The deserted island groaned beneath their feet, cracks spreading like festering wounds and crawling across every inch of its frame.
Rock strata fractured, the crust heaved, and rubble continuously fell into the sea amid the aftershocks of lightning and tremors, as though the entire island were being erased by the world itself.
Newgate slowly drove Murakumogiri into the ground.
The blade trembled, releasing a deep, resonant hum, as if sighing for this unfinished battle.
He raised his head, his face still carrying that bold, carefree spirit, an aura that seemed impossible for heaven and earth alike to bend.
"Gurararara..."
"Looks like we won't be able to finish this today, brat."
Amid the lightning, Rock stood ramrod straight. His breathing had yet to fully settle, and his Lightning Armor flickered uncertainly, but his gaze remained sharp.
Currents danced across his fingertips with a faint crackling sound. His voice was low. "What?"
"Trying to run, Newgate?"
Newgate did not answer immediately. He merely glanced toward the churning sea in the distance.
That battered pirate ship was forcing its way through the wind and waves. Its hull was covered in cracks, and its mast leaned crookedly.
At the bow, Kaido was covered in wounds, with bruises from heavy blows still lingering on his shoulders. His spiked club was embedded in the deck, and he could barely remain standing by leaning on it.
Buckin clutched the railing tightly, her expression frantic and her throat nearly hoarse as she directed the ship in an almost hysterical manner.
Newgate withdrew his gaze and grinned. His crescent-shaped white mustache stood out especially clearly beneath the lightning.
"Brat, that kind of provocation won't work on me~"
"There'll be plenty of chances later!"
The instant his words fell, he threw both arms wide!
"Quake—!!!"
An invisible tremor erupted violently from him!
The entire deserted island seemed like a giant drum struck head-on. Mountains split apart, rock layers collapsed, and in an instant, the island lost its overall structure!
"Rumble—!!!"
The ground came apart. Newgate pulled Murakumogiri free and leaped into the air. At the instant he jumped—
Boom!!!
The ground beneath his feet shook once more!
That single step completely shattered the deserted island, turning it into countless massive boulders and fragments that plunged into the sea!
And Newgate's mountain-like body, propelled by the recoil, shot toward the pirate ship like a cannonball fired by the earth itself!
"I'm off—!!!"
Rock's pupils shrank. "Bastard! You're really running away—?!!"
Thunder exploded, and he instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning that pierced heaven and earth, tearing through the storm in pursuit!
Midair, Newgate suddenly turned around and swept Murakumogiri sideways!
Boom—!!!
The vibrating Chop Wave cleaved through the lightning, forcibly tearing the electric radiance into several arcs as Newgate seized the chance to crash heavily onto the pirate ship's stern!
Bang!!!
The ship shook violently, and the deck cracked apart!
Kaido and Buckin were both jolted into staggering backward, nearly losing their footing.
"Hey?! Newgate, what are you doing—?!"
The moment Stussy shouted, her expression abruptly changed.
A stabbing pain.
Burning.
Lightning Roar exploded against her skin!
She jerked her head up—
An even more violent, even purer bolt of lightning was tearing through the air, carrying unfinished fighting spirit and fury as it charged straight at them!
"It's not over yet—!!!"
Newgate did not look back.
He paid no heed to the lightning relentlessly chasing him from behind. His eyes suddenly narrowed, locking onto another Marine warship speeding toward them from the other side—
The next moment, the muscles in his left arm swelled like mountains.
He pulled back sharply. The air around his fist began to twist and crack violently.
"—Seaquake!!!"
Crack—!!!
His punch shot forth, as if he had smashed the entire world to pieces.
The air shattered like a mirror. Tremors drove deep into the sea, and in the next instant, the ocean caved in, rolled over, and rose!
A colossal tsunami rose from the sea, blotting out the sky. Its towering wall of water roared as it crashed down toward the warship!
A shadow instantly swallowed the entire warship. On deck, alarms tore through the air—
"A tsunami—!!!"
"Straight ahead!!"
"There's no time to evade!!!"
Before the enormous wave even fell, the oppressive force had already made the hull groan under the strain.
At that critical moment—
Bzzzt—!!!
A blinding flash of lightning erupted at the bow.
Rock appeared in an instant, hovering directly before the warship. Thunder gathered beneath his feet into a violent wheel of light, and almost at the same time—
"Soru!"
Zephyr stepped off the deck. The planks exploded into splinters beneath his feet, and the raging wind reversed.
He raised his right fist high. Armament Haki rapidly covered his entire arm like molten iron, his muscles tightening and veins bulging.
The two stood side by side before the towering wave.
There were no unnecessary words, only a brief exchange of glances.
The next instant—
Boom—!!!
Lightning erupted first, transforming into a blazing white pillar that pierced heaven and earth, tore through the storm, and stabbed straight into the tsunami's core!
Following immediately behind was Zephyr's Iron Fist. His punch compressed the air, carrying power that seemed capable of punching through the world as it slammed forward head-on!
Lightning and fist wind! At the same instant, they struck the heart of the tsunami!
Rumble—!!!
A deafening blast swept in every direction.
That sky-blotting wall of water was like a torn beast. It released one final roar before completely collapsing in midair!
The curtain of water exploded, turning into countless shattered waves that poured down like a torrential rain and smashed into the sea; spray fluttered through the air like snow beneath the lingering glow of lightning.
The recoiling air currents overturned the clouds, revealing a bleak, empty expanse of sky.
The entire warship was shoved into a violent sway by the shockwave. Its hull groaned under the strain, yet it still stubbornly held its course.
On deck, every Marine stood frozen. Their eyes could not leave the bow.
There—
The lightning-wreathed youth and the Vice Admiral with iron-like Black Arm stood side by side.
One was sharp as thunder, the other steady as a mountain.
Amid the churning sea mist and lingering waves, that scene seemed frozen in place, like two gods guarding the sea.
After the tsunami was shattered, the frenzied waves gradually settled.
All that remained on the sea was white mist torn apart by lightning and Iron Fist, along with the endlessly rolling remnants of the waves, slowly dispersing beneath the sunlight.
The pirate ship Newgate had been on had already vanished without a trace.
At the edge of their vision, the small deserted island that had borne the battle between two monstrous powerhouses was slowly yet irreversibly breaking apart—
Rock layers collapsed, and the island's foundation split apart.
Massive chunks fell into the sea, raising one feeble splash after another. It was as though even the earth itself could not withstand such power.
Zephyr stood at the bow, watching the wreckage gradually sink, and let out a long breath.
His voice carried helplessness, along with a trace of relief that even he had not noticed. "You two... honestly."
Rock stood amid the lightning that had yet to fully fade, his eyes following the direction in which the pirate ship had disappeared.
After a moment, he suddenly smiled. "As expected of the strongest Paramecia."
"Compared to a monster like that..."
"I'm still far behind~"
On the deck behind them, the Marines remained silent.
They merely watched the two figures ahead of them. Reverence quietly took root in every heart.
Before you continue