"Thunder Dragon King's Collapsing Fist!!!"
BOOM!
RUMBLE!
Jet-black lightning crackled furiously as the Thunder Dragon King's fist slammed directly into the body of the bull-headed giant—one of the Five Elders.
The immense power behind the strike shattered the already-ruined ground of Naval Headquarters, tearing open another colossal fissure that split the earth all the way down to its core.
The towering Elder, known as Pieter, was launched like a blazing meteor, crashing down with unstoppable momentum.
Thud—!
Thud, thud—!
Sizzle—!
Across the sea, in the Sabaody Islands' Live Broadcast Plaza, the audience was frozen. The sound of countless people gulping and gasping echoed one after another—reporters, spectators, and ordinary citizens all struck dumb by what they had just witnessed.
"This… this… this can't be real!"
"We just witnessed history, didn't we?!"
"The Five Elders… why isn't there any movement from him?"
"Could it be… he was killed instantly?!"
"No way—that's one of the Five Elders, the highest authority in the entire world!"
"The highest power in the world isn't necessarily the strongest fighter," someone countered breathlessly. "What he faced was the true pinnacle of strength—Sugisawa Yuuto, the Thunder Dragon King himself!"
"Yeah! There's no doubt now!"
"Fairy Tail's Guild Master, the Four Emperor Sugisawa Yuuto, is the strongest man alive!"
"But… Five Elder Pieter was a Zoan Eudemons user!"
"Right! A Mythical Zoan—Minotaur Form! That bull-headed giant's power was terrifying! Even if he lost, there's no way he'd be one-shotted!"
"The Divine Knights all have combat power on par with Admirals," another reporter shouted. "There's no reason a Five Elder, who's supposed to be even stronger, would fall this easily!"
The journalists and spectators in the plaza stared blankly at the screens, struggling to comprehend the impossible scene before them.
"No matter how powerful your Devil Fruit is, if the user's a fool, getting killed instantly isn't that surprising," muttered Captain Eustass Kid, smirking under his breath.
"Yeah," sneered Haiming Skulachmanap, "when you spend your life sitting on a throne in Mariejois, far from real battle, you lose your edge. Even with a powerful fruit, you're nothing more than decoration."
"Hmm…" said Rear Admiral Drake, narrowing his eyes. "That's assuming he's dead. But a Mythical Zoan's resilience and regeneration are beyond ordinary limits. If he's not moving… maybe he's just pretending."
"Playing dead, huh?" mused Capone Bege, captain of the Flame Tank Pirates. "Wouldn't put it past him."
At Naval Headquarters, panic broke out.
"Ah! Ahhhhhh!"
"Five Elders!!!"
"Lord Five Elders!!!"
"Damn it—what did you do to him?!"
"He's one of the highest authorities in the world! How dare you—!"
"Fairy Tail… you bastards! This time, you've truly gone too far!"
"You'll pay for this!"
The Marines and World Government officers were beside themselves with rage and disbelief. Their eyes were bloodshot, their voices cracking as they screamed toward the battlefield.
One of the most powerful beings on the planet—a Five Elder—had fallen.
Sugisawa Yuuto stood calmly amidst the chaos, his eyes faintly glowing with electric light.
"Yaah, yaah," he sighed with a smirk, shaking his head. "I didn't expect the so-called supreme power of the world to crumble so easily. And here I thought this would be entertaining."
He raised his right foot slowly—then stomped it down with thunderous force.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground split apart once more, shattering like fragile glass.
And then—
From deep beneath the earth, the bull-headed giant Elder, who had been hiding and feigning death, was blasted violently back to the surface.
The shockwave tore through the ruins, scattering dust and debris into the air.
The battle was far from over.