At this moment—
Momousagi stood at the bow of the warship.
If this were a human from Luo Lan's previous world—Earth—they would've already been bleeding from every orifice from the shockwaves of the cannons behind her.
But this was the world of pirates. And beings like Momousagi—powerhouses among powerhouses—were built differently.
Her body, forged by years of cultivation and combat, barely flinched. At most, she felt a tremor, nothing more.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi in her arms rang out.
Buru buru buru...
"This is Momousagi."
"Sister Gion, you're clear to move out!"
"Understood."
With a nod, she ended the call.
Then, without hesitation, she launched herself off the warship.
All around her, others did the same—silhouettes leapt from the decks of warships, flying through the air.
They stepped lightly on Moonwalk (Geppo), heading straight toward Punk Hazard.
---
High above, in the clouds 3,000 meters above sea level—
A green light blinked on the control panel before Ace. He exhaled slowly and stepped back from the equipment.
Honestly? This charging task wasn't physically demanding.
But mentally? It was exhausting.
He had to stand there, motionless, for almost ten minutes, maintaining a constant, stable current the entire time. The focus required was tremendous.
So no, his stamina hadn't worn down—but his mind was drained.
Then, following Smoker's command, the hull of the Ark Maxim tilted again—this time at an angle exceeding 40 degrees.
The electromagnetic cannon rotated, its barrel locking onto Punk Hazard.
"Captain, we've received the order to fire."
"Fire!"
Whirr…
BOOM!!
A specially designed metallic projectile was fired at near Mach 10, streaking toward the island below.
Its target:
The exact location of Blackbeard and Doflamingo.
---
At the center of Punk Hazard—
Another round of artillery left the battlefield in chaos.
The already battered terrain was now cratered beyond recognition—giant impact holes everywhere.
Doflamingo knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.
He was clearly running on fumes.
"This can't go on... We're going to be whittled down and killed here!"
"Doffy, how about we split up?" Blackbeard suggested. "Whichever one of us escapes... well, the other will keep Jun Lin's attention. It all comes down to luck."
Doflamingo's face darkened.
Luck? Bullshit.
He could see through Blackbeard's plan instantly. The man wanted to use him as bait to attract Jun Lin's fire, giving himself a chance to flee Punk Hazard.
After all, it was obvious Jun Lin was after him, not Blackbeard. If they were to choose just one target, it would be him.
"Wait—someone's coming!"
Doflamingo's expression shifted sharply as he sensed something.
Blackbeard had already noticed too.
Nearly a dozen figures had landed on the coast of Punk Hazard.
"They're from Jun Lin's crew. Zehahaha! While they were just bombarding us from afar, we couldn't do anything. But now they've come to us..."
"Boys, move out!"
"As long as we capture a few of them, we'll have leverage to negotiate with Jun Lin!"
Blackbeard grinned manically and waved his hand.
But just a second later, his Observation Haki screamed danger.
Just like the very first time—
"Something's wrong... Something's very wrong..."
"Everyone, brace yourselves! That kind of attack is coming again!"
He activated Armament Haki, crossing his arms to block.
BOOM!!
A beam of light descended from the heavens.
Right on target—it smashed directly into Burgess.
Despite Blackbeard's warning and Burgess' defensive stance, the sheer kinetic force of a Mach-10 projectile was too much.
His massive body was instantly torn apart.
Dead. Absolutely, irreversibly dead.
The impact sent out a destructive shockwave, tearing apart the ground for hundreds of meters around.
The explosion's force spread across half of Punk Hazard, and those closest to the impact—
Blackbeard, Doflamingo, and Van Augur—were thrown like rag dolls, crashing hard into the dirt.
All of them were wounded. Some more seriously than others.
But it wasn't over.
Without warning, a dark cloud appeared above their heads.
Then—
BOOM!!
A lightning bolt, ten meters thick, slammed into the rubble.
Right where Doflamingo was buried.
The stones around him were obliterated. Energy rampaged across the area, and electricity sizzled in the air, leaping unpredictably.
Cough... This power... is that lightning? Could it be the Goro Goro no Mi?
On the ground, Doflamingo had been hit hard. He could only barely move, using his String-String Fruit to control his injured body and crawl out.
He raised his head, stunned.
Completely in disbelief.
---
Elsewhere, Blackbeard, who hadn't been directly hit by the "Divine Punishment," revealed an excited grin.
"Zehahaha! It really is the Goro Goro no Mi!"
"So, you're Jun Lin... huh?"
"You'd better protect that fruit well. Once I get the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit), I'll come take it for myself!"
Originally, Blackbeard had planned to find the Darkness Fruit, use the Marines to take down Whitebeard, and then steal the Quake-Quake Fruit.
That was how he'd become the dual-ability monster: darkness + quake.
But that was only because he didn't know where the Lightning Fruit was.
Truth was, the Goro Goro no Mi hadn't been seen on the seas in centuries.
But if it were developed to its full potential, its destructive power wouldn't lose to the Quake Fruit. In fact, it might be even stronger.
Now that it had resurfaced, Blackbeard was rethinking everything.
Maybe...
Darkness + Lightning was the better combo.
Not only did it have raw power—but it offered more versatile techniques.
As he fantasized about his glorious future—
SLASH!!!
A terrifying sword strike swept across the battlefield from hundreds of meters away.
The sheer force of it tore a several-meter-deep trench through the earth.
Blackbeard's instincts screamed. He threw himself to the side, barely dodging.
Van Augur teleported just in time, narrowly evading it as well.
The blade continued to slice forward, even cleaving a massive boulder in two with surgical precision.
The cut was so clean, it looked like a work of art.
Both men went rigid.
They had dodged, but the implication was clear—
A true master swordsman was here.
Immediately, both raised their guard to the maximum, eyes fixed on the incoming figure.
---
Meanwhile, Doflamingo tried to slip away as Blackbeard became the target.
But he had barely taken a few steps when—
BOOM!
A black streak crashed from the sky, striking his escape path and kicking up a cloud of dust.
As it settled, Doflamingo saw it clearly.
A thick black iron spike, five or six meters long and as wide as a bowl, embedded deep into the ground.
And it wasn't alone.
Suddenly, it was like a rainstorm of iron.
Hundreds of thick, black spikes rained down from the sky, covering the area in a deadly hail.
Dust exploded into the air, blinding everyone nearby.
No one could see what was happening inside.
---
Meanwhile, five kilometers away, chaos broke out on the Danaan warship's command bridge.
On the main screen, a red dot was moving at high speed toward Punk Hazard.
And its doriki was...
!
---
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27