"Uh—oh—oh—oh!"
"It's incredible—this is way too strong!"
"Two more Knights of God have been cut down by Fairy Tail!"
"That blind swordsman—I've heard the rumors!"
"Legend says his power rivals an Admiral—the top combat strength at Naval Headquarters!"
"Seeing it now, the stories don't do him justice. He's even more fearsome!"
"And that gentle, sweet Mirajane—who would've thought she'd fight like this?"
"She's earned the name Demon—her new form wasn't in any intel!"
"What are these Fairy Tail people? Almost every one of them is winning without a scratch!"
In the live-square at Sabaody, the tens of thousands of reporters and onlookers all shouted in amazement.
"Fairy Tail is basically a monster collective. I have no idea where Four Emperors Sugisawa Yuuto found so many powerful, beautiful fighters!"
—Supernova Skulachmanap curled his lip with envy.
"No—maybe they weren't all this strong before. They must've grown dramatically after joining Fairy Tail."
—Capone Bege of the Flame Tank Pirates muttered.
"Whatever their source, those powers look more like magic than Devil Fruit abilities."
—Sky Island's odd monk Urouge observed.
"If you want the truth, you'd probably have to join Fairy Tail to find out."
—Corrupted Rear Admiral Drake said flatly.
"Forget that—what I care about is the resurrected dead. I thought they couldn't take true form, but…" Captain Kid's eyes widened with a ghostly expression.
"Is it true one man fought an entire Big Mom force?" Kira the killer warrior stared, stunned.
—At Naval Headquarters' eastern front, history and memory had given form: Rocks, the returned Overlord of the Sea, carved a path through Big Mom's fleet. He grew only bolder with each swing, cutting down officers and ministers at random. Had Charlotte Katakuri not been orchestrating the defense, Big Mom's forces would already be bleeding heavily.
"Hahaha—Linlin, you thinking of surrendering? Keep resisting and I won't be merciful!" Rocks taunted, grinning fiercely.
"You must be joking—Rocks, how can an undead be so strong?!" Big Mom—Emperor Charlotte Linlin—screamed, frantic. She'd expected any power the undead might show to be a short amplification; instead, Rocks showed no weakening, only increasing ferocity, like the peak version of himself from thirty-six years ago.
That made grim sense. An undead formed by a caster's corpse-history draws its strength from the caster's magic. Compared to the twelve-shield Neinhardt of the Fairy Tail world, Sugisawa Yuuto's power was literally orders of magnitude greater—so the revenants summoned by him inherited tremendous might.
"Linlin—surrender. Swear fealty to Emperor Sugisawa Yuuto and I'll spare your life," Rocks offered, oddly measured.
"Don't you dare underestimate the Four Emperors!" Big Mom snarled.
"Then so be it," Rocks said. "If the opponent is you, I'll pay the price. I'll sacrifice a year of my life to gain more power—this is the only way I can get stronger."