Summit War 28
The first knife fell, then the second, and the third.
Several Rear Admiral were still barely gripping the hilts of their swords, but the blades were trembling.
A Headquarters Vice Admiral slumped on the ruins, looking up at the colossal figure that blotted out the sky, his mouth opening and closing, unable to utter a single word.
Not to mention the Navy, even the veteran pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates, who had been roaming the New World for many years, were all stunned in place.
Marco's blue flames were still flickering on his shoulders, but he forgot to flap his wings;
Jozu's Diamond arms remained in a defensive stance, but his joints were stiff as if frozen.
That kind of despair isn't fear; it's the emptiness left after fear itself has been crushed.
Sengoku's knuckles turned white as he gripped the railing, unable to utter a single word.
He knew he had to say something—he was the Fleet Admiral, the Supreme Commander of the entire armed forces, and it was time for him to step forward.
But it felt like someone was choking him.
He lived for over seventy years and never believed in God, only in justice.
But at this moment, as he gazed at the dark golden God of War, something he had stubbornly held onto his entire life was quietly crumbling within him.
Amidst the despairing gazes of everyone, the dark golden war god once again raised the long sword in his hand.
"Absolute Sword".
Natsu's voice came from the brow of Susanoo 750 meters high, cold and without any emotion, as if pronouncing a pre-written judgment.
The longsword once again cleaved through the sky, and where the blade passed, even the volcanic ash floating in the air was crushed in two.
That slash was aimed at Steel Bone Kong.
The commander-in-chief of the army, navy, and air force, a legendary veteran who had lived through an entire era more than Garp and Sengoku, appeared so insignificant under the shadow of the blade.
I knew I couldn't avoid it, and I had no intention of doing so.
He has lived for over seventy years, rising from a recruit to Fleet Admiral, and from Fleet Admiral to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He has never retreated a single step on the battlefield in his life, and he will not do so today.
He pushed his Armament Haki to an unprecedented level, with jet-black iron covering his entire right arm and spreading from his right arm to his shoulder, chest, and even his face, which faintly gleamed with a Haki metallic luster.
He took a half step back with his right leg, lowered his body slightly, and poured all the strength he had accumulated in his life into his right fist, heading straight for the blade that was several times larger than him.
"Meteorite Bones, Fallen Star--!!"
The Setsuna the fist collided with the blade, the entire world fell silent.
There was no stalemate, no back-and-forth, and not even an explosion.
The dark gold longsword slashed down as if cutting through the air, severing empty fists, arms, bodies, and even the ruins behind him with a single stroke.
The figure of this commander-in-chief of the army, navy, and air force simply vanished without a trace.
"No! I don't want to fight anymore! I won't fight anymore! Let me go!"
"God! This is a god! God, forgive me!"
"Please, God, have mercy on me! I want to go home!"
"We surrender! We surrender!"
Desperate cries, prayers, and pleas for mercy spread rapidly through the naval ranks like a plague.
Weapons lay scattered on the ground, knees pressed against shattered ice, tears mingling with gunpowder ash streamed down his blood-stained face.
They were not afraid of death, but they were afraid of facing an enemy they could never defeat.
Even the members of the Uchiha Clan were all stunned and stood there dumbfounded.
They knew that the Complete Susanoo powerful—it was recorded in the clan's ancient books that, according to legend, Madara Uchiha's Complete Susanoo a single strike.
But those are just words in ancient books, stories passed down orally.
The blade before us cleaved not a mountain range, but Marineford.
It is the Marine Headquarters.
He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Steel Bone Kong.
One cut.
One cut.
Is this still Susanoo?
"So, who's next?" Natsu stood Susanoo's eyebrows, arms crossed, his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan coldly sweeping over the densely packed figures on the ruins beneath his feet.
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears in the deathly silent battlefield.
He slowly raised the dark golden Tang Saber once more, its blade gleaming with a cold light against the smoke-filled sky.
Just as the long sword was about to strike again, Natsu suddenly stopped.
He turned his head in surprise to look into the distance—not at anyone in Marineford Square, but further away, on an inconspicuous patch of broken walls at the edge of the ruins.
A dark figure stood there.
The figure was much larger than an ordinary human, at least twice the size of a normal person.
He had dark brown skin, long light-colored hair that fell to his waist, and a pair of sharp almond-shaped eyes that gleamed reddish in the dim light. His irises were covered with multiple ring-shaped patterns, and his pupils were surrounded by a thin ring.
He had a pair of curved horns on his forehead, and his fingernails were long, sharp, and jet black.
His forearms were covered with tattoos resembling circuit patterns, and the tattoo on the back of his hand was shaped like an eye. A Sawtooth line extended from his left cheek to the left half of his torso, and his limbs and torso were covered with white spots.
He wore a cloak with an ancient "contract" emblem printed on the back, loose wide-legged trousers, spiked wrist guards, and black pointed leather shoes.
What was most unsettling was the enormous black ring behind him, filled with pupils, each one identical to his own crimson eyes.
Narona Saint Imu.
The King of the World, the mastermind behind the World Government, one of the "original twenty" who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago, and also the user of the forbidden "Devil Fruit".
The two of them stood silently facing each other across the vast ruins.
Imu didn't speak, nor did Natsu.
The next second, a demonic tail wrapped in dark red light suddenly shot out from behind Imu, so fast that even Observation Haki couldn't catch it, heading straight for the dark golden Susanoo.
A deafening explosion rang out, and the shockwave sent surrounding debris flying.
As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, not a single crack was found on Susanoo's breastplate.
For the first time, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in Imu's crimson almond-shaped eyes.
"What? Is this all there is to being the so-called King of the World?" Natsu's voice came from Susanoo's eyebrows, as cold and calm as ever.
He raised his right hand again, Susanoo's dark gold longsword was once again held high.
"Then, let me give it a try."
Before the words were even finished, the long sword came crashing down with tremendous force.
Imu's expression was icy, and a long-handled sword with an ancient design appeared out of thin air in his hand.
Dark red Conqueror's Haki and jet-black Armament Haki simultaneously poured into the blade, colliding head-on with the dark gold longsword that was even larger than his entire body.