The battlefield around Ohara shook beneath the fury of molten magma and exploding clouds.
Unlike the clashes scattered across the island, this battlefield radiated an entirely different level of pressure. Every shockwave alone was enough to shatter cliffs and uproot ancient trees. Even the surrounding Vice Admirals instinctively avoided approaching it.
At the center of the devastation... Sakazuki—better known as Admiral Akainu—stood with both fists dripping molten magma.
The air itself distorted from the unbearable heat. Opposite him... Boa Hancock and Baby-5 quietly stood side by side. One possessed the beauty capable of shaking men's hearts. The other carried the elegance of a fairy hidden within an endless sea of mist. Neither showed the slightest fear.
Sakazuki: " You two think you can stop me? I'll make this quick... then I'll kill Arthur. " His eyes swept over them coldly. Sakazuki slowly cracked his neck.
Hancock: "No. He simply believes you're not worthy of Captain's attention." Hancock smiled elegantly, She slowly crossed her arms.
The corners of Sakazuki's mouth twitched. Magma began dripping onto the ground. The stone melted instantly.
SSSSSS—
Baby-5: "You really know how to make people angry." Baby-5 quietly sighed.
Hancock: "It's one of my talents." She smiled charmingly.
BOOOOOM!! WHOOSH!!
Without another word... Akainu vanished. The ground exploded beneath his feet. His magma-coated fist crashed toward Hancock's face.
Too fast.
Too powerful.
Yet... Hancock's body dissolved into countless white clouds. The magma fist tore through nothing.
Sakazuki: " At least your control over your Logia is better than last time." Sakazuki's eyes narrowed.
Hancock: "Too slow." The drifting clouds gathered several meters away. Hancock slowly reformed. Not a single strand of her hair had been damaged.
At the same moment... crimson light spread across Hancock's body. Elegant black horns emerged from her forehead. Dark blue wings unfolded behind her, a long demonic tail gently swayed through the air. Her beauty... became even more overwhelming. She fully activated her Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Model: Succubus.
Sakazuki slowly exhaled.
Sakazuki: "Two Devil Fruit users... That's why you're stronger than the last time we met. I guess this is Arthur's abilities."
Hancock: "I could say the same. You're stronger than the last time we met... just a little." Hancock smiled faintly.
Her body slowly floated several centimeters above the ground. White clouds quietly gathered beneath her feet.
Marine: "...Beautiful..." Even seasoned Marines unconsciously froze.
Marine: "I... I can't..." Several soldiers unknowingly lowered their weapons.
One after another... Their breathing became uneven. Their eyes lost focus.
Commodore: "Don't look at her!" The warning came too late.
The Succubus wasn't merely beautiful. She preyed upon desire itself. The stronger a person's hidden emotions... the greater the disruption to their concentration. Even experienced Haki users felt their thoughts becoming strangely sluggish.
Sakazuki frowned, his Observation Haki remained active. But... something felt wrong. His concentration fluctuated. Even if only slightly, on a battlefield between monsters... a single instant was enough. His Observation Haki became noticeably less stable. Not because Hancock was stronger than him... but because every instinct inside him was constantly being distracted by the unnatural aura surrounding her.
Sakazuki: "Annoying." Sakazuki clicked his tongue.
Hancock: "Even you... are still human." She slowly stepped forward.
WHOOSH!!
She disappeared into the clouds. The white clouds above instantly darkened.Thunder rolled.
BOOOOM!!
A massive bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.
Sakazuki crossed both arms, the lightning exploded against his magma. Steam erupted violently. The battlefield vanished beneath boiling vapor.
SSSSSSHHHH!!
...
Elsewhere... Baby-5 quietly closed her eyes. Sparkling particles of golden light drifted around her. Tiny goldern specks emerged from every direction. The entire battlefield became filled with shimmering fairy dust.
Marine: "...Butterflies?"
Baby-5 smiled gently. Her emerald wings unfolded gracefully. Baby-5 Following Hancock's lead, she also activated her Mythical Zoan Butterfly-Butterfly Fruit, Model: Fairy Queen. The surrounding air immediately grew lighter. Her physical strength... speed... reaction... everything increased dramatically. But that wasn't all. Baby-5 slowly lifted one hand. The fairy dust surrounding her dissolved.
WHOOSH...
Endless white mist spread outward. The Logia Mist-Mist Fruit. Within seconds... the battlefield disappeared beneath dense fog. Visibility dropped to almost nothing.
Marine: "I can't see anything!"
Marine: "Where are they?!"
Rear Admiral: "Use Observation Haki! Form pairs! Back-to-back." Several officers immediately expanded their Kenbunshoku Haki.
Rear Admiral: "...Impossible." Then... Their expressions changed.
Every direction... every corner of the mist... emitted the exact same presence. The fog itself... was Baby-5. Every particle carried her aura. Observation Haki could no longer distinguish where the real Baby-5 stood. It was like searching for a single drop of water in the middle of the ocean.
Rear Admiral: "First that fox woman... now this succubus and fairy...How many Devil Fruits do these monsters possess?"
Commodore: "This isn't a pirate crew anymore... It's a nightmare."
...
High above the battlefield... Nymph quietly watched through her targeting system.
Nymph: "The Mist Fruit..."
Astrea: "What about it?" Astrea tilted her head.
Nymph: "It doesn't merely hide the user. It creates countless false presences. Observation Haki can't distinguish which one is real." She smiled.
...
Sakazuki calmly observed the battlefield. His expression gradually darkened. The clouds above disrupted his vision. The Succubus continuously interfered with his concentration. The endless mist distorted his Observation Haki. For the first time in years... He found himself unable to perfectly read the battlefield.
Baby-5 laughed softly. Then... she disappeared. Not with Soru. Not with teleportation. Her body simply dissolved into millions of glowing fairy particles.
WHOOSH!!
The fairy dust scattered throughout the mist. Every particle... carried a fragment of her presence.
Sakazuki: "...Annoying tricks. Then I'll erase everything." His right fist erupted into molten lava.
BOOOOOOOM!!
A gigantic wave of magma exploded outward. The entire battlefield became a sea of fire. The mist evaporated. The clouds scattered. Ancient trees burst into flames. The ground melted into rivers of lava. But...neither Hancock nor Baby-5 appeared. Yet... only for a moment. Fresh mist immediately flowed back from every direction. Baby-5 calmly reformed dozens of meters away.
Baby-5: "You missed." She smiling.
At that exact moment... Hancock moved.
WHOOSH!!
...
Far above the battlefield... white clouds quietly gathered once again. Within them... Hancock floated gracefully. Beside her... Baby-5 hovered with emerald fairy wings. The two women exchanged a brief glance. Neither needed words. They had already understood Arthur's strategy before the battle had even begun. Neither of them was expected to defeat an Admiral. That was never their mission. Their task... was to delay him. To exhaust him. To deny him the freedom to assist the other Marine forces.
As long as Sakazuki remained occupied here... the rest of the Art Pirates could fight on equal terms.
Hancock: "Ready for another round?" Hancock smiled elegantly.
Baby-5: "Let's make the Admiral hate clouds... and fog." Baby-5 giggled softly.
WHOOSH!!
She vanished again. Clouds carried her silently across the battlefield. Appearing... disappearing... reappearing. Sakazuki launched another magma punch. It struck nothing but clouds once again.
BOOOOM!!
Then... tiny fairy lights appeared behind him, Baby-5. Already transformed, one hand lightly brushed against Sakazuki's shoulder.
Baby-5: "Found an opening." Her wings fluttered. She vanished once more.
WHOOSH!! BOOOOM!!
Sakazuki immediately turned but it was already too late.
A thunder cloud-shrouded kick slammed directly into his ribs. The Admiral was blasted sideways. Several ruined buildings collapsed beneath the impact.
Marine: "...The Admiral... Was pushed back..." The Marines stared in disbelief.
Smoke slowly rose. Molten lava continued dripping across broken stone. Sakazuki calmly stood up. Blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with one thumb. Then... he smiled, a frightening smile.
Sakazuki: "Not bad."
The temperature around him suddenly rose dramatically. The ground beneath his feet melted completely. Entire rivers of magma burst upward. The battlefield transformed into hell itself.
...
Far from the center of the island... near beach... Arthur briefly glanced toward Hancock's battlefield while exchanging blows with Kuzan.
Arthur: "Good." He smiled faintly.
Kuzan: "Still worrying about your crew?" Kuzan noticed.
Arthur: "No. I was just thinking... they've finally learned how to trust each other completely." He shook his head
He looked toward the battlefield once more. Hancock and Baby-5 were already moving together again. Perfectly synchronized.
One disrupted. One created opportunities. One attacked. The other disappeared.
Neither fought alone.
Clouds. Mist. Fairy dust. And magma.
Clouds. Mist. Fairy dust. Magma. Four completely different powers collided across the burning ruins of Ohara. The battle between Admirals fleet... and Art Pirates... had only just begun.