Hawkins's ten clones formed an eerie divination array, with each tarot card hovering and spinning in the air.
Drake, dragging his scarred dragon body, still held the front line, blood beads seeping from the gaps in his scales freezing into ice crystals in the sea breeze.
Most striking was Blackbeard's reaction; his originally unrestrained dark domain suddenly contracted, pulling back into him like a startled octopus.
His face, usually sporting a maniacal grin, was now exceptionally grim, his mouth, missing a few teeth, tightly pursed.
He secretly clenched the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in his left hand, while his right hand was cautiously held behind his back, his small eyes narrowed to slits, darting between Kaido and Shanks, fine beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.
Burgess and the others behind him also tensed their bodies, ready to retreat at any moment.
The entire battlefield presented an eerie balance; the Marine slowly retreated at Akainu's signal, yet their cannon muzzles remained aimed.
Though the pirates' morale was greatly boosted, they dared not attack rashly.
And Kaido merely stood by the lava lake, his spiked club on his shoulder, watching it all with a half-smile, appreciating the situation he had single-handedly created.
Kaido's massive body stood like a mountain in the center of the battlefield, his thick dragon tail casually slapping the ground, each flick splashing hot lava several meters high.
Unextinguished flames still clung to his crimson dragon scales, trailing meteor-like paths in the air with his movements.
His spiky club, hassaikai, resting on his shoulder, swayed casually, the cold glint reflected from its metal surface causing the Marine soldiers in the front row to instinctively squint.
"Woro-roro-roro..." Kaido's laughter rumbled across the battlefield like muffled thunder, carrying a chilling echo.
He deliberately slowed his speech, each word landing like a heavy hammer on the Marine's hearts: "Why stop fighting? I haven't even warmed up yet!"
Akainu's fists were clenched white, magma dripping at his feet with a sizzling sound, veins throbbing on his temples, yet he still hadn't brought down his attacking arm.
That damned old man,
He appears neither too early nor too late, but precisely at this moment!
Akainu's pupils slightly contracted, his magma-transformed fist suspended in mid-air, scorching lava dripping at his feet with a sizzling sound, his brain operating like a precise tactical computer:
Kaido's massive dragon body cast a shadow on his retina, this variable directly pushing the enemy's combat power assessment to a dangerous threshold.
A quick glance showed Zephyr's New Navy fleet had completed its encirclement, the muzzles of twelve warships all turning, and Ain's blue fire phoenix circling above the fleet on alert.
Even more troublesome were the Supernovas; Kid's electromagnetic cannon array was recharged, Hawkins's divination array was deployed, and even the heavily wounded Drake had re-transformed into his dragon form. These enemies, who should have scattered, now formed a tight defensive line.
Akainu's gaze swept over his own ranks; Kizaru had, at some point, put on his irritating sunglasses again, photons playfully dancing on his fingertips.
Aokiji, meanwhile, was directly sitting on an ice chair, propping his chin and yawning.
Their seemingly casual postures were, in fact, a silent protest.
The urgent breathing of the messenger sounded in his ears, Akainu could feel countless eyes fixed on his raised fist, awaiting the order that could doom the entire fleet.
The veins on his magma fist bulged and then relaxed, finally lowering slowly...
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