Akainu arrived at the center of the island and saw Caelan standing calmly beside the two Celestial Dragons, who were tied to a tree and still bleeding.
"How dare you! Let the Celestial Dragons go!"
Akainu glared at them, visibly anxious.
He had assumed the Celestial Dragons were already dead, but they were still alive.
If he could rescue them, he might gain even more favor from the Five Elders—his chances of becoming the next Fleet Admiral would increase significantly.
"Haha, beat me, and they're yours."
Caelan responded with a chuckle, ignoring Akainu's anger.
I'm lying. Even if you win, I'm not giving them up.
Akainu's face darkened.
"You came here alone without waiting for the other two? Sounds like you have a death wish."
Caelan looked up, sneering.
He had anticipated fighting all three of them at once. Just Akainu wasn't enough to enjoy himself.
Akainu was furious, magma flowing faintly across his body.
"Well, a warm-up before everyone else arrives isn't bad. Akainu, just don't die too quickly."
Caelan stood, a trace of excitement flashing in his eyes.
As a Marine Admiral, he had never been looked down on like this. Did this guy think he had surpassed even the Four Emperors?
The next moment, he was fully engulfed in magma, like a demon emerging from the depths of hell.
The surrounding greenery scorched yellow under the intense heat, and even the sun seemed crueler.
The ground beneath him melted, and dark red magma flowed freely.
"Hellhound!"
His magma-covered right arm smashed toward Caelan.
Caelan didn't dodge. Instead, he stabbed his giant sword into the ground and threw a punch with his right hand, wanting to test his newly gained strength.
Bang!
The moment his fist met the magma, the result was immediate and overwhelming.
Akainu's entire magma arm shattered from the impact, splashing into countless droplets of molten rock.
"What… impossible!"
Even with elementalization, Akainu's face was frozen in disbelief as he reformed his arm. His expression turned from rage to fear.
One punch had shattered both his magma and his ambition.
He had come thinking he could take Caelan down solo. That dream shattered alongside his right arm.
That kind of power… he had never seen anything like it.
Not even Kaido, who had barged into Marineford seven times, could match this level of brute force. This was at least 30% more terrifying.
As their clash continued, the two Celestial Dragons were roasted awake. They stared at Akainu in stunned disbelief.
"You're really resilient."
Caelan narrowed his eyes and muttered softly.
They were descendants of the original nineteen kings from 800 years ago. Their bloodlines really did come with absurd physical durability.
Even with injuries like theirs, they were already starting to recover.
"Akainu, kill this sinner!"
Saint Charlos yelled in panic.
"Akainu, kill that pariah!"
Saint Rosward barked an order without hesitation.
In their minds, now that a Marine Admiral had arrived, Caelan's end was guaranteed.
"…"
Akainu frowned, suppressing the urge to curse aloud.
He had just taken a punch and hadn't even recovered yet.
Now these two idiots were provoking Caelan right in front of him. Were they trying to get themselves killed?
"Haha, morons."
Caelan sneered, kicked two clumps of dirt into the air, and shot them clean into the Celestial Dragons' mouths.
Crack!
Teeth shattered, blood filled their mouths, and soil choked their throats.
"Mm! Mm! Mm!"
The two Celestial Dragons looked at Caelan in terror, whimpering through blood and dirt.
They had never imagined Caelan would be so brazen, even in front of a Marine Admiral.
Akainu's face darkened further. He charged with his lava fist, hurling himself at Caelan again.
Caelan didn't hold back. He met him with bare fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every blow from Caelan shattered part of Akainu's body into magma, which then reformed quickly.
The splashes of magma scorched the surroundings, burning holes into trees and setting the air alight.
The Celestial Dragons screamed as magma splattered onto them, writhing in agony.
"AAAH! AAH! AAH!"
Saint Charlos and Saint Rosward looked at Akainu in horror, their faces turning pale.
Is this what you call rescuing? It would've been better if you hadn't come!
They were being roasted alive!
And this so-called Admiral was clearly promoted through backdoor connections. He couldn't even put up a fight against Caelan.
They dangled from the tree like salted fish, hopeless.
If not even a Marine Admiral could defeat Caelan, all they could do was wait to die.
"Huff... huff..."
Akainu had no energy to care what the Celestial Dragons thought. His face was a dark shade of green from exhaustion.
Each of Caelan's punches could crush his magma body. Though he could recover quickly, the physical toll was real.
He had previously mocked Aokiji for needing two months of rest after fighting Caelan for five days and five nights. He thought Aokiji was just lazy.
Now, he realized Aokiji had actually gotten lucky.
Fighting a monster like Caelan for five days and nights and surviving was practically a miracle.
At this rate, Akainu would be lucky to last one day before getting beaten to death.
Is Aokiji really that much stronger than me?
Akainu couldn't help but question himself.
The possibility that Caelan had simply grown this much in such a short time?
He didn't even consider it.
He would never believe that Caelan could rise from Admiral-level to beyond Admiral in just a dozen days. That kind of growth rate was faster than Kizaru flying at full speed.
Just then, Garp and Borsalino finally arrived.
With two powerful reinforcements, Akainu finally felt a sense of relief.
Akainu panted heavily, but a smile crept across his face.
Defeating one Admiral was one thing. Facing all three? Not even the Four Emperors would stick around for that.
"Afraid of three of you together? Me?"
Caelan pulled his massive sword from the ground, his fighting spirit erupting sky-high.
"To have pushed Sakazuki this far... Caelan's strength is truly terrifying."
Borsalino adjusted his glasses and spoke with emotion.
Akainu hadn't even been here long, yet he already looked like a mess.
"Haha! Akainu, not bad. Couldn't even hold your ground for a few minutes!"
Garp cracked his knuckles and laughed.
Even though he didn't agree with Akainu's beliefs, he couldn't deny his strength—he was certainly stronger than Aokiji.
But now, even Garp couldn't help feeling serious as he looked at Caelan.
Akainu's face darkened further. Why were his teammates mocking him?
"What's wrong? Backing out before we even start?"
Caelan smirked, his tone relaxed.
"That's not it. I don't want to fight you, but I can't ignore orders from above."
Borsalino looked at Caelan with a slight headache forming.
Caelan was still filled with fighting spirit despite being outnumbered three to one. There were only two explanations.
Either he was extremely confident and didn't fear fighting three Admirals at once...
Or he was a lunatic ready to go down swinging.
Either way, it was going to be a nightmare.
(To be continued.)