A deafening explosion ripped through the night.
Scorching waves of heat rolled outward, each hotter than the last.
At the blast's core, Sakazuki—his body sheathed in Armament Haki—clamped his left hand down on Gai-ram's skull. Beneath his palm, Gai-ram's eyes had already rolled back, his will snuffed out.
Sakazuki's fingers tightened.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed. In his Observation Haki, Sakazuki sensed Gai-ram's life force vanish in an instant.
Without hesitation, he hurled Gai-ram's corpse toward his predicted target.
The body crashed down right in front of Byrnndi World—who, at that moment, was locked in a fiftyfold-speed duel with Sengoku.
For a split second, World froze, stunned by the sight of his comrade's mangled body.
Sengoku seized the opening. White light flared in his palm as a massive, semi-transparent shockwave crashed down, pinning World in place.
Buzz—!
The shockwave roared, golden light flooding the night and turning darkness to day. The ground heaved outward from the center, soil and stone upending in a wild ring.
A crater over a hundred meters wide appeared. World stood at its bottom, blood streaming from every orifice, his Haki armor fractured and splintered. His face twisted in manic rage.
"You dare?!"
"YOU DARE?!"
"More-More! Hundredfold Speed!!!"
The crater's floor exploded as World vanished in a blur, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Before Sengoku could react, World reappeared before Sakazuki—his fist already smashing into Sakazuki's chest.
"DIE!!!"
Even with his Observation Haki, Sakazuki couldn't react in time. The punch caved his chest inward and sent him hurtling hundreds of meters, crashing through a dilapidated house that collapsed in a cloud of dust.
He barely had time to adjust his stance before World, wild with rage, struck again. Sakazuki feigned helplessness, allowing his body to be battered further and drawing the fight away from the town center.
Sengoku watched Sakazuki get blasted away without a hint of worry. For all his Devil Fruit's trickiness, Byrnndi World was just a tough pirate with decent Armament Haki once stripped of his abilities.
The towering golden Buddha turned his gaze to the three remaining World Pirates fleeing the ruins. A shockwave sphere formed in his hand.
The blast tore through the air, sweeping up everything in its path as it barreled toward the trio.
Sensing the attack, the burly fish-giant Sebastian spun around, pupils shrinking in terror. But he forced himself to stand his ground, legs braced in a horse stance.
He roared, both to rally himself and his comrades:
"Fish-Man Karate!"
"Five-Thousand Brick Fist!!!"
His right fist, drawn back at his waist, shot forward, slamming into the oncoming shockwave. For half a second, he held firm—
CRACK!
The bones in Sebastian's right arm shattered, the limb dangling uselessly as the shockwave blasted him backward, plowing him into his crewmates.
BOOM!
A mushroom cloud erupted, the gale-force wind scattering smoke and debris.
In an instant, Binjack—World's elder brother—was killed outright.
Sebastian collapsed, unconscious.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heavy footsteps approached. The golden Buddha, Sengoku, strode forward.
The ship's doctor, Naiqin, crawled desperately toward Sebastian, fumbling in her coat for a green syringe. She plunged it into Sebastian's body.
His body convulsed, swelling grotesquely. After a few seconds, his eyes snapped open—now glowing blood-red, stripped of all reason.
Unfazed, Sengoku watched as the berserk fish-giant charged him.
Buzz—!
A shockwave formed in Sengoku's palm, descending like a mountain.
Amid Sebastian's mindless, agonized roars, golden light erupted, detonating with a thunderous blast.
When the dust cleared, a massive blue arm thudded to the ground, torn from above.
Naiqin stared at the advancing golden giant, scrambling and crawling away, but the distance only closed.
When Sengoku finally loomed behind her, terror and despair mingled on her face. She hurled a handful of powder, eyes wild:
"Take—!"
She never finished. Sengoku's enormous golden palm slammed down.
BOOM!
The earth trembled. When the shockwaves faded, only Sengoku remained standing—no other living soul in sight.
Elsewhere, under Sakazuki's careful maneuvering, the battle had drifted to the very edge of town. He was smashed into a fruit stand, the bloodstains inside a grim reminder of earlier carnage.
Earlier, while channeling magma beneath the ground, Sakazuki had memorized the town's layout. This fruit stand had crates of produce scattered everywhere, and an underground warehouse packed with fresh fruit.
He unleashed his Observation Haki, pushing it to the limit to predict World's next move.
BOOM!
He reached out—just missed, but his feet stayed rooted, refusing to be blown away.
Another punch—missed by a hair again.
After several punishing blows, his extreme foresight finally paid off.
The instant World moved, Sakazuki lunged, grabbing at empty air.
SMACK!
He caught World's wrist.
Startled, World tried to wrench free, but couldn't budge an inch.
A cold gleam flashed in Sakazuki's eyes. He yanked World forward with his left hand, his right fist coated in jet-black Armament Haki.
Dragged by brute force, World was slammed into Sakazuki's waiting fist.
A sickening crunch echoed—the punch drove straight into World's chest, bones shattering under the impact.
Pain exploded in World's mind, stunning him for a heartbeat.
Sakazuki followed up with a savage kick to World's knee.
The agony snapped World back to his senses. Madness flickered in his eyes as he raised his left knee, Haki-clad, to counter.
CRACK!
His left knee snapped, bending at a grotesque right angle. World howled in agony.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!"
Sakazuki's foot stomped down, crushing World's ankle with relentless force.
The pain drove World past the brink of reason, his face contorting into a demon's snarl. He swung wildly at Sakazuki's head.
Sakazuki slipped aside, right foot lashing out again.
CRACK!
World's right knee shattered. He crumpled, instantly shorter.
With a vicious yank, Sakazuki hauled him up by the wrist.
A whip kick swept across, knocking World's battered body sideways in midair.
Still gripping World's wrist, Sakazuki pulled left, while his right hand seized the fractured knee.
Driving his own knee upward, he slammed both hands down—
CRUNCH!!!
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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