The two began a high-speed chase above the island.
Raiver continuously teleported to evade, while Imu's tentacles pursued him relentlessly.
Their battlefield shifted from the center of the island to the northern mountain range. Wherever they passed, mountains crumbled and forests burned.
With his nearly invincible and flawless Space-Space Fruit ability, Raiver could still manage to hold his own against the powerful Imu.
If it were anyone else, they would have long perished under Imu's full assault.
…
Meanwhile, at the center of the island.
Everyone watched in horror as Rocks underwent a transformation.
The man who once led an era was now kneeling on the ground, his hands buried deep in the soil.
His body twisted and swelled, something writhing madly beneath his skin.
"Rocks!" Linlin strode forward. "What's wrong with you? Say something!"
Whitebeard reached out to stop her. "Wait, something's not right."
Linlin shook off his hand. "What's not right? He's just—"
Before she could finish, Rocks suddenly raised his head.
Everyone gasped.
It was a completely inhuman face—his skin had turned dark purple, and three curved horns protruded from his forehead.
From his back, a pair of tattered black wings tore through his clothes, slowly unfurling.
But what chilled them the most was the flicker of human agony deep in his eyes.
Rocks' inner thoughts at this moment: Damn it… I'm disappearing…
He was resisting.
Even as his body mutated, his consciousness still fought against the invading dark force.
Yet, in the next moment, Rocks' body completed its final transformation.
His body grew enormous, his black wings fully spread, and he stood up.
Linlin looked up at this monster, nearly twice her size, and swallowed hard, forcing out a sentence:
"Ha… isn't this just getting bigger?"
Demon Rocks turned his head, his pitch-black eyes sweeping over everyone.
There was no anger, no hatred in that gaze—only a cold, procedural killing intent.
The next moment, he moved.
Unbelievably fast!
Whitebeard only saw a black shadow flash by, and in the next second, Demon Rocks was already above Kaido's Azure Dragon head in mid-air!
"What—?!" Kaido didn't even have time to react.
A black blade slashed down!
The blade sank deep into Kaido's dragon-scale-covered head, blood gushing out!
"Ugh—that hurts!" Kaido roared in pain. "Rocks! What are you doing?!"
Demon Rocks did not answer.
He grabbed one of Kaido's dragon horns with one hand and exerted force!
Kaido's hundred-meter-long Azure Dragon body was actually lifted and swung around!
Demon Rocks spun once like a hammer thrower and hurled Kaido's massive body with tremendous force!
Boom——!!!!!
Kaido crashed through a distant mountain, causing it to collapse and bury him beneath the rubble.
"Bastard Rocks!" Linlin raged, her Emperor Sword Napoleon blazing with towering flames. "What are you doing to your comrades?!"
She leaped into the air, gripping the sword with both hands, and slashed down with all her might!
"Might Country—!!!"
A giant sword wreathed in flames and Haki slashed toward the back of the demon Rocks.
This strike was powerful enough to cleave a mountain peak.
The demon Rocks didn't even turn his head.
He simply swung his blade backward.
Clang——!!!!!
Linlin's Emperor Sword was deflected, and she was sent flying backward like a broken kite.
She crashed through over a dozen giant trees before barely coming to a stop, blood spraying from her mouth.
Whitebeard tightened his grip on Cloud Cutter.
He stared at the monster before him—that former captain, now reduced to nothing but an unreasonable, savage aura.
"Are you treating us as mere obstacles in your way, Rocks?!" Whitebeard roared in a deep voice.
The demon Rocks slowly turned, his pitch-black eyes fixing on Whitebeard.
"Annoying…"
He charged again! This time, his target was Whitebeard!
The moment Cloud Cutter clashed with the Black Blade, the world seemed to freeze for a second.
Then—
Crackle, crackle, crackle——!!!!!
Black Haki and white Tremor-Tremor Power collided head-on!
Space shattered outward from the two of them as the center, spiderweb-like cracks spreading hundreds of meters in every direction!
The ground was torn up by the shockwave, forming a ring of earth that surged outward!
"This power…" Whitebeard gritted his teeth, the ground beneath his feet beginning to sink. "It's even stronger than before!"
The demon Rocks showed no expression, only continuing to apply pressure.
"Raaaah—!" Whitebeard unleashed his full power, releasing the full force of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
Boom——!!!
With the two of them at the center, the ground within a radius of a kilometer was completely shattered!
One side of God Valley's mountain peak, a landmark that had stood for centuries, began to collapse from its midsection.
Countless boulders tumbled down like a volcanic eruption!
"Run! The mountain is falling!"
"Help—!"
Everyone on the island—Marines, pirates, survivors—scattered in panic.
The chain reaction caused by the mountain's collapse shook the entire island violently.
The ground split open into bottomless chasms, seawater pouring in through the cracks.
"This island is going to sink!" someone screamed in terror.
Amid the chaos, the demon Rocks stopped his struggle with Whitebeard.
His pitch-black eyes scanned the battlefield, as if searching for something.
Then, he moved!
Not toward any of the powerful fighters, but toward the forest in the southeast of the island.
…
At the edge of the forest.
Eris clutched Teach tightly in her arms, struggling forward through the violent tremors.
Just then, a terrifying aura approached from behind—one she knew all too well.
"Rocks…" she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "That form… you've finally lost to that thing after all."
Eris bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Rocks. It's because you tried to save us that you ended up like this…"
Teach in her arms seemed to sense his mother's sorrow and stopped crying, reaching out a small hand to touch her cheek.
Eris looked down at her son's pitch-black eyes, identical to Rocks', and suddenly smiled.
"Teach," she said softly, her voice unwavering:
"We're heading for the sea! We'll have to swim across! The Davy bloodline must not die out!
This is the last thing I can do for your father!"
She hugged her child tightly and sprinted desperately toward the coastline!
"Survive! No matter what!"
But at the shore, the Marine warships had already pulled away.
Marines on the deck spotted the mother and child rushing out of the forest.
"Slaves heading for the coast!" the lookout shouted.
"Fire the cannons!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A cannonball tore through the sky, heading straight for Eris and her child.
"Damn it." Eris looked up—ahead was the beach blanketed with artillery fire, behind her an increasingly terrifying presence closing in.
The demon Rocks had already cut through the forest and was less than a hundred meters away from her!
Artillery in front, a demon behind.
A hopeless situation.
Eris held Teach tightly and closed her eyes: "I'm sorry, Rocks... I did my best..."
At that moment, a figure rushed out from the side!
Kuma lunged toward Eris, slapping both hands on the backs of the mother and child simultaneously!
Pop! Pop!
Two soft sounds echoed as Eris and Teach transformed into streaks of light, shooting rapidly toward the distant sea!
Kuma turned to face the demon Rocks, who had already closed in to within ten meters, his Black Blade raised high, wreathed in destructive dark energy.
The slash descended!
Kuma immediately slapped his own chest.
Pop!
His figure transformed into a streak of light and shot away.
Almost simultaneously, the demon Rocks' slash swept through the spot where Kuma had just been, cleaving everything in its path before finally striking the sea!
BOOM—!!!
The sea surface was split open, forming a trench several kilometers long!
Over a dozen warships along the coast were destroyed by the residual force of the slash, exploding and sinking into the depths as burning wreckage.