The remaining soldiers quickly assembled, and the living creatures created by Devil Fruit powers quietly gathered as well, forming orderly ranks.
Splitting their forces carried risks, of course.
But Katakuri knew perfectly well-in this world, numbers were often never what decided victory.
Sunlight slanted down, and the enormous crater gaped like a savage maw in the scorched earth.
Crystallized sand covered its bottom, refracting dazzling shards of light.
Around its edges, dark red lava slowly churned. Occasionally, burned-through steel bars jutted from the viscous liquid like the bones of some dying behemoth.
The heat distorted the air, making everything in sight shimmer and warp.
"This is practically... some kind of miniature weapon of destruction."
Standing at the crater's edge, Rossi had most of his face concealed beneath his hood's shadow.
He gazed at the land before him, as though it had been plowed by fire from the heavens, and murmured to himself.
But destruction was only ever a relative concept.
The instant he sensed a warning of danger, he had begun retreating, covering his entire body with that invisible power.
Then the violent blast had hurled him backward. Within a few breaths, he had retreated over a hundred meters.
The shock waves struck his power-clad body, leaving only a series of dull impacts.
"Put me down! Put me-"
Held by the back of her collar, Oni let out a string of muffled cries, her whole body as stiff as a plank.
She remembered a colleague's muttering before their departure: when you went on missions with that lord, you always ran into unreasonable opponents.
She had scoffed at the time. Now she only wanted to drag that person over and nod vigorously.
"My lord..."
Feeling Rossi's gaze turn toward her, Oni sounded almost ready to cry.
"This time, I really... really