy.

A series of memories flashed through my mind, finally settling on my several encounters with Las Noches.

Perhaps it was from that moment that he began to categorize the other party as evil and place himself on the side of justice.

"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki! Koby... he's a naval 'hero,' the future of the navy!"

Helmeppo was already in tears, his lips trembling but he dared not show a trace of anger.

"I almost forgot about you. Deserting in the face of battle only brings shame to the justice behind you!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Sakazuki twisted his Magma Fist, melting Helmeppo, who was stunned, into ashes.

"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki gave 'hero' Koby to..."

On the battlefield, many people witnessed this scene amidst the chaos, as Akainu's abilities were simply too conspicuous.

But his killing of his colleague, who was hailed as a "hero," left the unsuspecting marines somewhat bewildered.

"Don't be fooled by the title of 'hero.' Those who risk their lives for justice are the real heroes!"

Sakazuki also sensed their gazes. His eyes swept across the battlefield, and his impassioned speech, coupled with his blood-soaked appearance, stirred the emotions of the marines.

Two men who once had boundless hopes for the future were casually killed in the battle of the strong, and then forgotten.

"Die, Akainu!"

Seeing an opportunity, Shamrock launched a sneak attack from behind Kizaru while Kizaru and Black Python were being held back by the other Admiral.

The blade transformed into three dog heads, each spitting out a sharp blade and charging forward.

"Clang!"

Unexpectedly, when the long sword struck, a metallic clanging sound rang out.

"Long time no see, Shalohmuk!"

Two nearly identical figures crossed paths, but Griffin blocked Cerberus, who was supposed to pierce Akainu's body.

"Shouldn't you call me 'Big Brother'?"

Shalohmuk's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water. He never expected that his twin brother would stand on the opposite side at such a time.

"Unfortunately, I don't remember having such a scumbag older brother. My father's name is Gol D. Roger!"

Shanks smiled but did not acknowledge the other party's statement.

He once returned to Mary Geoise, and it was during that time that his resolve to reject Celestial Dragons was strengthened.

Therefore, when he heard the news of Garin's death, he was not saddened at all, and even felt that it was a good omen for the impending collapse of the World Government.

"Asshole..."

Thus began an epic battle between two great Swordsman.

On the other side, the back of the Red Line.

"The situation is not optimistic. I will take you all away from the holy site to a safe place first, and then bring you back after the trouble is resolved."

The remaining three Gorosei were planning to take advantage of the fact that the battlefield was on the Red Line to lead all the Celestial Dragons away from Mary Geoise.

Anyway, the members of the Knights of God have all received divine blessings from Lord Im, so they won't die so easily.

"What a disgrace! We were actually beaten up to our home by those monkeys! What are the soldiers even doing?!"

Although everyone rushed to board the unassuming sailboat, most of them were still muttering curses under their breath.

"Wait... what's that?!"

Saint Warcury, with his two silvery-white curved mustache, had a bad feeling as he watched the bubbles suddenly appear on the sea surface.

"Puff!"

Just as he expected, as the bubbles grew larger and larger, the sound of water gushing out rang out, and warships began to appear before him.

The first of them was a huge whale-shaped sailing ship— the Moby Dick!

"Kuralalalala~ How could we miss such a lively event?"

At the bow of the ship, the man's crescent-shaped mustache was particularly eye-catching, and his chest was covered with crisscrossing scars. The Supreme Grade Sword, Murakumogiri, stood beside him, exuding a powerful aura.

Behind him were the captains of the various divisions of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"That's right! Our Old Man came here especially to see your World Government off on its final journey, so don't look so gloomy."

Marco crossed his arms and teased the other person.

"Damn it... Whitebeard!"

Warcury gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to tear the other person to pieces.

With their strength, they were no match for Whitebeard. Even if they managed to stall for time by remaining immortal, someone on the main battlefield might discover their presence at any moment.

"Back in God Valley, I didn't fight alongside Rocks to the very end. Today, let me wreak havoc!"

As Whitebeard finished speaking, his powerful fist slammed out from afar, causing the atmosphere to shatter and the powerful impact carrying waves towards the Celestial Dragons.

"Follow Old Man closely and usher in a new era!"

At Ace's shout, the captains also began to take action.

And at this moment, in the deepest part of Mary Geoise.

"Aren't you going to come out yet, Im?"

In his Second Resurrección state, Cifer roamed freely within Pangea Castle, seemingly playing a game of cat Nezumi.

"You think you can kill me?"

A response was received quickly, and the figure in black robes slowly emerged from the shadows.

This time, she made no attempt to disguise herself. She immediately removed her black robe, revealing a face that looked almost exactly like Vivi's, only much older.

She smiled, and lightning began to flash and thunder roared in the sky, casting a huge shadow over the entire sky, clearly indicating that she was about to repeat her old trick.

"Although I don't know how you hid it, my companions have been waiting for you for a long time."

Cifer pointed his finger upwards, then clasped his hands together and separated them, revealing the Lightning Spear.

"What?!"

Im didn't understand at first, but the next moment, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt down on one knee.

At this moment, in the sky.

"Yay~ Hahaha~ It's pretty tough! Let's give it another Thunder Welcome!"

Enel was enveloped in lightning, transforming into the form of the God of Thunder.

Even before launching the attack, he had secretly taken the Ark Maxim and hid ten thousand meters above the ground, ready to Thunder Welcome the Uranus's arrival.

"I see. It seems that something was recorded in Raftel's book, allowing you to make arrangements in advance."

Im wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and at the same time, the enormous Uranus disappeared once again.

"Give up the fight? That would save us some trouble. Just stand there and don't move. I don't want to throw this thing at close range."

Without much thought, Cifer raised his hand to throw the Lightning Spear.

"You should feel honored to have allowed me to relinquish this human body that I have used for hundreds of years!"

Im began to laugh maniacally, then stretched out his palm, and an aura full of destructive power quickly condensed in his palm.

"No way..."

Cifer could feel it clearly; the energy in her palm was exactly the same sense of crisis that the Uranus had given her!

"Go to hell!"

"Lightning Spear!"

He flew rapidly into the sky, throwing out the Lightning Spear, which collided with the flash of light fired by Im.

The moment they made contact, a violent explosion occurred, and the entire Red Line experienced a powerful earthquake as if it were about to collapse. The terrifying cyclone blasted both of them away.

"You're kidding, right..."

The people on the battlefield below were completely terrified.

The once majestic Red Line has been blasted away, with nearly half of it being destroyed, starting from the location of Mary Geoise.

"This is troublesome..."

Cifer leaped out of the ruins, his wings almost shattered by the aftershocks of the explosion, his body a bloody mess.

However, in the blink of an eye, it was completely restored.

As he had expected, Im also crawled out of another rubble, and at the same time, the wounds all over his body began to regenerate at a rapid pace.

In this exchange, the two were evenly matched.

"Bang!"

Just then, he saw that Im's previously smooth skin was beginning to crack, and his face was aging rapidly.

"I see. Then I'd like to see how many more attacks like that you can unleash with your remaining life force."

As he spoke, Cifer once again drew his Lightning Spear.

"Are you afraid of losing? If you are also a heartless monster, what's wrong with handing over the throne to you?"

But Im gave an irrelevant answer, suddenly swinging his hands so forcefully that his arms cracked inch by inch.

A terrifying attack, comparable to Lightning Spear, was unleashed in an instant, but its direction was completely different from before.

The attack struck downwards, towards the location of Cifer's companions.

"You think you can... no way!"

Cifer intended to throw the Lightning Spear to detonate her attack, but suddenly stopped.

At that location, if two such powerful forces were to explode simultaneously, the companions would not be able to escape the range of the aftershocks!

Without time to think too much, Cifer instinctively teleported in front of the attack, gathering his Spiritual Pressure on the Lightning Spear to withstand the Uranus's full-force blow.

"Black Winged Great Demon! You've been tricked!"

Seeing that everything was going as he had expected, Im raised his arms again and fired another attack.

Although the power was not as great as the previous attack, it was still two attacks combined, both crashing down on Cifer.

At the same time, she coughed up blood again and collapsed to the ground. Both her arms were completely broken, and her once youthful face was now like that of an old woman with a candle flickering in the wind.

Below, the two attacks were intercepted by Cifer's powerful Spiritual Pressure and did not explode.

As the smoke cleared, his body remained standing, looking even more relaxed than during their previous clash.

Captain Cifer! Are you alright?

At this moment, Nolan and the others gathered around him because his right wing and left horn, which had been destroyed, had not been restored.

"Sizzle~"

Is that not allowed...?

Cifer tried to condense the Lightning Spear again, but found that his Spiritual Pressure was beginning to dissipate and he couldn't gather it up at all.

Then, his other black wing also began to gradually dissipate.

"No... Lord Cifer!"

Shirahoshi covered her mouth, and tears welled up in her eyes again, even though she hadn't cried in a long time.

"Looks like you've lost!"

Taking this opportunity, all the surviving powerful figures of the World Government gathered around Im, joyfully preparing to welcome their victory.

"Just rest a bit... and I can do it again... Black Winged Great Demon, you have human emotions, that's your only reason for defeat!"

Im's words seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm, yet also a touch of pity.

At this Cifer, the color of Xifa's pupils began to fade, and he could barely speak.

But at that moment, in his perception, the world stopped, and everything vanished without a trace.

The past began to appear before Cifer's eyes.

Starting from the Forest of Menos, Ulquiorra's experiences along the way flashed by beside Cifer.

His first death was at the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki, and everything came to an abrupt end, plunging the world into darkness.

"Is this what death is...?"

Cifer felt a pang of regret and resentment, but he was afraid of leaving his companions with a huge problem.

"Yay ya ya~ Long time no see, Ulquiorra."

Suddenly, a voice came from the darkness.

Cifer felt a sense of unfamiliarity, yet also a strange sense of familiarity, and subconsciously responded:

"Aizen... sir."