Two days later, in the dead of night, just as dawn was beginning to stir.
It was that exact moment when the world is at its darkest, where one truly cannot see the hand in front of their face. Fortunately, Diarmuid and his crew were flying high enough that the starlight provided just enough illumination to keep them from being blind.
"Is that Hachinosu Island?" Diarmuid pointed toward the sea below at a vague, dark shadow. The faint flickers of distant light suggested it was indeed land.
Sakazuki remained silent for a moment, hesitating. "Should be?"
The darkness was absolute. Even if the island had lights, they only covered a fraction of its surface, and at this distance, it was impossible to see clearly.
"Hachinosu is the only island in this vicinity. Unless I've veered way off course, I can't be mistaken," Diarmuid muttered.
Sakazuki seemed to remember something; he pulled out a monocular and peered downward.
"Hahaha, it's pitch black, Sakazuki. You won't see anything with a telescope," Diarmuid laughed.
Sakazuki didn't reply. After waiting for a few moments, he finally caught the blurry outline of a massive skull in the center of the island. It was a man-made structure, a relic of the Rocks era, a giant pirate skull that served as a landmark and a luxury residence for the island's elite.
"That's it. No mistake. It's Hachinosu!" A grin spread across Sakazuki's face.
Seeing Sakazuki so certain, Diarmuid didn't press further and nodded. "Good. Then let's proceed according to plan."
"The darkness is perfect. Let's give them a big surprise," Sakazuki said, stowing away his telescope.
As soon as he spoke, both Diarmuid and Sakazuki stepped to the very front of the deck. Magma sparks began to flicker across Sakazuki's body, and his breath hissed with dark heat as he gathered his strength.
Diarmuid pressed his palms together in front of his chest, and his dark aura exploded instantly.
"Abyssal Curtain!" Diarmuid growled.
Thick, dark energy rapidly flooded out of him. As a Logia-class ability, it felt nearly infinite; in the blink of an eye, half the sky was stained a deep, void-like black.
Since it was already night, the change was subtle. Even as the stars and moonlight were blotted out, no one below would find it odd—they'd likely assume a cloud was passing by.
Once the Abyssal Curtain completely blanketed the area below, Sakazuki's presence erupted.
"Go!" Sakazuki roared.
He raised both arms and unleashed a volley toward the heavens. Countless magma fireballs shot into the sky—his Meteor Volcano!
Normally, Sakazuki would fire ten or so rounds and call it a day. But this time, he had been charging up for a reason. The volleys were nearly uncountable. In moments, dozens, even over a hundred, massive magma shells had been launched.
Above the Abyssal Curtain, it looked as though the sky itself had been set ablaze. However, thanks to Diarmuid's barrier, the light was contained. Had this happened in the open, the island below would have known something was wrong immediately.
Even more startling was that the magma shells, which should have been falling, now hung steadily in the air, burning fiercely. A faint purple glow shimmered around them, the unmistakable power of Diarmuid's gravity!
Sakazuki fired another dozen rounds before stopping, exhaling a heavy breath. "The rest is up to you."
"Leave it to me," Diarmuid grinned.
His expression turned solemn as he thrust an invisible force of gravity toward the heavens. Moments later, two massive meteors descended from the sky, wreathed in roaring flames.
Tengai Shinsei!
Then, Diarmuid's eyes were instantly consumed by darkness. The whites of his eyes vanished, leaving him looking sinister and terrifying. Thick dark energy, almost physical, swirled around him like a coiled snake.
"Apocalypse," Diarmuid whispered.
The Abyssal Curtain that had been hovering in the sky began to sink rapidly. Simultaneously, Sakazuki's hundred-plus Meteor Volcano shells lost their gravitational tether. They swirled around the two massive meteors and, alongside the Abyssal Curtain, plummeted toward Hachinosu Island.
Veiled by the darkness, the descent remained undetected for a crucial moment.
On Hachinosu, a squad of patrolling pirates carried torches. They hadn't walked far before they were drenched in sweat.
"Hey, do you feel that? It feels like it's getting hotter," one of them said.
"Yeah, why the sudden heat? Isn't it supposed to be cool at night?" another replied.
"It feels like we're being roasted on a grill..." a third added.
At that moment, Diarmuid growled again: "Release!"
The Abyssal Curtain, which had served to hide their presence, underwent a transformation. It was as if a pitch-black void had been unsealed; a massive amount of liquid was poured out from the darkness, raining down from the heavens.
"Is it raining?" the patrol, who had been discussing the heat, asked in surprise.
"How can it be rain when it's this hot? Must be an illusion..."
Before he could finish, a wet splash hit him. He blinked. "It really is rain—"
But his words were cut short. The torch in his hand suddenly flared up, the flame leaping as if it had found a new source of fuel. A stray spark landed on his clothes. The "wet" liquid instantly ignited. With a whoosh, he was transformed into a human torch!
"Oil!!! It's oil!!! It's raining oil from the sky!" another pirate shrieked.
The weather in the New World was notoriously erratic, and "raining oil" wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Consequently, their first instinct wasn't "enemy attack," but rather to find a roof to hide under.
The Abyssal Curtain stalled in mid-air to finish its pour. The Meteor Volcano and Tengai Shinsei, which had been trailing behind, finally caught up and plunged straight into the dark veil.
In the next heartbeat, the entire sky turned a searing red.
The Abyssal Curtain did nothing to stop the meteors or the magma. In an instant, the Tengai Shinsei and the Meteor Volcano tore through the curtain. Blinding firelight blanketed the sky above Hachinosu. At that moment, everyone below realized why it was so hot.
The sky was literally on fire, less than a hundred meters above them.
And that wasn't even the most terrifying part. The oil that was still falling through the air was instantly ignited by the passing magma and meteors. To the onlookers below, it looked as if the entire ocean of the sky had turned into a sea of flames and was crashing down upon them.
Everyone was paralyzed with shock!
Inside the giant skull building, Edward Newgate bolted upright. He threw open the window and stared at the scene outside, completely stunned.
What the hell is this?!
True to the name Diarmuid and Sakazuki had given this combined move, Apocalypse, it looked like the end of the world.
Newgate froze for only a split second before his eyes filled with rage. He threw a powerful punch into the air, unleashing a massive shockwave. But how could a hasty strike salvage a situation this dire?
The hundred-meter distance, which seemed far, was crossed in an instant, especially with Diarmuid's gravity accelerating the descent.
Whitebeard's strike did little. A second later, Hachinosu Island became a scorched wasteland.
One of the two giant meteors was shattered by Newgate, but it still rained down as countless devastating fragments. The second meteor slammed directly into the island, gouging out a bottomless abyss.
Following that, Sakazuki's Meteor Volcano carpet-bombed the entire island. Even the iconic skull building was smashed into ruins, forcing Newgate to flee in haste.
Not only was the island purged by the magma, but the massive amount of oil ignited into a continuous sheet of fire, turning the former pirate paradise into a literal oven.
Fire! Everywhere was fire!
In a single wave of destruction, the ships at the harbor were wiped out. The island was filled with "fire-men," howling in agony as they ran. Some fell after a few steps and never rose again.
The order of the Three Great Pirate Regiments' alliance was utterly shattered. Despite various officers attempting to respond, they couldn't turn the tide. Many officers were wiped out in the initial blast.
Newgate was now covered in soot and scorched, looking utterly disheveled. He finally found a spot that wasn't immediately life-threatening and threw another punch with a roar: "Break!"
A dense vibration exploded, forcefully carving a path of survival through the firestorm. Seeing this, hordes of pirates began screaming and rushing toward the path...
Newgate took a momentary breath of relief. But before he could even let it out...
A sudden weight slammed down on him, and the ground beneath his feet shattered.
Gravity?!
"DIARMUID!!!???" Newgate roared in fury.
He had wondered how things had turned so hellish so fast. The moment the gravity hit, he knew—it was that bastard Diarmuid!
High above in the assault ship, Diarmuid held the cursed blade Kokorowatari. Thick gravitational elements bled out from the edge of the blade.
In Sakazuki's eyes, a different scene unfolded. The entire island was being crushed by Diarmuid's power!
Just moments ago, Newgate had used his Tremor-Tremor powers to open a safe path through the flames. Then, Sakazuki saw Diarmuid draw his sword with a ruthless glint in his eyes and slash at the empty air.
"Gravity Field: Flame-Bound Prison!" Diarmuid growled.
The massive gravitational pressure pinned everyone on the island down. With a sea of fire in front of them and invisible gravity crushing them, even with the path Newgate had opened, no one could move.
Countless pirates were pinned down, left to burn alive in the inferno.
Suddenly, a dragon erupted from the sea of fire. Drenched in oil and wreathed in flames, he seemed to feel no pain. The hideous dragon head reared back toward the sky, and a Boro Breath streaked upward, aimed directly at Diarmuid.
It was Kaido!
"Just in time!" Sakazuki laughed, his hands erupting with magma as his aura swelled.
But before he could move, he saw Diarmuid turn his gaze toward the incoming blast. The Boro Breath carried a world-ending force, but Diarmuid's eyes, now pitch black with wisps of smoke trailing from the corners, made him look more like a demon than a man.
Without a single physical movement, the Boro Breath was suddenly stained with darkness. The dark energy seemed to turn into a flame, using the heat of the blast as fuel to expand. In the blink of an eye, the entire Boro Breath turned black, then collapsed, twisted, and vanished into nothingness!
With just a look, he had sealed Kaido's Boro Breath?!
Sakazuki stood there, stunned. I didn't even get to do anything yet?!