While Rear Admiral Baburus was locked in a fierce battle with Daz Bones and MR.5, Valentine had also drawn the attention of a powerful Marine Captain. Her abilities posed too great a threat to regular Marine elites.
This Captain was nearly as strong as a Rear Admiral. Even criminals with bounties over 100 million would struggle to gain the upper hand against him.
Valentine was having a hard time. Her attacks couldn't land on this Captain, who had mastered Rokushiki techniques. Fortunately, the young sea bull occasionally helped her out.
In terms of pure combat strength—disregarding experience and temperament—the sea bull wasn't far off from a Rear Admiral and had exceptional speed.
Meanwhile, Migs was leading the crew in a brutal clash with Marine elites. Blood stained the Dawn's deck, sparks flew from clashing blades, and gunfire occasionally rang out.
The close-quarters combat intensified. Nico Robin scanned the battlefield from the ship, frowning. Though they were holding off the Marines for now, the enemy's numerical superiority gave them a clear long-term advantage.
And that wasn't counting the warships still approaching. Robin's eyes turned to the lookout point—she could already see the incoming vessels. If this continued, they'd be completely surrounded.
"Enel, are you ready yet?" Robin no longer had anyone protecting her, but as a Flower-Flower Fruit user, she could still handle herself. The average Marine elite wouldn't be able to overwhelm her so easily.
The key now was the main battlefield. She looked toward a nearby Marine warship—it was mostly destroyed and likely unable to sail, much less give chase.
"Even if you destroy our ships, what's the point? Don't think you can escape me." Akainu's voice was cold and murderous. Boiling magma churned around him as he overpowered both opponents.
Rosen and Hathaway's breathing was ragged. Even though it had been a brief exchange, Rosen had gauged Akainu's strength. He was a full-fledged admiral-level fighter—exceptional in all three areas: physical combat, Devil Fruit mastery, and Haki.
Not just proficient, but expert in all three. Rosen suspected he was even stronger than Kizaru—unless Kizaru had been holding back when they fought.
"Inugami Guren!" Akainu didn't let up. He aimed to take out Rosen first. While Hathaway was incredibly powerful, it was Rosen's right-hand ability that posed a more dangerous threat.
During their clash, Akainu noticed that Rosen's strange power was starting to corrode his Armament Haki. Though it could temporarily resist, prolonged contact would become dangerous.
Was this the bizarre ability Borsalino had mentioned? And his physical skills were actually quite good, too. What kind of sloppy work had Marine Intelligence been doing? They'd said his strength was average and relied mostly on his Devil Fruit.
The intel was way off. The combination of these two had earned Akainu's full attention. Alone, they wouldn't worry him—even with admiral-level abilities—but together, they were a threat.
Akainu launched Inugami Guren—his arm melted into magma, forming a flaming dog's head that shot toward Rosen's head like a prehistoric beast.
"Instant Annihilation: Bind." Rosen didn't back down—there wasn't time to retreat.
He had just blocked Akainu's last strike, while Hathaway had been kicked away. Though she blocked with her solar blade and wasn't injured, she was briefly knocked out of the fight.
"If you want to kill me first, come on, then." Rosen's eyes burned with madness. With no way out, he had no choice but to fight to the death. He coated his hand in Haki and grabbed the oncoming lava dog's head.
Sizzle!
Even with Haki, the searing heat of the magma instantly penetrated it. His hand turned red—without Haki, it would've melted instantly.
But Rosen activated Instant Annihilation: Bind the moment he grabbed it. His right hand formed a claw that seized and locked the target, preventing it from escaping.
Visibly, the lava's flames began to fade. Lava is essentially burning rock or liquefied magma—either way, it can be evaporated.
"Armament!" Akainu had anticipated this corrosive ability. He covered the dog's head in stronger Haki and summoned even more vibrant magma to reinforce the attack, making Inugami Guren denser and larger.
Boom!
A burst of force sent Rosen flying. Then, Akainu detached the magma dog and shot it forward. Rosen responded by severing his right sand arm: "Hyper Oscillation: Total Sand Annihilation!"
The high-frequency, unstable sand formed a destructive bomb. The crimson sand arm exploded toward the magma dog.
In an instant, the two collided like a nuclear detonation. The shockwave tore through the clouds, making Enel frown—creating thunderclouds wasn't easy.
But the power of the main battlefield left him in awe. So it was true—the captain was right. The surface world was filled with monsters. If he went up against that man alone, he'd be torn apart.
Damn it!
Fragments of magma and sand rained down on the warships. Lava bombs blasted holes into the decks and spread fires. Akainu had no time to deal with them now.
The fallen sand corroded the wooden boards where it landed, leaving cratered scars.
"Shadow of the Sword Fiend!" Everything happened in an instant. Hathaway, though knocked back, quickly regained her footing.
She erupted into a burst of crimson aura—more vivid and condensed than before. If her prior blood mist was faint, this one was solid and dense.
She slashed with overwhelming sword energy. A screaming demonic shadow lunged at Akainu, tearing through the already broken ship and nearly slicing it in half. Only the rear remained intact.
If Akainu dodged, the ship would be finished. But if he captured these two, even the loss of three or five warships would be acceptable.
However, Rosen and Hathaway clearly had more than destruction in mind. As the sword aura flew at him, Akainu realized something deeper: "They're trying to destroy the footing, limiting my battlefield mobility—a reckless, bold strategy."
Only Crocodile was a Devil Fruit user. The Crimson Queen wasn't. That meant they weren't trying to win—they wanted to drag him into the sea to escape.
Akainu knew Soru and could fight briefly in the air. But Rosen also knew that if he recklessly entangled Akainu and dragged him into the sea, Hathaway could rescue him in time.
But Akainu, submerged, would lose most of his strength—at that point, Hathaway might be able to take his head with a single strike.
"Iron Body: Absolute Fortress!" Akainu, fully aware, wouldn't allow himself to be put in such a passive position. He stood his ground and extended both palms, covered in Haki. With his hands raised, he created a barrier of condensed air in front of him.
Boom!
The sword fiend was halted a few meters before hitting him, blocked by this invisible wall. Akainu's Rokushiki defense didn't just apply to his body—he could manipulate the air itself to form a shield.
"He figured it out?" Rosen frowned. Akainu could've dodged—but he didn't. The move was familiar. It looked like the same stance used by the Three Admirals to block Whitebeard's quake attack.
What a monster—not just his Devil Fruit, but his physical skills and Haki were all overpowered.
"Die! Final Eruption." After blocking the attack, Akainu clenched his fists and launched a barrage of volcanic bombs in a wide sweep, leaving no room to escape.
Boom boom!
Rosen dodged and destroyed most of the blasts, but one still hit his chest. The lava tried to melt him, but he endured the pain and used sand to snuff it out.
Hathaway also took a hit on her shoulder—her entire arm drenched in blood. She could barely lift it. Luckily, it wasn't her dominant hand. Still, Akainu's strength was beyond anything they'd expected.
"What a commotion... Is it up ahead?" Garp stood at the bow, gazing into the distance. The constant explosions and unmistakable signs of Akainu's magma ability were clear.
"Vice Admiral Garp, what should we do? Form an outer encirclement?" his adjutant asked.
"No. Let's check it out ourselves. Crocodile is still a pirate, isn't he?" Garp's expression turned serious. Even if Crocodile hadn't done anything wrong regarding Lantis, he had killed key figures of Marine HQ and the World Government.
Now that they'd run into him, it couldn't just be ignored.
And if Sakazuki was fighting this seriously, it meant they were up against formidable enemies—ones who could threaten the sea's balance someday.
In the Great Pirate Era, maintaining even a fragile balance was hard. That was why the Shichibukai system had been created—to keep some kind of order.
Of course, Garp didn't yet know that this balance would one day be shattered—and that his grandson would play no small part in it.
Nor did he know of Rosen's connection to the Queen of Lantis. He only had a vague idea—that the World Government's scandal had been exposed, they tried to erase Rosen and Lantis together, and he chose to resist.
"Understood. I'll direct the ship toward the battlefield immediately," the adjutant replied, unsurprised. He knew that while Garp wasn't very active these days, he never ignored pirates. There was a reason the East Blue had remained so quiet over the years.
(End of Chapter)