Giant Beast?

Kuzan let out a roar and slammed his right fist forward. As the force of his punch surged, a gigantic ice bird condensed out of thin air.

The ice bird spread its wings, stretching dozens of meters wide. Bone-chilling cold radiated from its body, and its icy blue feathers gleamed with a dim, frigid light as it shot toward the magma fist in the sky.

Before long, the ice bird drew level with the magma fist, one blue and one red.

The two faced off in midair, like overlords from different worlds refusing to yield to one another.

The powers of ice and fire collided violently in the air, producing a sharp sizzling sound.

Kuzan stared intently at Sakazuki, his eyes full of provocation.

Sakazuki showed no weakness either. He shot Kuzan a fierce glare and muttered, "That damn little ice brat."

Doberman and the others stood beneath the clash of ice and fire. First, the scorching heat of the magma left them drenched in sweat, then the chill radiating from the ice bird made them shiver violently. Their bodies suffered miserably under the alternating torment of extreme heat and cold.

Then, the enormous magma fist exploded with a thunderous boom, breaking into countless blazing chunks of magma.

At the same time, the gigantic ice bird burst apart, splitting into flocks of smaller ice birds.

For a moment, one half of the sky blazed with fire, explosions erupting one after another like a grand yet terrifying fireworks display.

The other half of the sky was shrouded in frost. Every cannonball that touched the smaller ice birds froze instantly, then turned into shards of ice and drifted down. The entire sky was sharply divided into the colors of ice and fire, creating a spectacular yet bizarre sight.

"Now's our chance! Move!"

Doberman shouted and stomped off the ground. He stepped through the air in rapid succession, streaking toward the pirate ship in the sky like a bolt of black lightning.

The Marines behind him followed suit, their figures flashing and leaping through the air.

Before long, Doberman was the first to board the pirate ship.

His feet landed firmly on the deck, and his hawk-like gaze swept over the pirates around him.

"Pirates, are you ready for my wrath?"

His voice was low and brimming with menace.

Seeing this, the pirates aboard the ship revealed savage expressions, their weapons gleaming coldly.

"Brothers, the Marines are here! Kill them!"

With an angry roar, the pirates surged toward Doberman like a tidal wave.

Meanwhile, Mu Chen stood in the back streets, looking at the raging battle near the harbor before glancing at the eerie emptiness around him.

Borsalino also looked toward the distant sky before turning to Mu Chen. He pursed his lips and teased, "Mu Chen, looks like your plan wasn't very accurate."

Mu Chen frowned deeply, his heart full of doubt. Had he really guessed wrong?

Was Golden Lion really planning to do nothing but launch a direct assault?

But now that things had come to this, there was no other choice. If it really was a direct assault, at least he would not have to worry about the civilians in the back streets.

"Looks like I was overthinking it. Then I'll go help on the battlefield."

Mu Chen spoke calmly and prepared to set off.

Borsalino watched Mu Chen's retreating figure and shook his head helplessly. His body began to dissolve into specks of light, clearly preparing to use his power to rush to the battlefield as quickly as possible.

Just then, a deep rumbling sound suddenly came from above the streets. Everyone looked up and saw a circular Floating Island slowly emerging.

The Floating Island was tightly enclosed by an iron cage, its bars gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

"Mu Chen, Qi Yuan, look at the sky!"

Jiaqi's eyes widened as she stared fixedly at the sky, her voice filled with shock and fear.

Qi Yuan's expression instantly turned grave when she saw the suddenly appearing Floating Island. She remembered what Mu Chen had said earlier, and a sense of foreboding rose within her.

At that moment, the light Borsalino had nearly dissolved into slowly gathered back into his body. He too looked toward the Floating Island in the sky, a trace of gravity flashing through his eyes before the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He murmured, "Mu Chen, you really got it right. How terrifying."

Mu Chen looked at the Floating Island, a powerful sense of danger rising in his heart. So the ICU drug had already been created?

He had originally held onto the hope that Golden Lion had not developed the IKO drug, but upon seeing this Floating Island, he knew that the strange beasts Golden Lion had raised were likely about to bring disaster to Marineford—a disaster far more terrifying than the Flying Fleet.

At the same time, Golden Lion, who was fiercely fighting Sengoku, caught sight of the Floating Island appearing over the back streets from the corner of his eye. A smug smile appeared on his face.

"Sengoku, why don't you take a look behind you? Hahaha!"

He laughed loudly, his laughter filled with mockery and ridicule.

Hearing Golden Lion's laughter, Sengoku felt a sense of foreboding rise within him. He glanced back from the corner of his eye, and the moment he saw the enormous Floating Island, his brows furrowed tightly.

That was the direction of the back streets, where hundreds of thousands of defenseless civilians lived!

At that thought, the rage in Sengoku's heart erupted like a volcano.

"Golden Lion, you're not even human! You're actually going after civilians! You're nothing but a beast!"

Sengoku roared, his voice filled with fury and despair.

Golden Lion Shiki was not moved in the slightest by Sengoku's words. Instead, he laughed even more wildly.

"Hahaha, Sengoku, I told you—I'm going to destroy all of Marineford!"

"So what if they're civilians?"

"I want all of Marineford to disappear! I want to prove that I'm stronger than Roger!"

His eyes were as cold as frost, without a trace of emotion.

Sengoku trembled with rage, the veins on his forehead bulging.

"Golden Lion!"

He roared and immediately unleashed his full strength.

Buddha Shockwave

Around the Floating Island above the back streets, the surrounding railings slowly lowered.