On the broad, disorderly street, plenty of fearless pirates stood on both sides, weapons in hand and sneering at the fifty-strong squad in Marine uniforms.
At the head of the squad, Sakazuki wore a long sword on his back and the same red, short-sleeved shirt open at the chest. His Marine cap sat firmly on his head, and an iron-blooded aura radiated from him, making many pirates instinctively hold their breath and hesitate to act.
A touch of bone-deep disdain marked Sakazuki's resolute face. These small fry weren't even worthy of dying by his hand.
"Do you know where the Blood Thorn Pirates are?"
Sakazuki had three senior officers under his command. One of them, a broad-shouldered officer with a centipede-like scar on his face, strode up to a pirate and looked down at him, his gaze icy, as if he might strike at any moment.
The pirate under his stare instinctively pointed in Chaos's direction, his heart pounding with dread.
"Move!"
Having gotten a definite answer, Sakazuki and his men pressed deeper into Demon Valley Town.
The pirate breathed a sigh of relief, his back already drenched in sweat.
The Marines' presence was so overwhelming that one might have thought a Vice Admiral was leading them.
"Are they just here for the Blood Thorn Pirates?"
"Now I remember. I heard the Blood Thorn Pirates sank a Marine warship led by a senior officer a while ago. That officer was Sakazuki's subordinate."
"So that's why Blood Thorn Pradanite showed up in Demon Valley Town. He was being hunted and hid here."
The pirates whispered among themselves, piecing together what had happened in just a few sentences.
If they were only looking for the Blood Thorn Pirates, nearly all the pirates would leave them alone.
But if they wanted to destroy Demon Valley Town or launch a large-scale pirate roundup, the pirates of the whole town would never stand by and do nothing.
Plenty of pirates followed behind the Marines. Some of the more powerful ones wore dangerous smiles, seemingly weighing whether to strike here and kill Sakazuki.
If they could take out a rising star the Marines were working hard to cultivate, they'd surely make tomorrow's headlines.
That would make their name.
A few minutes later, the Marine squad stood before the ruins, looking up at Chaos. He lounged in midair on a Golden Throne, legs crossed and chin resting on one hand, with a magnificent, imposing Giant Golden Sword standing upright behind him.
An aura of extravagance, nobility, arrogance, and haughtiness washed over them!
Chaos looked Sakazuki up and down, his manner and expression flippant.
Sakazuki was still young. The sword on his back was especially striking.
When he was younger, Sakazuki had wielded a sword and might even have been a swordsman of the highest caliber. He should have already eaten the Magma-Magma Fruit by now, but he hadn't completely abandoned swordsmanship.
During the Ohara Incident, Sakazuki was already a Vice Admiral, and had given up swordsmanship in favor of the Magma-Magma Fruit.
As Chaos gave Sakazuki a flippant once-over, Sakazuki likewise surveyed Chaos without expression. Both men radiated arrogance and self-confidence.
"Rear Admiral Sakazuki, the Blood Thorn Pirates—including their captain, Blood Thorn Pradanite—have all been killed by Golden Emperor Gaia Chaos. That's him!"
One of the senior officers stepped forward and pointed at Chaos, who sat on his golden throne.
"How much is his bounty?"
A senior officer beside Sakazuki spoke up.
"The Golden Emperor doesn't have a bounty yet. He's neither a pirate nor a pirate hunter."
"Clink, clank!"
As soon as the officer finished speaking, the Giant Golden Sword behind Chaos split apart, transforming into a whole arsenal of weapons that all aimed at Sakazuki and his men. A sinister smile curled across Chaos's lips.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
"Dodge!"
"Defend yourselves!"
The Marines' expressions changed in an instant. The pirates were no different.
No one had expected the Golden Emperor to attack so suddenly.
"You're asking for death!"
The moment Chaos attacked, Sakazuki's expression turned vicious. He drew the long sword on his back and swung it, sending a dazzling Slash attack hurtling forward. It forcefully smashed aside the incoming weapons. At the same time, Sakazuki vanished from where he stood—and reappeared beneath Chaos.
"Great Eruption!"
Magma coursed along his right arm, then formed a molten fist the size of a mansion. It surged upward with a roar of wind.
Sakazuki went straight for a major attack, hoping to finish Chaos with one punch.
With Observation Haki ready at all times, Chaos instantly transformed the Golden Throne into armor that wrapped around him. He used Shave to vanish, then appeared in front of Sakazuki in the blink of an eye. A gleaming Golden Longsword in his right hand thrust straight into Sakazuki's heart.
There was no joy on Chaos's face at landing the blow. Instead, his brows knitted together in an expression that said he'd expected as much.
Sakazuki, meanwhile, wore nothing but scorn and disdain. He swung his sword down at Chaos, an unusual power wrapped around its blade.
The armor on Chaos's left arm rippled, forming a sword that blocked the blow above his head. In the next instant, an enormous sense of danger swept over him. The Golden Longsword was effortlessly cleaved in two.
Golden sparks flew. Chaos used Shave to retreat, appearing ten meters away. Looking down at his chest, he saw a thin trickle of bright-red blood seeping from the split Golden Armor.
"Armament Haki!"
Chaos's expression darkened. His body hadn't been transformed into gold, and his armor was far stronger than ordinary steel, but Sakazuki had still broken through his defenses.
Clang!
The mangled Golden Longsword fell from Sakazuki's body, more than half of it melted into golden liquid. Red magma dripped from Sakazuki's chest, steaming before the wound healed in the blink of an eye.
Chaos's attack had done nothing.
With a lift of his hand, Chaos sent every weapon in the air flying toward Sakazuki with a whistle. The latter ignored them, charging straight at Chaos with his long sword in hand and swinging at him as he closed in.
The ground split apart. Chaos vanished from where he stood, and an enormous explosion tore through the ruins behind him.
"Without Armament Haki, Logia users are simply invincible."
Hovering in the air, Chaos watched as the weapons tore through Sakazuki's body. Yet the flowing magma quickly restored him.
"Whoosh!"
Sakazuki closed in at speed. His entire left arm swelled with magma and took the shape of a vicious hound. It shrieked as it surged forward, radiating scorching heat. Chaos felt the danger before it even reached him.
Beneath the armor, his body turned to gold. Chaos clenched his fist and stood his ground, meeting Sakazuki head-on.
He needed to push himself.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet exploded. Pain crossed Chaos's face as he was hurled away, unable to control his body. He tumbled awkwardly through the air, smashing through a continuous stretch of ruins and rubble. His right fist glowed red, white smoke rising from it.
His entire right arm trembled slightly.
He had lost in strength.
Climbing back to his feet, Chaos watched Sakazuki put away his long sword and stride toward him, magma flowing over his body. All the scattered gold shot back and merged with Chaos's armor. As his form continued to grow, he became a ten-meter-tall Golden Warrior, imposing and brimming with explosive power.
The two advanced like dragons and tigers. With a world-shaking crash, the Golden Warrior's massive fist collided with the molten fist, unleashing a circular shock wave that ripped up the stone road and demolished the surrounding buildings.
Half the street disappeared.
Chaos couldn't stop himself from staggering backward. Beneath his armor, his golden face showed a trace of unwillingness and disbelief.
That punch had held all his strength, yet he'd lost.
Was the Sakazuki of this era already this strong?
The Magma-Magma Fruit could imitate a volcanic eruption. That kind of force was no ordinary person could withstand...
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