Chapter 104: Sabaody Archipelago: Battle with Akainu, Part 5
Eric , Scáthach, and Akame weren't about to miss such a golden opportunity. Their Haki-infused attacks finally left two wounds on Akainu. Though the injuries weren't severe, they had at last managed to injure and draw blood from him.
Unfortunately, Akame's physical strength was weaker, and her speed couldn't match Eric 's teleportation or Scáthach's high endurance. She was a step too slow, and Akainu evaded her attack using his elemental form. Had her strike landed, Akainu might have lost a limb to her cursed poison.
"Damn pirates!" Akainu had come to Sabaody Archipelago with full intent to annihilate Eric and his group. Yet not one of them had been injured so far, while he was the first to bleed.
Since becoming an Admiral, Akainu had never been injured by any pirate. Whether during purging operations in Paradise or pursuing powerful pirates in the New World, every battle had been one-sided. He'd never suffered even the slightest scratch.
But now, not only had he been injured for the first time as an Admiral, a clone of Kurumi was holding a visual Den Den Mushi broadcasting his injury live to the entire world—letting all civilians see him get wounded by rookie pirates.
What made it even more unbearable was that the injury hadn't come from one of the infamous Yonko, but from a newly-risen, small pirate crew.
The magma on Akainu's body surged in temperature along with his rage, turning from crimson to a glowing yellow.
The massive ice block above his head, created by Esdeath, was melted and exploded once more by his Great Eruption.
Countless fiery volcanic bombs rained down on everyone. This time, the attack range was wider, engulfing all of them in its destructive radius.
It resembled a meteor shower—but no one was making any wishes.
"Ice Mountain!" Esdeath once again assumed the role of defender. A towering 100-meter-tall ice mountain enveloped the group completely.
Dozens of volcanic bombs struck the ice mountain. The impact points melted into water from the intense heat of the magma, but were instantly refrozen by the cold air Esdeath continuously pumped in, forming new layers of ice.
Akainu's magma melted the ice, thinning its layers. Esdeath's cold air reformed it, thickening it anew.
It became a contest of abilities between Akainu and Esdeath.
Who had the stronger power remained unknown, but Akainu's expression darkened like ink. He hadn't held back at all. Even some of the most notorious pirate crews in the New World had been annihilated by his Great Eruption, their ships reduced to ashes. Yet he was completely unable to do anything against these rookie pirates—an unbearable humiliation for someone who embodied absolute justice.
The visual Den Den Mushi across from him continued to record and broadcast every moment. The entire world could now see Akainu's inability to deal with this small pirate crew.
This would shake the public's faith in the Navy's strongest force and diminish the fear and deterrence a Navy Admiral instilled in pirates—an intangible but grave consequence, especially during the Great Age of Piracy.
For someone who upheld "Absolute Justice," Akainu could not tolerate this. He would burn all criminals to ashes before the eyes of the world! These arrogant pirates must be executed as an example to terrify the other foolish pirates daring to stir!
"Let's see how long you can hold out!" Akainu's arms transformed into magma, which gushed out from his shoulders. It kept flowing as he raised both fists skyward.
"Meteor Volcano!"
"Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh"—with the sound of fireworks, red-hot magma fists flew high into the sky and vanished into the thick clouds above.
Esdeath frowned and asked Eric , "What is he trying to do?"
Eric answered cautiously, "Meteor Volcano... he transforms his fists into magma and launches them en masse into the sky. Then, due to gravity, they fall back down like a meteor shower."
"But in my blizzard, won't his magma fists lose a lot of heat? Why not just strike us directly instead of firing into the sky?"
'If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask…' Eric replied with a helpless expression.
…
While Eric 's group of six clashed with Akainu, Da Vinci and Chiron aboard the Fearless Eternity were now engaging the ten warships of the Buster Call fleet.
"Boom boom boom!" The 406mm naval guns roared with fury, launching high-explosive shells at the wooden Navy ships. Each shell flew with overwhelming force toward its target.
Calling it a battle was misleading, as only the Fearless Eternity was firing. The Navy warships, out of range, couldn't retaliate—even if they fired, their shots wouldn't reach.
And due to its superior speed, the Fearless Eternity was more than twice as fast as the Navy's sailing vessels. The Navy simply couldn't catch up and trailed behind, choking on smoke. The ten-ship fleet was being circled and bombarded by the Fearless Eternity.
Garp burst into laughter, "Hahaha! What kind of ship is that? No sails, yet it runs so fast! We can't catch it, and our cannons can't reach. We might as well retreat to headquarters!"
His adjutant cautioned, "Vice Admiral, please don't speak recklessly. If Fleet Admiral Sengoku hears that, he'll scold you again."
"Tch, seriously? They're launching a Buster Call to destroy an island just because some trash died?" Garp scoffed, picking his nose. His distaste for the Celestial Dragons was the reason he had long refused promotion to Admiral.
"Vice Admiral Garp , please watch your words!" his adjutant nearly lost his mind. His superior constantly insulted the high command, and this time, even the Celestial Dragons. But on Garp 's ship, all the sailors respected the Hero of the Navy deeply—none would report him to Sengoku.
"…" Garp fell silent, rubbing the booger between his thumb and index finger before flicking it away. If he could, he'd flick every one of those Celestial Dragons just like that.
"Vice Admiral, three of our warships have already been sunk! Please, take action! If you don't, Fleet Admiral Sengoku will definitely accuse you of passive combat!"
"Ah—go rescue the marines in the water! Hurry!" Garp finally found a perfect excuse to slack off—rescue duty.
Saving his own men—surely Sengoku wouldn't scold him for that, right?
In truth, Garp could've hurled cannonballs onto the enemy ships with his Fist Bone Meteor technique. But he harbored no sympathy for the Celestial Dragons or the kings and nobles who enslaved others. Though he loved chasing pirates, he had grown fond of Eric and his crew for killing a Celestial Dragon—he was ready to let them off the hook.
After just three rounds of cannon fire while circling the fleet, the Fearless Eternity had already sunk three Navy warships without Vice Admirals aboard.
Chiron used his clairvoyant vision to clearly observe the uniforms and insignia of everyone onboard. Navy officers wore their ranks prominently on the shoulders of their cloaks. In the world of pirates, where strength defines authority, rank often reflects power.
As the strategist, Chiron understood well what needed to be done to secure victory.
First, reduce the number of enemy warships. This would limit their ability to split up and surround the Fearless Eternity, reduce the risk of being flanked, and force them to rescue fallen marines—slowing pursuit.
What Chiron didn't expect, however, was that the other six warships ignored the drowning marines. Only one ship stopped to help.
Now, those six warships began to turn their bows and head toward the Sabaody Archipelago. They had finally realized that chasing the Fearless Eternity was pointless. Instead, they would pursue their true goal—destroying the archipelago and drawing the steel giant ship into their own cannon range.
(END CHAPTER)
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