Chapter 292: The Marines' Last Stand, the Five Elders Descend!
On the shore, near the luxury cruise ship.
"The Marine fleet has been completely annihilated," Smoker said, a cigar in his mouth, as he casually tossed the unconscious Vice Admiral Strawberry onto the sand. "The officers who broke through with Akainu have also been dealt with. The ones who are still alive are basically all here."
"So you were the one fighting Strawberry?" Nojiko asked, rubbing her sore wrist with a smile. "Good work. I was planning to go after him myself." At her feet lay another Marine Vice Admiral, though not as famous or experienced as Strawberry.
"An opponent of that level is nothing," Smoker said, feigning indifference, though he was secretly pleased. He exhaled a puff of smoke. "He's nothing compared to that Sweet Commander, Snack."
Back when he first entered the New World, a mere base commander like Vergo had given him a run for his money. But now… Smoker felt he could confidently say that there was no longer a single active Marine Vice Admiral he feared. Even if the famous Vice Admiral Momonga were here, he could at least fight him to a draw!
"Only the two Admirals are left," Zoro said, walking over and looking out at the sea. "Kizaru is being held down by Uncle Issho and the others. He won't last much longer. But the fight between Akainu and Big Bro Shane isn't over yet."
"Idiot, their opponents are the Marines' top fighting force. A fight like that won't be over so quickly," Sanji said, rolling his eyes. He was about to say more when he suddenly stopped, his ear twitching. The others also turned their heads. The sound of explosions from the valley had suddenly grown more intense, and the ground began to tremble.
"Looks like it's reached a critical point," Zoro said, his eyes narrowing. "Since there's nothing else to do, should we go take a look?"
"Don't be an idiot. The aftershock of that fight could kill you," Smoker said, moving the cigar to the other side of his mouth and giving them a look. "A newborn calf fears no tiger. You really think you can just waltz into the captain's fight?" Just the shockwave from their Conqueror's Haki would probably be enough to knock these two brats out! What help could they be? Did the captain need their help?
Zoro and Sanji exchanged a look. They both remembered the suffocating, soul-trembling pressure they had felt when they faced Akainu in the valley. They let out an awkward laugh. Rushing over there would be suicide. They had no desire to have a hole punched through their chests by Akainu…
BOOM!
Another violent tremor shook the entire forest. Or rather, it could no longer be called a forest. After hours of fighting, Akainu's fruit ability had turned the entire valley into a molten hellscape. All the vegetation had been burned to charcoal, the streams had evaporated, and even the exposed rock had melted into a red-hot, bubbling ooze.
In this apocalyptic scene… SWOOSH!
Shane, who had just been knocked down, shot out from the rain of fire, a series of sonic booms trailing behind him. His hand, wreathed in black-and-red Haki, clamped down on Akainu's neck.
WHOOSH!
The terrifying wind pressure made Akainu's face contort. He struggled to break Shane's grip, but the black-and-red lightning was like vines, binding him tightly.
"Hey, old dog, that punch you hit me with earlier really hurt! How about you get a taste of this!" Shane grinned, tightening his grip. Then, like he was throwing a bowling ball, he slammed him downwards!
"Deep Submergence!!!"
Garp had used this move in the battle on Hachinosu, sending his prized student, Aokiji, plunging from the sky into the sea. And now, against Akainu, who was on par with Aokiji, he could do the same! As for the fact that there was no sea… it didn't matter! This sea of magma would do just fine!
BOOM!!!
Under the immense force, Akainu's body slammed into the magma like a meteor, punching a hundred-meter-deep crater in the ground and setting off a volcanic eruption.
SPLASH!
Searing magma shot up dozens of meters high, solidifying in mid-air into black volcanic rock that rained down. This time, it took a full four or five seconds for Akainu to stagger to his feet in the deep crater. He was covered in blood, his cap gone. His "Justice" coat and red suit were in tatters, revealing a body covered in burns and bruises. But his presence was still powerful, and his eyes were even more ferocious.
"Cough… cough cough!" Akainu spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with magma and glared up at Shane, who was hovering in the air. "You think that's enough to beat me?! We're not done yet, brat!"
"As I thought…" Shane hovered in the air, his arms crossed, looking down at Akainu with a raised eyebrow.
Tough! So damn tough! In this world, with a few exceptions, almost everyone at the Admiral and Yonko level was a monster of endurance! They were all tougher than Jack! Shane had managed to gain the upper hand and suppress Akainu, but to completely defeat him… this was not nearly enough time. A fight like that was measured in days and nights!
"Magma Prison: Core Eruption!"
Akainu roared, slamming his arms into the ground and pumping a massive amount of magma into the earth's crust. A low rumble came from deep within the fractured, molten ground, as if a sleeping giant had been awakened.
RUMBLE!
The ground within a thousand-meter radius exploded! Hundreds of magma pillars, each over ten meters in diameter, shot up from the ground like the fangs of hell, sealing off all escape routes and turning the entire area into a deathtrap.
"A new move?" Shane's eyes narrowed. This seemed to be an awakened ability of the Magma-Magma Fruit, turning the entire ground into magma, compressing it to the extreme, and then unleashing it all at once. The destructive power and the sheer number of pillars were far greater than Meteor Volcano. He couldn't be careless! Akainu had rarely gone all out in the original story, so he had never seen this move. He could tank Meteor Volcano, but he couldn't be so arrogant with this. He had to punch his way through!
"Then let's see, is your magma harder, or are my fists harder!"
BOOM!
A sharp glint in his eyes, Shane shot downwards, charging straight at the magma pillars! The first pillar came at him, and without hesitation, he threw his right fist, wreathed in terrifying Conqueror's Haki!
BANG!!!
With a deafening roar, the ten-meter-wide magma pillar was shattered by the punch, exploding into a rain of fire!
"One!" Shane didn't stop, continuing his charge.
"Two!" Another heavy punch, and the second magma pillar exploded!
"Three! Four! Five!" One punch after another, each with a devastating force that pulverized the magma pillars in his path! Shane weaved through the pillars, and with a series of thunderous booms, he carved a path through the molten hellscape!
However, such an explosive assault came at a great cost. By the time he had smashed through dozens of pillars and reached Akainu, Shane's breathing was ragged, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Hoo… hoo…" He was panting slightly, the Armament Haki on his right fist a little dimmer, but the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter. "Looks like your move isn't all that great, old dog." Shane glanced at his bloody, mangled fist, unconcerned, and sneered at Akainu. "Any other new tricks? Bring them on. Don't disappoint me!"
"…" Akainu's face grew even darker. He had been planning this move for a while, waiting for the terrain to be completely transformed into magma so he could unleash his home-field advantage with minimal effort. But he hadn't expected Shane to brute-force his way through it. Although it had drained a lot of Shane's stamina and caused some minor injuries, it was far from the intended effect! Far from it! This made Akainu even more anxious. Borsalino was already putting his life on the line. If this dragged on, before he could take this kid down…
Hmm? Akainu's expression suddenly changed. At the same time, Shane's head snapped up. In that instant, they both felt it. Time had frozen! Or rather, it had thickened… The sound of the burning flames, the whistling wind, all of it grew distant and unreal. Even the boiling magma hung suspended in mid-air. Everything was trapped in a near-motionless mire.
VWOOM!
In the next instant, five massive, five-pointed stars, inscribed with black, auspicious cloud patterns, appeared out of thin air, and from them, blinding purple-black lightning shot into the sky, piercing the heavens!
"This is…" Akainu's eyes were wide with shock. As a Marine Admiral, he recognized this power. It was the symbol of the highest authority in the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, the core of the World Government that stood above the Marines—the unique teleportation sigil of the Five Elders!
But five of them? Did that mean that all five of those old men had, for the first time ever, descended upon the world at the same time?!!!
"So you've finally come?" The sudden gust of wind whipped Shane's hair, and his clothes flapped wildly. He looked around at the five sigils and grinned. "Hey, hey, to think your auras are so evil and grotesque. Even more disgusting than the Holy Knights."
The Marines were at their breaking point. The arrival of the Five Elders was not entirely unexpected. But for all of them to come at once? They were really giving him a lot of face!
CRACK CRACK!
Space twisted violently, and five mountain-sized demonic silhouettes rose from the magic circles, slowly materializing in the center of the spreading darkness!
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the spider-bodied monster with an ox's head—an Ushi-Oni!
Saint Marcus Mars, the phoenix-faced bird with the body of a serpent, its wings blotting out the sky—an Itsumade!
Saint Topman Warcury, the giant beast with tusks that pierced the heavens, like a moving mountain—a Houki!
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, the grotesque giant worm that crawled beneath the earth—a Sandworm!
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the giant skeletal horse draped in a tattered horse hide—a Bakotsu!
Behind the heads of all five demons swirled the flame-clouds characteristic of an awakened Zoan. But the clouds were not pure white; they were an unsettling purple-black. The clouds churned like the fires of hell, and in an instant, they had stained the entire sky an ominous dark color!
"This pressure…" Shane narrowed his eyes, looking up. Above him was the giant skeletal horse. "Shane," the skeletal horse's face transformed into a half-human, half-beast form. The bald old man held the Shodai Kitetsu, his blade pointed down at Shane. "Blasphemer who dares to slaughter the descendants of the creators… your crime is unforgivable. Today, you will be executed here!"
"This conflict in the lower world is over," the phoenix-faced bird-monster said, looking down at Shane. "We did not come to fight. We came to execute, and to show a fool like you who the true, eternal rulers of this world are."
"Sakazuki," the Ushi-Oni, Saturn, said, leaning on his cane. "Your performance has been disappointing. However, we are willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself."
Akainu clenched his fists, his face grim at the public scolding. "A chance? What do you mean?"
Saturn didn't answer. Instead, he looked up at the other four giant demons, and with a tacit understanding, they all spoke in a low voice, "Divine Binding!"
HISS HISS!
Before the words had even faded, five beams of purple-black energy shot out from their bodies, coiling around Shane's limbs and neck like vines, holding him suspended in mid-air!
Hmm? Shane's expression changed. His muscles bulged as he struggled, and the purple-black beams creaked and cracked. But they seemed to be endless, constantly regenerating. For a moment, he was completely unable to break free!
"What are you waiting for, Sakazuki! Maintaining this Divine Binding is not easy! End this audacious fool at once!" Saturn's eyes narrowed as he spoke in a cold voice!
Akainu, who had been staring in a daze, snapped back to reality, his eyes blazing with killing intent. From the standpoint of a duel between warriors, this was a shameful act, something he would never stoop to. But this was different. Faction and position were paramount. To uphold justice and order, to execute a pirate, there was no room for hesitation!
"This is the end, Shane!" Akainu roared, his arms instantly transforming into magma as he charged at the bound Shane!
"Dark Hound!"
HISS!!!
This attack was at full power. The magma fist slammed into Shane's chest, instantly piercing it, incinerating his heart, and leaving a horrifying, gaping hole!
"Good," the Five Elders said, all of them looking pleased. They had seen it clearly. Akainu's attack had pierced Shane's heart. The farce was over! This man who had caused them so much trouble, and the crew he had founded, would cease to exist from this day forward!
"…"
Akainu, however, froze, a look of shock and uncertainty in his eyes. Something's wrong. It was too easy. As someone who had fought Shane multiple times, he knew how durable he was. Even if he was bound, he shouldn't have been taken down so easily. And… He snapped his head up, his eyes fixed on Shane's face. The black-haired young man, with a hole in his chest and his heart gone, was… still smiling?
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