Dragon's Ire Touched, Holy Light Protection

"Big Sister, this guy is completely insane. He won't even spare his own subordinates?"

As Akainu transformed the beach beneath his feet into patches of scorching magma hell that continued to spread and expand his lava domain, countless petrified Marine soldiers could be seen being relentlessly swallowed by the searing magma.

Fortunately, some Marine soldiers in the distance quickly rushed over and carefully carried their petrified comrades from the battlefield into the sea, saving their lives.

Akainu, however, did not care.

He wore a cap emblazoned with the words "Thorough Justice," a red shirt hanging open to reveal his solid muscles, and his gaze was razor-sharp.

In his eyes, any soldier who died on the battlefield had made a glorious and fearless sacrifice.

He would remember the greatness of these soldiers in his heart, but asking him to save them at the cost of missing the chance to kill evildoers? That would never happen!

"Hound of Hell!"

Akainu suddenly unleashed Great Eruption, forming an enormous magma fist from lava and blasting it toward Hancock from afar.

It was said that the power of Hound of Hell was enough to instantly shatter and completely vaporize a massive iceberg ten times larger than a giant.

And once the magma fist exploded, it would turn into countless volcanic bombs raining down from the sky, dealing a second wave of damage to the enemy.

Meanwhile, within the forest.

Kizaru's current speed was the same as Norse's.

He still could not move at the speed of light, at most reaching half the speed of light.

But that was already terrifying. After all, speed was power. With greater speed than one's opponent, even if one could not win, when being hunted down, it would be hard to die even if one wanted to.

Having arrived in the forest first, Kizaru decisively made a move against Golden Lion Shiki. Taking advantage of Shiki's weakened state, he wanted to kill him in a single strike, planning to return to Marine Headquarters with Golden Lion Shiki's head and claim enormous merit.

Using the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit, Kizaru formed a three-meter-long Cloud Cluster Sword in his hand, a sword of light created by gathering photons in his palm.

Holding the Cloud Cluster Sword in his right hand, Kizaru immediately slashed at Golden Lion Shiki, who was tied to the tree, before Norse could catch up.

In an instant, blades flashed and blood splattered. Even the entire tree was cleanly cut in half by Kizaru.

"Hiss!!"

A pained shriek rang out at that moment.

It was the scream of Norse's pet snake, Red Pipi. Part of its tail had been cut off by Kizaru, and blood immediately poured out, scattering through the air alongside Kizaru's sword of light.

"Oh? You still have the strength to resist? Looks like Pirate Norse isn't all that impressive!"

Wearing yellow sunglasses, Kizaru put on an arrogant frown and glanced sideways at Shiki, who had used the famous sword Sakura Ten on his left foot to forcibly block his sword of light.

Kizaru was rather surprised. He had not expected Shiki, who appeared to have no strength left to resist, to erupt and fight back at that very instant.

"No! That's his will to survive. It means he doesn't want to die by your hand. Do you understand, monkey?"

Norse had already arrived.

Standing behind Kizaru, he held a thirty-meter-long sword of light. With a casual horizontal swing, he could sever Kizaru at the waist. He said, "You still want to take Golden Lion Shiki from me? I wouldn't mind killing you here first!"

For a moment, the situation involving three men and one snake reached a high-stakes crisis.

Golden Lion, whose hands were still bound, suddenly roared with all his strength, "Kid! Don't interfere in my fight! How could I, Golden Lion Shiki, die at the hands of the Marines? Stop fucking dreaming!"

Golden Lion Shiki's eyes were incomparably resolute. Curled up on the ground, he crawled forward at a turtle's pace.

Shiki had resisted Kizaru's attack with all his strength just now, using Sakura Ten beneath his foot to successfully block the sword of light and save his head at the critical moment.

However, he had failed to dispel all the sword energy from Kizaru's blade.

Part of the sword energy cut off the tail of the giant snake wrapped around him, while another part severed the entire tree supporting his body. He was sent flying as a result and rolled several meters away.

Golden Lion Shiki refused to accept it. He refused to lose. "I'm one of the great pirates of that era! You little brats think you can take my life? Wait another hundred years!"

Golden Lion crawled at a turtle's pace toward a piece of food.

It was the long dog eggs Norse had previously skewered into the ground with thin wooden sticks.

After being roasted by Norse's solar energy, this delicacy had even been infused with plenty of Solar Loving, which could instantly restore some stamina and cellular activity. It was an exceptionally rare grilled delicacy.

Norse had originally used it to tempt Shiki.

He had thought that as long as Shiki admitted defeat and called him Grandpa, he would feed Shiki the two roasted long dog eggs, allowing him to instantly replenish some stamina, recover some injuries, and activate the dying cells throughout his body.

At that moment, Shiki did not care in the slightest that it was Norse's food. He only knew that his fate was in his own hands. If he did not want to die, then he had to live no matter the price.

So, Golden Lion swallowed the two long dog eggs from the ground in two bites. He could feel that the dish was incredibly delicious, but more importantly, his strength was returning!

"Boom!"

Shiki's digestive ability was unimaginable.

In only a few seconds, it seemed as though he had completely digested the two long dog eggs.

The wounds all over his body visibly faded, his shriveled muscles swelled once more, and strength and momentum continuously surged from his body.

His golden hair danced wildly upward, making him look even more overwhelmingly imposing, like a completely enraged lion king.

"Monkey, were you the one who just tried to cut off my head?"

Golden Lion Shiki opened his eyes, filled with killing intent, and glared furiously at Kizaru less than five meters away, radiating an invincible aura as though he were about to stomp the other man into the ground.

"Tsk tsk~~ What terrifying recovery ability. Was it that leftover food, or your body tempered through countless trials?" Kizaru remained calm and lazy throughout as he watched Golden Lion Shiki's changes and actions, seemingly unafraid of anyone present.

"Haha~~ Looks like I'm no longer needed here. Carry on. Whoever dies, I'll collect the body!"

Norse smiled.

The thirty-meter sword of light in his hand dissolved into countless specks of light and vanished. He voluntarily stepped out of the conflict, leaving Golden Lion Shiki and Kizaru to face each other.

Boom!

At that moment, a massive explosion erupted by the beach.

The entire sky was lit by flames, as though countless fires had descended, about to destroy and crash into the sea and land.

Norse furrowed his brow, his reverse scale touched.

Akainu had ultimately made a move against Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!

In that case, they should abandon the Seven Warlords of the Sea and make Marine Headquarters pay a sufficient price.

The next moment, Norse transformed into a streak of light, moving at half the speed of light. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the battlefield dominated by Akainu.

At that moment, even after Sonia and Gorud activated their Eight-Forked Serpent and cobra and viper forms, Akainu still defeated them instantly. They lay amid the scorching magma on the spot.

Hancock was not doing much better. Barefoot, she was covered in burn wounds.

At that moment, she was caught beneath Akainu's second attack. After the magma fist exploded, it became countless volcanic bombs falling from the sky.

"Sorry, I came too late!"

Norse acted decisively and heroically, flashing in front of Hancock and immediately pulling her into his arms.

The beach beneath their feet was about to be completely turned into magma. Even with Armament Haki coating the soles of her feet, Hancock would still suffer burns to some extent.

Holy Light Protection!

Facing Akainu's secondary damage, Norse immediately activated the passive power of his Devil Fruit.

A golden barrier covering a radius of ten meters directly enveloped all three women, Hancock included.

At the same time, countless healing motes of light floated out from Norse's body, thoroughly healing the burn injuries on Hancock and the other two without leaving any scars.

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