A hundred-meter-class emerald slash tore through the sky, wrapped in black-and-crimson lightning as it crashed down like divine punishment.
Where it passed, even the air let out a strained, overburdened wail.
Facing a strike that could cleave mountains, Kael Grylls reverse-gripped the black-gold naginata Nidhogg on his back and flicked it upward.
A black-and-gold slash just as massive screamed out, meeting the emerald blade head-on.
The two forces collided and erased each other in midair.
In the instant the slashes met, Kael slid several meters to the side. Where he had been standing, multiple razor-sharp shadow thorns burst from the ground. If he had been a heartbeat slower, he would have been skewered clean through.
"Kishishishi… not bad reflexes."
Moria's gloomy laughter came from all directions.
The next moment, the island's shadows churned. Dozens of shadow soldiers, blades and spears in hand, clawed their way out and charged Kael in silence.
Damn it, Moria, stop slacking off! Where are your technique names?!
Kael's expression did not change. His naginata drew a perfect arc.
"Light Blade: Sevenfold Skybreak!"
A circular, rainbow-hued shockwave expanded from him. Every shadow soldier that touched it was sliced apart instantly without a sound, their shattered forms sinking back into the ground.
The moment the field was cleared, a hawk's gaze locked onto Kael.
Mihawk was already in his face, appearing out of nowhere. Both hands gripped Yoru as he brought down a plain, unadorned overhead chop that carried the will to cut through anything.
Kael raised Nidhogg to block.
Boom!
The blades did not actually meet.
Two peak-tier Haki pressures slammed into each other between the edges, compressing into a visible, shrinking sphere of energy. The space around it warped.
The crushing force surged from the point of impact. The ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, spiderwebbing outward.
In that split second of stalemate, Kael's shadow twisted.
Moria erupted from it.
His enormous body blotted out the sunlight, and a massive saber wrapped in dense Haki carved straight toward Kael's unguarded back.
Front and back. No room to dodge.
Kael let out a muffled grunt and exploded with power.
Mihawk felt a tidal force crash through his blade. His body slid back uncontrollably, skidding more than ten meters and plowing two deep trenches into the rock.
The instant he forced Mihawk back, Kael did not even look.
Nidhogg whirled behind him at an extreme angle, catching Moria's sneak attack with pinpoint precision.
"Quake Peak: Earthcry Wave!"
The butt of the naginata slammed into the ground.
A formless ripple burst outward across the island. Solid earth bucked violently. Boulders shattered. Waves of soil rolled like surf. The whole island became an angry sea.
Rocks split, dust exploded into the air, and both Mihawk and Moria had to retreat to avoid the edge of it.
Kael used the opening to break away and widen the distance again.
Another furious exchange followed. Blade light and shadow tore through the air, and the island's terrain was completely rewritten. Peaks were shaved flat. Forests were reduced to barren ground.
At last, the three figures separated again, facing each other from a distance in a triangular formation.
Kael lowered into a slight crouch, both hands on the naginata, settling into a heavy, steady opening stance.
His breathing lengthened. His whole presence fused with the surroundings.
Across from him, Mihawk and Moria turned grim. Kael's aura was rising at an unbelievable speed.
In Mihawk's hawk eyes, light flared. He held Yoru across his chest, gathering endless sword intent. Emerald brilliance flickered along the blade's edge.
Moria let out a low shout. "Shadow Collection Ground!"
The island's shadows became torrents, flooding into his body.
Already huge, Moria swelled further. Muscles knotted. Bones groaned under the strain. He transformed into a terrifying giant dozens of meters tall, like a demonic god come to life.
The air congealed.
The sea breeze stopped.
Even the clouds seemed to freeze.
Kael broke the dead silence first. He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled like a dragon's roar.
"Dragon Banish!"
The same move that had once shattered Marineford.
A pitch-black, dragon-shaped slash tore free. A savage head, a winding body, destruction in every scale. It roared as it charged the two of them.
Where the black dragon passed, space fractured piece by piece.
Mihawk saw nothing else.
Only the roaring dragon.
He swung with both hands and released his strongest strike.
A gigantic, cross-shaped emerald slash over three hundred meters long ripped through the air, its edge so sharp it felt like it would split sky and earth together.
"Shadow: Longinus Lance!"
Giant Moria gathered everything into his right arm. Countless shadows condensed into a massive, ominous knight's lance, and with a furious throw, he hurled it screaming straight into the black dragon.
BOOM!!!
For one instant, the world lost all sound.
Three forces representing the pinnacle of destruction collided at the island's center.
Blinding light swallowed everything. Then came an explosion violent enough to tear eardrums apart.
The ancient desolate island beneath them began disintegrating from the center outward, pulverized into dust. The raging shockwave swept it into the sea.
A moment later, the white glare faded.
Where the island had been, there was only a bottomless void. Ocean water poured into it in a frenzy, forming a gigantic whirlpool.
Desolate Island: Feed me peanuts!
At the whirlpool's edge, several surviving chunks of massive timber bobbed on the waves.
Kael, Mihawk, and Moria stood on one floating log.
Moria had already shrunk back to normal. He braced his hands on his knees, gulping air in huge breaths, sweat soaking his clothes.
Mihawk still stood upright, but the hand gripping Yoru trembled slightly.
Kael's breathing was uneven too, chest rising and falling. Fighting both of them and throwing out that kind of attack was clearly not effortless even for him.
"So tired."
Kael sheathed Nidhogg, plopped down on the log, and let out a long breath. Any trace of "supreme powerhouse aura" was gone, replaced by pure complaining.
"So tired," Kael whined up at the sky, voice limp. "Hawk-Eyes, you promised, okay? Extra food at lunch. I want salmon."
Mihawk suspected he was hallucinating.
His sometimes imposing, dignified boss had apparently turned into a chibi character wearing a salted-fish hood, rolling around on a log throwing a tantrum.
He pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
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