"Come!!!"
Roger roared, his legs kicking off the ground so hard that the island's foundation let out a groan of its own.
He turned into a streak of red and black lightning, soaring into the sky.
This strike held no technique, only the purest strength and will. It was an absolute dominance that would force everything in its path—whether man or god—to step aside.
Divine Departure!
Simultaneously, Rayleigh followed closely behind, his sword sealing off all of Tatsuki's paths to evade.
Facing the desperate counterattack of two of the strongest men in the world, Tatsuki didn't retreat but advanced. The storm wings behind him suddenly retracted and then exploded, propelling him like a meteor falling toward Roger's blade.
The black blade in his hand swung down.
Getsuga Tenshō!
Boom!!!
The world went silent.
In that instant, only two lights remained in the world.
One was a dark red bolt of domineering lightning, the other a pitch-black crescent of annihilation. They frantically eroded, devoured, and squeezed each other in mid-air.
Time seemed to stand still for three seconds.
Then—
Crack!
A crisp cracking sound rang out.
On Roger's famous blade "Ace," which was wrapped in top-tier Haki, a tiny crack appeared in the red and black lightning.
"What?!"
Roger's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, it was a level of shock he had never experienced before.
His Haki was being suppressed?
Not just Haki, but strength, endurance, and that vast power like a natural disaster.
If he were in his prime, he might have been able to fight. But now, just as Tatsuki said, he was merely a candle flickering in the wind.
"The era has changed, Roger-san." Tatsuki's cold voice drifted through the violent flow of energy.
In the next second, although the pitch-black Getsuga Tenshō had dimmed slightly, it maintained its complete form and continued toward Roger and Rayleigh with an unstoppable force.
There was no time to think.
The shadow of death had already enveloped them.
"Captain!"
Rayleigh let out a roar, instantly shielding Roger.
Roger also reacted, holding Ace across his chest.
The two legends, at this moment, poured all their strength into defense.
Rumble!!!
The delayed explosion finally thundered through the sky. The terrifying shockwave turned into a visible white ring, instantly sweeping through everything within ten nautical miles.
The already dilapidated island completely disintegrated under this force, turning into countless fragments sinking into the sea.
On the sea surface, the water was pressed into a giant depression several hundred meters deep, unable to refill for a long time.
—
After a long while.
The storm subsided, and the dust cleared.
Where the island once stood, only a reef less than a hundred square meters remained lonely on the sea.
Roger and Rayleigh lay spread-eagled on the reef, with not a single patch of healthy skin left, blood staining the rocks beneath them.
Roger's famous blade "Ace" was stuck nearby, the blade trembling slightly and letting out a mournful wail.
Tatsuki landed on the ruins, his chest heaving violently, the blade in his hand still slightly hot.
His Marine cloak had been completely shredded, revealing his lean upper body with a shallow bloody gash across his chest—a graze from the edge of "Divine Departure" just now.
"Ha... cough, cough..."
Roger gasped painfully, but looking at the young man, there was no resentment in his eyes, only a sense of relief.
"Ha... ha... truly... a terrifying junior..."
Roger's fingers unconsciously brushed against the hilt of the famous sword, "Ace." He tried to force his Haki once more, but the searing pain from deep within his body told him clearly—his body had reached its breaking point.
One more move, and even without this Marine monster acting, his terminal illness and injuries would tear him apart first.
Rayleigh's condition was slightly better, but he was also at the end of his tether. Those eyes, usually calm and wise, were fixed on Tatsuki, his mind racing to calculate even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of helping Roger break out.
Tap... Tap...
Tatsuki slowly walked toward the two of them. His boots stepped on the gravel, making a crisp sound.
Just ten meters away from them, he stopped.
Clink.
To their astonishment, Tatsuki actually sheathed the Tensa Zangetsu in his hand. That terrifying killing intent and Haki vanished instantly like a receding tide.
Tatsuki pulled a pack of flattened cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
"Phew..."
Gray smoke slowly drifted out, blurring his cold face.
"I'm done fighting." Tatsuki flicked the ash, his tone as casual as a worker who had just finished his shift.
"If we keep going, you'll die, and I'll lose money. I, Tatsuki, never do business with high investment and low returns."
"Huh?"
Roger and Rayleigh were both stunned, their expressions frozen.
Even the Pirate King and the Dark King, who had traversed the great seas and seen countless storms, felt their brains stall at this moment.
One second, every move was lethal, as if he wouldn't stop until they were ground to dust.
How did he start calculating accounts in the blink of an eye?
Is this Marine really in a normal state of mind?
"Roger."
Tatsuki held his cigarette and pointed at the Pirate King slumped on the ground. The killing intent was gone, replaced by a merchant's shrewdness.
"Since you're about to die, why don't we do some business?"
Roger blinked, a strange and wary expression appearing on his face. "Business? What do you want? The coordinates to Laugh Tale? Or the truth of the Void Century?"
"If it's for those, you can keep going," Rayleigh interjected coldly, tightening his grip on his sword. "We won't reveal a single word even if we die."
"No, don't misunderstand." Tatsuki wagged his finger and interrupted them with a look of disdain.
"I have no interest in the junk Joy Boy left behind, nor do I have any loyalty to that World Government which is destined to be overthrown."
"To me, those ethereal histories are far less practical than the Berries in my pocket."