The Grand Line — Fred Sea.
After the battle, the entire region had become a horrifying sea of blood.
Aboard the Soul Society, Aokiji was bound tightly to the main mast.
Chains formed from condensed spiritual pressure wrapped around his body, suppressing him completely. With his injuries as severe as they were, he couldn't even turn into his elemental form.
A Marine Admiral—
reduced to a hostage.
For Aokiji, this humiliation would never be forgotten
"Ren Kuro… how many forces do you think the Marines will send?" Gin Ichimaru asked lazily as he stepped beside him.
"With Sengoku's personality, he'll mobilize everything he can," Ren Kuro replied calmly. "But it won't matter. In such a short time, the forces Marine Headquarters can gather are limited. Against five Admiral-level fighters, they won't act recklessly."
He glanced at Aokiji deliberately, his tone sharpening slightly.
"Besides… Kuzan is still in our hands. Sengoku knows exactly what it means to risk losing an Admiral."
"Ah, what a shame." Gin sighed theatrically. "I was hoping to have another round with Kizaru. Next time, I won't let him escape."
"Who knows?" Ren Kuro smirked. "Maybe they won't be able to hold themselves back."
At that moment—
a disturbance broke across the distant sea.
All eyes turned at once.
On the horizon, thirty massive warships appeared in formation, cutting across the waves at high speed.
At the front—
Sengoku stood at the bow, gripping the railing, his expression dark.
Even from afar, the stench of blood in the air was unmistakable.
The sea below was dyed red.
Countless Marine corpses floated across its surface.
Though he had prepared himself for the worst—
seeing it with his own eyes still felt like his chest was being torn apart.
Five Vice Admirals.
Thousands of elite Marines.
All—
slaughtered.
"…Damn it." Sengoku's fists tightened against the railing. "What a brutal method."
Behind him, a voice spoke.
"Should we begin bombardment?"
Sengoku fell silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"No."
"Kuzan is still in their hands. And even if he wasn't…" His gaze hardened. "Do you really think cannon fire would work on monsters like them?"
Even for him—
facing five Admiral-level enemies was suffocating.
Meanwhile — Soul Society
Just as the punitive fleet arrived—
Ren Kuro gave the order.
"Move forward."
Instead of waiting, the Shinigami Pirates advanced.
"Looks like Kizaru's here after all." Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, spotting the familiar figure aboard one of the warships.
Though Kizaru's wounds had healed—
his severed arm had not.
Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze turned cold as it landed on another figure.
"Akainu…"
If given another chance—
he would not hesitate to kill him again.
"Ha!" Kenpachi Zaraki rested his blade over his shoulder and burst into laughter.
"Thirty warships. Four Admiral-level fighters. Fifteen Vice Admirals. Tens of thousands of Marines!"
His grin widened like a beast catching the scent of prey.
"I can finally have some fun!"
With a single step forward—
Kenpachi's spiritual pressure erupted.
It poured down from the sky like a crushing weight, so dense it seemed almost tangible. The air itself warped under the pressure, as if the heavens were being forced downward.
Under that terrifying force—
the Marine soldiers on the opposing fleet began to tremble violently.
Their minds buzzed.
Their vision blurred.
One by one—
they collapsed.
Within seconds, over half the soldiers fell unconscious.
All of it—
from spiritual pressure alone.
"…That man is a monster." Garp's expression turned grave, something rarely seen. For the first time in a long while, he felt genuine danger.
Even he—
was wary.
"That pressure…" Kizaru muttered, his usual laziness gone. "It's even more frightening than the Poison Blade's…"
His gaze locked onto Gin.
The memory of losing his arm flashed through his mind.
"Kenpachi," Ren Kuro said as he stepped forward, "including Sengoku and Garp, there are four Admiral-level fighters on their side."
"Four, huh?"
Kenpachi grinned wildly.
"That should be enough to keep me entertained."
His blood boiled.
His eyes burned with battle-lust.
"To truly enjoy this fight…"
Kenpachi slowly raised his hand to the black eyepatch covering his right eye.
"I'll have to remove my seal."
"…A seal?" Sengoku's pupils shrank slightly. A deep sense of unease rose within him.
"…Don't tell me that pressure earlier wasn't his full strength…" Garp's face grew even more serious.
For a moment—
he felt as if the man standing before them wasn't human—
but a blood-soaked demon from hell.
"Now…"
Kenpachi's grin stretched wide.
"…the real game begins."
With that—
he tore off his eyepatch.
BOOM—
A pillar of golden spiritual pressure exploded into the sky.
It was even more violent than before.
The energy condensed into a tangible force, erupting outward like countless streams of light, sweeping away the cold air and illuminating the entire sky.
The clouds churned violently.
Thunder roared.
Golden light flooded everything—
the sky, the sea, the entire Fred Sea.
Under that overwhelming pressure—
space itself seemed to tremble.
The battle—
was about to truly begin.
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