The color of the magma hound created by Akainu began to deepen, its once bright red shifting to a darker glow. Akainu felt the heat of his own magma suddenly plummet, as if someone before him was absorbing its intensity.
His voice roared in disbelief, "What have you done?"
Sabo's expression curved into a confident grin. "Like I said, this temperature of yours is too low even for my baths," he said, then gripped the molten form in his right hand and twisted the magma hound's head right off.
Akainu was forced backward, stumbling five or six steps before catching himself. He raised his gaze to Sabo, only to see the young man casually playing with the severed magma head like it was a toy. The magma orb in Sabo's hand grew brighter and brighter, and the heat emanating from it surged higher.
The air around them twisted from the sheer temperature, and even Akainu could feel the intense heat radiating off the crackling ball of magma.
Sabo laughed, "Here, let me return it to you."
With that, he hurled the magma ball toward Akainu with brutal force. The fiery sphere cut through the air, striking the Admiral's left arm just as he tried to absorb it with his magma. Compared to the magma ball tossed by Sabo, Akainu's own magma arm looked dull and lackluster.
When the ball hit his magma arm, smoke rose as though it was corroding the surface. A searing burning sensation flared through Akainu's hand, forcing him to fling the magma sphere away. It crashed onto the ice, instantly melting downward until it plunged into the raging sea below.
The crashing molten sphere made the nearby seawater burst into violent boil, steaming and churning with pure heat.
Akainu's eyes widened with shock. "Impossible… How can such heat exist?!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking with disbelief.
He quickly reverted his left arm back to flesh, only to see a circular burn scorch his palm.
"I was burned by magma!? By magma!" he stammered, completely baffled. He had always believed his Magma‑Magma Fruit power to be the fiercest heat in the world, yet that attack from Sabo had burned him.
A terrifying conclusion snapped into his mind as his pupils shrank.
A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit… a three‑legged golden crow form!
Sabo calmly raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I didn't know Admiral Renn here could guess my ability so fast."
Akainu broke into cold sweat. He knew hypothetical Mythical Zoan fruits were incredibly rare and powerful, but one that could generate such heat was beyond anything he'd imagined. Canonical Mythical Zoans are known to grant extraordinary forms, and legends of sun‑linked bird creatures like the Yatagarasu exist in myth, even if not officially part of every timeline's canon.
Despite his fear, his expression snapped back into ruthless determination. In this world, a superior Devil Fruit could raise a user's baseline strength, but Haki was the foundation of real combat power. Haki was what defined real strength.
"Don't be arrogant, brat," Akainu growled, "Whether you are a Mythical Zoan user or not, I will capture you today!"
As his voice fell, a flicker of motion appeared before Sabo. Akainu's mechanical right arm struck out with unbelievable speed, swirling with spatial energy as he launched a brutal punch toward Sabo's face.
Sabo felt internal alarms blare through his body. He instantly centered Armament Haki into his steel pipe, causing it to glow with dark luster as he slammed it up to meet the incoming blow.
Clang!
The pipe collided with Akainu's magma‑enhanced arm, and bolts of blackish sparks erupted with ferocity, as though ripping the space itself. The icy ground beneath them couldn't handle the explosive force, shattering into chunks of ice that broke apart like drifting floes.
Both fighters skidded backward, each perched upon a separate floe. Sabo slid farther back, clearly at a disadvantage in that exchange.
Akainu's lips twisted, "Quite perceptive, are you?"
Sabo pointed at Akainu's mechanical right arm, "If I'm not mistaken, that's Sea‑Stone encasing it."
Akainu sneered coldly, "Don't think a Devil Fruit makes you invincible."
Suddenly, Sengoku's voice boomed across the battlefield.
"That young man fighting Admiral Renn is Sabo, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army! Leave him to me!" Sengoku's declaration echoed throughout Marineford.
Everyone's attention snapped to Sabo.
"What! The Revolutionary Army's second‑in‑command?"
"The Revolutionary Army is here too?"
"No wonder this man is so powerful!"
Whitebeard watched the clash with amusement, "Heh, Revolutionary Army people? How interesting."
Sabo heard Sengoku's words, stunned. As Chief of Staff, he'd always worked in secrecy, unseen by even Luffy and Ace for many years. He did not expect a Fleet Admiral to recognize him.
It was clear the Marines' intelligence networks were terrifying.
"Revolutionary Army?" Akainu snarled, fury boiling in his eyes. "Then I have no choice but to detain you myself!"
Akainu had never planned to let Sabo leave, and now that he knew Sabo was a member of the organization they deemed an enemy of the World Government, capturing him was a priority.
Meanwhile, Luffy, sprinting toward the execution platform, came to a sudden halt.
"Sabo's from the Revolutionary Army? He's no longer a pirate?" Luffy murmured in confusion, sliding to a stop as he glanced up toward Ace on the platform.
He shook his head resolutely.
"Right now the most important thing is to save Ace. Why Sabo joined the Revolutionary Army can wait until later."
He looked up again toward the platform, still about two hundred meters away, with Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku stationed there.
Luffy did not know how much time remained before Ace's execution, but he knew he could not delay.
Though the Marines blocking him were not strong enough to harm him greatly, they would slow him down significantly.
Luffy hardened his determination. He infused his right arm with Armament Haki, then bit down and forced air into his limb.
"Gear Fourth!"
His body instantly expanded, coated in red and black Armament Haki, muscles rippling with explosive power. His calves retracted like compressed springs.
Boom, boom, boom!
Air blasted from his feet as he lunged forward, launching himself toward the execution platform at incredible speed.
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