Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Ryūjin entered the Chibaku Tensei Space, countless cannonballs were already raining down on the nameless island.
The entire island was instantly engulfed in a relentless bombardment.
As far as the eye could see, explosions erupted without end. Sparks scattered across the battlefield, dust filled the air, and the ground trembled violently beneath the continuous barrage. The scene was nothing short of catastrophic.
Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, and Kizaru had all rushed onto the deck, staring at the merciless shelling with tense expressions.
No one dared to relax.
If the Buster Call failed to kill Ryūjin, then the Marines would have provoked a monster far more dangerous than anything they had ever faced.
The thought of Akainu's fate sent chills through everyone's spine.
This man truly killed when angered.
If Demon Eye Ryūjin slaughtered all of them here, the Marines would collapse, and the world would descend into complete chaos.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the Buster Call has begun. What are your orders?"
Vice Admiral Momonga's voice came from the Silver Den Den Mushi.
"Continue the bombardment!"
Sengoku gritted his teeth.
"Once a Buster Call begins, there is no point stopping halfway."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
After receiving the order, Vice Admiral Momonga immediately relayed the command. The ten Marine warships continued firing without pause, launching wave after wave of shells toward the island.
Each vessel carried massive reserves of ammunition. If they continued firing at this rate, reducing the entire island to rubble would be effortless.
According to the Marines' original calculations, no matter how powerful Demon Eye Ryūjin was, he should have died under such overwhelming firepower.
But Aokiji's intelligence report had shattered that confidence.
The supposedly flawless plan now seemed full of uncertainties.
"Aokiji."
Sengoku kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield.
"When Ryūjin released Sakazuki from that alternate dimension, the process wasn't instantaneous."
"Maybe under this level of bombardment, he won't have time to enter that space."
His voice was low.
Yet everyone present understood that Sengoku was simply trying to reassure himself.
Neither Aokiji nor Kizaru responded.
The truth was that Ryūjin possessed more than one spatial ability.
The dimension he commonly used required a brief activation period.
However, at Amazon Lily, he had seemingly demonstrated another form of spatial movement.
And at Skypiea, he had even opened a mysterious black spatial gateway.
Mentioning it now would only worsen morale.
So both Admirals remained silent.
Buzz!
Suddenly, Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, and Kizaru's expressions changed.
Beyond the range of the bombardment, a pitch-black cube abruptly appeared in the sky.
It was Ryūjin's Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Sengoku had never witnessed the technique before, but his instincts immediately told him whose handiwork it was.
A moment later, Ryūjin stepped out from the black cube.
Floating calmly in midair, he looked down at the fleet as though observing insignificant mortals.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin..."
Sengoku muttered through clenched teeth.
His fists tightened unconsciously.
The Buster Call had accomplished absolutely nothing.
"What is that ability?!"
Vice Admiral Momonga felt his scalp go numb.
"All units, redirect fire! Target Demon Eye Ryūjin!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A barrage of shells immediately shifted toward the sky.
But Ryūjin's eyes had already transformed into the Rinnegan.
He slowly raised one hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
An invisible repulsive force surged outward.
Every shell approaching him was instantly thrown away and detonated in the distance.
None of them came close to touching him.
Instead, countless explosions illuminated the sky around him like fireworks.
Then Ryūjin calmly formed a series of hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bite Explosion!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Gigantic pillars of seawater erupted violently from beneath the fleet.
The massive columns surged upward and lifted entire warships into the air.
"W-What?!"
Shocked cries echoed everywhere.
Chaos followed immediately.
Marine soldiers were thrown around like leaves in a storm.
Many lost their footing and slammed into railings, masts, and decks.
Others were even less fortunate.
One after another, Marines were tossed overboard and plunged into the sea below.
"Damn it..."
Sengoku's face darkened.
"So he can control seawater too?"
The shock in everyone's eyes deepened.
Devil Fruit users were supposed to be abandoned by the sea.
Yet Ryūjin manipulated it as if he were its ruler.
How were they supposed to fight someone like that?
"Not good!"
Aokiji reacted instantly.
As an Admiral, he remained balanced despite the violent upheaval.
Without hesitation, he leaped into the sea.
The moment his hands touched the water, his Devil Fruit power erupted.
"Ice Age!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The ocean froze at incredible speed.
The raging seawater became solid ice.
Even the gigantic water pillars were frozen in place.
The warships finally stabilized.
However, the Marines who had fallen into the sea were trapped inside the expanding ice.
They had survived the water.
But they could not survive the freezing cold.
Sengoku and the others clenched their teeth.
Nearly thirty percent of the Marine force had died instantly.
Yet nobody blamed Aokiji.
Had he hesitated, every ship might have capsized and sunk.
The casualties would have been far worse.
"I almost forgot."
Ryūjin looked down at the frozen battlefield.
"Fighting on the ocean is basically Aokiji's territory."
He immediately changed tactics.
The power of the Asura Path activated.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Missiles appeared around him and launched toward the fleet.
The sky was instantly filled with countless projectiles.
"Nani?!"
"Where did those come from?!"
The Marines stared in disbelief.
These weapons were far beyond anything the Marine forces possessed.
For a moment, many even wondered whether Ryūjin was some kind of living weapon.
At that critical moment, Kizaru transformed into a beam of light and shot into the sky.
His goal was simple.
Destroy the missiles before they reached the fleet.
Unfortunately for him, Ryūjin's Observation Haki had already predicted where he would appear.
Several missiles were launched toward that location beforehand.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The instant Kizaru materialized, explosions erupted around him.
His body was blown apart before he could react.
Fragments of light scattered across the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the same time, the remaining missiles slammed into the Marine warships.
Explosions erupted everywhere.
Fire engulfed the fleet.
Thick smoke darkened the sky.
Desperate screams echoed across the battlefield as countless Marines were killed instantly.
Only the Vice Admirals possessed enough strength to resist for any meaningful length of time.
The missiles were simply too advanced.
Not only were they vastly more destructive than Marine artillery, but they could also track their targets automatically.
Against such overwhelming firepower, ordinary soldiers had no chance.
Even Vice Admirals struggled.
Only monsters like Sengoku and Garp could fully withstand the assault.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin!"
Sengoku roared furiously.
"Stop this at once!"
Golden light erupted around his body.
His Mythical Zoan powers activated.
Within moments, a gigantic golden Buddha more than fifty meters tall appeared on the battlefield.
The colossal figure slammed a palm toward the sky.
A devastating shockwave blasted directly at Ryūjin.
The incoming missiles were instantly destroyed by the force.
Against someone like Sengoku, the Asura Path alone was insufficient.
"Shinra Tensei."
Ryūjin raised a hand.
A repulsive force even greater than Sengoku's shockwave erupted forward.
The two powers collided violently.
Boom!
The resulting shockwave shook the frozen ocean.
The giant Buddha staggered backward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each retreating step shattered enormous sections of ice beneath his feet.
After several steps, Sengoku finally regained his footing.
His face was filled with disbelief.
"So this is his power..."
Genuine fear surfaced in his heart.
At that moment, countless golden lights suddenly rained down from the sky.
Kizaru had reconstructed his body and launched one of his strongest techniques.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless light projectiles descended toward Ryūjin.
Ryūjin merely looked upward.
Disdain flashed through his eyes.
"A loser shouldn't keep jumping around."
His pupils shifted.
The Rinnegan disappeared.
The Sharingan emerged.
Kizaru's heart skipped a beat.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
Having spent considerable time aboard Ryūjin's ship, he knew exactly what those changing eyes represented.
Different eyes meant different abilities.
And every one of them was terrifying.
Yet Observation Haki offered no answers.
It could only detect the movement of Ryūjin's eyes.
Nothing more.
Still, Kizaru reacted instantly.
His entire body transformed into light.
If a dangerous attack came, elementalization would protect him.
Or so he thought.
"Amaterasu."
Sizzle!
Black flames erupted directly on Kizaru's body.
"Impossible!"
Kizaru's eyes widened.
He had already become light.
How could he still burn?
What kind of flame could even ignite light itself?
Amaterasu.
A flame said to burn anything within the user's sight.
Physical matter.
Energy.
Even natural elements.
Everything could become fuel.
"AAAHHH!"
Kizaru screamed.
The black flames spread relentlessly across his body.
Sengoku and the others were completely stunned.
They could clearly sense that Kizaru remained fully elementalized.
Yet he was still being burned.
The sight shattered everything they thought they knew about Logia invincibility.
"Ryūjin..."
Everyone inhaled sharply.
The man was a complete monster.
"Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi!"
In desperation, Kizaru condensed a sword of light.
With a single slash, he severed his own body.
The burning half fell away.
Meanwhile, light gathered from the remaining section and reconstructed a new body.
The discarded portion was completely consumed by Amaterasu.
Whoosh!
The moment Kizaru reformed himself, Ryūjin appeared directly before him with the Body Flicker Technique.
His hand shot forward.
Armament Haki coated his fist.
He grabbed Kizaru by the throat.
Kizaru's expression froze.
Before he could react, Ryūjin's Sharingan locked onto his eyes.
Genjutsu.
Kizaru's mind instantly faltered.
His elementalization collapsed.
Then came the final blow.
Boom!
Ryūjin's fist smashed through his chest.
His heart exploded instantly.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
The body of Admiral Kizaru slowly collapsed.
Following Akainu, another Marine Admiral had fallen.
Dead.
===
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