Tokikake was about to be cut down as a sacrifice, while deep underground Good roared within his mind, straining with all his might to move.
Momousagi and Tokikake had been the first to stand by him, the ones who dared to defy the World Government for his sake.
Fusion Progress: 96%…
Just a little more… just a little more…
Good's thoughts were simple — he would tear the Gorosei to pieces.
And if Momousagi or Tokikake were to fall before that, he swore he would not only destroy the World Government but also annihilate the Marines.
Though Sengoku had once treated him well, Momousagi and Tokikake had become his true bottom line.
On the battlefield—
Tokikake's blade gleamed, Armament Haki cloaking its edge, and even the spark of Conqueror's Haki surged forth.
The Third Elder raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? As expected of a former Vice Admiral, you have talent. Pity…"
His cursed blade, the First Generation Kitetsu, pulsed with a ghostly aura. The Elder's face twisted viciously as he swung down.
But before he could land the strike, Sengoku intervened.
His colossal golden hand smashed into Tokikake, blasting him back, blood pouring from every orifice as his weapon clattered to the ground.
The Elder glared.
"Sengoku, what are you doing?"
"This kind of man isn't worth your effort," Sengoku said flatly.
It was a thin excuse, but his intent to shield Tokikake was obvious, leaving the Elder seething.
He turned instead toward Momousagi.
She lay bloodied from his earlier slash, unable to rise.
He loomed over her, lips curling.
"Why? You and Tokikake could have become Admirals. A glorious future.
Yet for Good, you threw it away."
"Stand against the world, and you think you can live?"
Momousagi, trembling with pain, spat blood into his face.
Her voice rasped: "When Good awakens… the World Government will fall!"
The Elder wiped the blood from his cheek, fury blazing. He kicked her viciously in the gut, widening her wounds until the blood flowed faster.
"I might have spared you if you gave up Good's location. But now… you die."
The Kitetsu rose high.
"Perish!!"
But then—
A wave of crushing power burst forth from the island's heart.
Time itself seemed to stop.
Every clash of weapons, every cannon's roar froze for an instant.
All hearts quailed under the terror of that might.
It lasted only a second.
But it was enough to silence the battlefield.
The Third Elder stiffened, blade halted mid-swing.
"What… was that? Conqueror's Haki?"
But it felt like something far beyond even that.
All eyes turned toward the island's center.
Momousagi, bleeding heavily, suddenly burst into laughter.
"Good… that must be Good…! Gorosei, prepare to face true fear!!"
The Elder's anger flared.
"Let's see if you can still laugh when you're dead!"
He swung down toward her neck—
But death never came.
Instead, his strike halted, and his eyes went wide.
"Good…!? How did you suddenly appear!?"
Momousagi blinked in shock, then opened her eyes.
Before her stood a towering figure, one she knew too well — the same broad back that had always stood at the bow of the ship, facing the sea.
Now, that back was radiant, unyielding, overwhelming.
"G-Good!!"
Her voice trembled with relief and awe.
Good gripped the First Generation Kitetsu in one golden hand.
His body fused with Kaido's draconic power, his arm gleaming with Sengoku's golden light.
He turned and smiled at Momousagi, his familiar grin unchanged.
"Momousagi, sorry to keep you waiting."
Faces across the battlefield shifted in shock.
"The Reckless Maniac Admiral… has returned!!"
"No… it's Good himself!!"
Marines stiffened, hearts in turmoil. They were soldiers, bound by orders, no matter their emotions.
But the pirates' faces lit with joy.
"Good's awake! We held out long enough!"
"We finally made it!!"
And yet, despair lingered too.
For though Good had risen, Whitebeard and Dragon were battered, Shanks and Rayleigh near their limits.
The enemy's high-end power still stood nearly untouched.
On the warship, the other Elders frowned.
"A door… the Door-Door Fruit?"
Indeed, Good had stepped through a gate conjured before Momousagi — Blueno's ability from CP.
"Doesn't matter," the Second Elder sneered.
"He'll die all the same."
The Third Elder smirked, regaining composure.
"Finally showed yourself, Good. I thought you'd hide forever."
Good chuckled softly.
Then, without a word, he crushed the First Generation Kitetsu in his hand, the blade disintegrating into rust and dust.
The Elder's grin froze.
"You—!!"
(End of Chapter)
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