Zephyr gritted his teeth, his Black Arm sweeping back Savi and Jesus Burgess who were charging at him head-on, and then he threw a backhand Kazami who was sneaking up from behind.
Kazami quickly retreated, but Zephyr's fist still grazed his chest, tearing a hole in his clothes.
"Little rascals--"
Zephyr's voice was deep and suppressed, and the Armament Haki on his fists surged with a visible black sheen.
"I don't have time to play with you guys anymore!"
He sensed it.
Akainu's aura was rapidly weakening.
Although he was extremely dissatisfied with Akainu's unauthorized killing of the Celestial Dragons, and even now he refused to say another word to that madman—
But Akainu is ultimately a Marine Admiral, his colleague, and a junior he watched grow up.
He couldn't just stand by and watch Akainu be killed by Roy here.
" Black Arm - Rock Smash!!!"
Zephyr no longer held back.
Armament Haki surged wildly into his right arm, making the black fist gleam with a metallic sheen under the moonlight.
He suddenly exerted force with both legs, cracking the ground beneath his feet, and his whole body shot out like a cannonball.
He crashed head-on into Yamato, Savi, Jesus Burgess, who were blocking his way!
Yamato's spiked club came crashing down on him, but Zephyr neither dodged nor evaded, instead bracing his left arm above his head to take the blow head-on.
The spiked club slammed into his forearm, producing a deafening clang of metal striking metal, but Zephyr's body remained completely still.
Savi's Giant Ape fists came crashing down from both sides, Zephyr spread his arms outwards, forcefully deflecting the two fists, which were larger than human heads.
Jesus Burgess's Strong-Strong Fist landed head-on, and Zephyr met it with his right fist, a direct head-on collision!
boom--!!!
Their fists collided, and the resulting shockwaves knocked all three of them back.
Using the force of the recoil, Zephyr slightly bent his knees and leaped into the air with Geppo!
His figure traced a straight line across the night sky, moving so fast that it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
Tesoro's lightning struck from the side, Zephyr didn't turn his head. He covered his right arm with Armament Haki and smashed the lightning with a punch.
A bolt of lightning exploded on his fist, casting flickering light and shadow on half of his face.
In the blink of an eye, Zephyr shook off Tesoro's interception and flashed to the core battlefield.
The moment he landed, he saw Akainu struggling to get up from the lava pool, his waist wound a horrifying sight, the blood staining the lava beneath his feet a dark brown.
Roy was hovering in mid-air, with Shusui held horizontally in front of him, the blade still bearing traces of Akainu's blood.
Without hesitation, Zephyr flashed in front of Akainu, his right arm fully Armament Haki.
A jet-black fist was held horizontally in front of his chest, in a defensive stance.
" Sakazuki!"
His voice was low and urgent.
"That's enough! You'll die if you keep hitting her!"
Akainu raised his head, his dark eyes filled with resentment and anger.
" Zephyr... get out of the way!"
His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping an iron plate.
"A mere fatal wound..."
Zephyr did not move aside.
He stared at Roy, his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, filled with vigilance.
Almost simultaneously.
The ice beneath Aokiji's feet suddenly shattered.
The moment Roy unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, he knew things were going to get bad.
That man would always do this when he got serious, and it meant he was about to unleash his killing move.
He had seen him in Mary Geoise.
I've seen it in the intelligence reports from the G-5 Branch. I've seen it in the classified files of the Pure Gold Incident.
Every time Roy unleashes his Conqueror's Haki, someone else always ends up on the verge of death.
Aokiji didn't want to get entangled with Beckman anymore.
Ice Time--
With a wave of his right hand, a wide-ranging freezing power erupted.
Centered on the Aokiji, a layer of pale blue frost spread wildly outwards.
Frost covered the ground, the ruins of buildings, the still-burning flames, and everything else.
The entire street transformed into a world of icy white in an instant.
The still-burning building ruins were frozen into ice sculptures, a layer of black volcanic rock ice crust solidified on the surface of the churning lava pools, and even the air was frozen solid.
Beckman's pupils suddenly contracted.
" Yasopp!"
He shouted, while simultaneously backing away.
The gunshot rang out almost simultaneously with his shout.
Three bullets, imbued with Armament Haki, shot towards Aokiji in a triangular formation, their trajectories precise to the millimeter and their impact points predicted to the millisecond.
But this time, Aokiji did not dodge.
His body became completely elemental in the instant before the bullets struck; the three bullets pierced his icy body, creating three transparent holes.
The ice crystals at the edge of the hole quickly re-condensed, returning to their original state in less than a breath.
"Sorry everyone, I really don't have time to play with you right now."
Aokiji's voice remained languid, but his movements were anything but slow.
He stepped onto the newly formed ice path, his entire body transforming into an icy blue trail.
They bypassed Beckman, Yasopp, and Raki Lu, and sped towards the core battlefield.
Beckman tried to catch up, but the ice beneath his feet was so smooth that there was almost no friction, which slowed him down by two beats.
By the time he regained his footing, Aokiji had already disappeared from his sight.
When Aokiji landed beside Zephyr, he witnessed a truly horrific scene.
Akainu's wound on his waist and abdomen almost ran across his entire abdomen, with flesh torn open and white bone exposed.
Even though the magma-like body was constantly repairing itself, the destructive power of Conqueror's Haki Coating deep within the wounds made the healing process extremely slow.
But Akainu was still standing.
His legs were trembling slightly, his breathing was heavy, and blood was still seeping from the corner of his mouth—but he was still standing.
Aokiji frowned slightly, a chill emanating from his body, and the ice beneath his feet spread out, creating a bizarre scene of ice and fire intertwined with Akainu's magma.
" Sakazuki, that's enough."
Aokiji spoke, his voice carrying a rare hint of reluctance.
Akainu did not answer.
His eyes remained fixed on Roy in mid-air, his killing intent almost tangible.
Bang--!!!
On the other side of the battlefield, the duel between Shanks and Garp has reached a preliminary conclusion.
Garp sensed Akainu's impending death, and for the first time, a serious expression rarely shown to outsiders appeared on his rugged old face.
He can't play along with Shanks anymore.
" Divine Departure!!!"
Shanks unleashed Gryphon once again, the ultimate move of the Pirate King, with Conqueror's Haki's Haki arcs crackling wildly across its blade.
Garp clenched his fists, simultaneously unleashing the full power of Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
A cross-shaped dark red light appeared on his fist, making it look like two red-hot irons.
" Galaxy Impact!!!"
Iron Fist and Divine Departure collide once again.
This time, Garp didn't hold back.
The muscles in his right arm suddenly swelled, and the blood vessels bulged out under the skin like earthworms.
The Conqueror's Haki Coating a tangible shockwave, pouring wildly from his fist.
boom--!!!
A dark red arc of electricity exploded, and the shockwave blew away all the surrounding building ruins.
Shanks felt as if he had cleaved a mountain with his sword.
It wasn't that he couldn't split it, but rather that the mountain turned around and pressed down on him.
Gryphon's blade was slightly bent by Garp's iron fist, and the Conqueror's Haki arcs wrapped around the blade were scattered and flew everywhere by the impact of Garp's Haki.
Garp grinned. "Not bad, kid. You managed to take my full-force punch."
"But--"
He exerted force with his arm again, and the cross-shaped light on his fist suddenly surged.
You're still too green!!!
"Bang--!"
The tangled mass of energy suddenly erupted toward Shanks.
Shanks was thrown back, sword and all, his feet carving two furrows tens of meters long into the ground. The gash in his hand widened, and blood dripped down the hilt of his sword.
Before Shanks could regain his footing, Garp had already turned around, his legs slightly bent, and the ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.