Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sounds of battle rumbled endlessly.
Five people were surrounding and relentlessly attacking Rocks. With a gaping hole in his chest, Rocks was growing more and more frantic. Fighting alone, he gradually began to fall into a disadvantage.
At the same time, the island itself was heating up. At first, no one paid it much attention. But soon, they all noticed that something was seriously wrong.
The temperature was rising far too quickly.
In just a short time, it had risen by dozens of degrees, turning the whole place into a blazing furnace.
...
On the coastline.
"What the hell is this?!"
The marines stationed along the shore had also noticed the sudden and alarming surge in heat.
Just as they were trying to figure out the cause, Sakazuki's face suddenly changed. His eyes widened as if he had just realized something terrifying. He muttered to himself, unable to hide the shock on his face.
"This feeling...!"
His expression turned grim as he suddenly shouted, his voice carrying across the shoreline.
"All personnel! Get to the ships immediately! Evacuate the island at once!"
"Hurry!"
The urgency in his voice startled the marines. Most of them stood frozen in confusion, unable to grasp the situation, but the people directly under Sakazuki's command wasted no time. They immediately obeyed and began boarding their ships without hesitation.
"All personnel, board the ships immediately!"
"All personnel, board the ships immediately!"
"All personnel, board the ships—"
The other officers quickly snapped out of their daze and echoed Sakazuki's orders.
With commands being shouted from all directions, the marines finally realized how serious the situation was. Panic spread as they rushed to organize an emergency evacuation. After giving out orders, everyone turned to Sakazuki, noticing the deep frown on his face.
"What's going on, Sakazuki?" Morris asked, voicing the confusion of everyone present.
"It's the scent of magma," Sakazuki said solemnly. "No mistake about it. The heat is coming from the center of the island. The buildup is happening too fast. I'm afraid there's a massive underwater volcano beneath us."
His words sent chills through the officers.
"It's about to erupt. And once it does, with the speed and concentration of this magma, the island will be obliterated almost instantly. A massive tsunami and a violent hurricane will follow. Vice Admiral Morris, can you contact the Fleet Admiral? We must evacuate immediately."
With every word Sakazuki spoke, his expression darkened further, and the expressions of those around him grew equally grave.
"Organize the evacuation now. I will contact him," Morris said sharply. Without wasting another second, the officers sprang into action to organize the retreat.
...
Purururu…purururu..
A Den Den Mushi rang in Sengoku's pocket as he stood guard on the outer perimeter. He picked up the call.
The snail vividly mimicked Morris's anxious expression.
"Admiral Sengoku! Is the Fleet Admiral there?!"
Sengoku's expression turned serious as he asked, "Morris, what's going on?"
Morris's hurried voice came through at once.
"The abnormal rise in temperature is due to magma! There is likely a massive underwater volcano beneath the island and it's about to erupt! Once it blows, it will destroy the entire island in a very short time!"
Sengoku's heart sank at Morris's words.
"Understood! Start evacuating immediately. I'll inform the others."
After replying, Sengoku charged toward the battlefield.
...
The battlefield.
The clash of metal echoed endlessly, and explosions kept shaking the earth.
"Buddha Impact!"
A golden shockwave roared through the battlefield as Sengoku, now in his towering Buddha form, unleashed a devastating strike. A hundred meters tall, radiating divine power, he sent the attack hurtling straight at Rocks.
Rocks had no time to dodge. Snarling, he stepped forward, wrapped his fist in Haki, and met the shockwave with a punch.
Boom!
The impact sent him skidding backward.
Roger seized the opening. Blade in hand, he lunged at Rocks.
Rocks wrapped his arms in Conqueror's Haki. One arm blocked the attack while the other slammed into Roger. Refusing to dodge, Roger met the attack head-on, and was sent flying.
Without wasting a second, Rocks turned and attacked Garp, who was closest to him.
Sengoku took this chance to regroup with the others.
Kong's tired voice sounded.
"What's the matter, Sengoku?"
Sengoku quickly repeated everything Morris had just told him. Everyone's expression turned grim.
"What…?"
For a moment, no one spoke. Should they retreat? Or finish the fight? Before the debate could even begin, Nusjuro made the decision.
"Inform Roger immediately. Bring his people too. We'll drive Rocks into the deep pit beneath the palace. That's where the source of the abnormal heat is. We'll trigger the eruption!"
...
The Buster Call Fleet.
All marines had already boarded their warships, and one vessel after another was rapidly withdrawing from the island.
Standing on his ship's deck, Sakazuki silently stared toward the island's center. The battle there was growing wilder, visibly violent. The entire island was beginning to crack apart under the force.
Sakazuki knew the time was almost up.
Such an intense fight would only hasten the magma's eruption. He stepped forward and vanished in an instant. A blur of afterimages flashed past as he reappeared at the stern of the last warship.
This vessel had remained behind specifically to retrieve the people who were still fighting in the island.
Sakazuki addressed Vice Admiral Morris calmly, "Vice Admiral, let me handle the pickup. My magma ability makes me the safest option for this."
Morris hesitated, frowning slightly. "...Very well. But be careful, Sakazuki."
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral," Sakazuki replied without much concern.
Handing over the communication Den Den Mushi, Morris then leaped to the neighboring warship, which slowly began pulling away from the island. Left alone, Sakazuki stood quietly at the stern, watching Morris's ship go.
His mind flashed back to the piercing beam of light that had shot into the sky earlier.
'No one in that battle has a power like that... Could it be—that super battleship?'
His brows furrowed as he shifted his gaze toward the shattered sky above the island's center.
...
God Valley, central battlefield.
BOOM—!
Explosions of Haki erupted wildly, laced with streaks of lightning generated from the clash of Conqueror's Haki. The shockwaves twisted the very air, detonating with terrifying power.
Rocks slammed Garp away with a powerful punch. Before he could even catch his breath, Kong and Warcury pressed forward without pause.
Even when Rocks managed to push them back, Rayleigh, Roger, and the others came slashing in. Step by step, like a trapped beast, Rocks was being forced back toward the deep pit behind him.
When his heels finally reached the brink, the searing heat rising from below was unbearable. Even with Armament Haki reinforcing them, everyone felt their skin sting from the overwhelming heat.
Blood poured from Rocks' chest, but it evaporated the instant it left his body, leaving only charred, dark stains trailing down.
"Huff... Huff..."
Rocks' breathing grew heavier as he scanned the group surrounding him.
One by one, he swept his gaze across them—the two Five Elders, Kong, Roger, Garp, Sengoku, Rayleigh, Gaban. His eyes calmly passed over each of them, and he let out a deep sigh.
"I've lost. But... the will of the D. Clan is something none of you will ever be able to stop."
"Xehahaha!!!"
Nusjuro, gripping his blade tightly, wrapped it in a terrifying layer of Conqueror's Haki. Staring coldly at Rocks, he spoke as if delivering a verdict.
"Words are meaningless now."
Hearing this, Rocks slowly stopped laughing. He turned toward the Elder and scoffed with contempt.
"Heh. This rotten world... ruled by pigs... is truly—"
Then, he shifted his eyes to Roger.
Unlike before, his gaze was calm, almost serene, as if he had accepted everything without resentment.
"And you. Take care, Roger."
With those words, a monstrous, blood-red aura erupted from Rocks, intertwining with his Conqueror's Haki.
He was burning his very life. His expression turned crazed and fierce.
"I!"
"AM!"
"ROCKS D. XEBEC!!!"
BOOM!
In that instant, it felt as if the entire world trembled. The clouds shattered like glass. The sea surged in turmoil. The island shook violently as deep fissures split the ground wide open.
...
In the distance, from Sakazuki's perspective.
First came a blinding white flash that lit up the sky, followed by a thunderous explosion. Moments later, a thick column of dark smoke rose straight into the heavens.
Then, a pillar of dark-red magma, wrapped in black smoke, burst upward like a furious dragon. The roar that followed seemed to shake the heavens themselves.
The magma column thickened rapidly and began to spread outward. Molten rock, dozens of times larger than even Sakazuki's own Meteor Volcano technique, rained down like a fiery storm.
Countless flaming trails tore through the sky, leaving behind burning arcs as if the heavens were weeping fire. The island beneath was already crumbling under the unbearable pressure.
Rivers of magma erupted from its depths, swallowing the land. In the blink of an eye, the entire island was reduced to a gigantic volcanic crater. Above it, a monstrous mushroom cloud loomed, blotting out the sun.
The ocean went berserk, towering waves over a hundred meters high swept outward in all directions like moving mountains. Hurricanes howled violently, while volcanic ash rained down like an apocalyptic blizzard.
It wasn't hard to imagine the consequences.
Every living thing within the surrounding sea area would be obliterated. With an eruption of this scale, the entire West Blue would barely see sunlight for the next year.
The sky would remain gray and cold, blanketed by ash.
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