At that moment, Black Arm Zephyr, an Admiral standing at the very peak of the world's strongest, finally revealed the full weight of his presence. His aura alone brought a flicker of hope to the Marines trapped inside the blazing prison.
Yemu's eyes gleamed at the sight. Yet he wore a faintly regretful smile.
"That's not wrong. But Admiral Zephyr, I think you've misunderstood something."
He looked around at the surrounding Marines.
"Why don't you all take a guess? How long do you think it would take me to raise the temperature here from one degree… to ten thousand?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"Thirty seconds."
Everyone froze. Even Zephyr's expression shifted.
"Actually, forget thirty seconds. Forget ten thousand degrees. In just three seconds, I can push this place to three thousand degrees."
His voice dropped, almost gentle.
"At that temperature, Admiral Zephyr… how many of your Marines do you think will survive?"
"Or are you confident you can defeat me within three seconds?"
His words rang out like a death sentence.
The Marines' faces drained of color.
Only now did they fully understand.
They really had become hostages.
Even veins bulged at Zephyr's temples.
"But you're lucky… Marines."
Yemu smiled in a way that made people want to hit him.
"Because I have a gentleman's agreement with your Vice Admiral Kuzan."
"As long as you lay down your weapons and do not resist, I won't treat you as enemies. I'll give you a way out."
As his voice fell, a section of the flaming cage parted.
A gate of fire opened.
"Make your choice, Marines."
"Which matters more? Justice… or your lives?"
"This is the second half of the justice game."
Inside the enormous Nine Dragon Divine Flames Formation, every gaze shifted toward the newly opened escape gate.
The first to react were the onlookers who had been caught inside.
Without hesitation, they rushed toward the exit.
But just as they reached it, nine blazing dragon heads rose from the flames at the doorway, crimson eyes locking onto them.
"I believe I said, lay down your weapons."
Yemu's voice echoed again.
The onlookers froze—then immediately threw their weapons to the ground and bolted through the gate.
The fire dragons did not stop them.
They escaped safely.
Watching this, Zephyr felt something was off.
This scene… it felt eerily familiar to what had happened inside the auction house over the past two days.
An indescribable unease crept into his chest.
He spoke in a low voice.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Trying to do?" Yemu shrugged lightly. "Who knows."
He stood there like a king overlooking his domain, gazing at the Marines trapped within the sea of fire.
"So, what will it be?"
"The moment you arrived, the game began."
The Marines looked at one another. Their throats tightened, though there was no saliva left to swallow.
In the end, all eyes turned toward Zephyr.
Seeing that, Yemu's smile deepened—slow, deliberate, and unmistakably devilish.
"Because the Admiral is here, you can't make a decision? Then let me help you."
But at that moment, someone finally lost patience.
"Ara Ara… aren't you underestimating the Marines a bit, Pirate Yemu? Even recklessness should have limits… Ice Time Capsule."
"How scary. Looks like I'll have to get serious too… Yasakani no Magatama."
In an instant, a freezing blast and dazzling golden light shot straight for Yemu's head.
The ones most excited to see this were Enel and Tiger.
"Finally our turn?"
"So this is where we test three months of training…"
Both of them stepped in front of Yemu.
No unnecessary movements. They simply raised their palms.
A transparent barrier—impossible to see with the naked eye—spread out in front of them.
Kuzan's Ice Time Capsule and Borsalino's Yasakani no Magatama slammed into it—
—and stopped.
They could not advance even an inch.
"BOOM!"
A massive explosion erupted, yet it failed to break through the invisible defense.
Instead, the shockwave rebounded toward the Marines.
Kuzan and Borsalino reacted instantly, raising their hands as well to block the returning force before it reached the troops.
When the smoke cleared, a terrifying crack had torn through the massive roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove between the two sides. The fissure ran deep enough to split the island, and from below came the faint sound of waves crashing underground.
"Hey, hey…"
Borsalino slowly lowered his hand, staring in disbelief.
"What exactly have these guys been doing for five months? That kind of growth is ridiculous."
All the top Marine officers had reviewed the battle footage from Water 7.
Enel was understandable. His Haki had already been strong. In five months, mastering emission wasn't impossible.
But Tiger? Five months ago, he had only mastered basic Armament coating.
Now he had directly advanced a level and learned emission.
And that level…
…was the same level of Haki mastery Kuzan and Borsalino themselves possessed.
Which meant Tiger and Enel were already at—or at least very close to—their level.
They were both confirmed future Admiral candidates.
That meant the Sky Pirates would inevitably possess at least one Admiral-level combatant in the future.
No.
That might even be an understatement.
Tiger, as a fishman, already had terrifying physical strength by birth.
Enel possessed the Goro Goro no Mi, the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit, along with Conqueror's Haki—and he was still young. His future potential was immeasurable.
And then there was the one who still hadn't even moved.
Sky Pirates Captain Yemu.
No one present truly knew how deep he ran.
The terrifying future that image painted silenced everyone.
At that moment, Zephyr finally understood Fleet Admiral Kong's fear of this pirate crew.
He had already made up his mind.
This pirate crew had to be erased here.
They had to be sent to Impel Down.
But… could he really do it?
Just then, Yemu's devilish voice rang out again.
"It's impolite not to return the favor… Since the Marines have made their move, I should offer something in return."
Everyone's pupils shrank.
"Divine Fire · 3000 Degrees."
In an instant, the world seemed to darken under the blaze, as if the air itself were bleeding.
If the earlier temperature had been barely tolerable because the Marines hadn't directly touched the flames—this time was different.
Even without contact, the Marines trapped inside felt their skin and internal organs burning.
Worse still, the extreme heat caused many uniforms to ignite on their own.
After three days of exhaustion, their bodies and minds had already been stretched to their limits.
Now, under this suffocating inferno, something inside them snapped.
"Ice Age!"
Kuzan immediately unleashed his ability again, freezing the surroundings to extinguish the flames and lower the temperature.
But sometimes, once a person's spirit breaks—it cannot be restored.
"I don't want to die… I don't want to die…"
The first deserter appeared.
He threw down his weapon and ran for the exit, terror written all over his face.
Others followed.
Soon, a wave of Marines began fleeing toward the gate.
No one blamed them.
The monster in front of them was simply too overwhelming.
"That's terrifying… even Ice Age couldn't suppress it?"
"The Mera Mera no Mi may counter my Hie Hie no Mi, but developing it to this extent… this makes no sense."
...
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