Rocks casually wiped the shallow wound across his chest.
The strike of a Great Swordsman could never be underestimated. Without fully unleashing the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he had actually been hit—and even injured.
No.
It wasn't that he hadn't used the Dark-Dark Fruit.
It was the massive trauma his body had suffered that had dulled his reaction speed.
That realization irritated him.
His gaze toward Newval turned increasingly dangerous.
While Newval was still caught in a daze from the Five Elders' praise—
Rocks moved.
His legs were unharmed. His speed remained astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Newval.
This time, he showed no restraint.
Advanced Conqueror's Haki Coating wrapped around his fist as he punched forward.
The terrifying pressure triggered frantic warnings in Newval's mind. He raised his blade to block, Armament Haki Coating spreading across the weapon—
But Rocks was too fast.
Before the blade was fully reinforced—
The fist struck.
Crack.
It was, after all, an ordinary standard-issue sword.
Perhaps the blade itself never imagined that it would one day clash head-on with Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
It shattered completely.
Just like Newval's confidence.
In that instant, countless thoughts ran through his mind—
Except dodging.
Except counterattacking.
Rocks was too fast.
Even faster than Newval at full Devil Fruit speed.
The fist tore through his abdomen, then blasted apart his chest.
Shattered ribs pierced inward.
His heart was destroyed.
The punch did not stop—
Rocks' arm passed entirely through his body.
A faint gurgle escaped Newval's throat.
His head tilted.
Life left him.
The Five Elders' praise stopped abruptly.
Fleet Admiral Kong and Sengoku were furious—
Yet strangely, a subtle sense of relief stirred within them.
Wherever humans exist, so too does rivalry.
Human thought enables progress—
But also builds cages.
The development of the Marines could not tolerate uncertainty.
Even if that uncertainty was an ally.
"Zehahahaha! Didn't expect you old fossils to have such taste! Go on—why not praise Sengoku and Kong next?"
Rocks' mockery was blatant.
The Five Elders flushed red with anger—
Because they noticed that the Marine trio had subtly widened the distance between themselves and the Elders.
"Bastard!"
The highborn Celestial Dragons roared in fury.
"I will personally bury you here today! Kong—you and your men attack! I'll provide support!"
The audacity of that statement nearly made Kong throw out his back.
It was astonishing how someone could sound so ferocious while saying something so cowardly.
For a fleeting moment, it felt as though the wrinkles of his brain had been smoothed flat.
But orders from the Five Elders could not be openly defied.
At least—not yet.
Kong led his two disciples forward.
Monkey D. Garp and Sengoku were his students, trained by his own hands. Their coordination was flawless. The three attacked without reservation, unleashing every technique at their disposal.
For a short time—
They truly held the severely wounded Rocks at bay.
Ordinary soldiers cheered.
Ordinary pirates cheered.
The soldiers cheered because the seemingly invincible Rocks was being restrained by their three Admiral-tier powerhouses.
The pirates cheered because even Admiral-tier fighters had to gang up just to contend with their captain.
To the weak, that was the truth.
To the strong—
It was something else entirely.
Whitebeard cleaved a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral in half and glanced toward Rocks' battlefield.
After two seconds—
His brows furrowed deeply.
"Newgate, you shouldn't lose focus in battle."
A voluptuous woman appeared behind him, kicking away a CP agent with effortless grace.
Miss Buckingham Stussy.
A woman shrouded in mystery.
Surprisingly, Whitebeard showed her a measure of patience.
"Rocks… he's too badly wounded. It's gotten to this point—he can barely maintain the upper hand against three Admiral-tier fighters…"
Why had Whitebeard joined the Rocks Pirates?
Because of absolute strength.
Rocks had once beaten him into submission.
And now—
That overwhelming power had been cut down dramatically.
On this battlefield, the World Government's hidden cards could never be underestimated.
Who knew how many Admiral-tier fighters they still possessed?
Shiki and the others wore similarly complicated expressions.
Their eyes flickered with calculation.
A crew bound entirely by profit and violence—
Now revealed its fatal flaw.
The captain was gravely wounded.
And his subordinates were already considering their escape routes.
Tragic.
Rocks, that peerless tyrant, surely understood this better than anyone.
Yet he had chosen this path anyway.
He bound powerful men to him through ambition and brutality—
Because he had supreme confidence in his own strength.
He was too proud.
So proud he looked down even on the version of himself from yesterday.
The pirates' strength had limits.
The World Government's strength felt endless.
Seeing Rocks' condition, the Five Elders were elated.
They joined the battlefield without hesitation, disregarding their own injuries—doing everything possible to inflict further damage upon Rocks.
Gol D. Roger burned with excitement, eager to join the fray.
But before him stood Roldy—
Nearly devoid of reason.
He could not disengage.
And then—
A slash from afar cleaved toward them, so vast it seemed ready to split the full moon in the sky.
A wolf's howl echoed.
Roldy sensed danger.
He roared and slashed with his claws toward the incoming attack—
But his Observation Haki was too weak.
He reacted only at the last possible moment.
Roger held him in front.
Behind him came a strike capable of threatening his life.
The slash struck.
His body staggered.
Roger seized the opening.
"Divine Departure!"
The crimson blade tore into Roldy.
Unable to evade, he relied purely on his monstrous physique to endure.
Blood soaked his once-pristine white fur.
The agony fueled his rage.
Those beast-like eyes locked onto the distant figure who had launched the attack.
Saint Figarland.
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