Chapter 401 - 240

Chapter 240: Onihime Yamato VS Admiral Fujitora!At the edge of the floating island, a hellish scene unfolded below.Several Marine warships, enveloped in a thick purple gravity field, were "sailing" between the churning sea of clouds and violent air currents with a stability that defied common sense.The Marine Soldiers gripped the gunwales or ropes tightly, their wide eyes nearly splitting, their pupils reflecting the unimaginable purgatory-like scene on the distant main island.Just the aftershocks from the edge of the battlefield caused uneasy ripples in the purple gravity field surrounding the warships."What... exactly happened here?!"A Rear Admiral muttered in shock, his voice barely audible over the roaring wind, but the horror on his face represented all the Marines witnessing this scene.The officers had long been on high alert.The cigar in Yamakaji's mouth had long since gone out without him realizing it.Doberman's fingers gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white.Their powerful Observation Haki was pushed to its limit, scanning the space like invisible radar.The intensity of a few of those presences made alarm bells ring deep in their souls from just a sensory touch!This was clearly... top-tier powerhouses engaged in an all-out life-and-death melee!At the very moment all the Marines' minds were firmly gripped by the battlefield below!BOOM!!!A thunderous explosion erupted directly above their heads without warning!A figure, wreathed in almost viscous black-purple lightning, like a thunderous spear falling from beyond the highest heavens, smashed down at a speed and angle the warships could never avoid!The color of that lightning was deep and eerie, as if it condensed the purest will of destruction.The Marine Soldiers looked up in terror, only catching a glimpse of a Spiked Club in the figure's hand, also wreathed in black-purple lightning, swinging down violently toward the command deck of the flagship "Zhongyue" with a brute force that could crush stars!A cold, feminine shout, carrying bestial dominance and resolve, drowned out all other noise in the world and poured clearly into the ears of every Marine:"Thunder Bagua!!!"In the next second, destruction descended.—CLANG!!!A clear, high-pitched sword cry tore through the whistle of death at the critical moment!In the terrified eyes of all the Marines, the tall figure who had been standing at the very front of the fleet with eyes closed suddenly became incomparably towering.The Supreme Grade Sword "Gamblers Fire Line" in Fujitora's hand instantly left its scabbard.A deep, restrained blackness permeated the blade, with only the edges flowing with subtle yet lethal Armament Haki lightning.Even more heart-stopping were the unique, space-distorting purple gravity ripples that wreathed the blade like living things, causing the scenery around the edge to slightly collapse.His form was like a shooting star in reverse, shifting from absolute stillness to extreme motion, meeting the Spiked Club wreathed in black-purple Haoshoku lightning that was falling from the sky, swinging his sword upward!"Gravity Blade: Raging Tiger!"As the blade rose, a giant purple energy tiger, composed entirely of a gravity field and Hakicondensed to the extreme, suddenly manifested!BOOM—!!!!!The purple-black gravity tiger and the black-purple Haoshoku lightning collided violently!Two great forces wrestled and annihilated each other within inches.Space groaned under the unbearable load, and countless fine, visually tearing black cracks burst from the center of the collision!The stalemate lasted only an instant.The purple gravity field displayed its unparalleled "rule" power, forcibly deflecting, swallowing, and suppressing the violent Haoshoku lightning.The seemingly ordinary cane sword in Fujitora's hand was like a stabilizing pillar, firmly parrying the Spiked Club "takeru" wreathed in destructive energy.Only then did the shockwave explode outward, sweeping across the sky in a ring, causing several nearby warships to rock violently and blowing the soldiers on deck off their feet.Fujitora looked up slightly; though his eyes were closed, he "stared" precisely at the wild figure on the other end of the Spiked Club, his steady voice penetrating the roar of energy:"Young lady, we should have no grievances. Why do you block us?"He could "see" the youth and fire in her aura; she was definitely not one of Golden Lion's crew, nor did she have a long-standing grudge with the Marines."You don't need to worry about that!"Yamato's cold voice came, without the slightest hesitation, carrying instead a stubborn determination.The muscles in her arms bulged as she resisted the heavy gravity pressing down from below, as if the entire earth were upon her, the black-purple lightning leaping violently on the Spiked Club."Anyway, my goal is... to stop you!!"Before she finished speaking, she felt the power coming from the blade suddenly change."Then there is no other way."Fujitora sighed softly, seeming regretful, but his actions were without hesitation.The wrists of his hands holding the sword sank, then he suddenly thrust upward at a more exquisite angle!"Ugh—!"Yamato was violently knocked back by this subtle yet domineering force, drawing an arc in the air.The moment he knocked Yamato back, the cane sword in Fujitora's hand lightly tapped the empty air below.The movement was casual, but the effect was earth-shattering!Buzz—A massive gravity ring over a hundred meters in diameter, solid as purple crystal, instantly spanned the sky like a seal of divine punishment, pressing down toward the main island battlefield below."—BOOM!!!!!"With the area covered by the ring as the center, everything within a thousand meters below was violently crushed toward the ground by a terrifying gravity that had increased dozens or hundreds of times in an instant!The ground collapsed visibly!A bowl-shaped giant crater, ten meters deep with neat edges, was smashed out!The walls of the pit were smooth as a mirror, a trace of the crushing force of extreme power.Everything at the bottom of the pit was compressed into the densest, hardest matter.And at the very center of that giant pit, a speck of icy blue and lightning flickered stubbornly.Yamato was on one knee, the end of the Spiked Club "takeru" thrust deep into the ground that had been compressed like steel, supporting her body.She panted heavily, a trickle of blood uncontrollably leaking from the corner of her mouth, her entire skeleton making subtle yet grating cracking sounds from the terrifying pressure just now, as if it would fall apart at any moment.Pain swept over her like a tide.However, when she raised her head, there was not a trace of fear or dimness in those fiery crimson pupils.Instead, they burned brighter and more crazily, like a fire fed with more fuel!It was the purest, hottest fighting spirit erupted from encountering a powerful enemy!"An Admiral... is indeed very strong!"She spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, her voice somewhat hoarse from the vibration of her internal organs, but every word was clear, carrying a beast-like growl."But—"Her fingers gripping the Spiked Club tightened one by one, her knuckles turning white.Icy blue frost and purple-black lightning began to surge uncontrollably from her body.Her body changed in the light, her beastly features merging with her human form, her aura climbing and exploding at an incredible speed!"—My goal is to surpass Kaido!!!""How can I... be defeated by you!!!"The final roar turned into a heaven-shaking bellow!"Boom!"The ground beneath her feet, compressed like iron by gravity, exploded! Yamato's figure completely vanished from the spot, leaving only a spreading halo of ice and lightning.In the next instant, she had turned into a blue-black arrow wreathed in bitter frost and violent lightning, charging straight toward the unmoving purple figure in the sky!... "Sigh..."A low sigh seemed to suppress the howling waves across the sky.Fujitora pressed his cane sword toward the side and rear, and the purple halo enveloping the fleet gently lifted the several massive steel warships, steadily placing them on a shattered floating rock island at the edge of the battlefield.This simple action made the hearts of all onlookers tighten.It meant that in the upcoming battle, even this Marine Admiral would have no time to be distracted.Almost at the moment the warships landed, the aura around Fujitora changed.The Supreme Grade Sword in his hand, named "Gamblers Fire Line," lowered slightly, and where the blade pointed, even light began to collapse inward.Opposite him, the storm of ice and lightning had arrived.Yamato's figure completely turned into a trajectory of blue and black lightning during her charge, the Spiked Club "takeru" dragging boiling black-purple electric light; before the Spiked Club even arrived, the extreme cold had already condensed frost-white cracks in the air.The Spiked Club wreathed in Haoshoku lightning collided with the blade condensed with the gravity of stars.CLANG—!!!The two figures separated upon contact in the exploding purple-black light, then collided again like magnets.Sword and Spiked Club turned into a sky full of afterimages, the purple gravity field and black-purple Haoshoku lightning tearing at each other crazily.The shockwave pushed outward like a solid wall, constantly shaving off and crushing the edges of the floating island.Above, the already fragmented clouds were completely pierced, revealing a hideous crack in the starry sky.Frost spread along the edges of the gravity field only to be shattered, and lightning snaked and exploded in the distorted space.Every strike of Fujitora's sword carried the weight of a collapsing mountain, while every swing of Yamato's Spiked Club contained the wildness of breaking chains... Meanwhile, on the thousand sunny at the edge of the battlefield."What's wrong, Torao, exhausted so soon!!"Luffy stretched his neck, leaning over to the lounge chair in the corner of the deck, grinning at the person slumped on it.Law's face was as pale as freshly brushed wallpaper, his forehead hair soaked with sweat, his chest heaving violently, every breath carrying a heavy tremor.The long sword "kikoku" that usually never left his hand leaned against the chair, looking dull and lusterless now."Shut... up..."Law found even opening his eyes too much effort, squeezing out two words from between his teeth.The exhaustion after overusing his ability flooded his limbs like a tide, making even his annoyance feel weak.He had developed his fruit ability to a degree that shocked the world, even vaguely touching the threshold of that legendary "Awakening."But for this body to bear such out-of-spec power was still a struggle.It was like a child wielding the weapon of a Colossus; every strike was earth-shattering, but after a few swings, he would run out of strength first."Luffy..."Nami gripped the gunwale tightly, her knuckles white, her gaze never leaving the core of the battlefield that looked like purgatory."They... they'll be okay, right?"Her voice carried unconcealable worry.Luffy turned his head, pressed down on the straw hat on his head, and spoke with a voice that wasn't loud but was exceptionally clear and powerful:"Don't worry! You have to believe in them!!"That smile and those words seemed to carry some strange power, slightly dispelling the clouds over Nami's heart... At the center of the battlefield, at the edge of a ring-shaped deep pit plowed by the fierce battle just now.The dust had not yet completely settled, mixed with the smell of blood, scorched earth, and the lingering residue of Haki."Hey, Mosshead, can you still move?"Sanji kicked away a hot piece of rubble at his feet, pulled a cigarette pack from his breast pocket, shook out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.A few steps away, Zoro slowly pulled the wado ichimonji from the ground, shaking off the thick grime from the blade."Nonsense."A simple conversation, no more words needed."Jiehahahaha—!!!"A sinister laugh of extreme rage erupted like a volcanic eruption, drowning out all remaining noise on the battlefield!Boom—!!!Immediately after, a violent dark-red pillar of light, wreathed in countless black-red lightning bolts, like a mad dragon breaking free from the shackles of hell, charged into the sky from the center of the dust!The pillar of light crashed straight into the already shattered sky above, as if it were going to pierce the heavens completely!Within the pillar of light, a golden figure slowly rose.Golden Lion Shiki stood in mid-air, his signature golden kimono already in tatters, revealing the lean body beneath covered in old and new scars.Blood seeped from multiple wounds on his forehead, the corners of his mouth, and his chest.He looked down at the two young figures at the edge of the pit who had resumed their stances.Boundless killing intent and the pride of an old era's overlord mixed together, turning into a hoarse and brutal roar from deep within his chest:"You... you really deserve to die!!"