When he fought Kaidou, the quest objective required him to kill the beast outright. But against the two Admirals, the system only required him to drive them away.
Realizing this distinction, Ryuma immediately spotted a loophole.
In other words, as long as he forced Kizaru and Akainu to retreat from Wano Country, the exact method didn't matter.
An idea quickly formed in his mind.
Maybe... I can win this without actually fighting them to the death?
"I'll take him!"
Not wanting to share the credit with Akainu, Kizaru stepped forward to eliminate Ryuma first!
"Yata no Kagami!"
Kizaru muttered softly as he raised his hand. A beam of light reflected off the ground, instantly transforming his body into a streak of pure light that zipped rapidly through the air before materializing directly beside Ryuma!
Yata no Kagami was Kizaru's signature movement technique: by forming a mirror-like surface of light in his hands and bouncing a beam off it, he created a pathway of light, allowing him to travel at absolute light speed.
As he closed in on Ryuma, Kizaru's lips curved into a smug smirk. "Ryuma, legendary sword master or not—today, your story ends here."
With those words, a shimmering yellow blade materialized in Kizaru's hand!
"Ama no Murakumo!"
Ryuma recognized the move instantly—a blade formed by condensing concentrated photons into a weapon of pure light!
If he wasn't careful, a single slash would slice him clean in half.
Ryuma watched the incoming strike closely. While Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit was formidable, it happened to be light, whereas Ryuma's Shadow-Shadow Fruit interacted with light and shadows directly—in a sense, they shared a natural affinity.
Though theoretical physics suggested light couldn't physically assimilate shadows, shadows were inherently governed by light. To be safe, dodging was the wisest course of action.
Consider this: years later during the Paramount War, despite the intense clash between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines, Ace was ultimately killed by Akainu. Neither Ace nor Akainu had coated their attacks in Armament Haki at that exact moment, yet Ace's flames were completely overwhelmed by Akainu's magma!
That was simply how elemental dominance worked.
The moment the Ama no Murakumo descended, Ryuma's body dissolved into a fleeting afterimage, dodging out of harm's way ahead of time!
When the blade of light cleaved into the stone floor, it carved out a horrifying chasm, spiderweb-like cracks fracturing outward in every direction!
Seeing the destructive power, Ryuma took a deep breath, his expression tightening into a grim scowl.
This guy isn't holding back at all!
"Hahaha... Now do you see the might of the Marines? If you know what's good for you, come quietly back to Marineford with us... and register Wano as an official member state," Kizaru chuckled casually.
Seeing Ryuma standing silently in place, Akainu let out a heavy breath, his expression clearing as he offered a cold, smug smirk. "See? You should have agreed from the start. If you had just cooperated, we wouldn't have had to make a scene..."
Akainu assumed Ryuma had finally caved under pressure. But to everyone's utter shock, when Ryuma lifted his head, his face was contorted with pure, unadulterated fury!
"You wretched bastards... Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to rebuild this place?! It hasn't even been a few days... This is unforgivable! Completely unforgivable!"
Ryuma roared, gripping the black blade Shusui so tightly his knuckles turned white as rage boiled over in his chest.
Wano's national budget was severely stretched right now, and he had spent a small fortune restoring the Shogun's palace. Yet, in the blink of an eye, Akainu and Kizaru had wrecked the courtyard without a second thought!
Akainu frowned, his voice dropping. "If you agree to join the World Government, a few shattered buildings are a trivial matter. We can have the entire country rebuilt for you!"
"Get lost! Pack up and get the hell out of my sight right now, and stop spewing such garbage in front of me!" Ryuma yelled in absolute rage.
Akainu's jaw twitched. He couldn't believe Ryuma's utter lack of manners or respect.
"Hmph... Such insolence! Today, I'll teach you the meaning of basic decency!"
Akainu bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Great Eruption!"
Great Eruption—Akainu's signature destructive technique—was terrifyingly lethal.
He transformed his arm into a massive fist composed of high-density magma, leveraging simulated volcanic shockwaves to launch the projectile forward with enough kinetic force to instantly pulverize and vaporize giant icebergs dozens of times larger than ordinary giants.
And that was merely the opening act.
The true terror of the technique wasn't just the initial magma fist... but the countless volcanic rock fragments that rained down after the initial detonation, each capable of turning a massive warship into molten scrap metal.
If those volcanic missiles started raining down, the center of the Flower Capital would be reduced to a sea of fire, collapsing homes and slaughtering innocent civilians in the process.
Realizing the catastrophic collateral damage ahead, Ryuma shuddered involuntarily as he stared down the incoming magma fist.
He wasn't an idiot, nor was he blindingly arrogant. He knew his current strength wasn't enough to overpower Akainu in a prolonged slugfest.
As the torrent of magma surged toward him, Ryuma realized dodging wasn't an option, and taking it head-on meant certain death.
Screw it! If I die, I die!
Never know unless I try!
In a flash, Ryuma invoked the power of the Immortal Phoenix Fruit, transforming instantly into his full Phoenix form!
Watching the transformation, Akainu's jaw dropped in absolute shock.
What the hell... How can he transform into a mythical bird?! Just what kind of monster is this guy?!
Akainu gritted his teeth, wiping a cold sweat from his forehead.
No wonder he managed to take down Kaidou.
His victory wasn't a fluke—it was because his Devil Fruit abilities were uniquely matched!
One wielded the power of a Dragon, while the other commanded a Phoenix!
Dragon versus Phoenix—a legendary clash of mythical beasts of equal standing in folklore. When two such entities collided, the resulting destruction was bound to shake the heavens.
Akainu wondered how Ryuma planned to block his ultimate attack.
Is he going to take it bare?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
No human body could survive that. Even if he was a Phoenix, the sheer heat of Akainu's magma would melt his very feathers!
Yet, right at that moment, the Phoenix opened its massive beak and swallowed the incoming torrent of magma whole!
"He... he's out of his damn mind!" Kizaru sneered.
In Kizaru's eyes, Ryuma was committing suicide.
How could anyone survive swallowing active magma? Even if he possessed fire-based attributes as a Phoenix, consuming raw volcanic magma should incinerate his internal organs instantly.
Ryuma braced himself internally, waiting for the lethal burning sensation to tear through his body.
However, to his utter astonishment, nothing happened.
Aside from feeling like he had just swallowed a cup of warm water, there was no burning pain, no destruction of his internal tissues—it didn't feel like magma at all!
Tsk, tsk... Your magma doesn't seem all that impressive. Quality is rather subpar, don't you think? Ryuma thought with an internal chuckle.
He had been searching for a way to assert psychological dominance over them, and he had just stumbled right onto the answer.
His Immortal Phoenix Fruit possessed a natural resistance that hard-countered magma. With that advantage, no matter how much magma Akainu threw at him, it would be utterly useless.
"Impossible... I refuse to believe you can digest that!"
Akainu roared in disbelief as his arm morphed into the shape of a massive magma hound!
Canine Lotus Red-Lotus!
In this technique, his lava-infused arm extended into a canine head that lunged forward to snap viciously at the target, ensuring the opponent was melted into ash by the scorching bite.
Seeing the magma hound closing in, Ryuma smirked. Flapping his wings, he zipped directly toward Akainu at blinding speed!
CRUNCH!
With a swift snap, Ryuma's giant beak clamped directly over Akainu's arm!
Caught completely off guard, Akainu struggled to pull his arm free. When he finally wrenched it back, he stared down in horror—the entire limb had solidified into inert obsidian stone!
Unbelievable!
Akainu's mind reeled in shock.
He had never witnessed anything so bizarre in all his years as an Admiral.
This man... had literally turned his magma into solid rock with a single bite!
"Get lost!"
Ryuma thrashed his massive wings violently.
The sheer hurricane force behind the wing-beat caught Akainu squarely in the chest, sending the Admiral hurtling backward through the air!
Regaining his footing, Akainu landed with his eyes bloodshot and blazing, thick rivers of magma leaking out from his entire body.
"Damn you... I'll tear you apart!"
Seeing Akainu losing his cool, Kizaru stepped in, grabbing his shoulder. "Calm down, Sakazuki. If you keep escalating this, you're going to wipe out the entire island and kill civilians."
Ryuma glared at Akainu in silence. He knew what move was coming next:
Great Geological Volcano!
As the name implied, Akainu would punch thousands of magma fists into the sky, letting them rain down like a meteor shower of fire to turn the entire landscape into a molten wasteland.
While effective against enemies, it was an indiscriminate attack that didn't distinguish between friend or foe.
What a dangerous lunatic... Ryuma muttered under his breath, clenching his teeth.
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