Grand Line's first half, Lulucca Island.
In an alleyway, a group of Marine soldiers guarded King Parsel of Alabasta behind them. Tsuru looked at the silver-haired youth, who had his back to everyone. He had instantly killed Andrew with a single move the moment he appeared. With a wary expression, she said in a deep voice, "May I ask who you are...?"
"I..."
Upon hearing this, the silver-haired youth turned and looked at the crowd behind him. A thoughtful expression flickered across his face, as if he was contemplating something...
After three seconds of contemplation, he finally smiled. "My name is... Karl D. Sephiroth!"
"Karl D. Sephiroth...?"
Tsuru murmured softly, trying to recall the youth's name and appearance.
To instantly kill a great Pirate with a bounty of 300 million with just one strike – such a powerful person couldn't possibly be unknown. Yet she had no memory of him at all.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
A series of violent ground tremors came from the direction of the port. Even those in the alleyway could clearly feel the earth shaking.
"It seems your Commander is in a very bad situation!"
Sephiroth frowned slightly, murmuring softly.
Although he lived far from the town on Lulucca Island, his Observation Haki detected the intense battle between the Marine and the Pirates at the port as soon as it began.
However, after seeing Garp and Kong among the Marine, Sephiroth initially had no intention of helping...
After all, he thought that with Kong and Garp's strength, there shouldn't be an opportunity for him to intervene against a mere Phoenix Fruit user and a Diamond Fruit user.
However...
The situation was somewhat beyond his expectations!
Garp couldn't break through Diamond Andrew's defense, while Kong was being constantly worn down by Phoenix Allen, who was using a tactic of trading blows.
The battle was completely one-sided!
Could it be that the butterfly effect caused by my time travel is too great, causing many things to deviate from their original trajectory? Sephiroth thought to himself as he rushed out of the alley and headed toward the port.
Just then, Allen stood up from a crater covered in cracks, while the injured Kong lay sprawled out in the crater.
Only his slightly rising chest proved that he was still stubbornly alive.
Under the continuous attack of the six Pirate ships, a cannonball hit the warship's ammunition depot, igniting the gunpowder within. Half of the warship was blown away with a loud "Boom!"
The heatwave and black smoke from the explosion rushed toward him. Seeing this scene, Sephiroth frowned and turned to look at the six sailing ships that had been continuously firing from the sea.
Swish!
An orange-red light flashed, and he drew the Nether Flame Blade from the sheath at his waist.
Orange-red flames erupted from the Saber, and the high-temperature heatwave warped the air.
Roar!
The instant Sephiroth casually swung the Saber downward, six massive fire dragons, crackling with intense heat, shot from the Nether Flame Blade. They locked onto the six Pirate ships bobbing on the sea.
Boom! Boom! Boom!....
In an instant, the six Pirate ships, a kilometer away and firing broadsides, were consumed by the roaring fire dragons. They were blasted to pieces and sank into the seabed.
"You... what's your background?
Are you a Marine too?"
Allen eyed the silver-haired youth warily, the two swords glinting in the light.
He'd been brawling with Kong, but he'd also noticed Andrew getting knocked into the sea.
Hearing this, Sephiroth's face became troubled. He spoke with a strange tone.
"Marine...? This... how should I put it!?
If you want to think that way, it's fine..."
"In that case, I'll have to take you down!"
Blue flames ignited all over Allen's body. His arms transformed into blue wings, and his legs became talons.
Swish!
Allen stomped the ground, flapped his blue wings, and his form blurred, creating a sonic boom. He appeared in front of the silver-haired youth, raised his right talon, and kicked.
Sephiroth, in response, simply raised the butcher knife wrapped in dark red lightning, neither dodging nor evading. He swung it directly.
Boom!
The Haki wrapped around their attacks collided, and violent airwaves erupted outward.
However...
Allen's attack only contained Armament Haki, while Sephiroth had mixed Haoshoku with Armament Haki.
The fundamental difference in Haki between the two sides meant the stalemate lasted only an instant. Allen was sent flying a long distance by Sephiroth's attack.
Helplessly, Allen flapped his wings a few times in mid-air before barely stabilizing himself.
Two-Sword Style · Ghost Flash!
Before Allen could recover, Sephiroth, holding two swords, shot from the ground. He charged towards Allen, passed his figure, and appeared dozens of meters away.
In an instant, a bloody cross appeared on Allen's chest. The powerful slash pierced through his chest and exited his back.
An ordinary person would be dead from such a wound!
But...
Allen is a Phoenix Fruit user. No matter how severe his injuries, as long as he doesn't lose consciousness, the Phoenix Flame will quickly heal him.
Even a penetrating heart wound is nothing to him!...
However, he noticed the wound caused by the black Saber in his opponent's right hand was much harder to heal than the wound caused by the red one. Both the healing time and the stamina required increased exponentially.
Sephiroth wasn't surprised he hadn't killed his opponent instantly with one move.
The healing effect of the Phoenix Fruit was as exaggerated as the Vampire Fruit's super regeneration, making the opponent essentially invulnerable. It would be unbelievable if a single attack could kill him.
Immediately after, Sephiroth backhanded with the Nether Flame Blade, unleashing a fire dragon toward Allen, intending to press his advantage.
Sensing another attack coming from behind, Allen quickly turned sideways to avoid repeating his mistake. He flapped his wings, which were burning with blue flames, forming a barrier to block the attack.
The next moment.
The blue flame wall and the fire dragon collided, red and blue intertwined and crushed each other.
To Sephiroth's slight surprise, Allen's blue flames actually reversed and surged upwards, engulfing the entire fire dragon and counter-charging towards him...!