Atop the ten-thousand-meter Red Line, high in the clouds, Admiral Akainu stood amidst swirling magma. His expression was unreadable, molten rock flowing endlessly from his body. His fists clenched, eyes locked on Sephiroth in the distance. The admiral's mind churned with frustration—how could his magma be controlled by someone else?
The realization struck hard. His magma domain, once a devastating threat, now held diminished power. It might even hinder him at a critical moment. With this in mind, Akainu ceased using his Devil Fruit ability to alter the environment. Still, he maintained his Fruit Awakening state, where Armament Haki fused seamlessly with his powers, amplifying his strength. Even against Sephiroth's Haoshoku-infused attacks, he felt confident.
Boom! Akainu stomped the ground, launching himself into the air. Magma erupted from beneath his feet, propelling him forward at blinding speed. In an instant, he closed the gap, appearing before Sephiroth. "Dark Dog!" he roared, his magma-coated right hand morphing into a claw. Armament Haki surged at his fingertips, aimed squarely at Sephiroth's head.
Sephiroth turned slightly, tilting his head to evade the strike. In one fluid motion, he seized Akainu's magma-coated arm. With a flawless over-the-shoulder throw, he slammed the admiral into the ground. The impact shook the earth, magma splashing into the air as a massive crater formed beneath Akainu's body. Cracks spiderwebbed outward.
Sephiroth didn't pause. Before Akainu could react, he straddled him, fists wrapped in dark red lightning. Each punch whistled through the air, crashing into Akainu's face with brutal force. The admiral's head reeled, his vision blurring.
Desperate, Akainu tried to elementalize and escape, but Sephiroth's Conqueror's Haki clung to him like a parasite. Every attempt to shift into magma was forcibly suppressed, pinning him in physical form. Boom! Boom! Sephiroth's fists hammered relentlessly, blood streaming from Akainu's seven orifices as consciousness wavered.
Then—swish! A figure cloaked in icy mist burst from the ground behind Sephiroth. Aokiji's fist connected with Sephiroth's temple, sending him soaring into the sky. Bang! The impact echoed, but Sephiroth quickly stabilized, using the Float-Float Fruit to hover midair. His black wings spread wide, flapping as he dove back toward the battlefield.
Aokiji's brow furrowed as he raised his right hand. A colossal ice wall, dozens of meters thick, erupted from the ground, blocking Sephiroth's path. The admiral hoped to slow his descent.
Centered around Aokiji, the red terrain within a radius of several thousand meters transformed into a frozen wasteland. His Ice-Ice Fruit worked at full power, coating the ground in solid ice. The temperature plummeted to a bone-chilling minus hundred degrees Celsius, cold enough to freeze those with weak Armament Haki into icy statues.
Sephiroth's fist clenched tight, veins bulging as Armament and Haoshoku energy surged through his body, coalescing around his knuckles. He swung forward with devastating force. The air cracked like thunder as ice shards exploded outward in a blinding spray.
A massive black-red Haki shockwave, spanning dozens of meters, tore through the thick ice wall as if it were paper. The unstoppable force barreled toward Admiral Akainu, who lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to rise.
Aokiji dove forward without hesitation, grabbing Akainu and rolling them both clear of the attack's path. They tumbled across the frozen ground, barely escaping the shockwave's destructive path. Sephiroth crossed his arms, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he gazed down at the two battered Admirals.
"How's that? Both of you look worse for wear," he drawled, his voice dripping with mockery. "The difference in our strength is clear as day. Do you really want to keep this up?"
"Damn you!" Akainu snarled, clutching his throbbing head as he staggered to his feet. His face was a mask of defiance, eyes burning with unyielding determination. Nearby, Aokiji pushed himself up with trembling arms, his pale face betraying the toll of their battle. His body was a patchwork of wounds, many of them deep and grievous.
More than a dozen injuries, inflicted by Sephiroth's relentless attacks, had damaged his internal organs and bones. The wounds, barely sealed by his Life Return technique, had reopened when he'd dragged Akainu to safety. Blood streamed down his body, pooling at his feet.
"Your strength is... incredible," Aokiji admitted through gritted teeth, his voice strained but resolute. "But I'm not done yet." With immense effort, he hauled himself upright, straightening his back and lifting his head to meet Sephiroth's gaze.
Sephiroth sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. "Why do you insist on making this harder than it needs to be?" he muttered, feeling almost like some clichéd final boss. "Fine. Out of respect, I'll give you my all."
His eyes sharpened like honed blades. First, he activated his Vampire Fruit Awakening, his aura surging to terrifying heights. Then, his right hand rested on the hilt of his butcher knife. The Haoshoku energy that had crackled around him like flames suddenly withdrew, lying dormant, coiled like a predator waiting to strike.
Time seemed to stretch and compress. Dark red lightning erupted from his body, and an overwhelming, abyssal power locked onto the two Admirals, sending shivers down their spines.
"Extreme Divine Sword Technique - Invisible Slash!" Sephiroth's voice rang out, cold and final.
Akainu and Aokiji's eyes widened in alarm. Through their Observation Haki, they glimpsed a horrifying future. Without hesitation, they sprang into action, sprinting in opposite directions.
In the next instant, Sephiroth's blade flashed from its sheath. A brilliant, eerie red light burst forth, splitting into countless blades of energy that filled the air. A massive domain of sword energy, hundreds of meters wide, enveloped the battlefield.
Slashes infused with Armament Haki and Haoshoku came from every direction, cutting off all escape routes. The Admirals had no choice but to coat their entire bodies in Armament Haki, bracing themselves against the onslaught.
The sound of rending flesh echoed through the frozen wasteland. Splurt. Splurt. Splurt. Blood sprayed as the relentless storm of blades tore into them.
The relentless sword energy carved deep gashes into their flesh, exposing bone beneath the spray of blood. Pain twisted their features, but Observation Haki had forewarned them of this onslaught. That's why they'd fled with everything they had.
By the time the sword energy domain fully formed, they were already at its edge, narrowly escaping the fate of being shredded into pieces. Still, more than a dozen gruesome wounds marred their bodies, compounding their already severe injuries. Sephiroth's gaze tracked the two figures scattering below.
With a powerful beat of his wings, he dove downward without hesitation, targeting Admiral Akainu. His left hand snatched the Nether Flame Blade from his waist, joining the butcher knife in his right. The air crackled as he unleashed his attack. Two-Sword Style · Ghost Flash!
Admiral Akainu stared at Sephiroth slicing through the air. He knew there was no escape—he'd be caught. Gritting his teeth, he hardened his resolve, channeling all his strength into Armament Haki. His hands glowed with concentrated power.
As Sephiroth's blades arced toward him, Akainu lunged forward, catching both swords barehanded. The force of the impact sent him skidding backward, his footing faltering. Desperate, he dug his heels into the ground, carving trenches dozens of meters long into the Red Line before finally stabilizing. His Haki-covered hands bore deep gashes, blood welling from the wounds.
The two locked in a tense standoff, but Aokiji wasn't idle. In the distance, he exhaled a frosty breath, forming a spear of ice. Gripping it tightly, he charged toward Sephiroth, aiming to skewer him from behind. But before he could strike—screech!
A swarm of black bats erupted from behind Sephiroth, coalescing into a Bat Clone that intercepted Aokiji's attack. The clone seized the frost spear mid-thrust. Aokiji's eye twitched in frustration. He yanked the spear back and muttered under his breath, "Damn it, what kind of Devil Fruit ability is this?"
Space manipulation, flames, clones, object control—Sephiroth's abilities defied comprehension. It was as if, like Blackbeard Teach, he wielded multiple Devil Fruit powers. "So that's it," Aokiji realized aloud. "I've never seen a Devil Fruit with such versatility. You're a multi-ability user, aren't you?"
"Congratulations," the Bat Clone sneered. "You guessed right. Here's your reward—another opponent!" Its body trembled and split, doubling into two clones. Aokiji stared in disbelief. "...I don't want this reward at all!"
Despite his internal curses, the two Bat Clones pressed forward, their fists a blur as they launched an unrelenting assault. Meanwhile, Sephiroth withdrew his swords, focusing his attack on Admiral Akainu while the clones kept Aokiji at bay.
Sephiroth had always excelled at multitasking—conducting experiments, managing Company affairs, and even finding time for companionship. This skill had carried him through life with ease, and now it served him well in battle.
Years of maintaining this state had honed his mind to razor sharpness. Controlling the Bat Clones while dividing his attention had become effortless—short bursts of high-intensity combat while multitasking posed no challenge whatsoever.
With deliberate precision, he split the battlefield once more, keeping Admirals Akainu and Aokiji from joining forces against him. "Enough," Sephiroth murmured as he watched Akainu stagger back yet again. His lips curled into a glacial smile. Dragon Severing Sky Slash!
The moment Sephiroth assumed that distinctive stance, his twin blades became blurs of motion. Dark crimson arcs of sword energy coalesced into a phantom dragon's maw, hurtling toward Akainu at lightning speed. The Admiral's pupils shrank to pinpricks. In that heartbeat of terror, he barely managed to raise his arms in a desperate cross-block.
A whisper of steel through air—then silence as the two figures passed each other. A thousand cuts bloomed across Akainu's body in an instant, painting him crimson. Yet Sephiroth's blades never made contact. Still...
The grievously wounded Admiral crumpled like a puppet with severed strings. His body hit the ground with a wet thud, blood spreading in an ever-widening pool. "And now we end this." The twin Bat Clones spoke as one.
Aokiji's breath hitched. "?!"
Before he could react, the clones seized his arms in vise-like grips, immobilizing him completely. Horror dawned in Aokiji's widening eyes as Sephiroth—still channeling the Dragon Severing Sky Slash—whipped the bloody dragon's head around in a vicious arc.
The ice Admiral strained against his captors, but escape proved impossible. Another blur of motion—Sephiroth crossed a hundred meters in the space between heartbeats, wreathed in violent energy. The dragon's jaws closed around Aokiji, leaving him just as ravaged as his comrade. Another dull impact echoed across the battlefield as the second Admiral joined the first in unconscious defeat.
Marineford's medical wing. A crimson portal shimmered into existence. Sephiroth stepped through in his immaculate black suit, butcher knife still in hand, and beckoned to the nearest doctor. "Fetch a trauma team. Admirals Aokiji and Akainu require immediate attention."
The doctor followed Sephiroth's gesture toward the portal's other side—and nearly dropped his clipboard at the sight of two bloodied figures sprawled motionless on the ground. His hands trembled as he stammered, "V-Vice Admiral! What in the world—? Did some pirate crew ambush them?"
Sephiroth shook his head. "They challenged me. For the Fleet Admiral position."
Though a thousand questions burned in his mind, the doctor moved with military efficiency under Sephiroth's insistent gaze. Within minutes, two medical teams had both Admirals on stretchers racing toward the OR.
By sunset, all of Marineford buzzed with the news. How Vice Admiral Sephiroth had dueled both Admirals simultaneously on the Red Line. How Fleet Admiral Sengoku might soon step down. And most of all—just how terrifyingly strong that silver-haired swordsman truly was.
Admiral Akainu and Aokiji had returned battered and broken, barely clinging to life. Yet Sephiroth stood untouched, without a scratch to show for whatever brutal confrontation he'd faced. He didn't just survive—he thrived. In the emergency room, he worked with surgical precision, stitching together their shattered bodies and pulling them back from the brink.
His movements were methodical, unhurried. There was no trace of exhaustion or strain in his demeanor. The man might as well have been performing a routine checkup rather than salvaging lives torn apart by war.
After all, compared to the miserable, heavily wounded state Akainu and Aokiji were in, Sephiroth seemed completely unharmed—more than that, he was unshaken, as though the battle had been nothing but a fleeting inconvenience.