The wave of white strings crashed against the world-ending divine lightning erupting from the Raijin Form, triggering a violent tremor. The string wave's attack was instantly broken.
"How troublesome," Doflamingo said softly as he slowly rose to his feet.
"What is that monster!?" Vice Admiral Onigumo glanced over, a shiver running down his spine at the sight of the colossal thunder god radiating an aura of destruction.
Kizaru's movements also paused, the sight clearly jogging some unpleasant memories.
"He's already become this powerful?" Garp murmured, having returned to the execution platform. His eyes were fixed on Ryuuto's Raijin Form. He remembered that back in Alabasta, Ryuuto's strength was nowhere near this level.
Equally astonished were Smoker and his subordinates. Unwittingly, Ryuuto had become an existence they could only look up to.
"Conqueror's Thunder Kill!" Ryuuto shouted. The golden patterns on the Raijin's body lit up as he swung the Raijin's Blade held in its right hand. A violet slash, imbued with a potent aura of destruction, shot out instantly.
"Shield White String!" Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. He slammed his hand on the ground, transmuting it into countless threads that formed a massive shield before him, wrapped in Haki. Black and red lightning crackled across its surface. Doflamingo was clearly using his full power.
"You think you can stop me with just that?" A smile touched Ryuuto's lips.
The lightning slash slammed into the giant white shield, unleashing a powerful shockwave that radiated outward.
Boom!
The resulting energy blast sent the surrounding Marine soldiers and pirate grunts flying. In an instant, the area for dozens of meters around was cleared, leaving only Ryuuto and Doflamingo.
"I blocked it!" Doflamingo had just started to grin when he felt an impact penetrate his shield and slam into his body. Worse, the force carried a tyrannical, destructive aura.
"How is this possible? What kind of power is this!?" Doflamingo's mind reeled with questions.
Pfft!
An instant later, Doflamingo coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body sent flying back even from behind the white shield.
"This is the power of master-level Thunder Arts," Ryuuto explained calmly. "It has a penetrating force akin to Ryuo, allowing it to bypass defenses and strike the interior of an object directly."
A silver light flashed in Ryuuto's eyes, and the colossal Raijin Form vanished. When it reappeared, it was already hovering above the airborne Doflamingo.
"I won't give you a chance to recover."
"God's Annihilation!"
With a soft command, the golden patterns on Ryuuto's body glowed to their brightest. The Raijin's Blade came crashing down, unleashing a violet lightning slash tinged with a hint of gold.
Boom!
Doflamingo felt himself enveloped by an aura of death. He frantically layered strings inside his own body for protection, but he quickly realized it was futile. When the attack arrived, all he could feel was an apocalyptic intent. In the face of such a lightning strike, no life should exist.
"I have no regrets about this loss. I never should have provoked him." In the final moments of his life, this was Doflamingo's only thought. As consciousness faded, he thought he saw a giant fist slam into his head, and then everything ended.
On the ground below, inside a trench several meters deep, Jean Bart was panting heavily. Lying before him was Doflamingo, a gaping wound running through his chest.
"Captain, mission accomplished!" Jean Bart shouted to Ryuuto, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Good, you made it in time." Ryuuto let out a sigh of relief. He had almost struck too hard and missed out on 50,000 reputation points. Thankfully, Jean Bart had reacted quickly, using his Devil Fruit ability to instantly rush over and land the final blow.
From her position on the fortress wall, Hancock watched Ryuuto with sparkling eyes full of adoration.
"That's the third Warlord," Hawkeye, standing not far from Hancock, sighed helplessly. The situation was deeply unsettling, but he didn't dare make a move. Setting aside Ryuuto's terrifying power, even the woman beside him, Hancock, gave him pause.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard's battle had reached a fever pitch. By trading an injury for an opening, he finally caught Akainu off guard and slammed a fist down on him. The combined power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and his formidable Haki hammered Akainu straight into the ground. A crack that split the very earth formed, revealing magma churning in the depths below.
Of course, Whitebeard, whose stamina was nearing its limit, was not unscathed. He took a direct shockwave from Sengoku, causing a trickle of blood to escape the corner of his mouth.
"Is that all you've got, Sengoku? You're next!" Whitebeard roared. He grabbed the air with both hands and pulled. As space itself violently trembled, the entirety of Marineford began to collapse and tilt.
"Is this the power of the strongest Paramecia-type Devil Fruit?" Sengoku said, his expression grave as he watched the buildings topple.
The execution platform also collapsed from the tremor, falling in the direction of the charging Luffy.
"My chance!"
"Ace, I'm coming to save you!" Luffy yelled, leaping high into the air and charging straight for Ace.
"I won't let anyone get near him!" Garp shouted, seeing his beloved grandson approach. He flew up and threw a punch at Luffy.
Luffy's mind had only one thought: save Ace. Seeing Garp try to stop him, he immediately blew air into his fist, activating Gear Third.
"Elephant Gun!"
Luffy swung his gigantic fist directly at Garp.
Garp, ever the actor, put on a magnificent performance. The same invincible fist that had sent Marco flying seemed to lose all its power the moment it made contact with Luffy's. He allowed himself to be sent flying, a look of relief and happiness on his face as he stared up at the sky from where he landed.
Bang!
With a whoosh, Garp was knocked straight to the ground, where he lay perfectly still, his eyes filled with what looked more like relief and joy than defeat.
Luffy continued his charge toward Ace.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you're not even trying to make it look real!" Kizaru commented from mid-air, the corner of his mouth twitching. But he played along, resuming his game of firing laser beams that conveniently missed Luffy by a hair's breadth.
"Such flawless cooperation," Ryuuto noted with a laugh, looking up at the scene. "As expected, if you want to save Ace, you have to let Luffy do it. No one else gets that kind of special treatment."
Under Ryuuto's watchful gaze, Luffy finally reached Ace and threw his arms around him.
"Ace, let's get out of here!" Luffy shouted, grabbing Ace's hands to pull him along. 'As long as we get back to the Whitebeard Pirates' territory, we'll be safe!' he thought.
Unfortunately, he forgot that Ace's hands were bound by Seastone cuffs. The moment he touched them, a wave of weakness washed over him, and Luffy went limp.
"Luffy!?" Ace was stunned. How could anyone be so reckless?
Just then, Jinbe, having broken away from his fight with Vice Admiral Doberman, swung his arms and launched an attack toward them.
"Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"
With Jinbe's cry, a massive current of water materialized beneath Ace and Luffy, sweeping them up and tossing them toward Ryuuto's position.
"Ace! Luffy! Run!" Jinbe shouted. As he did, Vice Admiral Doberman, his face covered in scars, slashed at him with his famous sword.
"Traitors will reap what they sow!" Doberman roared at the former Warlord. Taking advantage of Jinbe's momentary distraction, his black blade sliced down, leaving a wound on Jinbe's back so deep that bone was visible.
Pfft...
A spray of blood misted the air.
Jinbe flipped away, a pained expression on his face. Conjuring swirling water in his palms, he re-engaged Doberman in battle.
Ryuuto watched Ace and Luffy fly toward him. With a flick of his left hand, a gentle breeze manifested, catching the two and setting them down softly. He then casually tossed a glob of golden lightning plasma onto the Seastone cuffs behind Ace's back.
"Make sure you live," Ryuuto said softly to Ace. Then, with a powerful step, his colossal Raijin Form charged toward Onigumo.
"Now, it's your turn," Ryuuto said, a faint smile on his face.
Onigumo's heart filled with terror. Already injured, he was losing ground in his fight against Flower Sword Vista. Just as Vista's dual blades forced him back, Ryuuto's Raijin's Blade slashed down, and a dazzling violet light instantly consumed the Vice Admiral.
Seeing this, Vista spared Ryuuto a glance before leaping into the fray between Doberman and Jinbe.
"Life Return!"
The massive slash left a deep scar on the ground, and the surrounding Marine soldiers caught in the blast were instantly turned to dust. Amidst the swirling lightning, Ryuuto heard a low growl from Onigumo. The Vice Admiral's muscles had shifted, forming a thick layer of physical defense over his chest. Covered in powerful Armament Haki, his entire body took on the appearance of black obsidian.
'Hold on!' Onigumo screamed internally.
Boom!
As the lightning dissipated, Onigumo's figure was revealed. He was a wreck, covered in blood, his right arm completely gone. He gasped for breath, struggling to stay upright.
"Ryuuto!" Onigumo roared, his voice barely human. He dragged his heavily injured body forward and pointed his remaining blade at Ryuuto.
"As expected of a veteran Vice Admiral. To think he's still alive after that." Ryuuto slowly shook his head. "Rushing Thunder Slash!"
He stomped the ground, and a bolt of purple lightning shot across the earth toward Onigumo. In an instant, a blade of purple lightning formed beneath the Vice Admiral, slashing up from the ground into the sky. Faint golden patterns, mysterious and arcane, decorated the blade as it sliced Onigumo in two.
"To think I would die here..." Onigumo's upper torso flew through the air, his mind filled with regret. But it all vanished with his death. As a Vice Admiral who had led Buster Calls, he had seen countless battles in his lifetime. His former glory and ruthlessness were now buried in the annals of time.
Vista glanced back, his eyes wide with shock. Onigumo was dead, just like that. Killed by that man in just two strikes. Ace's friend was this strong!
"Damn, another fifty thousand reputation points down the drain," Ryuuto, the man responsible, muttered with regret. He couldn't believe he had lost control again, failing to hold back and killing Onigumo himself.
Not far away, Jean Bart just shrugged, indicating that it had all happened too fast for him to react.
"Oh well. Time to find the next target." Ryuuto shook his head and scanned the plaza. The massive Raijin Form's imposing eyes searched for his next victim. "Hm? The escape king? Found him!"
The Raijin's gaze locked onto a location near Captain Hina. She was currently swinging her black iron cages, clearing a large area of pirate fodder. But Ryuuto wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the pink-haired young man next to him, wearing round black-framed glasses: Koby.
"Divine Punishment!"
As Koby leaped into the air, panting after knocking down a sword-wielding pirate, Ryuuto pointed his Kui Dragon Slash blade.
Boom!
A colossal bolt of blue lightning crashed down from the sky, instantly engulfing Koby.
"Koby!" Helmeppo, thrown back by the aftershock, screamed in anguish as he looked at where his friend had been standing.
"You bastard! Hina is very angry!" Captain Hina held her black iron cages in front of her to block the flying debris, her body standing firm against the shockwave of the lightning strike.
Ryuuto chuckled and slowly walked over. Wherever the dozens-of-meters-tall Raijin Form went, Marine soldiers scattered in a panic.
"Captain Hina, we meet again." After a brief greeting, Ryuuto turned his gaze to Koby as the lightning faded.
Koby was charred black, his glasses shattered, standing motionless. But according to Ryuuto's senses, he wasn't dead, just severely injured.
"As everyone knows, lightning in the world of One Piece doesn't kill people," Ryuuto said to himself.
Then, Jean Bart leaped forward, and a massive iron fist slammed into Koby's head. A fountain of blood erupted, followed by a splatter of other fluids. Koby was now as dead as one could be.
'Well done,' Ryuuto thought with satisfaction. 'Jean Bart already understands my intentions without me needing to say a word.'
"Ahhh..."
Captain Hina's eyes went wide at the sight, and a terrified scream escaped her lips.