A burst of golden light suddenly shot up from the ice shards still drifting across the ocean surface.
It was none other than Kizaru, who had previously been struck down into the ice by his own Yasakani no Magatama reflected back at him.
Though Kizaru was usually one to slack off and take things easy, after suffering such a blow at the hands of Roya, he finally got serious.
The golden light that was Kizaru's body didn't pause in the slightest. It charged straight at Roya—his entire elementalized form transforming into a massive sword, thrusting at Roya with deadly speed!
Roya remained utterly unfazed, his footsteps steady and unbroken.
Suddenly, a platinum-white thunderbolt as thick as a barrel struck down from the heavens, slamming directly into the giant sword Kizaru had become!
In an instant, sparks of lightning and shimmering particles from the Glint-Glint Fruit (Pika Pika no Mi) exploded into the sky like a dazzling firework display—far more brilliant than anything found in the world.
But these "fireworks" brought with them a wave of despair for the Navy soldiers below.
Of the Navy's three Admirals, two had already fallen in battle.
Akainu had been gravely injured and forced to retreat, while Aokiji was buried deep in ruins, his status unknown.
Now, just when Kizaru finally mounted a counterattack, he hadn't even managed to touch Roya before being struck down once more!
His elementalized body had been blown apart by a single strike of thunder—like fireworks being shattered in the sky!
And from those fading sparks emerged the man who had summoned the furious bolt of lightning.
The Thunder Duke, McGuy!
A wave of shock rippled through the crowd.
When did a so-called "second-rate" member of the Whitebeard Pirates gain such terrifying Devil Fruit powers?!
Facing one of the Three Admirals head-on—and actually gaining the upper hand?!
Even though Kizaru had taken damage during his earlier battle with Roya, the fact that he was being overpowered by someone like McGuy was simply beyond belief.
The Navy's morale plummeted like a landslide.
Fortunately, the countless scattered light particles suddenly began to converge in one direction.
In mere moments, they reformed into Kizaru's non-elementalized body.
It was clear that while Kizaru had lost the exchange, he hadn't taken serious damage.
With a twist of his arms, he drew a longsword forged entirely from photons and lunged toward Makugai.
With a flash of sword light, it exploded into a storm of dazzling points, engulfing McGuy.
This flamboyant attack finally managed to stall the Navy's plunging morale.
But sharp-eyed figures like Sengoku could already see the truth—Kizaru had gone back to slacking off.
His swordplay might've looked flashy, but it lacked any real killing power.
At least to someone like McGuy,it wasn't even enough to be considered sparring.
McGuy didn't even bother to surround his blade with lightning; he simply exchanged strikes with Kizaru at full speed.
Not only was he not at a disadvantage—he was even beginning to overpower Kizaru.
The steadily shrinking barrage of Kizaru's photon blades was proof enough.
Sengoku sighed quietly. It was clear that Kizaru was no longer reliable.
At this moment, Roya was only halfway to the execution platform.
And the Navy's strongest force—the Three Admirals—had all been defeated!
"We can't wait any longer! If we don't deploy the Science Combat Division now, this battle is lost!"
"Our only hope is for the Pacifista humanoid weapons to risk everything to stop these invaders—maybe then we can reignite the fighting spirit of our one hundred thousand elite!"
Sengoku clenched his jaw and issued the command:
"Sentomaru—target Roya. Deploy!"
From atop the city wall, a hidden gate swung open with a loud creak.
A burly red figure shot out like a cannonball, swinging a massive axe with brutal force toward McGuy's back.
"Old man, you're way too slow! Is an opponent like this really worth wasting so much time on?"
Kizaru's figure drifted backward, giving McGuy the space to turn and block Sentomaru's massive axe strike.
He lazily replied, "The joy of my craft, muscle-brain, is something you'll never understand."
But McGuy had no intention of letting these master and student perform their little act. His figure flickered into platinum lightning and zipped in front of Kizaru before Sentomaru's axe could even land.
Sentomaru's full-force strike hit nothing but air.
Caught off-guard by McGuy's sudden acceleration, Kizaru had only enough time to conjure an Eight-Sided Mirror in front of him before he was blasted away by the surge of electricity around McGuy.
This time, Kizaru could finally lie down and slack off with peace of mind.
The platinum lightning darted again, this time straight toward the secret gate from which Sentomaru had emerged.
There, over a hundred Pacifistas were surging out in formation!
But McGuy remained completely fearless in the face of these terrifying war machines.
He twirled his longsword and stabbed it deep into the ground.
Platinum lightning erupted along the earth, spreading like a spiderweb to form a glowing carpet of thunder.
The moment the Pacifistas stepped onto this lightning web, arcs of energy surged through their bodies—causing them to stagger and nearly collapse on the spot.
Seizing the opportunity, McGuy drew his sword and charged directly into the enemy ranks.
At the same time, Squard broke through the encirclement in his justice cloak and rushed to join McGuy—aiming to eliminate these more strategically dangerous Pacifistas.
Back to Sentomaru—his axe had missed its mark. With a spin of his body, he swung it around again in a wild arc, aiming straight at Roya's back.
But a burst of brilliant purple rose petals suddenly shot in from the side, intercepting the blow.
The petals exploded against the axe, releasing a violent energy blast that shattered the weapon into palm-sized fragments—each shooting outward like deadly shrapnel.
In an instant, a dozen elite Navy soldiers were pierced clean through!
Standing there, with both rapiers raised, Vista smirked and said:
"Little guy in the red loincloth—your opponent… is me!"
As he spoke, another wave of rose petals burst forth from his twin swords, slicing toward every corner of Sentomaru's body.
Sentomaru roared furiously and dodged aside—no longer able to pursue Roya.
Just then, a deep, repressed roar erupted from the crowd below.
It carried rage, confusion, and brutality—an emotional shockwave that struck everyone to their core.
Jinbei turned, startled, to the source of the roar. It was none other than one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Bartholomew Kuma!
"Judging by his state… has he already been fully modified? Has he completely lost his consciousness?"
A surge of complicated emotion welled up in Jinbei's heart. He wasn't sure if it was grief, pity, or something else altogether.
In his moment of distraction, he saw a dark shadow shoot forward—Magellan!
Still over a hundred meters away, blood-red giant arms extended from both sides of Magellan's ribs.
The arms slammed into the ground, catapulting Magellan's body into the air like a cannonball, aimed straight at the roaring Kuma.
Though Kuma had lost his mind, his instincts were sharper than ever.
Sensing Magellan's overwhelming hostility, the seven-meter-tall giant kicked off with one leg, launching himself like a human missile straight into the sky to meet Magellan head-on!
PS: Access advance (70+) chapters at
https://www.patreon.com/c/NanamiTL