The sounds of battle, shouts, cannon fire, and the clashing of blades blended into an endless roar of chaos.
The constant noise pollution seriously disturbed Rear Admiral Renzo's peaceful after-meal nap.
He had just finished Sanji's special tuna rice ball and was leaning lazily against a support pillar behind the execution platform, looking for a comfortable position to drift into sleep, when the sudden eruption of fighting nearby ruined his calm.
"Diamond" Jozu, Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, had transformed into a towering mountain of unbreakable diamond.
He ignored the hail of artillery raining down on him; the explosive shells that could tear through steel merely sparked harmlessly against his gleaming body with metallic clangs.
Head lowered like an enraged bull, he charged forward, tearing through the marine ranks layer by layer, carving out a path of destruction across the chaotic battlefield!
His goal was clear: break through from the flank and open a direct route to the execution platform!
At the same time, "Flower Blade" Vista, commander of the Fifth Division, danced alongside him, his twin blades fluttering like butterflies, elegant yet deadly.
Brilliant sword auras swept outward like living things, cutting down the marines in his path and clearing space for their advance.
The two captains moved with perfect coordination.
In an instant, they ripped open a gap in the navy's tight defense line, they were only moments away from breaking into the execution platform's core zone!
Several Vice Admirals roared and tried to intercept, but the other division commanders of Whitebeard's crew locked them in combat.
Up on the high platform, Sengoku frowned deeply.
Garp clenched his fist, both of them leaning forward, ready to personally strike down the attackers.
But someone moved first, or rather, barely moved at all.
Just as Jozu's diamond body was about to shatter through the last defensive shield wall, and Vista's twin swords drew their deadly petals aimed straight at the base of the platform,
Renzo sighed.
It was a sigh filled with helplessness, mild irritation, and the despair of being disturbed from his peace.
He didn't even bother to stand up.
Still half-reclined against the pillar, he lazily waved his hand toward them, as if brushing away an annoying fly that didn't exist.
"So noisy…" he muttered, voice soft yet eerily clear amid the battlefield's uproar.
"One's too hard, the other's too flashy. Both of you, calm down already."
[Sloth's Declaration] active.
No thunderous explosions.
No dazzling beams of light.
Only a formless, suffocating rule descended upon Jozu and Vista.
"Wha…?!"
Jozu's charging momentum halted abruptly!
Suddenly, his mighty diamond body felt unbearably… heavy.
It was as if every diamond atom in his body rebelled, protesting that moving was such a troublesome, thankless task.
He felt like he wasn't charging across ice anymore, but wading through a deep, sticky swamp ten thousand meters underwater!
His diamond feet sank deep into the ice, leaving massive indentations with each labored step.
He tried to roar, but even that felt exhausting; the sound rumbled uselessly in his diamond throat, muffled and dull.
Even the brilliance of his crystalline body dimmed, clouded over by a faint, gray haze of sloth.
"What's… happening to my body?!"
Panic flared in Jozu's mind. His strength was still there, but his will to move had been crushed under an invisible weight!
Vista, meanwhile, was in no better shape.
His once-fluid twin blades, which danced like butterflies, now felt entangled in invisible webs.
His arms grew weak and heavy; halfway through a sword flourish, a voice inside whispered: "Ugh, this is so tiring… maybe I'll stop here."
The sharp flying slash that should have sliced through steel now crawled sluggishly through the air, leaving a soft, fading trail before dissipating entirely, never even reaching the edge of the platform.
Vista tried to adjust his stance, but his wrists felt stiff, his usually weightless swords now heavy as iron clubs.
"My sword… It's slowing down?"
He stared at his trembling hands, disbelief and frustration flooding him.
Across from him, Jozu's eyes met his, both reflecting the same shock and confusion.
They struggled, mustering all their willpower and physical might to resist the invisible suppression.
Jozu growled, diamond muscles creaking as he forced himself half a step forward; Vista gritted his teeth, trying to reignite his sword aura.
But the "Law of Sloth" was like the stickiest glue, binding them tighter with every effort.
Renzo watched their futile struggle with the air of a teacher watching two stubborn children refuse to nap.
He shook his head, reached into his pocket, which seemed to be a small pocket dimension filled with Sanji's snacks, and pulled out a rice cracker. Crunch.
"Diamond's tough, sure," he mumbled through the crumbs, as if critiquing ingredients.
"But isn't moving around that much of a hassle? Standing still's much better."
To Jozu, that offhand remark sounded like divine judgment.
In an instant, his weight skyrocketed again, as if an invisible mountain had slammed down onto his shoulders!
Boom!
His massive diamond body sank to its knees, smashing two cratered holes into the ice.
He was pinned to the ground, unable to even lift his head.
Vista's eyes widened. In desperation, he crossed his blades, gathering the last of his strength to lunge forward, but his sword stopped a meter short of Renzo's shoulder.
Not blocked,
it simply… refused to move further.
As if the sword itself was too lazy to continue.
"...Tch." Renzo tilted his head slightly, glancing at the frozen sword tip inches from him, his tone carrying a genuine hint of annoyance.
"Put that away. It's dazzling."
At his words, Vista's arms went limp.
His swords nearly slipped from his grasp as an overwhelming urge to just sit down and rest overtook him.
Two of the New World's famed division commanders, Whitebeard's most trusted captains,
were simultaneously subdued by a seemingly lazy Marine Rear Admiral who was still snacking.
The scene was so unbelievable that the entire battlefield froze for a heartbeat.
Countless eyes, marine and pirate alike, turned toward the spectacle.
"Who the hell is that guy?! What did he do?!"
"Why aren't Jozu and Vista moving?!"
"Isn't that the Rear Admiral who was napping behind the scaffold?!"
The Marines stared in stunned disbelief, awe slowly spreading like wildfire.
Even Sengoku and Garp paused mid-action.
Sengoku adjusted his glasses, astonishment flickering in his eyes
He'd expected Renzo's ability to be useful, but not this absurdly effective.
Garp, mouth wide.
After a long silence, he muttered, "...Holy crap, this kid."
Meanwhile, in the Seven Warlords' camp,
Doflamingo's trademark grin froze on his face.
Behind his sunglasses, his eyes gleamed sharp as knives, locked onto the man who had effortlessly crushed two of Whitebeard's elite.
The fingers on his hand twitched unconsciously, tightening the thin strings coiled around his palm.
"Fufufufu…"
The low, eerie laugh escaped him, but beneath it burned a spark of rage and unease.
'Him again.'
'That damned ability again.'
It had been the same back on Warmwave Island, and now, here it was, mocking him once more.
That power, which made everything seem too troublesome to continue, was the perfect nemesis for someone like Doflamingo, who thrived on chaos and control.
His jaw clenched so tightly his gums bled.
At that same moment, on the central battlefield,
Whitebeard swung his naginata, Murakumogiri, unleashing another quake sphere that shattered the harbor.
The force of the tremor split Marineford's fortified walls wide open.
"Akainu!" Sengoku barked.
"Tch! Damn nuisance!"
Akainu roared, slamming his magma fist into the ground.
Rivers of molten rock surged forth, fusing with Aokiji's ice walls to patch the gaping cracks, desperately holding back Whitebeard's earth-shattering might.
The battle between the world's strongest man and the three Admirals raged on, each clash shaking heaven and earth.
And behind it all, Rear Admiral Renzo yawned, brushed crumbs from his coat, and leaned back against his pillar, perfectly calm amid the apocalypse.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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