The Navy warship cut through the final waves before reaching the shallows. From this distance, the flames devouring the island looked far more terrifying. Wooden buildings collapsed amid a shower of sparks. The screams of civilians mingled with the laughter of pirates drunk on victory.
Eight ships flying skull-and-crossbones flags were anchored at various points along the coast. Some of them were still lowering rowboats filled with pirates eager to loot.
Seven stood at the ship's bow, his eyes reddened with three tomoe spinning slowly. His Sharingan scanned the entire island in a matter of minutes, mapping the positions of enemies, civilians, and evacuation routes.
"Sakazuki," Seven called without turning his head.
The young captain was already standing beside him, his fists clenched tightly. A thin mist rose from his knuckles, as if the magma inside his body was impatient to burst out.
"You and I go in first. Clear the way. The soldiers will follow behind to evacuate civilians and secure the areas we've cleared."
"Understood."
Seven turned to the line of soldiers ready on the deck. "Your top priority is the civilians. Evacuate the wounded to the ship. Don't play the hero against pirates stronger than you."
"ROGER THAT, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER!"
Without further ado, Seven leaped from the bow of the ship. His body shot across the thirty-meter gap between the ship and the shoreline, landing on the sand with a light thud that created a circular crack in the ground.
A second later, Sakazuki landed beside him. His feet slammed into the sand with far greater force, creating a small crater. From his clenched fists, glowing red magma began to seep out, melting the grains of sand into glass.
Before them, the small port town was dying. Fire everywhere. Corpses strewn about. And dozens of pirates scattered among the ruins, looting shops and dragging residents screaming in terror.
The three nearest pirates, who were carrying a chest of stolen treasure, turned toward the shore. They saw two men standing there, one in a Navy uniform and the other in a black cloak.
"Huh? The Navy? Just two...."
The sentence was never finished.
Seven had already moved. Shunshin no Jutsu made him vanish from plain sight. In his right hand, Matatabi chakra flowed vigorously, forming a bright, blazing blue flame sword.
SRAAK! SRAAK! SRAAK!
Three slashes. Three bodies collapsed. The blue flame sword cut with cold, efficient precision, leaving blackened burn marks on every cut.
On the other side, Sakazuki was no less brutal.
Magma erupted from his right fist as he struck a massive pirate trying to block his path. The blow didn't just knock him back—it burned half the poor man's body before he even hit the ground.
"INUGAMI GUREN!"
Sakazuki's magma fist shot forward, unleashing a dog-headed magma projectile that devoured five pirates at once in a single sweep. The ground beneath it melted, forming a small river of lava that forced the other pirates to retreat in fear.
Seven and Sakazuki moved forward side by side, slicing through the pirate ranks like two blades cutting through paper. One blue, one red. Fire and magma. Behind them, the cleared street was immediately filled with Navy soldiers running in, carrying wounded civilians toward the shore.
"On the left! There are children trapped in that building!" shouted a soldier.
"Medical team, go there! The rest of you, secure the line!" commanded a lieutenant.
Within minutes, half the port city was under control. The low-ranking pirates fell one by one, unable to match the combined might of two monsters and two hundred trained soldiers.
However, at the edge of the city, in the central square that had been leveled to the ground, three figures stood calmly amidst the raging flames. They watched the Navy's arrival.
"Hey, hey. The Navy finally showed up," said one of them, a tall man whose body was covered in green scales. His eyes were vertical like a reptile's, and his forked tongue occasionally flickered out.
Beside him, a petite woman sat cross-legged atop a pile of rubble. Her fingers played with transparent threads that were barely visible in the firelight.
And the third, standing at the front with his hands in his pockets, was a man with a thick beard and an ordinary-looking body. Too ordinary. However, a thin, greenish mist floated around his feet, and the grass and insects nearby were already dead and rotting.
Sakazuki arrived at the square first.
His eyes immediately locked onto the three figures. His instincts and burning rage left no room for tactical calculation. Three criminals. Three pieces of trash. They must be eliminated.
"YOU LOT!" Sakazuki roared as he charged forward. His right fist had transformed into blazing hot magma. "MEIGOU!"
The colossal magma punch slammed toward the trio of pirates with a force capable of melting steel.
The green-scaled man reacted first. His body swelled, his scales hardening into living steel, and he blocked Sakazuki's magma punch with both arms coated in Armament Haki. The ground beneath his feet cracked, but he didn't budge.
"Pretty hot, Navy Kid," the Komodo man grinned. "But my scales are used to the heat!"
Transparent threads from the Paramecia woman moved as fast as lightning, wrapping around Sakazuki's ankles. Before the young captain could react, the threads tightened and pulled him off balance.
"Don't forget about me, kid," the woman whispered with a sweet smile that contrasted with her threads, which were now cutting into Sakazuki's skin, piercing through his Haki defenses.
Sakazuki snorted, turning his feet into magma to burn the threads. Some were severed, but by the time he regained his footing, the alliance captain was already right in front of him.
The man with the thick beard raised his hand casually. From his palm, a dense cloud of greenish gas erupted under high pressure, enveloping the entire area around Sakazuki in a matter of seconds.
This was no ordinary gas. The moment Sakazuki inhaled it, his lungs felt like they were burning from the inside. His vision blurred. His balance faltered. The magma in his hands flickered erratically.
Taking advantage of that moment, the Komodo man lunged from the left with giant claws coated in Haki. The direct hit struck Sakazuki's chest, whose defenses had already weakened due to the poison.
The young Captain's body was flung backward, slamming into the stone wall of a half-collapsed building. The wall shattered into pieces.
Sakazuki coughed up blood. His ribs were cracked. His Armament Haki had managed to lessen the impact, but the combination of poison and the Haki-coated Zoan physical attack was too much for him.
The Komodo man charged forward, his scales glistening in the firelight. His massive Haki-coated claws struck Sakazuki, who was still trying to get back up.
CRACK!
Sakazuki blocked the attack with his left arm, already coated in Haki, but the Zoan's punch was too powerful. His arm was forced backward, slamming into his own chest. The sound of additional bones cracking rang out loudly.
"Hoh, this kid's got some endurance," Captain Gas commented as he strolled closer casually. A greenish mist floated with every step she took. "Logia Magma, huh? A very powerful Devil Fruit. Too bad the user is still inexperienced."
The Paramecia threads shot out again, this time wrapping around both of Sakazuki's arms, pulling him into a kneeling position. The woman pulled the threads with terrifying force, forcing Sakazuki to lower his head.
Sakazuki gritted his teeth. Magma seeped from his entire body, burning some of the threads, but the woman kept replacing the severed ones with new ones, faster than he could burn them.
"Just give up, Kid. You're alone against the three of us. That's suicide," said Captain Gas as he raised his hand, thick toxic gas gathering once more in his palm.
Sakazuki looked up. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes showed not a hint of regret or fear. Only pure rage and unshakable resolve.
"I… will not… die… at the hands of scum like you."
Captain Gas sighed. "Stubborn. Fine. Goodby....."
Three attacks struck simultaneously. The Haki claws of the Komodo man. The sharp threads of the Paramecia woman. And the burst of thick gas from the alliance captain. All three were aimed at Sakazuki, who was still on his knees.
TRANG!
A blue flame sword appeared out of nowhere, deflecting the Komodo claws and incinerating the approaching threads in a single sweep. The heat from the sword forced the toxic gas to disperse, broken down by the intense heat.
Quentin Seven stood before Sakazuki. A white cloak emblazoned with "Justice" fluttered on his shoulders. The blue flame sword in his right hand glowed calmly, illuminating his expressionless face.
The three pirate captains took a step back.
"Sakazuki," Seven called without turning his head. "Are you still able to fight?"
Sakazuki spat blood onto the ground, then forced himself to his feet. His legs trembled, but he remained standing. "I still can."
"Good. Step back a little."
Seven stared at the three pirate captains before him. Slowly, the blue flame sword in his hand dimmed and vanished, reabsorbed into his body.
"Who are you?" asked Captain Gas. His eyes narrowed. The man in front of him had just parried their combined attack with one hand.
Seven didn't answer.
The irises of his eyes changed. The three Tomoe swirling in both eyes began to transform. The blood-red patterns expanded and swirled, forming a more complex design. A sharp-angled star pattern with concentric circles replaced the ordinary Sharingan.
Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
At the same time, Seven unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.
An invisible pressure slammed into the entire plaza. Dozens of low-ranking pirates still lingering behind the three captains instantly collapsed, their eyes rolling back, their bodies falling haphazardly like puppets with severed strings.
One by one. A dozen.....Dozens....Hundreds. All of them fainted without even a chance to scream.
The three pirate captains felt that pressure slam into their shoulders. They didn't pass out, but their legs trembled. The Komodo man dug his claws into the ground to keep from losing his balance. The Paramecia woman clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. Captain Gas clenched his jaw, cold sweat beading on his temples.
Conqueror Haki at this level... in the West Blue?
Then, a bluish-purple energy flowed out from Seven's body. The ground beneath his feet cracked.
Translucent purple giant bones began to form around Seven's body. Ribs. Spine. Skeletal arms towering fifteen meters high. A skull with eye sockets glowing red, staring down at the three pirates.
Susanoo. First Stage.
And the surface of those giant bones began to turn black. A layer of Armament Haki flowed along the skeleton, turning the translucent purple bones into a glossy, pitch-black sheen. Every inch of Susanoo's bones was now coated in densely concentrated Haki.
The Haki-coated giant skeleton stood towering in the center of the shattered plaza, surrounded by raging flames and unconscious pirates.
No one on this island had ever seen anything like this.
Captain Gas took another step back. "W-what…"
Inside the chest cavity of the giant skeleton, Seven stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His Mangekyou Sharingan swirled slowly, gazing at the three people before him.
Behind Seven, Sakazuki looked up. Blood was still trickling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes widened as he stared at the towering black giant skeleton looming over his head.
One question swirled in his mind.
Is this the Mythological Zoan Devil Fruit?