The moment that thought crossed his mind, Sengoku trembled all over.
He realized, with a chill, that he'd been infiltrated—his mind subtly guided by Roya, steered toward dangerous decisions by an invisible force.
"It's terrifying," he thought, cold sweat rolling down his face as he watched the panicked expressions of the Navy's elite below. The fear and humiliation turned to barely contained rage.
"Full assault! Crush them!" Sengoku barked, ordering attackers to reclaim face and morale.
Yet, anyone watching could see the pirates already held the upper hand. Sengoku was outmaneuvered—cornered by Roya's strategy—and couldn't issue the order to execute Ace before the outcome was decided. Their perimeter had already been shattered by the first volley from Roya's fleet.
All it would take was Whitebeard to break through to rescue Ace—and the pirates would have unchallenged freedom of movement. In such a standoff, even loyal Navy officers hesitated. Three seconds passed since Sengoku's command—and still, no one moved.
"This is Roya's battlefield," Marco murmured to Whitebeard, both recognizing the brilliance of his plan. Every sailor, every officer, froze—aware they were walking into a trap.
In response to correction and resistance, Whitebeard planted his feet and braced himself. Suddenly, lava surged from the execution stage below.
It was Akainu's signature move, "Meigo HellHound"—a magma-arm launched at Roia's position at blinding speed!
Even Whitebeard flinched, raising his bisento in reflex—but there was no time to block.
Roya, however, remained calm—unaware, as if Akainu's magma arm was nothing more than an ant—which indeed it seemed like from Roya's perspective, thanks to his mastery of Observation Haki.
In a blink, the molten limb slid by harmlessly, leaving no scorch marks.
Akainu's eyes widened in shock. Instantly, his magma fist transformed into a snarling dog-head erupting lava from jagged fangs—a twisted version of his original technique: "Dog Bite: Crimson Lotus"
Whitebeard responded in kind—swinging the bisento violently. Light cascaded off the blade as it sliced toward the magma dog-head, threatening to sever Akainu's arm.
But at the same moment, multiple jagged ice spikes shot in from the right, heading straight for Royas ribs! Whitebeard shifted his angle, but couldn't intercept the ice.
Thankfully, Marco intercepted midair—using his Phoenix form to slam into the ice spike just as the light-based attack from Kizaru shot across the field as well. Akainu found himself suddenly on the defensive—his magma transformed and manipulated from all sides.
Amid this chaos, Roya stood serene, a slight smile on his face. His perceptive Observation Haki reached out:
From his right hand, he twined his haki into each ice spike, wresting control mid-flight and redirecting them—toward Akainu's lava dog-head.
From his left, he produced countless Haki micro-particles, each instantly drawn to intercept the incoming light projectiles.
In that moment, Whitebeard's bisento struck the lava dog-head with terrible force—precisely timed with Roia's reallocated attacks. The head was vaporized, freezing instantly into an ice-dog sculpture as the spike punctured it—shattering his magma limb into hardened volcanic glass.
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