"This intensity... you've got to be kidding me!"
The muscles in Rayleigh's arms bulged. He had to swing his sword thousands of times every second, each strike precisely shattering the vacuum slashes approaching his vitals.
"It's not over yet."
Tatsuki looked indifferently at the struggle below and lightly flicked his finger.
Rumble!
In the thundercloud layer above the cyclone, the long-accumulated violent lightning finally found an outlet.
Hundreds of lightning pillars, over five meters in diameter, pierced through the cage made of wind blades.
The world turned deathly white in an instant. Then came the delayed roar, loud enough to shatter eardrums.
The foundation of the entire island let out an overburdened wail. Rock layers shattered, and seawater poured in.
Before the execution by wind blades could end, the lightning bombardment followed.
"Damn it!"
Roger roared to the sky, swinging his famous blade, Ace, to unleash a flying slash condensed from his unyielding will, attempting to carve out a path to survival.
Rayleigh also fought back desperately, his sword flashing as he shattered several lightning pillars.
But their resistance appeared pale and weak in the face of this true natural disaster.
As one lightning pillar was shattered, ten more immediately filled the void.
The wind blades were countless, and the lightning was ceaseless.
The frantic bombardment lasted for a full minute.
Only then did Tatsuki slowly lower his hand.
The violent air currents around them gradually subsided, turning back into a gentle sea breeze.
The ground below had disappeared. In its place was a giant crater dozens of meters deep.
The bottom of the pit was charred black, the rocks melted by the high temperature into glass-like crystals, emitting wisps of blue smoke.
"Cough... Cough..."
A weak coughing sound came from the bottom of the pit.
Rayleigh leaned on his long sword, kneeling on one knee. Most of his originally neat hair was scorched, his clothes were in tatters, and his exposed skin was covered in burn marks and sword wounds. Blood dripped from his arm onto the scalding ground, making a "sizzling" sound.
Beside him, Roger's situation was even more tragic. Half of his body was stained red with blood, his signature Captain's hat was nowhere to be found, and half of his mustache had been burned off.
He gasped for breath, with a large amount of blood foam spilling from the corners of his lips with every breath.
But he was still standing.
That was the final stubbornness of a "King."
"That's really... too much..." Rayleigh gave a bitter smile.
With just one move, the two of them had been driven into such a pathetic state.
The two of them looked up at the figure slowly descending from the sky.
Tatsuki was still spotless, his pure white Justice mantle fluttering gently in the sea breeze. There was even a hint of a satisfied smile on his face.
"Kid..." Roger struggled to stand straighter, but his legs lacked the strength. "What kind of monster are you?"
Just three short years.
The young man whom he could have handled with a single Divine Departure during the Battle of Edd War.
Now, he had actually grown to the point where the two of them together had no power to fight back. This speed of growth could no longer be described as "genius."
Tatsuki walked up to them, Tensa Zangetsu reflecting a cold light in the sun.
"I'm not a monster, Roger-san."
"I'm just a Marine who loves justice and is willing to give everything for it."
His voice was calm, yet it carried a sense of pressure that made both legends feel their hearts skip a beat.
"Ha... haha... hahahaha!"
Amidst the ruins, Roger suddenly burst into a world-shaking fit of laughter.
He used the famous blade "Ace" to support himself against the ground. Even though his muscles were spasming and more than half of his ribs might have been broken, he stubbornly straightened his back bit by bit.
"Captain..."
Beside him, Rayleigh gritted his teeth, supporting Roger's arm, his eyes filled with sorrow and resolve.
"It's nothing. Rayleigh, I won't die."
Roger casually wiped away the blood covering his eyes. Those eyes, which had been somewhat cloudy, now shone as if burning with his final life force.
He looked up, staring intently at the figure slowly descending in mid-air, his lips curling into an exaggerated arc.
"Marine brat... I don't know where a monster like you popped out from and I don't care about whatever bullshit justice you're fighting for."
"But I am Gol D. Roger!"
Boom!!!
A dark red shockwave violently exploded outward in a ring with Roger at the center.
This was what stood at the pinnacle of this sea—Conqueror's Haki.
The surrounding vitrified ground cracked again, and rubble levitated in defiance of gravity before being reduced to dust under the terrifying pressure.
"I still have things I must do! How can I fall here!"
Roger gripped the hilt with both hands. Pitch-black Armament Haki coiled around it like flowing water, while dark red lightning crackled wildly around him, emitting sharp pops.
At this moment, his aura surpassed any other moment in his life.
At this moment, he was no longer a terminally ill patient.
He was the King of the Sea, the legend who was about to usher in a new era in the future.
"Rayleigh! The final blow!"
"Yeah... I'll go crazy with you to the very end!" Rayleigh roared as well, squeezing out every bit of Haki in his body, the silver light on his long blade surging.
Looking at the two soaring flares of red and silver below, the composure on Tatsuki's face finally faded. Replacing it was an unprecedented seriousness, a supreme mark of respect for the strong.
"Impressive." He praised sincerely.
"In response, I will use my strongest to see you off."
Tatsuki gripped the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu with both hands.
Buzz!
The Conqueror's Haki within his body poured into it without reservation.
The destructive power of the Storm-Storm Fruit flooded into the blade.
His terrifying Physique of 90 points provided an endless supply of strength.
And, the ultimate skill of a Peak Great Swordsman.
The properties of Tensa Zangetsu were pushed to their limit at this moment.
The pitch-black blade began to compress to the extreme, letting out a groan as if unable to bear the weight, and the surrounding space distorted and collapsed under the power.