"Tch!"
Suddenly abandoned by her opponent, Esdeath also sensed the imminent danger brewing beneath the ground. She didn't know about explosive-rock, but the crushing pressure—similar to when she challenged Boros—forced even the battle-hungry Esdeath to give up the chase.
With two top-tier fighters turning tail, the remaining elite combatants quickly sensed danger as well. The clever ones immediately followed Esdeath in retreat; the rest, seeing everyone else run, instinctively followed.
By the time some mid-level fighters skilled in Observation Haki realized something was wrong, it was already far too late.
Rrrrrrrrrrrr—
Countless blinding pillars of light erupted from the earth, like innumerable red suns rising at once along the horizon!
Blinding light burst from beneath the earth, instantly illuminating the Red Port and the surrounding sea. It was as if the entire world brightened for a moment. Even Mariejois, suspended ten thousand meters above sea level, could clearly see the brilliant flash of the Red Port's explosion.
The searing glare quickly dimmed, turning into clusters of orange-red fireballs. As this transformation occurred, the entire outer perimeter of the Red Port buckled upward.
The ground could not withstand the violent force pushing from below. The once-flat coastline rapidly warped into a smooth arc, as if the fortress—built of reinforced steel and concrete—were nothing more than flowing water that could be shaped at will.
At the peak of that arc hovered the red fireballs, still rising, like newborn suns emerging in the morning sky.
In an instant, smoke and flames erupted from the depths, completely tearing apart the already-deformed ground!
Columns of molten lava shot skyward, and thick black smoke gathered into an enormous mushroom cloud, rising so high that it nearly reached the level of Mariejois in the clouds.
Even the Red Line trembled faintly from the cataclysmic blast. The explosion devoured nearly one-third of the Red Port. The shockwave blasted the sea back hundreds of meters, exposing the coral reefs hidden deep below the surface.
The massive tsunami that followed swallowed over a hundred pirate ships, then swept toward the Red Port itself, dragging thousands of "lucky survivors"—those who hadn't died instantly despite being on the outskirts of the blast—down into the depths.
"What… what is that?!!!"
"Damn it! I'm done fighting! The World Government is full of lunatics!"
"Aaaaaaah! I'm going to kill them!"
…
The pirates who had already forced their way deep into the Red Port survived by sheer luck, but after witnessing the devastating power of the Pyrobombs—watching their comrades be swallowed by the blast—most of them were terrified out of their minds. Some even snapped entirely.
Fortunately, the Holy Land Guard Army did not seize the opportunity to counterattack. They too were shaken and terrified by the explosion. Who could have imagined that the World Government they fought so desperately to protect would be so ruthless?
When the blast occurred, at least a thousand soldiers of the Sacred Guard Army were still holding the coastal defense line. Within the affected zone, several thousand more were locked in combat with the pirates.
And in the blink of an eye, all of them were consumed by the explosion and the ensuing tsunami. The World Government hadn't even cared about their lives—not a single order to retreat was given.
After recovering from their shock, many soldiers felt a chill run down their spines. Many of them had only survived because they happened to pull back from the defense line moments earlier. Had they been even a little closer, they would have been blown apart or drowned, pirates or no.
"Hmph. As expected of the Steelbone family. Kong really outdid himself this time."
In Mariejois, the Gorosei—having already prepared everything—were observing the battlefield through a transponder snail.
Seeing that a single order from Steelbone Kong had wiped out tens of thousands of pirates, Saint Saturn wore a satisfied smile.
"But the coastal defense line he insisted on fortifying collapsed far too quickly… it didn't even withstand the pirates' first wave of attacks…"
Nasjuro Saint shook his head, speaking with obvious dissatisfaction.
After all, in order to support Kong, they had suppressed quite a lot of complaints from the nobles of the allied nations.
They had spent an enormous amount of manpower and resources, even delaying the reorganization and training of the Holy Land's Guardian Army.
And yet, the coastal defense line they finally managed to complete had been shattered instantly by the first division of those pirates.
This made Nasjuro Saint question Kong's judgment and ability, and naturally, dissatisfaction toward him grew.
"Hahaha, who could've expected those pirates to send out such a powerful fighter right at the start? You can't really blame Kong for that. Besides, didn't he immediately send Sakazuki to intercept them?"
Peter Saint said, sounding amused as he tried to calm him.
Right now, they needed capable people more than ever. They had many strong fighters under their command, yes—but when it came to commanding a battlefield of this scale, Kong was the only one truly qualified.
And more importantly, Kong had always been absolutely loyal to the World Government and to them.
Although some recent intelligence suggested someone might be plotting something against him, the Gorōsei had never doubted Kong's loyalty.
"Speaking of which… who is that woman? She looks kind of familiar."
Warcury Saint stroked his thick beard, puzzled.
There weren't many people on the seas who could fight Sakazuki to a standstill.
If the opponent hadn't been a woman, and if her body type wasn't completely different, Warcury Saint might have suspected Kuzan was disguising himself.
"She's nothing more than a petty criminal foolish enough to oppose the World Government. Once the Flame of the Holy Mother arrives, no matter who she is, she will have only one end—death."
Saturn Saint tapped the ground with his cane, utterly disdainful.
After seeing with their own eyes the destructive power of the Explosive Rock, the Gorōsei's confidence in the Holy Mother Flame had grown significantly.
A few dozen pieces of Explosive Rock had already wiped out tens of thousands of lowly pirates.
Could that so-called 'Dark Matter Pirate Crew' possibly withstand the Holy Mother Flame—a weapon built to annihilate entire nations?
°°°
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