Gagao Island.
In the jungle outside the royal castle.
Sakazuki clapped his hands and rose to his feet not far away. "Well said."
He ignored the revolutionaries who were too shocked to move. "But unfortunately... you made the wrong bet."
Step by step, he walked forward and pressed his hand over Ivankov's, the one holding the Den Den Mushi.
Crack!
Ivankov's hand, along with the snail, was crushed into a mess of flesh.
His already huge face twisted in agony. "Ahhh! It hurts! Damn it, when did you—"
Inazuma quickly reacted. "Everyone! Don't hesitate! Run now! Stay alive!"
At the same time, his hands turned into giant scissors and stabbed into the ground. With a twist, the earth peeled upward like sheets of paper, folding layer upon layer over Sakazuki.
The admiral looked at the approaching wave of earth with cold indifference. Still gripping Ivankov in his hand, he swung him aside.
Boom, boom, boom…
Ivankov's body smashed uncontrollably through the incoming waves of earth, shattering them before he lay still, seemingly unconscious.
Inazuma froze, teeth clenched. He dared not strike again, staring hard at Sakazuki.
Bang, bang, bang…
The fighters around them refused to flee, firing desperately at him.
From the castle walls in the distance, bright lights lit up. The commotion had clearly alerted the kingdom's guards, who were now gathering in formation.
Sakazuki glanced at the revolutionaries. "Quite the unexpected catch. If I hadn't come today, you might have actually succeeded. Now I've helped them eliminate the threat to their nation's survival. I'll have to make the Gregoria Kingdom pay for that later."
Bullets riddled his body with holes that instantly closed without effect. A few even struck Ivankov by accident.
Grinding his teeth, Inazuma roared, "Everyone, leave the island now! Don't cling to false hope! Squad leaders, organize the retreat! This is an order! An order!"
The gunfire ceased, but none of the soldiers withdrew. They held their rifles pointed at Sakazuki.
He let out a faint snort and turned to Inazuma. "Well trained. Loyal too."
Inazuma's giant scissors snapped shut with frustration. 'Damn it…'
But then, Ivankov, who had been lying limp with his arm in Sakazuki's grasp, suddenly opened his eyes wide. "Hee-Haw!"
His fingers sprouted sharp needles that shot toward the admiral.
The syringe tips drew closer to Sakazuki's leg and a spark of triumph flashed in Ivankov's eyes.
Sakazuki looked down at him with an indifferent gaze. Seeing no reaction, the revolutionary thrust even harder. As the needles pierced through the fabric of his trousers, he cried out. "Got you!"
Crack!
Under Sakazuki's calm expression, the syringes in Ivankov's hand broke. The former's body had been coated in jet-black Armament Haki without notice.
Bang!
Before Ivankov could react, a heavy blow caved his chest inward, bones snapping as he was sent hurtling into Inazuma.
The deputy commander raised slabs of stone like flowing waves to absorb the impact, but Ivankov still smashed through several layers before crashing into him, barely stopping his fall.
Gasping, Ivankov jabbed himself with a syringe of excitement hormones. His body jolted. "Heee-Haw!"
He leapt up once more, landing firmly on his feet, and shouted with renewed strength, "Everyone! Retreat at once! Leave this to me and Inazuma! We'll meet at the old spot!"
The soldiers, reassured by his apparent recovery, straightened.
"Yes, sir!"
With lifted morale, they pulled back fast.
These ordinary fighters had no idea what it truly meant to face an admiral. Nor did they realize that even with hormones pumping through his veins, Ivankov's body trembled. It wasn't from strain; it was fear.
Inazuma stood beside him, face blank, trying to steady the troops' nerves.
Sakazuki raised an arm. The simple motion nearly broke their composure.
He just chuckled lightly and pulled a Den Den Mush from his pocket.
Purururu~ Purururu~
Click.
Sengoku's voice rang from the other end.
"How is it, Sakazuki?"
"Ivankov has been captured," he said flatly.
"And I've caught another one too."
He looked at Inazuma. "What was your name again?"
"Inazuma," he answered calmly.
Sakazuki nodded. "Another one called Inazuma. Seems his rank isn't low either. If I'd arrived half a day later, this kingdom would've been erased."
A sigh came from Sengoku's side. "I see. So even the government had no intel on this..."
"Yes," Sakazuki responded. "We can't rely on their information alone. It's time we built an intelligence branch of our own. Since we saved the Gregoria Kingdom from destruction, the payment won't be small. We can use it to establish the unit."
"You have a point." Sengoku agreed. "We'll discuss it in a meeting later. Have you caught their leaders?"
"Yes. The top ones are secured."
With a flick of his fingers, Sakazuki blew apart the legs of several squad leaders directing the retreat in the rear. Their lower bodies erupted in blood mist. Those who tried to rush forward and help were struck down just as mercilessly by his air bullets.
Ivankov and Inazuma's eyes burned with fury, but they didn't dare move.
"Good," Sengoku spoke. "Send them all to Impel Down. The government will handle the interrogation."
"Understood."
Click.
Sakazuki closed the snail and looked at the two. "Now, surrender quietly."
Ivankov glared at him. "You truly are the admiral known across the world for your brutality. They're just ordinary soldiers, no real threat. And yet… you show no mercy at all."
His remaining intact hand sprouted syringes aimed at Sakazuki.
The admiral chuckled. "Brutal? I'll carry that responsibility. But you... what nonsense are you spouting? Was tonight just a game of make-believe for you? Gathering soldiers, gunpowder, cannons; were those for decoration? If this battle had started in earnest, the dead would've been far more than this.
"Liberation? Freedom? Did you ask the soldiers who died for the kingdom what they wanted? Killing... there's no need to dress it up. It's only a matter of standing on different sides. If I kill your men, isn't that natural? So why define yourself as the side of justice, standing on a moral high ground to lecture others? huh?"
His arm ignited into molten magma, thick smoke swirling in the glow.
Ivankov opened his mouth to argue but found no words. He had killed plenty too. From the other side's view, he deserved death as well.
Inazuma snapped him back. "Don't let him sway you. Questions like that can't be answered."
With every escape route blocked, no answer could be right… unless no one ever died in war.
He plunged his hands into the ground and shifted swiftly. Ivankov also injected another hormone.
"Emporio Face Growth Synthesis!"
His face ballooned to several times its size, forming a massive wall. He sucked in a deep breath and yelled.
"Hell Wink!!!"
An enhanced version of his Death Wink, powerful enough to blast through walls and send a mushroom cloud nearly a hundred meters high. He didn't hold back against Sakazuki, unleashing his full strength immediately.
The air wave surged toward the admiral at incredible speed, while Inazuma simultaneously raised layers of the ground in his direction.
Boom!
The air wave reached Sakazuki first and detonated. The stone slabs surrounding him formed a makeshift barrier, concentrating the blast's force. But it lasted only an instant before the slabs shattered.
A sharp mushroom cloud erupted, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
Inazuma rushed to Ivankov's side, crossing his scissors in front of his chest.
Ivankov waved away the smoke. "Cough... did it work?"
Crack! Crack!
Two sharp snaps of bone echoed.
"Of course not." Sakazuki appeared behind them, holding both their arms, crushing them with ease. "And this is your so-called hell?"
His lips curved into a cruel smile.
"Magma Burst."
BOOM!
The entire island shook violently, waking everyone on it.
Endless red light rose from the jungle outside the royal castle, and the intense tremors and partial shockwaves caused the castle walls to quiver and collapse.
But most of the eruption surged toward the revolutionaries' escape route, a directed blast.
Magma spread outward like a fan, devouring mountains and forests alike. The flowing lava and suffocating smoke consumed everything in their path.
It was as if hell itself had descended.
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