Golden lightning plasma surged forth, and a powerful aura washed over them. The ground beneath was rapidly assimilated, and countless waves of golden lightning rolled out, rushing to consume the entire giant sphere of rock.
Everyone gathered close to Ryuuto.
RUMBLE!
The roar of thunder echoed throughout the rock sphere's interior. In an instant, more than half of it had been converted into golden plasma.
"Captain Ryuuto seems to have gotten even stronger!" Burgess watched the scene in astonishment. The destructive aura erupting from the sea of golden lightning filled him with a profound sense of fear.
In that moment, Burgess was exceedingly grateful that he wasn't Ryuuto's enemy.
Fortunately, under Ryuuto's control, the lightning plasma left them a small patch of solid ground to stand on. This allowed Burgess to calm his nerves slightly.
VMMMM—
At that moment, a strange vibration emanated from the sphere. Wang Zhi, watching the rock ball shrink to a hundred meters, suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
CRACKLE!
Not only that, but he soon heard the distinct sound of a lightning strike.
This spurred Wang Zhi to hasten his actions. As a sliver of black lightning sparked across the sphere's surface, he decided to compress the entire thing to its absolute limit and detonate it instantly.
But he quickly realized his mistake.
VMMMM!
The rock sphere shuddered violently, and Wang Zhi found his technique had been forcefully interrupted.
CRACKLE—
The faint crackling of thunder grew louder and louder. The compression of his Planetary Devastation stalled at ninety meters.
CRACK!
A series of sharp cracks echoed in Wang Zhi's ears. The surface of the rock sphere began to fissure, and from within the cracks, a blinding golden light shone with dazzling intensity.
It all happened so fast.
"Thunder Prison: Thousand Thorn Spears!"
Before Wang Zhi could even react, he heard a low shout from within.
The rock sphere instantly shattered.
Countless rock fragments flew in every direction, shooting off into the distance at incredible speeds.
But that was all. The interior of the sphere was entirely filled with golden plasma. Following Ryuuto's command, the churning plasma instantly coalesced into thousands of golden spears that shot straight for Wang Zhi.
Van Augur, Hancock, and the others who had been inside leaped nimbly to the ground.
"As I thought. I bet on the right man," Van Augur thought to himself, a glint of light flashing across his glasses.
Hancock, Nami, and Vivi looked at Ryuuto with sparkling eyes. Their man had once again saved them from a perilous situation.
"How is this possible? How did you escape my Planetary Devastation!" Wang Zhi's eyes were still filled with disbelief. He stood frozen as the sky filled with golden spears, perhaps because he simply couldn't dodge.
After all, with a body so massive, he was a living target.
In his mind, the Planetary Devastation, formed from countless metallic substances and rocks, was so durable that even the world's number one swordsman would need a considerable effort to break free.
"Isn't the answer right in front of you?" Ryuuto chuckled softly as he watched the golden spears slam into Wang Zhi's body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of impacts rang out. The destructive energy instantly penetrated Wang Zhi's defenses, reaching deep into his body.
"Pfft!"
In a single moment, Wang Zhi coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his internal organs clearly having sustained significant damage.
But it wasn't over. The golden spears exploded upon impact, transforming into a sea of golden plasma that quickly enveloped Wang Zhi's entire figure. He could feel his incredibly tough body being constantly assimilated and corroded by the lightning, sending up plumes of white smoke.
Even more destructive energy poured into his system, inflicting greater and greater harm.
"Wh-what kind of attack is this? I've never seen anything like it! Why? Why can't my hardened body withstand it at all!" Wang Zhi thought in growing fear.
A massive amount of Armament Haki erupted from his body, with countless streaks of black and red lightning flowing across his skin. Only then did he manage to block the remainder of Ryuuto's "Thunder Prison: Thousand Thorn Spears."
As the last of the golden plasma dissipated, Wang Zhi's expression had become visibly weakened from Ryuuto's attack. The feeling was truly unbearable.
Witnessing all this were the Buggy Pirates and Kotto's group. Kotto's initially triumphant expression had twisted into one of terror. He couldn't comprehend how an attack as heaven-defying as Master Wang Zhi's could be so easily nullified by Ryuuto.
"Is this the power of a Four Emperor with a 3 billion Beri bounty?" The thought suddenly struck Kotto's mind.
They had been far too isolated. As Wang Zhi's subordinates, they had comfortably holed up on Fullalead Island, never having to face the pressure of the other Emperors. Their daily dealings were with pirates from the New World who had bounties of around 100 million Beri.
As for why they never had to face the other Emperors, the reason was simple. Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard were all former crewmates of Wang Zhi from the Rocks Pirates. A certain camaraderie still existed between them. Without a major conflict of interest, no one had any reason to attack Fullalead Island. As for Red-Haired Shanks, he had no interest in a place like this.
As Kotto's attention wavered, Richie the lion seized the opportunity. He lunged forward, his claws crackling with electricity.
BANG!
Kotto crossed his twin hammers in front of his chest, barely managing to block the attack. He was in a terrible state; not only did he have a bullet wound clean through his shoulder blade, but the back of his clothes was shredded, revealing several deep, bone-exposing claw marks.
Lin Sheng was in even worse shape. He was completely outmatched by Buggy, whose Chop-Chop Fruit abilities seemed to be his perfect counter. To make matters worse, Cabaji was constantly launching sneak attacks from the side, making it impossible to defend. Lin Sheng's bare upper body was covered in wounds, a bloody mess.
Meanwhile, Ryuuto calmly observed the scene before slowly sheathing his Kuilong Zan at his waist.
"Now, watch closely," Ryuuto said to his crewmates behind him, his gaze locking onto Wang Zhi. "This is how you do it. Let your Haki flow!"
As his words fell, a powerful aura erupted from his body. Countless black lightning bolts sparked to life, filling the space around him.
If one were to perceive him with Observation Haki, they would notice that the willpower emanating from Ryuuto's body was flowing like microwaves.
This was the advanced application of Armament Haki: Ryuo. It allowed for attacks from a distance, essentially projecting Haki outward for armor-piercing effects.
A famous example was when Rayleigh placed his hand before a giant beast and unleashed an invisible shockwave that sent the creature flying. That was projection.
As for armor-piercing, the concept was even simpler. To put it another way, without Ryuo, your attacks wouldn't even scratch Kaido. Striking Big Mom with her steel-balloon-like constitution would be like trying to tickle her.
So, Ryuo was a must-learn skill.
Ryuuto himself wasn't sure when he had learned it. It seemed that after he had mastered his lightning arts and gained supreme control over his spiritual energy, the ability had come to him naturally.
Now, he intended to teach Ryuo to Nami, Burgess, and the others.
CRACKLE!
With a clap of thunder, Ryuuto instantly appeared at Wang Zhi's side, moving so fast that Wang Zhi couldn't react.
Van Augur, Nami, and the others focused their gazes, watching Ryuuto's every move.
They saw Ryuuto clench one hand into a fist, channeling all the Armament Haki in his body into it before unleashing a punch. An invisible wave of power shot forth. All of his Haki bypassed Wang Zhi's tough exterior and flowed directly into his body, wreaking havoc on his insides.
The visual effect was a cascade of black lightning that converged on a single point before erupting in an instant. A terrifying shockwave was born.
Using Ryuo, he didn't even need to touch Wang Zhi to inflict damage.
Wang Zhi's massive body staggered back as if hit by a tremendous force. A trickle of fresh blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
As Wang Zhi's towering frame retreated, he crushed countless buildings underfoot.
"Have I gotten old?" After one final, heavy step, Wang Zhi finally steadied himself. Looking at Ryuuto, who appeared so effortlessly composed, the thought crossed his mind.
"Amazing! To think pure martial arts could achieve this!" Nami's eyes sparkled as she stared at Ryuuto in awe.
Vivi had a similar reaction.
Burgess stared at his own right hand, wondering how he could ever reach such a level. As for his left hand... it was gone.
Van Augur and Jean Bart also felt as if a door to a new world had been opened. They never knew there was so much more to uncover in martial arts and Haki.
But Ryuo wasn't so easily learned. Their control over their spiritual energy and willpower wasn't yet strong enough to fully command the flow of Armament Haki. However, they were confident that in the near future, they would master it. Ryuuto's demonstration had planted a seed deep within their minds.
Buggy and his men saw Ryuuto's display, and their morale soared. Already holding the upper hand, they pressed their attack relentlessly, giving Kotto, Lin Sheng, and their band of vicious pirates no room to fight back.
Wang Zhi looked around. The scene was one of utter devastation.
"No, I can't let it end like this. I am a great pirate! No matter what, I will not fall here today!" Wang Zhi thought, his eyes suddenly turning incredibly fierce.
It was as if the great pirate Wang Zhi of the past had returned.
Suddenly, he no longer cared about the final outcome. All he wanted now was a glorious, all-out battle, just like in his youth.
A powerful aura exploded from his body.
VMM! VMMMM!
With a strange tremor, Wang Zhi's towering figure sank into the ground and vanished.
"Has he merged with the island?" Ryuuto watched with curiosity, speculating to himself. "Could it be that during the God Valley incident, Wang Zhi survived by using the power of the Island-Island Fruit?"
But Ryuuto had clearly underestimated Wang Zhi's resolve. With Caribou and Coribou's fates unknown and his subordinates like Kotto being pushed back, Wang Zhi's only desire was to annihilate Ryuuto and his entire crew.
RUMBLE!
With a tremendous roar, the ground split apart. It was as if a colossal beast was awakening from deep within the earth.
The tremors intensified.
From the center of Fullalead Island, an unbelievably massive head, nearly a thousand meters wide, began to emerge. Then, a huge portion of the island started to rise.
Wang Zhi was transforming himself into the island itself.
The towering peaks that rose were his shoulders. As he continued to stretch, countless buildings and trees began to fall from his gigantic arms.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless rocks and the pirates standing on them began to plummet.
"Ah! Save me! Someone save me...!"
For a moment, cries of despair filled the air.
But it wasn't over. As more of Wang Zhi's form appeared, the entire island split into several parts and rapidly rose, all becoming a part of him. As he shook his body, everyone on the island's surface began to fall helplessly toward the sea.
"Master Wang Zhi, save us!" Kotto panicked, throwing out an iron chain to wrap around Wang Zhi's arm while screaming desperately.
Seeing this, Wang Zhi quickly placed Kotto, Lin Sheng, and his other men on his shoulder. Kotto then used his chain to rescue Caribou and Coribou just as they were about to fall into the sea. Otherwise, as Devil Fruit users, their lives would have ended swiftly.
This was Wang Zhi's strongest form.
By completely transforming into the island, he possessed terrifying defensive power, turning him into a colossal tank.
Seeing the situation, Vivi commanded her liquor to transform into a giant bird with a wingspan of dozens of meters, safely catching Hancock, the others, and Buggy's crew.
Ryuuto leaped into the air, lightning crackling under his feet, and hovered steadily in mid-air.
"Impressive, the Island-Island Fruit. Its sheer size is astounding. It's a shame Blackbeard is already dead, otherwise I would have definitely claimed this fruit for myself," Ryuuto thought to himself.
"Ryuuto, are you ready?" Wang Zhi, having settled everything, slowly turned his massive body, now composed of the entire island, and bellowed at Ryuuto.
The original buildings and trees of Fullalead Island still dotted his colossal form.
Wang Zhi now stood upon the sea, his gargantuan figure, thousands of meters tall, piercing the clouds.
"Mountain Toppling Seal!"
With a mighty roar, Wang Zhi swung his nearly kilometer-wide palm down at Ryuuto. A powerful gust of wind preceded the blow, pressing down on Ryuuto's figure with immense force.
"Raijin!"
Seeing this, Ryuuto let out a fierce shout. His heart began to beat furiously, and an infinite torrent of golden lightning erupted from his body.