Zap!
A violent bolt of lightning tore through the sky and struck the grinning Disaster head-on. Half of his body was blown away, spinning helplessly through the air before crashing hard into the shattered ground.
"Damn it! So what if I touched you!" Disaster screeched, his voice shrill and venomous. "Do not act like you have already won! Disgusting, your hand is filthy!"
Admiral Silver Serpent brushed his shoulder with a look of pure revulsion and clicked his tongue. "What kind of monster are you supposed to be? You have been electrocuted into pieces, yet you are still breathing."
"Hehehehehe..."
Disaster lay sprawled across the rubble, his mangled body slowly knitting itself back together. Torn flesh regenerated at a visible pace, bones cracking as they realigned.
His shriveled, pale-blue eyes fixed themselves on the full moon above, his lips curling into a twisted grin. "You are finished. Just like that blasphemer before you."
"I was once a man who consumed the Disaster Fruit. Everything I touch attracts Disaster without end. You pitiful creatures can only die while drowning in fear and despair."
"What a shame. The gods' curse continues to spread. This world will eventually sink into an inescapable abyss."
"Attract Disaster?" Admiral Silver Serpent murmured, narrowing his eyes.
A sudden realization struck him. "Is that why that gambling-addicted blind man disappeared? Was he afraid of bringing Disaster upon those around him?"
Disaster raised one hand weakly.
"Disaster Technique, Rolling Stone."
Crack!
The distant mountain trembled violently. A thunderous rumble echoed as massive chunks of stone broke loose from the cliffside.
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
Boulders the size of houses began tumbling down the slope, smashing through trees as they thundered toward the forest below. The aftermath of the lightning strike had triggered a full-scale landslide.
"There are quite a few of them," Silver Serpent said lazily, hands tucked into his pockets as his justice coat fluttered behind him. He did not move an inch as the boulders closed in. "For ordinary people, this would be a dead end, right?"
"Hehehe... everyone reacts the same way at first," Disaster rasped. "Arrogant. Dismissive."
Still lying on the ground, he stared at Silver Serpent as though already mourning the dead. "Everything is decided by fate. I cannot escape. They cannot escape. And neither can you."
Boom!
The first boulder smashed directly into Silver Serpent. His body shattered into countless fragments of silver-white lightning that scattered violently through the air.
Another boulder followed, passing straight through the dispersing lightning and rolling onward. Then another, and another.
Rumble!
Dust exploded outward, filling the air as massive stones buried the entire area where the admiral had stood moments earlier.
By sheer coincidence, every boulder curved away from Disaster, leaving him untouched amid the devastation.
...
The dust slowly settled.
Disaster dragged himself upright, his gaze locking onto faint electric arcs flickering in the distance. His lips trembled as he spoke.
"Do you think you escaped?"
"No. Disaster does not end. The more types of Disaster you avoid, the stronger it becomes. Its duration has no limit."
"It will only stop when you finally die."
Zap! Zap!
The scattered lightning converged midair, reforming into a human figure.
Admiral Silver Serpent hovered above the rubble, staring at Disaster with genuine surprise. "So that is how it works. You have awakened the Disaster Fruit."
At the word awakened, fear briefly flashed through Disaster's lifeless eyes. His body twitched violently as he looked up.
"Do not awaken," he hissed hoarsely. "You will be..."
Black flames erupted from his body without warning, engulfing him completely.
"...reaped."
His voice cut off abruptly. Disaster's eyes snapped shut, his body stiffening as though something inside him had been forcibly shut down.
...
When his eyes opened again, the faint glimmer of reason was gone.
"You will not escape," he croaked. "There are countless Disasters in this world. One you truly fear will descend and take your life."
"And those who remain beside you will suffer as well."
He let out a hollow laugh. "If your companions were here just now, they would already be dead."
"You will endure this torment alone until the final Disaster arrives. Only then will you find release."
"Entangled by Disaster, and it spreads to those nearby," Silver Serpent murmured, exhaling slowly. "So that is why Fujitora vanished."
A faint smile crossed his face. "I knew it. That gambling-addicted blind man would not fall so easily."
Disaster lifted his hand once more.
"Disaster Technique, Fatal Weakness."
Click.
High above, an ancient, rust-eaten crossbow lodged in the mountainside suddenly snapped to life. Its corroded spring activated after decades of stillness.
Whoosh!
The Sea Stone bolt shot forward, slicing through the air directly toward Silver Serpent's temple.
In an instant, a vision flashed through his mind. His skull pierced, his body collapsing lifelessly atop the rubble.
"The aura of death," he muttered.
Top-tier Observation Haki activated.
"What?" His pupils shrank sharply. "So I can actually be killed by this?"
"Damn it. This ability really is troublesome."
Zap!
Silver Serpent vanished in a flash of lightning.
The Sea Stone bolt pierced nothing but empty air before clattering harmlessly against the ground.
Zap! Zap!
Silver Serpent reappeared above, staring at the bolt with a solemn expression. "Rolling stones carrying Sea Stone weapons. This Disaster is beyond absurd."
"You cannot escape," Disaster said flatly. "Until I die completely, Disaster will never stop pursuing you."
"I once erased an entire country," he continued. "Millions died, simply because their king was my enemy."
"He survived countless Disasters due to his strength. In the end, a falling meteor crushed him."
"And everyone else died with him."
Silver Serpent frowned deeply, studying the broken figure before him.
This was not an enemy driven by hatred.
It was a puppet, cursed into destruction.
And there was only one way to end the Disaster.
Kill him.
===
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