The CP Department's strongest fighter who arrived—could he really be the previous user of Ace's fruit?
While thoughts raced through his mind, Nao's hands showed no sign of slowing.
The blades slashed down, and the sword energy gathered on Yone's twin swords erupted into a blinding pillar of lightning, then shattered into countless rolling thunderbolts that streamed toward the towering white cold flame!
Two Sword Style: Endless Thunder!
This strike had once been used as the finishing blow to utterly shatter Big Mom; dealing with these cold flames was naturally a trivial matter.
Lightning ravaged and surged — within seconds all of the white cold flames were devoured.
Yet the remaining thunder still roared forward, until a fist burning with blazing fire ruthlessly smashed through it.
Sizzle!
The lightning dispersed. The newcomer withdrew his right fist and planted it atop the battlement before the Five Elders, coldly staring at Nao.
He was a powerfully built man with slightly white temples.
Over five meters tall, dressed in a white suit, hooked nose, narrow brows, a stern-looking face — he appeared to be at least in his sixties, yet his muscles were knotted and he radiated an explosive, terrifying strength.
Even more striking were the massive wings behind him — pitch black across their span, with two small flame tips quietly burning at the ends.
"Commander Hephaestus!"
"He's finally here!"
Voices of delight rose from below. The elite guards of Pangaea Castle, who had been on edge, visibly relaxed — they clearly trusted this commander's ability without question.
Hephaestus?
Nao's eyes narrowed. The name carried an old-mythic aura.
This fellow was probably of the Lunarian race, like Kaido's future subordinate "King the Wildfire" — in other words, one of the legendary god-descended peoples who once lived generation after generation on the Red Line and had long since vanished.
What remained unclear was whether this man served as the Celestial Dragons' "spear" or "shield."
"Marine Headquarters Admiral candidate — White Dragon Nao."
Hephaestus looked down at Nao expressionlessly. "Although I do not know the reason you have assaulted the Holy Land, since you have already offended the Five Elders, your crime is unforgivable."
"With me here today, you shall not take another step into Pangaea Castle."
"Shall not take another step?" Nao sneered. "Fine words are useless. If you think you can stop me, prove it with your strength!"
As the words fell.
His figure had already vanished from his original position. The next instant, he suddenly appeared above Hephaestus' head. The double blades, encircled by dazzling lightning, crossed and slashed down.
A red light, symbolizing top-tier Observation Haki, flashed in Hephaestus' eyes, clearly having anticipated this.
With a flick of his wrist, a blazing flame sword, quite similar to Kizaru's Ama no Murakumo Sword, purely condensed from his Devil Fruit ability, instantly took form. He grasped it in his hand, squarely blocking the sword Nao had slashed down.
Boom!
Lightning and flames collided violently, rolling heat spreading out in all directions. In an instant, the two had exchanged hundreds of moves at a terrifying speed indistinguishable to the naked eye.
While fighting.
Nao was also quickly assessing Hephaestus's combat proficiency in all aspects.
"Strength basically equals mine, speed slightly inferior."
"Swordsmanship on the level of a top great-swordsman; his hand-to-hand and Haki are likewise extremely formidable — no glaring weakness!"
"And his natural-type devil-fruit appears to be developed far beyond Ace's…"
Nao's eyes flashed. He suddenly slashed with full force, forcing Hephaestus back dozens of paces unexpectedly.
The two separated in distance, and Nao made his final judgment in his mind —
"This guy's combat power is indeed, as rumored, by no means weaker than a Headquarters Admiral!"
"And right now, in the short term, I can only match him — I cannot seize the advantage. To completely crush him wouldn't be impossible, but it would require at least three days of brutal fighting!"
After all…
Hephaestus was undoubtedly powerful —
but in Nao's eyes, he was still half a level weaker than Big Mom, whom he had fought before.
Even with his overwhelming stamina that rivaled the world's strongest, the odds of Hephaestus winning a one-on-one duel against him were close to zero.
However—
Nao hadn't come to the Holy Land to fight for days and nights until victory was decided.
His goal was to uncover the true depths of the Celestial Dragons' hidden power — not to waste time locked in a drawn-out brawl.
Now that he had roughly gauged Hephaestus's strength…
it was time to move on to his next target.
With that thought, the moment he widened the distance between them, Nao didn't hesitate — he unleashed one of his most devastating trump cards.
His once-flowing black hair instantly spiked upward, whipping in the wind as arcs of electricity crackled violently around him.
The inky darkness of his pupils faded — replaced by a dazzling sapphire blue.
And in the next instant—
Blinding currents of electricity exploded outward from Nao's body, roaring in every direction!
Thunder surged across the heavens, gathering and splitting as if alive.
Within just a second or two, the energy condensed — forming nine colossal, semi-transparent dragons of azure lightning.
Their massive eyes opened in unison, glaring down at the world below as they let out deafening roars!
Anyone looking up from beneath would see it —
nine enormous lightning dragons hanging in the sky, gazing down like ancient gods, divine and terrifying, radiating overwhelming pressure.
"Lightning Summon: Nine-Dragon Annihilation!"
As the nine dragons took form, Nao's swords — still raised toward the heavens — came slashing down in a single decisive motion.
ROAR!!!
The sound of dragon cries shook all of Mary Geoise.
The nine colossal azure dragons dove from the sky, howling as they descended, wrapped in endless torrents of violent thunder that crashed down toward Hephaestus!
"My god…"
"Is that guy even human?"
The sight was apocalyptic — divine punishment made manifest.
Every guard in Pangaea Castle, every official in the surrounding World Government buildings — all stood frozen, eyes wide, their minds blank with shock.
Even Hephaestus, whose composure had been unshakable until now, felt his pupils contract sharply as his expression darkened.
"Damn you, White Dragon!"
There was no time to think — he roared in fury and unleashed his own ultimate, hidden technique.
"Phosphorescence: Wrath of the Fire God!"
Sizzle!
At Hephaestus's furious shout, countless glowing motes of fire — like swarms of fireflies — suddenly burst forth from behind his black wings.
With a sweeping motion of his hands, those tiny flames swelled rapidly, each transforming into a miniature blazing sun radiating searing heat and blinding light.
And in the very next instant, they all shot forward at once —
a storm of purple fireballs streaking toward the nine descending dragons roaring from the heavens!
This time, the flames Hephaestus summoned were deep violet, far more radiant and intense than his earlier pale-white cold fire.
The heat and destructive force had multiplied severalfold — so much so that the entire sky was illuminated in blazing light.
BOOM!
The nine colossal dragons roared as they plunged downward, twisting and coiling through the air.
The terrifying currents unleashed from their movements made even the void itself tremble violently.
The sheer force of it all — it felt as though anything caught within that storm would be annihilated completely.
And then — when those godlike torrents of violet flame, hurled in the wrath of a fire deity, collided head-on with the descending dragons—
CRACK!!!
A deafening fracture echoed out.
Fissures split open beneath Hephaestus's feet, spiderwebbing rapidly across the walls of Pangaea Castle.
Within a single second, the entire fortress wall reached its limit — and shattered completely.
Even the magnificent castle behind it cracked apart, walls splitting and groaning.
The whole of Pangaea Castle trembled violently, the earth itself roaring as if the world were about to collapse.
"Damn it!"
"I have to hold it—!"
Hephaestus's eyes burned blood-red. The pressure on him was immense — his body trembled, his muscles strained — yet he grit his teeth, refusing to falter.
He continued to control the countless blazing fireflies with sheer willpower, sending them surging upward to block the descending Nine Dragons of Thunder.
He could have evaded the attack at the very first instant, or even met it directly head-on.
But this was no deserted island — no endless sea.
If he failed to intercept the Nine Dragons before they struck the ground…
Then not just Pangaea Castle — but the entire World Government headquarters, and perhaps even half of Mary Geoise itself, would be wiped off the map in an instant!
That was a burden he could not — dared not — allow himself to bear.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The sound of fire tearing through the air filled the skies over Pangaea.
More and more violet flames streamed upward, until finally — through sheer effort and will — they managed to halt the dragons' descent, suspending them a few hundred meters above the castle.
The thunder gradually faded.
The pillars of violet fire scattered across the sky dimmed and vanished one by one.
As dawn light spilled over the Holy Land, anyone looking up would see a scar —
a vast, azure rift torn across the heavens, stretching from the island's center toward the farthest edge of the sky.
It was as if the very heavens of Mary Geoise had been split in two by their clash.
"Hah… hah…"
Hephaestus's face was deathly pale.
He gasped for breath, forcing his breathing back under control before glaring furiously across the ruined sky.
That bastard!
To unleash such island-obliterating destruction here, in the Holy Land of all places — it was beyond reckless. It was madness incarnate!
And yet…
As his gaze fell on Nao — who had just landed nearby, his own face pale and chest heaving for breath — a cold, grim smile crept across Hephaestus's lips.
This move was indeed terrifying — but clearly, it had also come at a great cost.
Judging by that guy's condition, it was obvious he wouldn't be able to unleash another strike of that magnitude again anytime soon.
Perfect.
Now was the time to counterattack — and take his life!
A flash of murderous resolve gleamed in Hephaestus's eyes. His entire body flared with blazing white firelight, and in the next instant, he shot forward like a flaming arrow straight toward Nao, who stood upon the far castle wall.
His speed was astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, he was already before Nao. The burning blade of flame reformed in his grip, and he brought it down in a vertical slash aimed squarely at Nao's head.
…Hmm?
The instant the blade struck, Hephaestus felt something was off.
The sensation transmitted through the sword was far too smooth — like a hot knife slicing through butter, without the slightest resistance.
Did he dodge using elementalization?
Impossible. His strike had been heavily infused with Armament Haki; at such close range, there was no way the opponent could have turned into lightning in time to evade it!
Before he could piece it together, the sword had already cleaved Nao cleanly from head to toe, hot blood splattering across Hephaestus's face.
And then—
Thud!
The bisected body hit the ground… only to blur, fade, and vanish completely.
Damn it—tricked!
Hephaestus's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately turned toward where the Five Elders were located — only to see them heavily guarded by elite troops, a tight formation surrounding them on all sides. A quick glance around revealed no sign of Nao anywhere.
"Good… he didn't—"
Before he could even finish exhaling in relief, a deafening crack of thunder rolled across the distance.
Hephaestus instinctively looked up — and saw, at the very top of Pangaea Castle, a streak of azure lightning flash across the sky, diving straight down toward a certain place behind the fortress.
When—?!
He froze for half a heartbeat before the realization struck him like lightning. His face drained of all color.
"No—!"
That bastard's target… is the Room of Flowers!
...
Behind Pangaea Castle — the Room of Flowers.
This was the dwelling place of the one who truly ruled the World Government — Imu.
Nao descended from the heavens, landing silently before the grand entrance.
As the lightning faded from his body, he lifted his gaze toward the mist-shrouded domain ahead — a place that seemed to exist beyond the mortal world.
Hephaestus had been an opponent on par with him — shaking free of such a foe was no easy feat.
The only reason he'd managed to slip away unnoticed and arrive here so swiftly was because he'd used a rarely employed special skill:
[Mirror Flower, Water Moon]
Type: Special innate ability
Description: Upon activation, you enter an invisible stealth state while leaving behind a perfect illusory clone.
The clone has no consciousness and will dissipate after 30 seconds.
Your invisibility lasts up to 5 seconds and will be broken immediately upon attacking.
Cooldown: 48 hours.
TL/N: This fanfic was written before the events of the Egghead Arc and the official reveal of the Five Elders' true combat abilities. Their portrayal here follows the older interpretation, emphasizing political power and authority rather than their now-canon divine strength. Please enjoy this story as an alternate take on the World Government's hierarchy.
,..
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin