The Primordial Power Within Had Appeared

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

A powerful storm kept sweeping through the area. Several streets in Demon Valley Town had been reduced to rubble, while raging flames twisted through the smoke and climbed into the sky. The ground all around was pockmarked with craters, bubbling magma inside them steadily driving up the temperature.

"Two monsters."

"Is this the strongest type of Devil Fruit, the Logia?"

"Terrifying. It's practically like controlling the forces of nature."

"The Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit. It's the power of Sakazuki, one of the Navy's three promising young Rear Admirals."

"Ordinary attacks are completely useless. The Golden Emperor is bound to lose."

"That'll teach him to act so arrogant. He's finally met his match."

Outside the chaotic battlefield, countless pirates and marines watched the perilous fight. The power Sakazuki displayed opened their eyes. The Logia type truly was the strongest of the three kinds of Devil Fruit.

The Golden Emperor's attacks were completely useless.

"Hell Hound!"

An overwhelming force erupted in an instant. Chaos met the blow head-on, his face contorting in pain as cracks spread across the Golden Armor on his right arm. Pieces of it clattered to the ground like broken metal.

More importantly, the gold was beginning to soften.

Chaos couldn't control his body as he was blasted away, taking a large swath of ruined walls with him. He finally landed at the far end, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Magma dripped down Sakazuki's face. The molten rock on his right hand kept swelling, while flames blazed behind him, dyeing the entire sky red.

"You dare provoke me when you can't even use Haki? I'll send you straight to hell."

"Crimson Dog Tooth."

Sakazuki was all action and no words. A look of contempt in his eyes, he shot toward Chaos. His entire right arm of molten rock took the shape of a dog's head. The instant he closed in, it struck like a missile, unleashing a force so overwhelming it seemed to rupture eardrums.

"You think you can beat me?"

Chaos roared. All the gold on his body writhed around his right arm, forming a massive golden fist. He struck back with terrifying force, not even considering retreat.

Whoom!

The shockwave of their collision spread in an instant. The ground peeled away and collapsed, while scalding magma scattered in every direction. Gritting his teeth, Chaos sank both feet into the earth, blood running from his mouth as he stubbornly held his ground.

"Worthless nobody, die!"

Sakazuki's face turned savage as magma surged from within him and poured into his arm. A second wave of power bolstered the first, like a tsunami sweeping everything away, forcing Chaos back again and again.

Damn it, is the gap really this huge?

Should I retreat?

No. Just hold on a little longer.

Chaos gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay upright, enduring the injuries within his body as he fought back.

"Pfft!"

It was a lovely thought, but reality was cruel.

Chaos held out for barely more than ten seconds before he was blasted away and crashed into the ruins, blood pouring from his mouth.

He had already undergone Goldenization, and even so, he couldn't withstand that power.

Getting to his feet, Chaos spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground. His tousled golden hair fell carelessly over his forehead. He stood proudly, recklessly beckoning Sakazuki with a finger.

A man could lose, but he couldn't lose his dignity!

Sakazuki wasn't angry. In his eyes, Chaos was already a dead man.

Boom!

The two clashed again. Chaos's attacks couldn't hurt Sakazuki, but they could force him back!

It was a completely uneven fight. The Logia's Elementalization was simply too overpowered.

From another perspective, Chaos was already damn impressive.

Without Armament Haki, he had managed to fight Sakazuki for so long, and had even faced him head-on.

He'd even forced Sakazuki back more than once.

"Pfft!"

The outer layer of Golden Armor shattered. Chaos doubled over, his chest bright red, then flew away and crashed to the ground, rolling through a cloud of flying rubble and dust. He swayed, then managed to stand again.

He spat the blood from his mouth and raised his chin, still wearing that haughty, superior expression.

Many of the pirates watching from the perimeter twitched their mouths. It was no wonder this guy got on everyone's nerves.

Even if he didn't die today, he'd die someday.

Who knew what kind of powerful person he'd provoke?

With things like this, he was still so arrogant and overbearing. Where did he get the nerve?

Sakazuki, too, felt anger slowly rising within him. At first, it hadn't bothered him much, but as the fight went on, that changed.

The other man's contemptuous, disdainful looks were infuriating.

This wasn't the domineering arrogance of someone like Golden Lion or Lone Red. It was the petty sort of arrogance that made people hate him—the kind that was impossible to stomach.

Even the mildest-tempered person would probably find it hard to endure.

It was as if Sakazuki couldn't set his mind at ease unless he beat Chaos to death. Everything about the man got under his skin.

If he'd been winning, he could've acted as arrogant as he pleased. He was strong, after all.

But the problem was that he was losing. Sakazuki couldn't understand where Chaos got the baffling confidence that fueled his arrogance.

The ground exploded as they clashed once more. Pain on his face, Chaos kept retreating, but like a cockroach that refused to die, he charged again and again.

"Hell Hound."

Sakazuki descended from above, his right arm pulled back as magma sprayed from it. Unstoppable, he drove it straight at Chaos, his strength and speed both terrifying.

Chaos's face was covered in blood, but his right fist remained clenched and his expression just as arrogant. He was about to swing again and face Sakazuki head-on when, inexplicably, a force surged through his body and filled his arm. It was strongest in his fist.

Chaos had no time to react before he collided with Sakazuki. Amid the dull clang of heavy metal, Chaos's feet sank into the earth and he was blasted backward. After carving two thirty-meter trenches in the ground, he suddenly flipped backward and landed on one knee. His golden face was filled with joy.

There was no mistake!

Absolutely no mistake!

The Primordial Power within him had finally awakened.

Why had he kept holding on, even as he was beaten?

Wasn't it because he'd been recklessly testing the limits of death, trying to bring that power out?

Magma dripped from Sakazuki's entire body, and his expression changed.

During that last collision, a faint trace of Haki had clearly appeared on his opponent's hand.

This guy—

Sakazuki's eyes filled with murderous intent as he shot forward, magma swelling all over his body.

Chaos was more excited than ever. He clenched his fist and felt that faint power, trying again and again to guide it and sense it. It was just like when he'd first awakened his Observation Haki: clumsy and unfamiliar.

Pfft—

There was no surprise. The instant they collided, Chaos spat blood and flew backward. Before he could catch his breath, Sakazuki appeared again. The earth-shattering explosion sent Chaos flying from the smoke like a ball.

At last he rolled across the ground, his hands clawing at the earth. Looking utterly battered and miserable, he wiped the blood from his nose and mouth and burst into laughter.

Sakazuki emerged from the blaze with a dark expression. It was obvious he was in the worst of moods.

"Haha!"

"Sakazuki, from now on, you're my closest friend! You really didn't disappoint me!"

"That's enough for today. I can't take any more."

"You're the gutsiest man I've ever met."

"When you get back, make sure you publish a report about my bounty. If it's short by even a hundred million, I'll be very unhappy!"

"I look forward to seeing you again!"

Chaos threw his head back and laughed. Then he shot into the sky and fled.

His voice echoed through the heavens.

Sakazuki's face turned livid as he tried to pursue him, but he clearly couldn't fly as fast as Chaos.

Even Great Eruption was useless.

If this had been the Sakazuki of the future Summit War, Chaos wouldn't have stood a chance of escaping. He might have already been reduced to ashes...