"Damn it! When I get back this time, I'll definitely report him to Fleet Admiral Sengoku and demand he deduct all of this bastard's salary and vacation time," Akainu growled, his fist clenched tight as magma dripped between his fingers.
The battlefield around him was chaos incarnate. Marine soldiers scrambled for cover as the sky above darkened ominously. Zeus, Big Mom's thundercloud homie, had unleashed a devastating assault that even an Admiral couldn't ignore.
These weren't ordinary lightning bolts. They possessed their own consciousness—a terrifying extension of Big Mom's soul-infusing powers. They required neither Zeus's direct command nor any navigational assistance. Each bolt seemed alive, hunting its target with unnerving precision, changing direction mid-fall until striking with devastating accuracy.
The meteor shower that Akainu had painstakingly prepared—a technique that had required immense concentration and stamina—was systematically destroyed. One by one, his magma projectiles were intercepted and shattered by the sentient lightning, reducing them to nothing more than superheated rocks that plummeted harmlessly into the churning sea below.
Even now, the aerial battle continued unabated. Each time a new lava bomb materialized in the sky, these lightning creatures—not particularly intelligent but single-minded in their purpose—would rush toward it, neutralizing the threat. It wasn't until the magma completely dissipated that the thunderclouds began to recede, if only slightly.
It was in this moment that Akainu fully comprehended the fearsome reputation of the Yonko. The Four Emperors weren't just powerful individuals—they were forces of nature.
"Charlotte Linlin," he muttered through gritted teeth. Stories of Big Mom had always seemed exaggerated to him, tales grown tall in the telling. But now, facing her directly, he understood. Between her immense natural strength, the two homies—Zeus and Prometheus—who functioned like additional Devil Fruit users, and Napoleon, the sentient great sword, fighting her was like battling an entire crew simultaneously.
The realization made his blood boil. He was essentially fighting four opponents at once, and the frustration was maddening.
As this thought crossed his mind, Akainu couldn't help but curse Kizaru in his heart. That lazy bastard should be here fighting alongside me.
Akainu swore fiercely, his hatred palpable in the scorching air around him.
Not far away, Kizaru—who was still "entertaining" Charlotte Katakuri and his two brothers with his light-speed abilities—suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
Goosebumps instantly appeared on his skin beneath his pristine striped suit and shirt. It was as if some sixth sense warned him that something crucial—perhaps his comfortable lifestyle or maybe even his life—was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.
This momentary distraction nearly cost him dearly. The three Sweet Commanders almost landed a coordinated blow that would have caused significant damage. Kizaru barely managed to evade, responding with one of his signature light-speed kicks that even Supernovas feared.
As he regained his composure, his thoughts drifted to the main battlefield. His eyes narrowed behind his tinted glasses as he assessed the situation.
"Well, it's almost time now," he mused, noting that reinforcements from the Marine branches had nearly all arrived. "In that case..."
Raising his hands, he called forth his power. "Yata Mirror~" he intoned in his distinctive, lazy drawl.
Golden light condensed between his palms, forming a gleaming surface. With precise control, he directed the light to avoid the lightning still crackling across the sky. The beam refracted at just the right angle, shooting directly toward Charlotte Linlin.
"Hey~ Sakazuki, I'm here to help you," he called out, his tone deliberately casual despite the gravity of the situation.
Akainu's response was immediate and predictably furious: "Fuck you, you bastard finally came!"
With Kizaru's arrival and the continuous stream of reinforcements from various Marine branches, the tide of battle began to shift. The Pirate Alliance inevitably found itself at a disadvantage, even their formidable backbone—Big Mom Charlotte Linlin—was struggling.
Even with the combined efforts of her Sweet Commanders, they were caught in an increasingly dire situation, surrounded and pressured from all sides.
The only high-ranking Marine not yet engaged in the main battle was Vice Admiral Garp, who was still some distance away. If he were to join forces with Akainu and Kizaru, even Big Mom would face the very real possibility of defeat or capture.
Although the situation grew increasingly unfavorable, Big Mom remained committed to her agreement with Kaido. For King'…she had promised to hold off the Marines for half a day.
This would ensure that even if the Marines eventually prevailed and attempted to provide reinforcements to Wano, they would waste precious time—time enough for Kaido to eliminate the boy who dared to challenge him.
And so, Charlotte Linlin honored her pact with her fellow Emperor, fighting against two Admirals alone to buy the necessary time.
Meanwhile, on an unnamed island near Wano Country, the battle between Kaido and Luffy had reached a fever pitch, the very air crackling with the clash of their wills.
" Kōsanze Ragunaraku!" Kaido bellowed, his voice like thunder.
In mid-air, the Emperor spun his massive kanabo, infusing the iron club with his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki. The Eight Trigrams pattern glowed ominously as he brought the weapon down with earth-shattering force, aiming to crush Luffy from above.
Luffy looked somewhat disheveled at this moment. His clothes were torn in several places, and a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Yet despite his appearance, his expression reflected not fear but intense excitement. The determined light in his eyes burned brighter than ever.
"Bring it on!" he shouted, his voice full of confidence.
Without flinching, Luffy spread his legs to stabilize his stance. He crossed his arms in front of his body, and instantly his form was enveloped in a layer of black Busoshoku Haki, crackling with electric-blue lightning.
"Armament: Thunder Armor: Iron Block!"
He combined his two strongest defensive techniques—the hardening of his Armament Haki and the lightning properties of his Devil Fruit—while simultaneously employing his strongest mental technique to prepare himself for the impact.
Luffy was ready to face this attack head-on. Not just to survive it, but to learn from it.
Kaido held nothing back, bringing down his kanabo with both hands, channeling all his monstrous strength into this single devastating blow.
In an instant, red and black lightning exploded outward from the point of impact. The ground beneath Luffy's feet instantly shattered like glass. The force of the blow drove him downward, his body disappearing into the earth as a massive crater formed around him.
In the sky above the battlefield, Koala, Mansherry, and Violet watched with horrified expressions, their concerns for Luffy written plainly across their faces. When they saw him driven into the ground, they cried out in alarm, fear gripping their hearts.
But surprisingly, Hancock, Gion, and Yamato maintained their composure, their expressions betraying no worry.
They understood what Luffy was doing—using his body to experience and comprehend the true nature of Conqueror's Haki. He hadn't yet unleashed his full strength. They knew that once he mastered this power of the Conqueror, he would become Kaido's worst nightmare.
Just as the women contemplated this, an excited voice echoed from the massive crater Kaido had created.
"Hahaha, I've done it!!" Luffy's jubilant cry rang out, signaling not his defeat, but a breakthrough that would change everything.
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