Austin: Divine Departure!!!

Whoosh... whoosh...

The cold wind howled, mixed with torrential rain.

In the war-torn battlefield, that proud figure stood there simply, and yet it was enough to keep all the Marines from daring to make a rash move.

With just one burst of power, the ground sank a hundred meters deep. The Monster Vice Admiral Sakazuki, who had fallen in defeat after the clash, lay sprawled. The flowing Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki Infusion were enough to inspire fear.

That overwhelming aura, though formless, weighed heavily on every Marine's heart—Kuzan and Borsalino included.

Kuzan stared blankly at the man he had longed to capture day and night.

He could easily have used his superior Observation Haki and Devil Fruit ability to toy with them, but instead, he had given them a chance to face him head-on.

Yet no one dared to claim they could win. No one dared to say they could stand undefeated against those black-and-red iron fists.

Not even Sakazuki, with his strongest offensive power.

As for a sneak attack...

Before those eyes that could see through the future, such an intention was nothing but a pipe dream.

A moment later—

"Cough, cough, cough..."

A sound of coughing blood rang out across the field. From within the massive crater, a figure in a red suit staggered to his feet, traces of blood still at the corner of his mouth.

It was Akainu.

Say what you will, but that guy really had a thick hide.

Still, from his pained expression and the blood at his lips, it was clear that punch had dealt him serious damage. He was still injured.

But as Sakazuki stood back up, the oppressive atmosphere among the Marines instantly shifted.

Was this the Red Commander?

"Hey!! What are you hesitating for?!"

"No matter how powerful the enemy, we are Marines—the ones who protect this sea! We must give it our all!!!"

"Even if we die in battle, so be it!!!"

Seeing his comrades on the verge of despair, Sakazuki's face twisted in fury, his shouts ringing out like thunder.

And that reignited the fighting spirit in many Marine officers who had lost their will. They gritted their teeth and raised their swords and guns once more.

At the same time, biting cold and blinding flashes of light appeared on the battlefield. Everyone began to unleash their full power.

Watching the future pillars of the Marine Headquarters brimming with fighting spirit like something out of a movie, Austin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

For a moment there, he had thought he was about to overwhelm them all.

But clearly, it wasn't that simple.

Heroes were as plentiful as fish in a river. Austin might stand out, but he could never dim the brilliance of others.

In the Marine Headquarters, where there was no deserter admiral, there was truly not a single coward!

Looking at the many warriors draped in Marine coats, Austin gave them the respect of a true fight, flashing an excited grin as red light flickered in his eyes.

He slowly shrugged off his coat, revealing a body of explosive muscle. A few scars lined his skin, but they were few and far between.

Because from childhood, blessed with monstrous Observation Haki, he had rarely been injured.

Two-Colored Haki coiled around Dark Crow in his hand.

One hand clenched into a fist, the other gripping his blade.

These Marines were worthy of his full strength.

Then, He slowly raised his left thumb, pointing upward. From a distance, it looked like he was giving a thumbs-up.

He scanned the crowd of Marines, and finally locked onto the curly-haired man he always liked to pick on.

"Here I come."

"Nani?"

Kuzan, who had been gathering freezing cold within himself, was stunned for a moment at the gesture.

As it turned out, when someone points their thumb at you, they might not be praising you.

They might be aiming at you.

From Kuzan's perspective, those red eyes had been staring straight at him from a hundred meters away. In an instant, they were right in front of him, still staring straight at him.

But the movement in his hands had already changed. The long blade, wreathed in black-and-red lightning, came slashing down with blinding speed.

"This speed!!!"

"What the hell!?"

As Os swung his blade down, a terrifying sword aura wrapped in Conqueror's Haki slashed straight into Kuzan's frozen body. The strike was too fast, too sudden to react to!

Even though Kuzan had activated his elemental form in an instant, a fresh wound still appeared on his chest before quickly freezing over to stop the bleeding.

Os wanted to follow up with another slash, but his Observation Haki caught a laser beam shooting straight for the back of his head.

He didn't choose to tank it. Instead, he sidestepped, then twisted his waist, turning back to slash apart the incoming magma with a single stroke.

This was no longer the wide-area clash he'd had with Sakazuki earlier. The Marines were coordinating a seamless beatdown, and if it weren't for the fragments of the future flashing before his eyes, Os would have long been buried under the relentless chain of attacks.

But with Future Sight and the power of the Warp Fruit, invincibility was inevitable!

Dodging and weaving, he warped away from the glacier spreading under his feet.

Unfazed amid the siege of Marine commanders, Os relied on his monstrous strength and Haki—anyone who got close was dealt with in a single kick.

He charged through recklessly, turning back to meet a sudden Heavenly Cloud Sword with his own blade, warping out of the way of a Nether Hound, then driving a fist into Sakazuki's chest.

But with the occasional disconnect between Future Sight and his body's reactions, Os also began to accumulate wounds.

It hurt, but the feeling of his strength growing in real time intoxicated him. The raw, flesh-to-flesh exchanges hooked him deep.

His crimson-glowing eyes swept across everyone present.

"Do you all want to dance too?"

Though fresh injuries—burns, piercings, frostbite—kept piling up on Os, the number of Marines was visibly dwindling.

After all, not everyone was a damage sponge. Most of the younger officers, after taking a single hit from him, ended up like Tokikake earlier—completely unable to fight.

Slowly, only four figures remained locked in battle on the field.

"Yasakani no Magatama!!!"

Os warped continuously, his eyes flashing red as every light bullet's trajectory played out in his mind, and he dodged them flawlessly.

But when he warped into one particular gap, the ground beneath his foot felt slick, and a chill crept up from below.

"Using the gaps in the beams to force me into a specific spot, then freezing me? Not a bad tactic."

Os looked calmly at his frozen right foot, his eyes flickering red.

Clearly, he had already seen this moment in the future.

But that was one of the downsides of wide-area attacks—either take the freeze or eat the light bullets. Looking at the Marine wounded caught in the beam's splash, Os knew they were truly desperate.

And the moment the ice locked onto him, a charged magma fist came flying straight at his face.

But this time, it wasn't just that.

There was also a blinding beam of light, and a massive ice bird radiating biting cold.

Facing three killing moves, Os showed no panic. Instead, the faint smile on his face deepened.

"Interesting. Then I'll get a little serious too..."

The Conqueror's Haki in his hand condensed, slowly coating the entire blade of Dark Crow.

"Better take this one well!"

"Divine Departure!!!"