BOOM!!
A colossal fist of magma hammered down from the heavens, its unparalleled heat instantly striking Whitebeard's body. The terrifying temperature and immense destructive power annihilated him in an instant, leaving nothing but vapor.
Splattering magma flew in all directions. Nearby, Van Augur and the others fled for their lives.
Where the magma fist had landed, a massive crater remained. The surrounding ground melted under the intense heat, a testament to the attack's horrifying power.
Van Augur and his crewmates used every trick they had to escape Akainu's assault, only to be met by a gigantic ice bird roaring toward them at extreme speed. Even before it arrived, a boundless wave of cold washed over them.
As the ice bird flew past, the ground flash-froze in its wake.
Van Augur placed his right hand on Burgess's shoulder, and the two vanished on the spot. Such was the power of the Warp-Warp Fruit.
The four from Impel Down were not so lucky. Shiryu of the Rain, Avalo Pizarro, Catarina Devon, and Vasco Shot were unable to get clear before the ice bird swept over them, instantly turning them into statues of ice, frozen in place.
The ice bird then slammed into the spot where Whitebeard had been. A powerful shockwave erupted, and as countless shards of ice flew through the air, the ground was rapidly encased in ice, even extinguishing the magma.
Crack…
Fortunately, the Armament Haki of Shiryu, Pizarro, Devon, and Vasco Shot was strong. After holding on for a couple of seconds, the ice shattered with a series of cracks, and the four broke free.
Rob Lucci wasn't so fortunate.
He had only managed to leap a few meters before the rapidly spreading frost caught him.
A few more wisps of frigid air blew past…
And a lifelike ice sculpture was formed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama arrived right on schedule. Countless beams of light shot down with immense force, instantly flooding a radius of several dozen meters in a blinding flash. Shiryu and the others, who hadn't had time to escape, became living targets.
Psh! Psh! Psh!
The light beams pierced through them, leaving countless bloody holes in their bodies.
A great mist of blood filled the air.
"Ooh, how cruel!" Kizaru drawled, a corner of his mouth twitching as he hovered in the air, his tone laced with mockery.
Sanjuan Wolf, standing on the sea's surface and clinging to a piece of a building, watched the unfolding chaos with trepidation. Seeing Shiryu and the others so grievously wounded by the combined attack of the three Admirals, he instantly dove into the depths of the ocean, not daring to surface again for fear of being noticed.
The one who had sustained the lightest injuries was Catarina Devon. As the user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nine-Tailed Fox, she possessed the powerful regenerative abilities of an awakened Zoan. After taking the barrage of light beams, she transformed into her nine-tailed fox form and leaped into the ranks of the Marines.
After a single touch, a new soldier appeared among the Marines. This was her mimicry ability.
The rest of the Impel Down pirates were instantly and critically injured, collapsing to the ground, their status unknown.
As for Ryuuto…
The three admirals' attacks had also enveloped him, but fortunately, he had managed to conjure a Lightning Shield around himself just in time.
Thick, golden lightning plasma flowed across the surface of the circular shield, forming a mysterious pattern that blocked all the incoming damage. The only downside was the immense energy it consumed.
BZZT!!
As the assault ended, the Lightning Shield around Ryuuto shattered under Vivi's worried gaze, revealing him inside, gasping for breath.
As for Blackbeard, Ryuuto could no longer sense his presence. Struck repeatedly by Ryuuto's lightning plasma and then caught in the admirals' joint attack, Blackbeard now lay瘫 in a pathetic heap on the ground. His body was riddled with bloody holes, a large pool of blood spreading beneath him. He was deader than dead.
"Ryuuto, stop struggling. Today is the day you die!" Aokiji said, slowly walking over.
From another direction, Akainu limped forward, helping to encircle Ryuuto. Kizaru moved his fingers slightly, clearly taking aim.
"This is really not good," Ryuuto said softly, shaking his head as he struggled to his feet.
"Ryuuto!!" On the other side of the battlefield, Hancock landed a kick on Sengoku's arm, then spun and leaped away, racing toward Ryuuto. She had clearly realized the danger he was in.
Crocus and Vice Admiral Strawberry traded blows, and both landed back where they stood, eyeing each other warily. "Crocus, the doctor of the Roger Pirates," Vice Admiral Strawberry began. "You're not known for your combat prowess, but it seems I've underestimated you!"
"I'm just a retired old man," Crocus replied lightly, his eyes constantly glancing toward Ryuuto, his face etched with worry.
Meanwhile, Jean Bart was fighting Vice Admiral Yamakaji. Empowered by the Mad Blood Fruit, Jean Bart's body was flushed crimson as he attacked with furious speed, trying to shake the cigar-chomping Vice Admiral. But every time, Yamakaji would block him with a slash of his black blade. Jean Bart was growing more and more frantic.
"Kizaru, your opponent is me!" Marco, who had already begun to retreat, saw Ryuuto's dire situation. With a powerful beat of his wings, he summoned a massive surge of his Flames of Regeneration and charged toward Kizaru once more.
"Marco, you can't change the outcome," Kizaru said calmly, a glint of light reflecting off his sunglasses.
"I just want to have no regrets!" Marco roared, the flames on his wings burning even more fiercely as he lunged at Kizaru with his talons extended.
In that instant, powerful black lightning crackled everywhere!
'Ryuuto, this is all I can do to help you!' Marco thought, glancing back at Ryuuto during a lull in the fighting.
"Bastard! Just die already!!" Luffy, hiding behind several division commanders, screamed madly at the scene.
"Hancock, you can't save him!" Sengoku bellowed. He pressed his palms together, and a powerful shockwave shot toward Hancock's path.
Countless buildings shattered as the shockwave, carrying a cloud of dust and debris, hurtled toward her.
BOOM!!
Hancock kicked out, her peerless long leg colliding with the shockwave.
A flash of black and red lightning split the heavens, dividing the space between them. On one side was the gray佛之冲击波 of the Buddha's shockwave; on the other, the overwhelming power of Conqueror's Haki.
"Is this all it takes to claim my life?"
"Hahahahahaha…"
"Then let this island fall into eternal silence!"
As Aokiji and Akainu closed in, the grim expression on Ryuuto's face suddenly gave way to a smile. He began to laugh wildly, his voice ringing across the sky.
"The time has come!" Ryuuto had been steadily drawing down the island-sized thundercloud from high in the atmosphere. Seeing that it was finally ready, he thought to himself and then roared, "Raigo!"
"Perish!"
As Ryuuto's voice fell, a brilliant golden light erupted from his body. Golden lightning exploded outwards, and in an instant, Ryuuto himself dissolved into countless bolts of lightning and vanished.
"Is that little trick all you have? You can't escape!" Aokiji said coldly as he continued his slow advance. He took another step, and his body turned into an ice sculpture that shattered instantly.
'I've found you!' Aokiji thought. The shattered ice was blown away by the wind; he had already transformed into a wave of cold air, chasing after Ryuuto.
A golden bolt of lightning was now streaking toward the sky.
Akainu spotted Ryuuto's ascent. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he stomped hard, and with magma erupting from his right arm, he shot after him.
"Meigo!" Akainu yelled, the magma on his right hand churning and morphing into a vicious dog's head. This was his strongest single-target attack, one that could supposedly annihilate any Logia user or pierce any Armament Haki. With this one punch, he would ensure his target's demise.
RUMBLE!!
With a tremendous clap of thunder, both pirates and marines looked up at the sky. To their horror, they saw a black sphere of lightning, thousands of meters in diameter, rapidly descending upon Marineford. Ryuuto had already pulled the island cloud down from ten thousand meters, and it was now only two or three thousand meters above the ground.
"It's a thundercloud! A thundercloud the size of an island!"
"Run! That massive ball of lightning is about to fall!"
"Save us!"
On the ground at Marineford, some people were running in panic, others stood frozen like statues, and still others had collapsed, able only to scream for help. The sight of the terrifying thundercloud struck fear into everyone's hearts.
"It's that island cloud!" Vivi watched the scene with a spark of hope. "Captain, hurry, just a little faster!" she whispered. Vivi knew that if her captain could reach that thundercloud, he would be saved.
Jean Bart and Crocus, seeing this, also understood Ryuuto's plan. Shaking off the Vice Admirals they were fighting, they moved instantly, rushing toward the coast where Vivi was.
Hancock watched Ryuuto streak into the sky and had a moment of clarity. "Slave Arrow!!" She fired a barrage of pink, heart-shaped arrows at Sengoku, and with a sound of tearing air, she too disappeared. 'It's that girl!' Hancock thought, heading in Vivi's direction.
RUMBLE!!
As Ryuuto drew closer to the massive sphere of lightning in the sky, he felt its pull grow stronger. Dozens of blue lightning bolts crashed down toward the ground. In an instant, the ground was alive with flashing light, painting the entire sky blue.
Seeing this, Akainu stomped on the air, accelerating toward Ryuuto. Aokiji's form reappeared, now holding a spear made of ice.
The thundercloud, thousands of meters across, descended, casting all of Marineford in shadow. Its sheer presence was like the wrath of heaven itself.
The ground had devolved into chaos. The members of the Whitebeard Pirates, under the command of their division commanders, were scrambling for the remaining ships. To them, escaping the island was the only way to be safe.
"Can Admiral Kuzan and Admiral Sakazuki stop this?" Countless marines began to pray.
"We can't let that thundercloud fall! The island won't withstand it!" Sengoku muttered, his eyes fixed on the sky. "It's up to you, Kuzan, Sakazuki!"
"Wolf, quick, let's go!" Van Augur appeared beside Sanjuan Wolf with Burgess in tow, urging him on.
"Wait for me!" A person in a marine uniform shouted to them from a short distance away. As they ran, their form shifted back into that of Catarina Devon.
"This is terrifying!" Sanjuan Wolf cried, his face a mask of fear, as he carried Van Augur and the others, speeding across the surface of the sea.
The terrifying black thundercloud descended rapidly, now only a thousand meters high. As it got lower, the lightning strikes became more frequent and intense. Countless bolts of blue lightning slammed into the ground, shaking the entire island and blasting open innumerable deep craters.
Amidst several thick bolts of blue lightning, the tiny figures of Ryuuto, Aokiji, and Sakazuki continued their ascent.
'Faster, just a little faster!' Ryuuto screamed internally, his heart pounding to its absolute limit as he gazed at the massive island cloud just ahead. He knew this was his last chance.
"Ryuuto, die!" Aokiji roared, hurling the ice spear in his hand toward Ryuuto.
"Yata no Kagami!" Kizaru, having finally shaken off Marco, brought his hands together and fired a beam of light. His body moved at incredible speed between the reflecting beams, closing in on Ryuuto.
The three admirals believed that if they could just eliminate Ryuuto, the thundercloud would dissipate on its own.
"Great Eruption!" Akainu, realizing he couldn't catch up, unleashed a torrent of magma from his hand, which formed into a giant magma fist and shot toward Ryuuto.
"FASTER!" Feeling the fatal attacks closing in behind him, Ryuuto roared, using every last ounce of his strength to accelerate, and shot into the thundercloud.
RUMBLE!!
Now, Ryuuto's ears were filled with nothing but the roar of thunder. His strength completely spent, he lay limply amidst the lightning, letting the bolts course over his body. At the same time, the massive magma fist and the ice spear plunged into the cloud after him.
BANG! BANG!
However, under the effect of the countless bolts of lightning, they were instantly vaporized. This was the power of lightning, enough to destroy an entire island.
Kizaru's body came to an abrupt halt just as he was about to enter the cloud. Feeling the thunder rumbling within, he sensed a deadly power that promised certain death.
"Phew… The captain made it!" Seeing Ryuuto successfully enter the thundercloud, Vivi's tense heart could finally rest.
"Well done, Ryuuto!" A smile appeared on Hancock's face.
Hancock, Vivi, Crocus, and Jean Bart had all gathered together. Each of them held a straw doll in their hand, ready to retreat the moment things went wrong.
Just then, a massive, dark-red, dragon-headed ship appeared, sailing toward them from the distance.