A new upheaval
The sixth chain still hung there, unbroken.
The seventh chain was not broken either. The twisted, half-human, half-beast black mist outlines had disappeared, leaving only empty void where they had been hanging.
Natsu stood in the void, the crimson-gold light gradually receding.
His face was expressionless. His chest was heaving faster than usual.
Madara removed the Truth-Seeking Orb Ball from his body and emerged from the black sphere.
He glanced down at the spot where Imu had disappeared, Six-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan to rotate.
Below, silence spread.
Killing Hall's Mangekyō Sharingan was still spinning, but his fingers had already loosened their grip on the hilt of his sword.
Behind him, Taki glanced at him, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
Shanks stood beside Shamrock, his left hand slightly loosening its grip on Gryphon's hilt.
Beckman still had an unlit cigarette between his lips; he'd forgotten to chew it.
On the distant ruins, a young Navy Soldier knelt on the ground, clutching half a broken gun in his hand, looking up at the empty sky.
The old soldier next to him slumped on the pile of rubble, his lips moving but he didn't speak.
Fugaku's Complete Susanoo stood on the sea, its sky-blue Chakra behemoth standing quietly.
Fugaku did not release Susanoo, but his Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated in his eye sockets, his gaze sweeping across the void.
He's looking for it.
He is confirming.
No one spoke. No one moved.
The sea breeze swept across the battlefield, carrying with it the scent of gravel and gunpowder.
The sky brightened again, and sunlight streamed through the broken clouds, illuminating the ruins of the Sabaody Archipelago and the faces that were tilted back.
Natsu withdrew the last trace of crimson-gold light and looked down at the palm of her left hand.
He clenched his fist, then relaxed it.
Then he turned his head to look at Madara.
Madara was also looking at him.
The two looked at each other, but neither spoke first.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Natsu withdrew the last trace of crimson-gold light, Madara released the Truth-Seeking Orb, Fugaku's Complete Susanoo sank, and the thirteen elite Night Owl Guard moved from the outer perimeter of the battlefield toward the center.
The remnants of the navy slumped on the ruins. Shanks loosened his grip on Gryphon's sword hilt slightly, and Beckman took the unlit cigarette from his mouth and twirled it between his fingers.
Then Natsu's expression changed.
He turned his head sharply, his gaze piercing through the void and landing on Shamrock below.
Shamrock was tending to his wounds beside Hongo when his Cerberus — the Rapier that rivaled Shanks ' Gryphon —suddenly cracked in the middle with a sharp clang, the blade flying out and embedding itself in the rubble.
Shamrock paused for a moment, looking down at the half-finished hilt of the sword in his hand.
At the same time, in North Blue.
The Whitebeard Pirates have just wiped out the last group of resistance forces.
The crew member who had survived the first wave of extractions thanks to his Conqueror's Haki was slumped on the deck, panting. Whitebeard glanced at him, about to say something.
Then the crew member's body contorted.
His arms were bent backward, his spine arched into an unnatural curve, and his skin began to dry out from his fingertips, spreading towards his shoulders.
He opened his mouth, let out a half-groan, and then his whole body shattered into a pile of dried-up remains on the deck.
Marco's blue flames exploded on his shoulder, and he half-knelt down, gripping the gunwale tightly with both hands.
Ace's flames surged uncontrollably from his body, only to be forcibly suppressed by him. His teeth clenched so tightly that they cracked, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
Jozu's Diamond transformation spread from his arms to his entire body, but the Diamond surface kept cracking, with cracks extending from his fingertips to his shoulders. He would groan with every inch the cracks extended.
Vista's twin swords slipped from his hands, and he knelt on the deck, his hands bracing against the planks, panting heavily.
Whitebeard sensed it.
The pulling sensation was more intense than the previous two times, as if an invisible hand had reached into his chest, gripped his heart, and was pulling it out.
He suddenly tilted his head back, Conqueror's Haki exploded from his body, dark red electricity surging from his body and instantly enveloping the entire Moby Dick.
Where the electric current swept, the dark red threads being pulled from the crew members' bodies were shattered, scattered, and annihilated one by one.
But Whitebeard could sense that after the threads were scattered, they re-coagulated in the air and rushed towards the crew again.
"Men! Gather around me!" The Whitebeard's voice boomed across the deck. Murakumogiri onto the deck, and an even stronger Conqueror's Haki covered the entire sea.
Near the Sabaody Archipelago, Garp and his crew had just withdrawn from the battlefield.
Garp stood on the ruins, considering what to do next.
Imu's presence has vanished, but the war is far from over. Several thousand Marines remain, but the World Government's top brass is gone. Who will take over now?
As he was thinking, Sakazuki and Borsalino suddenly groaned simultaneously.
Akainu knelt down, and from the wound on his left arm, solidified magma gushed out uncontrollably before extinguishing completely, turning into a dark red ash.
He reached out to cover his wound, but his fingers were trembling.
Kizaru leaned against him, blood still seeping from the knife wound on his right shoulder. He raised his hand and glanced at it; golden particles of light were detaching from his fingertips and drifting into the sky.
He reached out to grab it, but missed.
Sengoku's expression changed slightly.
Before he could react, the pulling sensation came.
The power of the Buddha Form surged within him for a moment, golden Buddha light emanating from beneath his skin. He gritted his teeth, and his Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted, dark red electricity exploding around him, forcefully suppressing the pulling sensation.
Crane stood beside him, the power of the Wash-Wash Fruit pulsating violently in her palm. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
She doesn't possess Conqueror's Haki.
She could only rely on her own willpower to endure it, cold sweat rolling down her forehead one bead after another.
Garp moved.
He didn't have Devil Fruits powers, but he saw it clearly— Sengoku was using Conqueror's Haki to suppress that power, and Tsuru, Akainu, and Akainu didn't have Conqueror's Haki, Kizaru they couldn't withstand it.
Garp's Conqueror's Haki exploded from his body, and dark red electricity surged toward Sengoku, Tsuru, Akainu, and Kizaru, forcibly shaking off the pulling sensation from them.
Akainu's magma solidified again at the wound site, Kizaru's golden light particles stopped leaking out, and Tsuru loosened his clenched fist, with blood seeping out from between his fingers.
Not everyone has Garp.
In the entire One Piece World, over 90% of Devil Fruit User turned into dried-up corpses in pain and agony.