Facing the killing moves of the Three Great Logia Users, Austin did not force himself to warp away. He wanted to test his limits too.
"Divine Departure!!!"
As Austin's cold voice fell, the three men attacking him all felt a chilling force soaring toward the heavens.
The black-and-red blade carried tangible Conqueror's Haki. Combined with the unmatched strength of that demon-god-like figure, it slashed toward the three of them at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.
Black-and-red lightning mixed with shattering elements, and the dazzling radiance lit up Austin's exhilarated face.
The sheer power of it, along with the familiarity of that force, made Sengoku and the others look over once more.
"Was that... Roger's Divine Departure!?"
"Very similar, but not nearly as powerful as his!"
"Jihahahaha! What a promising brat. Is this all the Marines of the New Era can manage?"
Shiki mocked them without mercy.
Though he had never gotten along with the Roger Pirates, he would still rather see the Marines humiliated than anything else.
How could this bunch of trash possibly capture Roger?
"Future Three Admirals of the Marines, I acknowledge that you are qualified to fight me."
With a single Divine Departure, Austin cleaved apart the three natural-element killing moves, each as catastrophic as a natural disaster. A satisfied gleam filled his eyes as he raised his blade and pointed it at them.
"Come on. Try to kill me!!!"
Austin's contemptuous attitude clearly enraged the three men. Exaggerated natural power erupted from their bodies, and even the surrounding environment began to change because of it.
At full strength, they possessed power capable of permanently altering an island's terrain and climate.
After both sides had gone all out, Austin admitted that he was indeed feeling some pressure.
He was confident he could firmly suppress one of them, and he could still handle two with relative ease.
But against three, he could only barely maintain an undefeated position.
And that was with his two invincible abilities.
No wonder that old monster Oda had once said no one in the world could defeat two Admirals alone. With their absurd durability, Haki mastery, and disaster-level destructive power—
To defeat two or more by oneself, it would take an overwhelming veteran-versus-rookie gap, or a surprise attack using some exceptionally strange Devil Fruit ability. Otherwise, it really was impossible.
Looking at the wounds covering his body, Austin roughly understood that this was his current limit.
But even knowing that, Austin still wanted to challenge his limits. Perhaps this would become an opportunity for his Conqueror's Haki to advance another step.
That was the fundamental reason he had chosen to fight this battle.
He refused to believe that, after his spirit had already swelled enough to challenge the Three Admirals alone, he would not one day grow strong enough to claim the throne of the strongest Conqueror's Haki.
He had already imagined it.
The scene where he and Shanks appeared together at some grand occasion in the future, both unleashing Conqueror's Haki as they made their entrance.
There was nothing scary about it.
Whoever was weaker would be the embarrassed one.
He had no intention of falling behind Shanks in something as useful for showing off as Conqueror's Haki.
Shanks?
Just a bratty little brother.
The fierce battle continued.
A clash between masters had always been measured in days.
After fighting for five days and five nights, even Austin's monstrous physique was beginning to struggle.
His battered body was covered in wounds, both fresh and old. The earlier ones had already formed thick layers of scabs.
The future Three Admirals were no better off.
Their bodies bore even more wounds than Austin's. If their elemental forms had not occasionally negated some of the damage, they would have looked far worse.
Borsalino's glasses had long since been shattered. That perpetually laid-back, sleazy old monkey had also lost several teeth, and his body was covered in footprints and blade wounds.
Sakazuki beside him was not doing much better. After taking Austin's punch head-on at the beginning and being injured, his reactions had visibly slowed.
If he were not covered head to toe in magma now, the exposed sight beneath it would definitely have been a face swollen black and blue.
Of course, the worst off was Austin's specially attended target: that old Sea Ice whom he both loved and fought with.
Besides the miserable wounds on his face and body, his left leg was twisted into an unnatural shape, as though he had been destined for this calamity.
Fortunately, it was not broken. Wrap it in an ultimate bandage, and it should heal in ten days to half a month.
It could not be helped. It was not that they were weak; Austin was simply too monstrous.
Other than being slightly lacking in combat experience, he had virtually no shortcomings. Whether in physical combat, swordsmanship, or Haki, he steadily surpassed them in almost every aspect. Coupled with the elusive Warp Fruit, he was almost impossible to hurt.
Then there was his Conqueror's Haki, which became crazier the longer he fought and stronger the crazier he became. He would coat his blade with it and occasionally throw a Divine Departure at them, each one more painful than the last.
Fortunately, no matter how long a battle lasted, it eventually came to an end.
At the other end of the battlefield, where the four men were in chaotic combat, the three Old Era powerhouses had determined their victor first.
"Shiki, Roger's death will mark the beginning of an era of peace. We Marines will never allow anyone to destroy it!"
"Garp!!!"
After the final Fist Bone Galaxy Impact descended, the proud Golden Lion who had refused to yield finally fell.
Perhaps the ship's rudder lodged in his head had affected his strength, or perhaps he had been too determined to fight head-on. In the end, outnumbered and unable to prevail, Shiki was defeated.
After Seastone shackles were placed on him—
He no longer had any power to resist.
Almost at the exact instant Golden Lion Shiki fell, Austin's scalp went numb, every hair on his body standing on end as his Observation Haki warned him of danger.
Whoosh—
Austin, who had been thoroughly enjoying his battle against the Three Admirals, immediately vanished from where he stood with an ultra-long-range warp.
Boom—
"Wahahahaha! You dodged pretty quickly, brat with the gun on Roger's ship!!!"
A fist blazing with intense red light crashed down where he had been standing. The ground cracked across a radius of a thousand meters.
Even the three badly injured Admirals staggered backward again and again from the aftershock.
The one who had launched this ambush—
Was the man who had driven Austin's captain into desperate straits several times.
The Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp!
Watching Garp shatter thousands of meters of ground with one punch, Austin could not help but break out in a cold sweat.
"Captain Roger isn't here, so you're bullying an apprentice like me?
Mr. Garp, that doesn't seem like the conduct of a righteous Marine."
"I told you long ago, Austin!"
Sengoku, still in his Great Buddha form, joined the battlefield as well and roared sternly at Austin.
"When dealing with evil scum like you, the Marines have no need to speak of morality!!!"
"Is that so?"
"Then... as a pirate, isn't it perfectly normal to run away when facing Marines I can't defeat?"
Austin seemed utterly unconcerned by Sengoku's roar. Instead, he smiled at them.
The moment he saw Golden Lion lose, he had understood that it was indeed time to run.
He had enjoyed the fight and made his show. If he did not leave now, he would really be sent in to keep Captain Roger company.
"What!?!"
Hearing that, Sengoku immediately saw red. "Could it be... you bastard!!!"
The reason for his fury was simple: he knew that with Austin's nearly unsolvable ability, if Austin wanted to flee, virtually no one could stop him.
But if that happened—
Marine Headquarters, Marineford—
Where would the Marines' dignity be!!!
As if adding fuel to the fire, seagulls carrying cameras and bags were flying overhead, constantly snapping pictures.
Austin smiled at the cameras and waved to the Marines.
Then, amid the explosions and smoke kicked up by their furious attacks—
Black Gun Austin's figure—
Vanished.
Before you continue