"Rosinante!"
Sakazuki slowly stood up, roaring at Rosinante with unbridled fury.
At this moment, Sakazuki looked utterly miserable. Blood stained the corners of his mouth and forehead, his fists were scorched and torn, and parts of his body had even been blown through. Only the constant flow of magma was restoring his form.
If Sakazuki had not been a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, that blow would have been crippling even if it had not killed him outright.
"What a sorry sight, Sakazuki. Looks like your growth over these three years wasn't all that impressive," Rosinante said calmly. "Well, being a Marine Admiral is still within your reach. But if you want to stand against Four-Emperor-level opponents, you're far too green. Forget about me. Any one of the Four Emperors could beat you until you're crawling on the ground. You seriously underestimate peak-tier power."
Was Sakazuki weak?
No, not at all.
A high-tier Admiral physique combined with the Magma Fruit was more than enough to rival top-tier combatants.
But even though top-tier strength and peak-tier strength were separated by only a single step, that step was like the difference between heaven and earth.
The stronger one became, the wider the gap between each level grew. This was even more true at the Admiral level, which already represented the pinnacle of the world's military power.
Even among Admirals, the disparity between stages was enormous, and the difference between a top-tier Admiral and a peak-tier Admiral was beyond imagination.
Originally, the Admiral rank was divided into three stages: early Admiral, high-tier Admiral, and top-tier Admiral.
As for a peak-tier Admiral, that was a term reserved for monsters among monsters, a realm ordinary Admirals could never reach.
Their power had reached the absolute limit of the Admiral tier. There was nowhere left to advance. Taking another step forward meant transcending the mundane world and touching upon the laws and rules that governed it, such as the dominion of a true king.
Thus, although the difference between a top-tier Admiral and a peak-tier Admiral appeared small, it was in fact as vast as the gap between a Vice Admiral and an Admiral.
Hearing Rosinante's words, Sakazuki's expression grew even darker. Magma and thick smoke poured continuously from his hands, as if a volcano were on the verge of erupting.
At that moment, Kuzan and Borsalino exchanged a glance.
It was clear that if this continued, Sakazuki alone would never be able to test Rosinante's true strength.
After that silent exchange, Kuzan rose from his seat.
Borsalino, on the other hand, instantly transformed into streams of light and vanished from his original position.
Those streaks of light gathered above Rosinante's head, finally forming a human figure. It was the newly promoted Marine Admiral, Kizaru Borsalino.
"Light-speed kick!"
The moment he appeared, Borsalino delivered a kick wrapped in blinding light straight down at Rosinante below him.
The speed of that kick was beyond comprehension, like a beam of light striking its target in an instant.
Boom!
The ground exploded under the impact, but Borsalino's kick had missed.
His light-speed kick struck only the spot where Rosinante had been standing moments earlier, blasting a huge crater into the plaza. Rosinante was no longer there.
"Oh my, looks lively here. Mind if I join in with a kick of my own?"
Having missed, Borsalino showed no concern at all, smiling as he spoke.
"You almost kicked me just now, and only now you're asking?" Rosinante rolled his eyes. "Kizaru, is your kick too fast, or does your mouth just lag behind?"
"Oh my. If that's the case, then I'll join in too," Kuzan said as he appeared behind Rosinante.
With Kuzan's arrival, the three newly promoted Marine Admirals formed a triangular formation, surrounding Rosinante at its center.
"The three Admirals are attacking together!"
The spectators around the plaza erupted in shock.
"Is the Dragon King really that strong?"
"Are the Four Emperors truly that terrifying, that it takes three Admirals working together?"
"To deal with one man, the Marines need all three Admirals. Isn't that a bit too embarrassing?"
"Especially Sakazuki just now. He didn't even have the power to fight back against Rosinante."
"That's not entirely fair. The opponent is the Dragon King Rosinante, one of the Four Emperors. I heard he once killed Golden Lion Shiki. Remember, it took Sengoku and Garp working together to defeat Shiki!"
"When you put it that way, the Dragon King really is terrifying."
"But the three Admirals can't be underestimated either. All three are Logia users. Logia Devil Fruits are natural disasters capable of destroying heaven and earth!"
The crowd buzzed with heated discussion.
"The Three Admirals versus the Dragon King. Now this is a real show!"
Big News Morgans shouted excitedly, his camera Den Den Mushi clicking nonstop.
"Interesting. All three of you together?" Rosinante said calmly. "In that case, I'll have to get serious too."
"Ah, having three Admirals gang up on one person does hurt our pride a bit," Kuzan said. "But the prestige of the Admirals can't be trampled. This is Marine Headquarters, after all. We can't let you run wild here."
"Exactly," Borsalino chimed in. "If you beat Admirals like dogs, I'd lose face too."
"You two bastards!"
Before Rosinante could even respond, Sakazuki exploded in rage. Their casual remarks were like salt rubbed into his wounds, nearly making him spit blood again.
"You really do let black and white all come out of your mouths," Rosinante said coldly. "You were the ones who provoked this first. Looks like I've been too easygoing for too long, letting people think I'm easy to bully."
As he spoke, an icy, oppressive aura spread out from his body.
"Oh my, the Dragon King is angry. How scary," Borsalino said lightly.
"If you're going to fight, then use everything you've got," Sakazuki said grimly. "Otherwise, you'll lose your lives."
"You don't need to tell us that," Kuzan replied. "Facing the Dragon King without taking it seriously would be courting death."
As the three spoke, terrifying auras erupted from their bodies simultaneously.
For a moment, the very air on the battlefield seemed to freeze solid.