Navy Headquarters Building, Marshal Office. Fleet Admiral Sengoku frowned slightly, looking at Kizaru who had a lazy appearance in front of him, and asked:
"Borsalino, are you sure you want to withdraw from the competition for the position of Fleet Admiral?" "Yes~! I abstain, I just want to be a social animal in peace and quiet, and wait for retirement."
Kizaru raised his right hand and poked it, his tone was very nonchalant, as if he was talking about a trivial matter. Sengoku's mouth twitched slightly, no longer bothering with this guy who was always out of line, he continued to speak:
"Alright! In that case, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Sephiroth, the three of you will run for the position of Fleet Admiral..." "Wait! I have something to say."
Sephiroth suddenly raised his hand with a smile, interrupting his words. "What is it again!? You're not going to abstain too, are you?" Sengoku said somewhat irritably. "No, I'm definitely becoming Fleet Admiral! However, since Kizaru has already withdrawn from the competition, let's not make things too troublesome... I want to fight two!" "..."×4
"Sephiroth, are you sure you're not joking!?"
Sengoku raised his hand to push up the glasses on his nose, his tone full of surprise. In his opinion, Sephiroth was indeed very strong, even compared to Pirate King Roger back then, he was not inferior at all. But...
You must know that regardless of Kuzan or Sakazuki, although they don't have Conqueror's Haki and are always a step behind top powerhouses in terms of attack, their physical techniques and Haki are both at the top level, and the wide-range attack ability of their Logia Devil Fruits, as well as the fruit's characteristics, also make up for the shortcomings of not having Conqueror's Haki to a certain extent.
Therefore, even a Four Emperors level powerhouse would find it difficult to gain an advantage when facing these two Admirals, and might even capsize in a ditch at any time! Sephiroth put away the smile on his face and said in a serious and stern tone:
"I'm not joking, I will become Fleet Admiral with my absolute strength." Sakazuki glanced at him sideways and snorted coldly:
"Arrogant!"
"It seems I've been completely underestimated..." Kuzan scratched his head somewhat helplessly. "Anyway, I will fight you sooner or later, but I don't want to be so troublesome... If I can't beat the two of you together, then the position of Fleet Admiral will be chosen from the two of you, and I will absolutely have no complaints."
Hearing Sephiroth's extremely arrogant words, Sakazuki and Kuzan exchanged glances and communicated silently. Kuzan: Should we team up and kick him out first? Sakazuki: I've disliked him for a long time, let's get him! Sengoku raised his hand and knocked on the surface of the office desk, asking:
"Sakazuki, Kuzan, what do you two think? Do you agree to Sephiroth's proposal?"
After reaching a unified opinion with their eyes, the two immediately said in unison:
"Agree!"×2
Sengoku said thoughtfully:
"Since you have agreed, I will choose a suitable combat location for you so that you can fight with all your strength..." "There's no need to deliberately look for a combat arena, I have a suitable place."
Sephiroth stood up from the chair, drew the butcher knife from his waist, and opened a spatial door. Immediately, a vast expanse of crimson barren land came into the eyes of the five people... Red Line!? "How is it!? Desolate and vast, are you satisfied with this battlefield?"
After seeing the Red Line on the other side of the door, Akainu and Aokiji nodded in unison, immediately got up, and stepped through the spatial door, arriving at the top of the 10,000-meter-high Red Line. Both of their Logia Devil Fruits have awakened, and if they were to unleash their full power, they would greatly alter the terrain and climate of a certain area.
Using awakened abilities was a last resort—they avoided it unless absolutely necessary. Sengoku watched Sephiroth's back as he stepped through the spatial door, letting out a weary sigh.
"Though this duel will undoubtedly be fierce, I hope you can show some restraint..."
"Don't worry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Sephiroth replied casually, waving a hand without turning back. The spatial door closed behind him with a soft hum.
High above the Red Line, ten thousand meters in the air, the wind screamed like a banshee. Three figures stood in a tense triangular formation, each separated by dozens of meters. Sephiroth and Akainu's animosity stretched back over a decade—they were old enemies, and words were unnecessary.
As for Aokiji...
Though he had no personal conflict with Sephiroth, he had pieced together troubling clues over the past year. The Umbrella Corporation's ties to the Marines, combined with Sephiroth's role as their security consultant, painted a worrying picture. Aokiji disliked the idea of the Marines falling under another controlling force so soon after escaping the Celestial Dragons' grip.
The Marines' military might shaped the balance of the world. If the Umbrella Corporation gained control, they could easily become a new breed of Celestial Dragons. Aokiji instinctively recoiled from the thought. If he became Fleet Admiral, perhaps he could steer the Marines away from such a fate—change things from within.
Sephiroth calmly slid his butcher knife into its sheath, his body shifting into his human-beast vampire form. His height surged from 2.1 meters to a towering 3.1 meters, though he chose not to use Life Return: Paper Drawing Martial Body to enhance his speed. With a casual gesture, he beckoned the two Admirals forward.
"Come at me, both of you."
Sephiroth's swordsmanship was legendary, having dethroned Hawkeye, the former World's Greatest Swordsman, to claim the title himself. Yet here, facing Akainu and Aokiji—two of the Marine's most formidable Admirals—he sheathed his blade, apparently unwilling to draw it.
Akainu's expression darkened, his voice icy. "Don't look down on us."
Sephiroth shrugged, his face disarmingly innocent. "I'm not underestimating you. When the time comes to use my sword, I won't hesitate."
Aokiji's eyes narrowed. So we're not even worth your blade?
Akainu, equally infuriated by the implication, erupted. "Dog Bite Crimson Lotus!" His right arm transformed into molten magma, surging forward to form a snarling magma dog's head, its jaws wide open as it lunged for Sephiroth's skull.
Sephiroth didn't flinch. Instead, he raised his right hand, dark red lightning crackling around it, and clenched it into a fist. "Gun Fist!"
The punch unleashed a shockwave of pure force, wrapped in Armament and Conqueror's Haki, tearing through the air with a deafening explosion. It collided head-on with the magma dog, the impact sending searing lava scattering in all directions.
The shockwave's residual force surged toward Akainu, forcing him to twist his body and dodge sideways. Sephiroth's body ignited with a layer of Conqueror's Haki, dark red flames flickering like a blazing aura.
As he stepped on the ground with force, his body immediately broke through four times the speed of sound, leaving a white sonic boom in his wake. In an instant, he appeared before Akainu, his fist aimed squarely at the Admiral's abdomen. Caught in the momentum of his dodge, Akainu had no time to react.
Akainu's molten form twisted as he willed his abdomen to shift—elementalizing his body to avoid the brunt of the attack. But Sephiroth's fist connected anyway.
Conqueror's Haki flared like wildfire, its sheer pressure disrupting Akainu's elementalization mid-transformation. The punch landed clean, driving deep into his gut.
Rumble-! Akainu's body shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, hurtling backward until he smashed into the Red Line a hundred meters away. The impact shattered stone, sending debris exploding outward in a storm of dust and rubble.