"I have already obtained the golden armbands you mentioned!"
On the Marine warship, Vice Admiral Dore pulled open a secured drawer and retrieved the two golden armbands resting inside. Her expression tightened as she raised the Transponder Snail in her hand.
"Lord Cero, what exactly did you encounter?"
The reply from the other side was unstable, layered with static and distorted roars that barely sounded human.
"Tch… is this Sky Island's defense system?" Admiral Silver Serpent's voice came through in broken fragments. "Autonomous ghosts attacking intruders?"
Boom!!!!
A deafening thunderclap erupted through the snail.
Vice Admiral Dore's heart sank.
"Are you injured?" she asked urgently.
She had never heard such caution, such strain, in the voice of the Marine's most arrogant admiral.
Zzz, zzz…
Electric interference crackled.
After several tense seconds, Silver Serpent's exhausted voice returned.
"I was ambushed by a swarm of cloud spirits. I escaped."
Dore finally exhaled.
"Lord Cero," she asked gravely, "what exactly are you facing?"
Silver Serpent cursed under his breath before replying.
"Today began terribly. I encountered a lunatic wielding a Devil Fruit that cannot be killed."
He paused, then continued coldly.
"But I found the solution. Place the two golden armbands onto an emergency boat. Light a lamp on it. Then retreat the warship immediately. Do not stay anywhere near this sea."
He was certain that prolonged proximity to him would bring Disaster upon the ship itself.
If a catastrophic Disaster struck, even he could not save them all.
Marine lives were not expendable tools.
"This kind of sacrifice would be meaningless," Silver Serpent said firmly.
"Do you want me to stay behind on the emergency boat?" Dore asked in a low voice.
"No."
Silver Serpent's tone sharpened instantly.
"I order you, as an admiral, to retreat with the warship. Do not do anything unnecessary. Obey my command absolutely."
Doll stiffened, then saluted the Transponder Snail without hesitation.
"Yes, sir!"
"I will immediately… zzzzz…"
The signal collapsed into violent static before cutting out entirely.
"…Hello?"
Vice Admiral Dore stared at the dead Transponder Snail. After confirming it was not her equipment malfunctioning, she turned sharply.
"Relay Admiral Silver Serpent's order! Lower the emergency boat! Place multiple lamps on it! Move now!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Dore!"
The warship erupted into motion.
…
Zzzzt!!
Silver-white lightning tore through the clouds and plunged toward the sea.
"So even communication devices are affected," Silver Serpent muttered, staring at the charred Transponder Snail in his hand. It smelled faintly roasted.
The lightning-resistant casing had failed, and the snail itself had been electrocuted beyond recognition.
"Sorry about that," he sighed, dropping it into the sea below.
Zzzzt!!
Lightning surged forward again.
Disaster Technique, Vortex.
The sea beneath him warped unnaturally. Currents twisted in opposing directions as massive whirlpools formed in overlapping layers.
Whoosh, whoosh…
Dozens of deep vortices appeared, each pulling violently at the lightning above, attempting to drag it beneath the surface.
"All forms of Disaster, natural and artificial," Silver Serpent muttered while observing them. "This Devil Fruit truly is terrifying."
Then he smirked.
"Unfortunately, it is useless against me."
Zzzzt!
He stabilized instantly and escaped the whirlpool zone at maximum speed.
"There."
Ahead, an emergency boat floated under the night sky, its lamps blazing conspicuously.
At its center lay the golden armbands, glowing unmistakably.
"Tsk… again?"
Silver Serpent sensed movement below.
A Sea King surged upward, drawn directly toward the illuminated boat.
Disaster Technique, Sea Kings.
Boom!!!
The ocean exploded upward as a colossal turtle-shelled Sea King burst from the depths, jaws wide.
"Awoooorr!"
It crushed the emergency boat in a single bite, splintering it like dry wood before swallowing it whole.
Zzzzt!
Silver Serpent had already snatched the armbands before the creature surfaced.
"That was close," he muttered from high above. "If it escaped, I would have had to electrify the entire ocean."
He fused the golden armbands onto his forearms.
"Time to finish this."
…
Above a shattered island, flames and smoke billowed endlessly.
"So much explosive buried here…"
Admiral Issho, his complexion darkened purple from severe poisoning, slid his sword back into its sheath.
If he had not compressed the island's density with the Gravity Gravity Fruit, the ancient explosives buried beneath would have annihilated everything.
Decades-old mining charges, abandoned after their crew perished at sea, had finally detonated when a lightning-struck tree ignited them.
Issho exhaled slowly.
"I cannot afford to relax."
Minutes passed.
No Disaster came.
His expression darkened.
Based on experience, longer delays meant exponentially greater catastrophes.
Then…
Nothing.
"…Has it ended?" Issho realized quietly.
…
Crack!!!!
A blinding pillar of lightning split the heavens.
A golden spear, crackling with silver-white electricity, pinned Disaster's pale body against a mountainside like a condemned sinner.
Zzz! Zzz!
The spear drained the immortal energy from his body, turning darker by the second.
"So this is death," Disaster whispered, smiling. "It has been a long time."
Silver Serpent hovered above, lightning radiating from his form, a cigarette crackling between his lips.
"Leave an address," he said casually. "Where should I bury you?"
"My hometown?" Disaster chuckled weakly. "It was erased by a Buster Call long ago."
"Then this mountain will do," Silver Serpent replied indifferently.
"As you wish."
Disaster's strength faded rapidly.
"To the blasphemers of this era," he rasped, "remember this."
"The Celestial Dragons are only nourishment. Beware the eyes above them."
Silver Serpent frowned. "Explain that clearly."
Suddenly, black flames erupted from Disaster's body.
"Be careful… the moon!!"
A violent surge of Haoshoku Haki burst outward.
Silver Serpent shielded his eyes.
When he looked again, only a burning skeleton remained, drifting into ash before vanishing.
"The eyes above the Celestial Dragons…" Silver Serpent murmured.
"And the moon."
…
In a silent chamber.
A figure gazed down at the kneeling Gorosei.
"The Disaster has been eliminated," the voice said calmly. "Im's secret has been exposed."
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Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
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Patreon = _Zeph