Regulus's Doom

Akainu watched Regulus, who had suddenly transformed into a monster ten meters away, with a grave expression.

His head had swollen into a three-meter-tall flesh tumor. Hundreds of mouths lined with spiraling fangs opened and closed in unison, each emitting screams from different points in time.

"Screeeech—!!!"

A sound wave swept across the battlefield, sending ripples through space-time.

Akainu saw the magma dripping from between his fingers suddenly solidify. Even more terrifying, streams of silver-blue light were being pulled from the crowns of his and the soldiers' heads, flowing like rivers into the monster's mouths.

"Crack!"

A crisp explosion suddenly came from Akainu's spine. He raised his hand, his pupils contracting sharply—age spots were appearing across the back of his hand.

His once-young and powerful body was rapidly aging. Even the sulfur scent lingering around his fingertips had begun to fade.

That was only the change in his body. He also realized that he seemed to be forgetting many things, including the hatred that had carried him through the years and his beliefs about justice.

"Damn it! Armament Haki: Meigō!"

Akainu roared and used the memories he still possessed to unleash the most perfect punch he could.

Yet in the next instant, the erupting magma rapidly devolved into sparks.

One of Regulus's mouths was chewing on the scene of Akainu obtaining his Devil Fruit power at eighteen, while another sucked away his most precious memories of time.

It was a picture of a family of three. The boy holding hands with a man and woman in the middle smiled so brightly and happily.

When Akainu saw that image, although he no longer knew who they were, two trails of tears silently slid down his stern face.

"How pathetic!"

Countless enormous mouths resonated amid the turbulent flow of time and space,