After several seconds of absolute silence, waves of shocked gasps erupted across the battlefield.
Cold sweat streamed down countless faces, and many people trembled uncontrollably.
A giant of such overwhelming presence had been casually defeated by Ryūjin the Demonic Eye in only a handful of exchanges. It looked completely effortless.
Ryūjin the Demonic Eye was truly terrifying.
"Even the Marine Commander-in-Chief was defeated so easily! Ryūjin the Demonic Eye is an absolute monster!"
Dark King Rayleigh's eyes widened in disbelief.
He and Steel Bone Kong belonged to the same generation, and no one present understood Kong's strength better than he did. Originally, Rayleigh had assumed this battle would rage on for days before a winner emerged.
Yet who could have imagined it would end in less than ten minutes?
Ryūjin the Demonic Eye had completely overwhelmed Steel Bone Kong and crushed him in battle.
The sight left Rayleigh deeply shaken.
Law, Kid, Jewelry Bonney, and the other Supernovas were equally stunned. Their throats tightened as they swallowed nervously, sweat covering their bodies.
Even someone as powerful as the Marine Commander-in-Chief had fallen before Ryūjin the Demonic Eye.
How could such a terrifying person exist in this world?
However, what nobody noticed was that after Steel Bone Kong fell, the First Generation Kitetsu at his side began releasing a sinister black and red aura.
The eerie energy flowed through Kong's seven orifices and entered his body.
His closed eyes suddenly snapped open.
But his pupils were no longer normal.
They had turned black and red.
"Hm?"
Ryūjin immediately noticed the change, and his brows rose slightly.
Wasn't Steel Bone Kong already dead?
No, he had clearly killed him.
"It seems Steel Bone Kong still had a hidden trump card."
Interest flashed through Ryūjin's eyes as he looked back toward the fallen giant.
Soon, under Kong's control, the giant battle form rapidly crumbled into bone dust and scattered into the air, revealing Kong's original figure once more.
Yet the current Kong was completely different from before.
Black and red aura enveloped his entire body, including his eyes.
In his hand was a long sword that radiated the same sinister energy.
The sight was incredibly eerie.
"The Marine Commander-in-Chief is still alive?"
"As expected of the Marine Commander-in-Chief! He's unbelievably powerful!"
Some people who failed to notice the abnormalities were astonished.
Others, however, immediately sensed something was wrong.
No matter how they looked at it, the current Steel Bone Kong seemed completely unnatural.
Suddenly, Kong vanished.
Holding the First Generation Kitetsu, he moved with a speed that nobody could react to and appeared directly before Ryūjin.
"What kind of speed is this?"
Ryūjin frowned slightly.
Steel Bone Kong was far faster than before.
He was almost catching up to Ryūjin himself.
Swish!
Kong flipped his wrist and swung his blade.
A slash wrapped in black and red aura swept toward Ryūjin.
The sinister energy vaguely formed the shape of an evil spirit as it surged forward.
"This is..."
Ryūjin's pupils contracted slightly.
There was something extremely strange about this attack.
He could actually sense spiritual pressure.
This sword was capable of attacking the soul itself.
An ordinary person would have been helpless against such a bizarre cursed weapon. Conventional methods simply could not deal with this kind of attack.
But Ryūjin was different.
His Yin Release chakra had been strengthened repeatedly, and Yin Release represented spiritual energy, the power of the soul itself.
At the very least, his resistance far surpassed that of ordinary people.
As for offense, the power of the Human Path had grown stronger and stronger over time.
Buzz!
The eyes within Ryūjin's pupils rotated as they transformed into the Rinnegan.
He infused the power of the Human Path into his Armament Haki-covered fist and punched directly toward the First Generation Kitetsu.
The evil spirit-like black and red aura instantly dispersed into a chaotic cloud upon contact with the Human Path's power.
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang out as Ryūjin's fist collided with the blade.
The First Generation Kitetsu was sent flying.
Yet something unexpected happened.
After being knocked away, the sword spun through the air before flying right back into Kong's hand.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Steel Bone Kong gripped the cursed blade tightly and launched a relentless assault against Ryūjin.
Before long, Ryūjin noticed that Kong fought like an entirely different person.
His previous Devil Fruit abilities were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he relied solely on swordsmanship, like a seasoned master swordsman.
Considering the strange blade in his possession, Kong's threat level had increased dramatically.
An evil spirit was hidden within that sword.
Against anyone else, it would have been devastating.
After all, nobody else possessed the Human Path's ability to repeatedly disperse the evil spirit's attacks.
"Let's see whether Amaterasu works."
After exchanging blows for a while, Ryūjin suddenly shot backward like a bullet.
The eyes in his pupils changed once more, becoming the Amaterasu Sharingan.
His gaze locked onto the First Generation Kitetsu.
Whoosh!
Black flames instantly ignited across the blade.
Kong merely glanced at it.
His face remained expressionless, like a walking corpse.
At that moment, however, immense quantities of black and red aura erupted from the sword.
The sinister energy twisted violently, as if struggling in agony, before surging toward the black flames.
During the process, Ryūjin seemed to hear ferocious roars and witness the evil spirit's desperate resistance.
Gradually, the black flames were extinguished beneath the overwhelming black and red aura.
Ryūjin could not help but be impressed.
Since obtaining Amaterasu, this was the first time he had seen another force forcibly extinguish it.
Not only could the cursed sword dramatically enhance Kong's strength, but it could even suppress Amaterasu.
There was no doubt that this weapon was extraordinary.
"I'd really like to know how many times you can extinguish Amaterasu."
Ryūjin stared at the First Generation Kitetsu with interest.
He knew the evil spirit could understand him.
Although it had extinguished the flames, Amaterasu had already inflicted irreversible damage upon the sword itself.
The First Generation Kitetsu served as the evil spirit's vessel.
If the blade were destroyed, the spirit would undoubtedly suffer greatly.
Otherwise, why would it go through so much effort to extinguish the flames?
The black and red aura surged continuously, once again forming the outline of an evil spirit.
It appeared to be weighing Ryūjin's words while confronting him from afar.
"You don't seriously think Amaterasu is the only way I can destroy a cursed sword, do you?"
Ryūjin smiled.
With a thought, a Truth Seeking Orb appeared and transformed into a sharp black blade.
Swish!
His figure flashed forward.
Moving even faster than Steel Bone Kong, Ryūjin appeared before him in an instant.
The Truth Seeking Orb blade descended.
Kong instinctively raised the First Generation Kitetsu to block.
Clang!
A light metallic sound echoed.
The First Generation Kitetsu was sliced cleanly in half.
Split into two pieces.
The evil spirit's form twisted violently.
Suddenly, it exploded into boundless black and red energy before rapidly shrinking back into the broken blade.
Swish!
The next moment, one half of the First Generation Kitetsu flew from Kong's hand and vanished into the distance.
Nobody knew where it had gone.
Nami: "..."
Crocodile: "..."
Robin: "..."
Everyone reacted a beat too slowly.
For a brief moment, they all shared the same strange feeling.
It was as though the cursed sword had chosen to flee on its own.
At the same time, Steel Bone Kong's eyes returned to normal.
All strength seemed to leave his body.
He swayed and collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Ryūjin glanced at him.
Although Kong should have died earlier, he had somehow survived.
Apparently, the cursed sword had repaired his body.
Now, however, without the sword's support, Kong's heavily damaged body no longer possessed any combat capability.
Faced with such a defeated opponent, Ryūjin had no interest in killing him again.
Steel Bone Kong could only be considered lucky.
That cursed sword had saved his life.
"Commander-in-Chief!"
Swish!
A figure rushed over.
It was Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
He immediately helped Kong to his feet.
"Retreat... go back..."
Kong tightly grabbed Sengoku's arm and spoke in a weak voice.
Ryūjin the Demonic Eye was simply too terrifying.
His strength was enough to drive people into despair.
Three Marine Admirals had already fallen at his hands.
Kong himself had lost all combat power.
Now only Sengoku remained.
If Sengoku also died here, the Marines would truly be finished.
As for stopping Ryūjin from killing the Celestial Dragons?
The Marines were completely powerless.
"I understand, Commander-in-Chief."
Without the slightest hesitation, he supported Kong and prepared to retreat.
"The Marines are retreating!"
"The Marines have yielded to Ryūjin the Demonic Eye!"
The spectators stared in shock.
Their expressions became increasingly complicated.
The Marine Commander-in-Chief and Fleet Admiral were retreating before a single man.
Such a thing was beyond imagination.
The impact was overwhelming.
"Wait."
Before they had gone far, Ryūjin's voice suddenly sounded from behind.
Kong's body stiffened instantly.
His face became extremely ugly.
Was Ryūjin planning to wipe them out completely?
"Kong, relax. You're basically trash now, and I have no interest in killing trash."
Ryūjin curled his lips with open mockery.
"What exactly do you want, Ryūjin?"
Ignoring the insult, Kong stared at him with deep apprehension.
"Since both the Marine Commander-in-Chief and Fleet Admiral are here, I'll use this opportunity to officially inform you of something."
Ryūjin looked at Kong and Sengoku before speaking casually.
"What is it?"
Sengoku's eyes remained fixed on him.
Law, Kid, Jewelry Bonney, the Supernovas, and countless watching pirates all listened attentively.
Everyone was curious.
What could possibly require Ryūjin to stop the two highest-ranking officers in the Marines?
"You Marines have repeatedly come looking for trouble."
"Do you take me for a pushover?"
"So I've decided it's time to teach the Marines a lesson."
Ryūjin's voice echoed clearly across the battlefield.
"Listen carefully."
"In two months..."
"I plan to attack Marine Headquarters."
Silence.
Complete silence.
The entire battlefield froze.
Everyone felt as though they had been struck by lightning.
Their eyes widened.
Their mouths hung open.
Their faces were filled with utter disbelief.
Nobody could believe what they had just heard.
Ryūjin had openly declared war on the entire Marine organization.
In front of the Marine Commander-in-Chief.
In front of the Fleet Admiral.
He had announced that he would attack Marine Headquarters.
Was he insane?
No.
Even a madman would not do something this outrageous.
Since the establishment of the World Government and the rise of the Marines as guardians of order, countless people had challenged them.
Kaido was one of the most famous examples. He had even charged toward Marine Headquarters seeking death.
Yet never in history had a single individual openly declared war on the entire Marine organization by himself.
Ryūjin's announcement struck the world like an explosive bomb.
Everyone was completely stunned.
"Y... you... what did you just say?"
Even Steel Bone Kong was dumbfounded.
His mind buzzed blankly.
For a moment, he wondered whether he had misheard.
Someone had actually stood before him, the Marine Commander-in-Chief, and openly declared an attack on Marine Headquarters.
What kind of joke was this?
===
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