The arms that had turned into circular afterimages, in the instant they met, made it feel like even time itself slowed down.
Teach could only stare as Sage's hands, tracing through the afterimages, gradually came together; for once, he felt something he rarely ever did—a sense called death.
His body wanted to move, wanted to resist, wanted to use his powers, but aside from his consciousness flaring for that brief instant, both body and will were dragged into that sluggishness.
He could only clearly realize that he was now stepping into death.
As those afterimage arms closed, time seemed to speed back up; the slow-motion scenery around them snapped to normal speed, and Sage's figure vanished at that same moment.
Whoosh...
A faint breeze seemed to brush his face, lifting his hair; in that flutter, Teach's body, which had been preparing to twist and struggle, froze in place like a statue.
Sage appeared behind him, both hands relaxed into fists, hanging at his sides, his steps held in a slight forward posture, showing only his broad back.
Nobody knew if it was the flames at the back of his head or the Haki he'd just let spill, but behind him there faintly appeared an ethereal character for "Heaven".
"Exterminate..."
Sage murmured, "...Tenmago Destrution."
In that instant, he threw not just a hundred punches!
Every punch used the Tenmago Fluctuation technique, compressing Haki into his fists—each punch not only fast, but also packed with explosive damage.
"This is also my strongest move for now. If I keep going, I'll only have Heaven-Breaking Fist left, but in today's world..."
Sage let out a light chuckle and turned his head, "I don't think anyone can force me to use that. Not even enemies from the heavens."
Whoosh!
As he turned, the wind howled even fiercer around them, as if sweeping in from the sea, whipping at Teach's body so hard he couldn't even open his mouth. His head turned to ash first, followed by his body, becoming cinders and scattering into heaven and earth.
Boom boom boom!
Elsewhere, in the throng of people, Renedia was the first to enter Infinite Energy State; exoskeleton-like floating cannons around her unleashed Energy Beams, blasting toward one figure in midair.
Swish!
In another patch of sky, Van Augur had just Instant Teleportation-ed away, flashing to the other side and evading those Energy Beams. But just as his figure emerged, those beams that should've flown straight past suddenly hooked in midair, turning to chase him.
"This is..."
Van Augur's eyes showed surprise. He immediately swung the muzzle that had been aiming at Renedia, and repeatedly pulled the trigger at those beams; the lead bullets shattered the Energy Beams, and his own form fragmented apart as well.
"They even track? What a terrifying tech."
"You're Instant Teleportation, not vanishing into some different dimension. As long as I control the energy firing ports, I can still track you, ya know!"
Renedia bared her little tiger teeth and shouted, "Instant Teleportation is super annoying, okay? Can't you just obediently go die already, like your Captain did? He's already been turned to ash by Sage! You don't seem scared at all?!"
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Van Augur's expression didn't change; he Instant Teleportation-ed again, dodging the new volley of Energy Beams Renedia had fired while she was talking. After shifting positions, he used his rifle again, blasting apart the beams coming after him.
"Everything is arranged by fate. All things under fate already have their prices tagged."
"Your tone sucks!"
Renedia laughed. "Hey! Augur! Looks like you're not that into your Captain right now, huh—he dies and you don't react. If your main force gets wiped, your fate isn't gonna last very long!"
Van Augur Instant Teleportation-ed down to the ground, long rifle leveled at Renedia, and said calmly, "I really don't like the Captain's decision. This price has already gone beyond free will. But fate hasn't made its final choice yet. The 'main force perishing' you mentioned... is way too early!"
Bang!
The lead bullet gathered a massive amount of Haki and stabbed toward that petite figure like lightning.
A powerful gunman also used Haki to engage the enemy, and as a shooter, his greatest forte was hitting vital points.
Different from a Sword Master, who focuses on cutting the enemy down with sharp attacks and centering everything on their own slashes, a gunman instead focuses on the opponent's weak spots—because no matter what something is, it always has a weak point.
For the human body, it's the brain and the heart; no matter how vigorous the life force, those two spots are always vital.
For a ship, the critical points are the powder magazine and that weakest joint they leave when building the hull.
As long as it's made, there's no way the strength can be perfectly uniform everywhere; even things formed by nature have strong and weak spots, let alone man-made objects.
Gunmen zero in on these, using limited Haki to deal maximum damage—that's their specialty.
The baseline is at least being able to blow up a ship with a single shot.
Renedia might be bombarding wildly, looking extremely ferocious, but in Van Augur's eyes she wasn't flawless either—the frailest thing was still that body.
She did have powers to defend herself, and this shot might not land, but as long as he forced Renedia to trigger her abilities, it was enough. This bullet carried a hefty amount of Haki; blocking it would definitely activate a sizable power and drain plenty of stamina.
As long as she activated her ability, he could seize that timing to Instant Teleportation into a blind spot outside Renedia's field of vision, and from there, land one shot to strip the enemy of the ability to resist.
"Weevil!"