Only Waiting for Death, Finding Akainu

Roya raised Ryujin Jakka high. At this moment, the realm of a peak Great Swordsman began to reveal itself.

Without any unnecessary movements, Roya merely held Ryujin Jakka and lightly swung his Zanpakutō downward.

With a single slash.

A violent gale suddenly rose.

The blade tore through the air, its piercing whistle lingering.

Flames that distorted the air continuously devoured the scorching heat around them.

In an instant!

Heaven and earth changed color!

The fiery clouds were completely devoured by this heaven-reaching slash.

Every giant lava fist that touched Roya's slash also became nourishment for it.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~

The slash swept across the sea, evaporating vast amounts of seawater.

Like a crescent moon, it charged toward Akainu.

The brilliant, razor-sharp slash made everyone's expressions change!

The soldiers on the sea stared blankly at the slash ahead.

Only then did they feel that utterly terrifying pressure.

They felt their entire bodies become incomparably stiff.

Yet this was merely the residual force.

If anyone felt it most strongly, it was Akainu.

He felt as though every cell in his body had been suppressed.

Watching his attack get devoured by Roya's slash in the blink of an eye, Akainu's heart sank completely to the bottom.

He couldn't win!

He was no match for Roya!

He could only wait for death!

Akainu clenched both fists. If he were given another chance, he would treat himself even more cruelly and strive to become stronger!

But he had no more chances.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion rang out.

Roya's slash struck Akainu.

The terrifying heat was something even Akainu, who had eaten the Magma-Magma Fruit, could not neutralize.

He could even feel that his Fruit powers were completely unable to do much against this slash.

It was as though he had encountered suppression from a superior Fruit.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

The gale kicked up by the explosion's aftershock rolled across the waves.

It even formed a terrifying tsunami!

"Quick! Quick! Turn the helm and put the engines at full power! Don't get caught by the tsunami!!!"

"But what about Vice Admiral Akainu!"

"What can we do? Why are you asking me? If he hadn't disobeyed military orders and charged out without probing first, how could this have happened?"

"Right now, we need to save our own lives first!"

On Ohara.

The wind blew against Roya's cloak, making it flap loudly.

He slowly sheathed Ryujin Jakka.

Then Roya softly said, "Flame Scorching City Walls!"

As Roya's words fell, the form of the slash immediately changed.

A massive fireball appeared out of thin air before everyone.

The fireball continuously pressed downward, crushing the tsunami that had risen dozens of meters high and bearing down upon the fleeing warships.

Tens of thousands of tons of seawater were completely evaporated!

Under this attack, the only ones left unharmed were the people on Ohara.

Robin and Olvia watched as the sea turned into a sea of fire, unable to hide their shock.

No one knew how much time passed.

The flames gradually dissipated.

Only, there was no longer anything left upon the sea.

Starlight shimmered in Robin's eyes.

She looked excitedly at Roya and said, "Big Brother Roya, you're so strong! In the future, I want to become as strong as you too!"

Robin had already made Roya the goal she would pursue for the rest of her life.

In every sense of the word.

Looking at Robin, Roya thought to himself, Little girls really do grow fast. It hasn't even been that many days, and she already has a bit of her future appearance.

"Robin, work hard. Did you see those fiery clouds filling the sky just now? That's one form of Fruit ability awakening. As long as you can bring your Fruit ability to the awakening level, forget the Four Blues—even if you go to the Grand Line or the New World, you'll definitely rank among the strong!"

Hearing Roya's words, Robin nodded firmly. "I'll definitely work even harder! I'll strive to reach Fruit awakening sooner!"

Roya was greatly comforted to hear that. He nodded, then turned to Olvia and instructed, "We'll leave Weevil with you. If there's any danger, just send him out. But remember to make him a cloak to wear."

"I understand. Roya, are you preparing to leave?"

"Mm. Time is a little tight. When I have time, I'll come see you again, or you can come find me out at sea!"

"Big Brother Roya, I'll definitely strive to awaken early, then come find you at sea!"

After bidding farewell to Olvia and Robin, Roya activated his talisman power and flew toward Marineford.

But Roya certainly could not simply fly all the way back.

About a day later, Roya found an island. After buying a ship there, he prepared to continue sailing.

Yet even Roya himself had not expected that when he reached the shore, he would see Akainu lying miserably on the beach!

Akainu was covered in burns, and large portions of his body had begun to fester and turn pale.

His face was also very pale, and blood slowly seeped from his wounds. Even so, there were no signs that he was about to die.

Roya walked over to Akainu, crouched in front of him, and used his peak medical skills to examine his injuries.

"Akainu, Akainu, should I save you or not?"

At that moment, Roya fell into a dilemma.

He sat cross-legged on the beach. Akainu would not die anytime soon anyway, so he could take his time thinking about it.

In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour passed, and Roya opened one eye from his sleep.

That's right, he had accidentally fallen asleep just now.

After stretching lazily, Roya stood up from the beach, brushed the sand from his pants, and revealed a mischievous smile.

"Akainu, I hope you won't get played to death by me in the future!"

At that thought, Roya revealed a very gentle smile, then dragged Akainu onto the ship he had just bought.

Roya used his peak medical skills, but this time, he treated Akainu differently and showed absolutely no mercy.

He viciously pummeled and kicked the acupoints on Akainu's body.

The intense pain continuously stimulated Akainu's brain once more.

Akainu let out a "Blegh!" and spat out thick black blood.

This black blood was all stagnant blood that had accumulated inside his body.

After spitting out the stagnant blood, Akainu slowly opened his eyes.

When he saw Roya, a trace of relief flashed across his face.

He forced himself to slowly turn over and looked up at Roya standing before him. In a weak voice, he said, "Roya, so you're still alive. Did you save me?"

"Who else would it be? Other than me, who else has the ability to save you? But I have to say, surviving such severe injuries means you're pretty impressive!"

Roya gave Akainu a thumbs-up.

Gratitude flashed through Akainu's eyes.

"This time... th-thank you!"

It was clearly Akainu's first time thanking someone, and he was utterly unpracticed at it.

But if Akainu knew that it was Roya, the person standing before him, who had caused these severe injuries, would he be angered to death on the spot?

At that thought, a sly glint flashed through Roya's eyes.

"Get some rest. We're preparing to return to Marineford. If we don't go back soon, they'll probably think I'm really dead..."