New World, Lilga Island.
Lilga Island was located in the early region of the New World. The island stretched from northwest to southeast, with rugged mountains covering much of the land. Rich in mineral resources, most of its residents made a living through mining.
At this moment, far from the port and along the side of the island, a warship lay hidden in the shadows of the night, anchored roughly a hundred meters offshore.
Streams of magma flowed silently from the deck of the ship, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki as they extended toward the island.
Moments later, a long black staircase nearly a hundred meters long formed. Sakazuki and Sengoku were the first to descend.
Behind them, the marines followed closely, moving in silence. They began surrounding the pirate ship of the World Pirates stationed at the port, hiding in place and preparing the ambush.
Using Observation Haki, Sakazuki and Sengoku scanned the area. They immediately sensed Byrnndi World and his crew gathered around a bonfire in the ruined town center, enjoying a feast.
The two shared a brief glance, exchanged a slight nod, and concealed their presence as they advanced toward the heart of the town.
...
At the town square.
Byrnndi World sat wearing his captain's coat, with a helmet that had one broken horn on top. His face sported the iconic W-shaped mustache. Holding a barrel of liquor in both hands, he tilted it back and drank it all in one go.
Setting down the empty barrel, his cheeks were slightly flushed as he looked at a man approaching from a distance and laughed boldly.
"Barorororo! Gairam, how's the tally going?"
Gairam, whose build resembled that of Baron Tamago, had a round upper body with long, thin limbs; his hair was styled into the shape of a square hammer, matching the massive weapon slung across his back.
He settled beside the bonfire and set the hammer down, grinning with satisfaction.
"Everything looks great. The ore reserves in this town are even more than we expected. The construction of the Groseade can officially begin."
More than just a combatant, Gairam was the designer behind the Groseade. As a Cube-Cube Fruit user, he could turn matter into blocks and manipulate them freely. The Groseade was his masterpiece: a massive submersible vessel designed to bring out the full extent of Byrnndi World's power.
World's eyes lit up. He burst into laughter again, loud and triumphant.
"Barorororo! For our dream! Cheers!"
The crew raised their drinks with excitement, toasting to the future. Once the Groseade was complete, they believed nothing in the world could stand in their way.
"Yeah!!!"
As their cheers echoed, none of them noticed the faint disturbance from the top of a tower in the distance.
Buzz—!
A faint, translucent shockwave began to build in Sengoku's hand. Then, standing atop the tower, he suddenly transformed into his golden Buddha form—a glowing giant dozens of meters tall. The structure beneath him collapsed under his weight.
Only then did the pirates near the bonfire sense danger. But it was already too late. In the moment the tower crumbled, Sengoku released the charged shockwave straight into the center of the celebration.
Boom!
A deafening blast roared as a mushroom cloud shot into the sky.
It was like a signal. With the explosion as the center, magma began to erupt from the ground hundreds of meters around. The molten waves surged again and again, crashing toward the middle like a living tide.
Meanwhile, the marines who had been lying in wait near the port rose all at once and charged at the remaining members of the World Pirates.
...
At the heart of the molten chaos.
Bang!
A huge hole burst open through the lava. World shot out of it, his body fully coated in hardened Armament Haki. He held his older brother Byojack in his arms and called loudly in all directions.
"Gairam! Sebastian! Nightin!"
In the distance, a section of magma broke apart into neat cubes and floated away. Gairam's voice followed.
"I'm fine!"
He stood up awkwardly, his body covered in burns. Despite the injuries, he was still gripping his giant hammer.
"Fish-Man Karate: Arabesque Brick Fist!"
From beneath another layer of molten rock, a powerful shout rang out.
Boom!
The lava exploded skyward, revealing two figures.
One of them was Sebastian, a towering fishman with blue skin. Fins extended from his head and arms, and he wore sunglasses even in this situation. Beside him stood the crew's doctor, Nightin, in a pink dress. Her white coat had been mostly burned away, leaving her looking battered and scorched.
Seeing that his most trusted crew members were alive, World let out a breath of relief. As for the others, he didn't need to think about it. No one else could've survived that explosion.
He first gently laid Byojack down, then turned his furious gaze toward the golden giant.
"Sengoku!!!"
With a roar, he grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground and coated them in Armament Haki.
"More-More Hundredfold Gun!"
Whoosh!
A burst of piercing air rang out as he threw them hard. The flying stones suddenly expanded a hundredfold in midair, their speed multiplying just as fast. They tore through the sky, slamming into Sengoku's golden form.
Boom!
The projectiles shattered on impact, failing to break through the massive body. Sengoku waved a giant hand, dispersing the cloud of dust.
But World was already gone.
Suddenly, Sengoku sensed something. He swung a palm behind him.
Boom!
His strike landed only on World's afterimage, blasting a huge crater into the ground.
Sengoku remained calm and thoughtful. 'Fifty times the speed, huh…'
...
Elsewhere on the battlefield.
After World rushed out, Gairam was about to check on his allies when a sudden chill ran down his spine. Every hair on his body stood on end.
His instincts screamed danger. Death. Certain death!
"Cube Break!"
He activated his Devil Fruit power and swung behind him, exactly where the danger was coming from.
Crack!
The sickening sound of bones snapping echoed out as he was sent flying. He crashed into the ruins of a building, the impact shaking the ground with a deafening boom.
Standing where Gairam had just been was Sakazuki.
The Vice Admiral glanced down at his right hand, now crumbling into molten, cubic chunks of magma.
He frowned slightly. 'What a ridiculous Paramecia…'
In the instant their blows had clashed earlier, Sakazuki's Armament Haki was broken apart. He had immediately canceled the Haki and allowed his arm to shift into magma; even so, his fist was diced into cubes and fell away.
But it didn't matter.
Sakazuki calmly regenerated his arm, magma solidified into a new fist as his body tensed.
Then—he vanished.
In the next second, he reappeared above the wreckage, where Gairam had crashed.
From within the rubble, Gairam's voice rang out.
"Cube Booster!"
Boom!
The shattered ruins split apart into large blocks that shot into the sky. Sakazuki stood on one of the rising cubes, his right arm pulsed with a red glow as he raised it high.
A colossal magma fist formed and slammed downward, pulverizing the block beneath his feet. The falling magma fist burst in midair, exploding like fireworks across the battlefield—each blast raining fiery destruction below.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Gairam, now in the square-shaped crater, darted between the explosions. While dodging, he extended both arms wide, clapped them together in front of his chest—forming a shimmering, translucent cube—and hurled it skyward.
"Air Cube Booster!"
A condensed cube of compressed air shot toward Sakazuki like a cannonball. But in the instant Gairam released it, the Vice Admiral vanished again.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of the pirate.
Before the latter could react, Sakazuki's entire body surged with pitch-black Armament Haki. He grabbed the airborne cube with one hand and smashed it down onto Gairam's terrified face.
BOOM!!!
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