The sky trembled.
Rocks' blade, wreathed in jet-black Haki, slashed straight into the incoming fireball.
BOOM!!
The explosion tore the sea apart—steam and flame twisting together into a storm of destruction.The ocean surface caved inward, leaving a vast crater in its wake.
Then, the light dimmed.
A pair of massive black wings blotted out the sun, casting an enormous shadow over the battlefield.From the heavens descended Admiral Tsurumaru Shigemasa. The instant his feet touched the deck, the warship's hull shattered like tofu under his weight.Feathers as black as night covered his body, and his face morphed into a fearsome Tengu mask. The naginata in his hand flickered with violet ghostfire.
He was the wielder of a Mythical Zoan—Tengu Form.
His voice was cold, like a whisper from the underworld.Raising his blade, he swung.
"God-Hidden Dance of Judgment!"
A crescent of dark-purple energy ripped through three warships in one stroke—its momentum still surging straight toward Rocks!
Across the sea, the other Rocks Pirates were locked in battles of their own.
Newgate shattered three warships with a single swing of Kurogiri, laughing wildly."Gulala! Is this all the Navy can muster?"
Shiki balanced atop floating wreckage, twin blades gleaming with golden slashes."Don't let your guard down, you idiots!"
Stussy's poison needle pierced through an admiral's throat; her red lips curved faintly."How disappointing. That was barely a challenge."
And Tanma—sword Calamity in hand—darted through the chaos like a shadow, each strike claiming another life.He glanced toward Rocks' position.That monster… did he even need help?
The battlefield was a maelstrom of flame and shadow.Rocks stood alone at its center—unmoved, unbroken.
His sword, Disaster, cleaved deep into the deck as torrents of black Haki erupted from his body.The sheer force repelled both Ryoga Shinji's flames and Tsurumaru's ghostfire several meters back.
"You…" Rocks sneered, veins bulging across his arms. "Is that all you've got?"
"Arrogant fool!" Shinji roared. His body blazed into an inferno, right fist swelling with heat fierce enough to boil the sea.
"Emperor Flame: Great Fire Breathing!"
A colossal flaming fist—tens of meters wide—came crashing down.
At the same time, Tsurumaru vanished in a blur of wings and purple fire, reappearing behind Rocks.
"God-Hidden: Yellow Spring Slash!"
Two admirals. Two killing blows.No escape.
"Perfect timing."
Rocks grinned maniacally.Without dodging, he raised Disaster, its edge wrapped in both Armament and flowing Haki.
"Annihilation!!"
The blade split the air.A void-black slash devoured both the inferno and ghostfire, swallowing everything before it.When the three forces collided, the ocean itself was blasted apart—exposing the seabed beneath.
Shinji's flames shattered.Tsurumaru's sword cracked.Both admirals staggered back, blood dripping from their lips.
"Impossible…" Shinji's golden eyes trembled. "Even together, we can't stop him…?"
Rocks twirled his sword and pointed it at them, smiling like a demon.
"Now…""It's my turn."
The pitch-black blade hummed—dark red fissures crawling across its surface like molten veins.
"Let me show you…" Rocks' voice dripped like venom from the abyss. "What true destruction means."
Conqueror's Haki and Armament fused, igniting into tangible black flames.
"Disaster Cinder Slash!"
The air froze.
Then—SWOOSH!!!
A dark-red slash roared across the heavens.
Shinji's pupils constricted. Even as a Flame-Flame Fruit user, the searing heat made his body ache in terror.
"Flame Wall: Scorching Hell!!"He unleashed everything, forming a kilometer-long wall of fire.The slash met it—and sliced clean through.
The flames turned to black ash.
Tsurumaru's wings beat furiously, trying to escape skyward—but the aftermath caught him.
"God-Hidden Moon—"His will-o'-wisp fire flickered out like a candle in the wind.The mythical beast screamed, crashing into the sea below.
The slash continued.
Ten warships.Three hundred elite marines.Even the sea itself was cleaved in silence.
No screams.No resistance.Only death.
Tanma froze mid-swing.The marines he'd just slain felt like mere children compared to Rocks' devastation.
"Is this… the real monster?" he murmured.
Newgate's laughter died.Shiki's grin faltered.Even Ochoku stopped his manic chanting.Gan Sui and Malone stared in disbelief.
For the first time—they had seen Rocks go all out.
Shinji Ryoga dropped to one knee, blood spilling from his mouth.Tsurumaru's Tengu mask cracked apart, revealing a pale, human face twisted in disbelief.
Rocks stepped forward, sword resting on his shoulder.
"Now…" he said coldly, "who dies first?"
But then—his Observation Haki flared.His gaze turned toward the horizon.
"Tch."
Dozens of Navy warships cut through the waves, banners of justice fluttering.At their head stood Steel Bone Kong, fists cracking, eyes sharp as blades.
"Another nuisance," Rocks growled.He swung Disaster onto his shoulder and barked, "Everyone—withdraw!"
"Huh?" Shiki scowled, golden hair bristling. "We're leaving now? I haven't even warmed up!"
"Shut up, Shiki," Rocks snapped. "If you want to keep fighting, stay and die."
Without another word, he leapt toward the nearest intact warship. His Haki erupted—every marine aboard collapsed instantly.
"Gulala! I'm the best at stealing ships anyway!" Newgate roared, smashing the turret off another warship with a quake from Cong Yunqie.
Stussy landed gracefully on the mast, her poison needle flashing."This one's ours," she said, smiling as another admiral dropped.
Ochoku's beads tightened around a soldier's neck. "One ship per person. Seems fair."
Malone straightened the stolen naval coat on his shoulders.Gan Sui rummaged through the hold, eyes sparkling. "Jackpot—canned meat!"
Tanma flicked blood from Calamity, stepping on a fallen marine's cap."This one's mine," he said flatly.