"Stop!" Luffy's heart nearly burst from terror. After enduring countless hardships to finally rescue Ace, how could he let Ace fall into danger again just as they were about to successfully retreat? He charged forward without hesitation.
High in the distant sky, Ronglin had severely wounded Sengoku in one blow and sent him flying. He had been calmly watching the battle unfold, but when he turned around, his expression changed drastically. Fire Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy had both fallen under Akainu's deadly threat.
"Damn it! Can't you two take it easy for once?" Ronglin roared. A fierce wind rose beneath his feet, and he vanished from where he stood, appearing behind Akainu in an instant.
Akainu had already wounded Ace and stood before Straw Hat Luffy, preparing to deliver the fatal blow. But the terrifying killing intent that suddenly appeared behind him made Akainu shudder, forcing him to halt his pursuit.
"Great Eruption!" Without even looking back, and before he had time to activate Observation Haki, Akainu hurled a powerful magma attack behind him with all his strength. A vast mass of lava, radiating searing heat and burning everything it touched, splashed toward Ronglin behind him.
The instincts of a powerful fighter had successfully saved Akainu once again. Ronglin had just rushed behind Akainu with pent-up fury, intending to catch him off guard and hit him hard, but Akainu had counterattacked far too quickly.
"Hah!" Ronglin shouted, and a wall of air abruptly appeared between them. The sheer strength and purity of his Haki blocked Akainu's sneak attack at the critical moment.
"Boom!" But because of that brief lapse, Ronglin, who had only just arrived and had not even caught his breath, was caught off guard and driven back by Akainu!
"Hmph!" After forcing back the unprepared Ronglin,