A massive explosion erupted, sending blistering waves of heat rolling outward in concentric bursts.
At the heart of the blast stood Sakazuki, his body fully coated in Armament Haki. His left hand clutched Gairam's skull. Beneath his palm, the pirate's eyes had already rolled back—he was unconscious.
Sakazuki's fingers tightened.
Crack!
The skull shattered with a sharp, sickening sound. Through his Observation Haki, Sakazuki sensed Gairam's life force disappear in an instant.
Without a second thought, he hurled the lifeless body in the direction he had already predicted. The corpse sailed through the air and crashed hard right in front of World.
The pirate captain, in the middle of a ferocious battle against Sengoku while accelerating his body fiftyfold, froze at the sight.
Sengoku seized the opening. A white glow flared in his golden palm. A semi-transparent shockwave burst forth and crashed down, engulfing World in a crushing force.
Buzz—!
The roar of compressed air ripped through the sky. Then came a blinding golden light that lit up the night like daylight. The ground convulsed from the impact, and a crater over a hundred meters wide appeared where the shockwave had struck.
At the bottom, World stood bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His Haki-coated body was cracked and mangled. But his expression had twisted into one of pure rage.
"You dare… You actually dare…!!! More-More Hundredfold Speed!!!"
The earth beneath him exploded. Before Sengoku could react, World vanished from sight.
He reappeared directly in front of Sakazuki, who failed to sense him in time. World's fist slammed into his chest.
"Dieeeee!!!"
Caught off guard, he was sent flying through the air, a deep fist-shaped dent caved into his chest. He shot backward like a cannonball, crashing into an old, broken-down building that collapsed under the impact.
Before he could steady himself, the frenzied World struck again.
But Sakazuki didn't resist. He let his body be knocked away in a chosen direction, pretending he couldn't block the attack. Gradually, the two of them moved away from the center of the town.
Sengoku watched Sakazuki getting blown back, but his expression didn't change. He wasn't worried. Byrnndi World's Devil Fruit made him tricky to deal with, but aside from that, he was just a strong pirate with decent Armament Haki.
The towering golden Buddha turned toward the three remaining World Pirates fleeing in panic. In his palm, a glowing orb of compressed energy formed. With a flick, the air cracked. The shockwave howled through the sky, sweeping up everything in its path as it hurtled toward the three.
Hearing the roar of wind from behind, Sebastian, the massive fish-giant and strongest of the trio, glanced back.
His pupils shrank. The incoming shockwave filled his vision. Fear seized him, but he gritted his teeth and stopped running. Planting his feet, he let out a defiant roar.
"Fishman Karate: 5,000 Brick Fist!!!"
He pulled back his right fist to his waist and launched it forward with all his might, punching the giant wave of energy head-on.
Crack!
The bones in his arm snapped like twigs. His arm went limp from the force, and the shockwave blasted him off his feet, slamming him into the other two pirates.
BOOM!
A huge mushroom cloud erupted, and the violent gusts scattered the smoke. When it cleared, only devastation remained.
Byojack, World's older brother, was dead.
Sebastian lay unconscious.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap...
Heavy footsteps echoed as Sengoku, still in his golden form, approached.
Nightin, the ship's doctor, crawled desperately toward Sebastian. She pulled a green syringe from her coat pocket and stabbed it into his body.
The fishman's body twitched violently. A few seconds later, his figure expanded as he suddenly opened his eyes. But those eyes were blood-red, filled with nothing but madness.
Sengoku stared at the mindless Sebastian charging straight at him. His expression remained blank.
Buzz—!
Another shockwave gathered in his palm. His golden hand came crashing down like a divine hammer. As Sebastian let out a pained, feral roar, a blinding golden light swallowed him whole.
When the explosion's force finally died down, something heavy fell from the sky—a massive, blue arm crashed to the ground.
Nightin looked toward the approaching golden Buddha in horror. She scrambled backward, crawling and stumbling in panic, but despite her effort, the distance between them kept shrinking.
Sengoku was already behind her.
Overwhelmed by fear, she suddenly fought back. With trembling fingers, she reached into her pocket and threw a handful of powder, screaming in desperation.
"Poiso—"
Boom!
Before she could finish, a golden palm slammed down, silencing her forever.
The ground trembled. When the dust settled, the battlefield was still.
Now, aside from Sengoku, not a single soul was left alive here.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Sakazuki, who had been leading World on purpose, was finally nearing the edge of town.
Right before crossing the town limits, he was smashed into a fruit stall. The shop was in shambles, and the heavy bloodstains made it clear what had happened here before.
Earlier, when Sakazuki had gone underground to manipulate the magma, he had already memorized the layout of this town. This fruit stall had a basement filled with fresh fruit, and plenty of it still scattered across the ground above.
Finally at his destination, he stopped holding back and pushed his Observation Haki to the limit, trying to predict World's next punch.
Boom!
Sakazuki reached out, but missed by a hair. Even so, he wasn't knocked away—his feet stayed firmly planted on the ground.
He reached out again in another direction. Missed again, just barely. After taking several hits, his precision sharpened. At last, his predictions succeeded.
The moment World's body moved, Sakazuki reached out and grabbed at the air.
Smack!
He caught the pirate's wrist.
World's eyes widened in shock. He tried to pull back, but it didn't budge.
A sharp glint flashed in Sakazuki's eyes. His left hand clamped tightly around World's wrist and yanked him forward.
His right hand, coated in jet-black Armament Haki, surged with power. With the force of the pull, World's body slammed straight into Sakazuki's incoming fist.
Boom!
The punch landed square on the pirate's chest. The sound of bones cracking echoed clearly in both their ears.
As Sakazuki's fist sunk deep into his body, the searing pain shot straight to World's brain, stunning him for a split second. The vice admiral followed up with a kick to World's knee.
The body's pain response snapped World back to reality, and he raised his Haki-covered left leg, trying to counter.
Crack!
Sakazuki's kick shattered World's left knee, bending it grotesquely forward.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!"
World howled in agony.
However, Sakazuki's foot didn't stop. It stomped down hard toward World's ankle. The sound of bones breaking rang out over and over. His right foot crushed World's ankle completely.
The unbearable pain drove World mad. His face twisted in rage and suffering. He roared and swung a fist at Sakazuki's head. The vice admiral tilted his head to the side, narrowly dodging the blow, while his right leg lashed out again.
Crack!
World's right knee shattered next. His body instantly dropped in height. With a surge of strength in his left arm, Sakazuki hoisted the pirate up.
Then came a spinning roundhouse kick. World's upright body was knocked sideways mid-air like a rag doll.
Sakazuki's left hand still held onto World's wrist. He yanked it sharply to the left.
His right hand grabbed World's broken leg.
At the same time, he raised his own right knee high.
And then—slammed both hands down with full force.
CRACK!!!
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