[You have obtained Moonwalk experience!]
[You have obtained Armament Haki insight!]
[You have obtained Strength!]
Three more attributes surged into Renji's body.
Feeling the force transmitted from Akainu's fist, Renji took a deep breath.
"Go!"
With a roar, the Tremor power erupted once again.
In the next instant.
Akainu was directly blown back!
For a moment, he could do nothing but retreat, unable to regain control of his body.
"What?!"
Akainu… was actually being pushed back head-on by Renji?!
Yes, Akainu had already suffered setbacks multiple times today.
But those were against Whitebeard which was understandable.
And Renji's earlier strike had been a sneak attack.
But this time was different.
This was pure, frontal suppression!
"It's definitely the Tremor-Tremor Fruit…"
On the execution platform, Sengoku frowned deeply.
He recalled previous intelligence reports on Renji, as well as Kizaru's evaluation.
"Could it be… that bastard Caesar Clown actually made a breakthrough in artificial Devil Fruits?"
He knew Caesar had taken research data from Vegapunk.
But those were supposed to be failed projects.
And from what Sengoku knew, Caesar was talented but always took shortcuts and lacked scientific discipline.
Logically, even if he made progress, it shouldn't be significant.
"Looks like I'll need to send someone to investigate Caesar…"
"If he's truly behind the replication of abilities like the Tremor Fruit and even the Kizaru's light-based power…"
"Then even if we fail to defeat Whitebeard today, it would still be acceptable."
Sengoku's thinking was simple:
Replicate powerful Devil Fruits.
For example, the Logia fruits used by the Admirals.
If that became possible.
Even if the Marines couldn't mass-produce Admiral-level fighters (since Haki mastery is still required.
They could at least mass-produce elite Vice Admirals… or even commander-level powerhouses.
And if such strength could be replicated.
Conquering the New World would no longer be a distant dream.
If that kind of power could truly be replicated, then the Marines wouldn't just dominate the seas.
They could even break away from the World Government and overthrow it without much difficulty.
"Akainu!"
Renji stepped forward, rapidly closing the distance.
His expression turned completely serious.
"You must think the only reason I beat you earlier… was because of a sneak attack, right?"
"Isn't that the case?" Akainu replied coldly.
He had already stabilized himself.
"I admit, you're strong. But defeating an Admiral? You're still lacking."
As Renji charged toward him, magma began gathering around Akainu's arms once more.
"Magma…"
With a full surge of power, his arm transformed into a hellish hound.
"Inugami Guren!"
"Hahaha!"
Hearing that, Renji laughed.
If this were any other time even while being hunted he would have toyed with Akainu a bit more before finishing him.
But now wasn't the moment.
"Then let me show you… the true strength of the Pirate Instructor!"
Tremor energy rapidly gathered around Renji's right fist.
Cracks spread outward wildly only to be forcibly drawn back and compressed again.
As the two closed in.
Renji threw his punch.
"Tremor…"
"Break the Army!"
BOOM!
The Tremor power erupted in full force.
Akainu's "hellhound" was instantly torn apart.
And the punch landed squarely on his face!
With a single blow, Akainu was sent flying!
The overwhelming shockwave tore through his body, shattering it in an instant!
"How is that possible?!"
"No way…!"
In that moment, the entire world fell into shock.
Everyone watching through the broadcast stared in disbelief.
Even through the Den Den Mushi transmission, the reaction was the same everywhere.
Pure astonishment.
Admirals were universally regarded as top-tier powerhouses.
If they lost to a Yonko like Whitebeard, no one would question it.
But losing to someone outside that level?
To someone like Renji?
To ordinary people, Marines, and even pirates.
That was simply unimaginable.
"T-this…"
At that moment, it wasn't just outsiders who were stunned.
Even members of the Whitebeard allied forces.
Those who had always supported Renji were completely dumbfounded.
They had still believed the Marines' explanation.
After all, that was an Admiral.
But they never expected Renji to be this overwhelming.
This was no "even match".
This was outright domination!
"Too strong!"
"Instructor Renji is too strong!"
Cheers erupted instantly across the battlefield.
"See that?! That's someone from the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"What use are your Admirals now?!"
The pirates went completely wild.
Renji's feat had ignited everyone.
"H-how is this possible…?"
The Marines stood frozen.
They stared at the fallen Akainu in disbelief.
At this moment, Akainu had already lost consciousness.
Thanks to the nature of Logia Devil Fruits, he hadn't been killed outright.
But that was all.
And more importantly.
This was the second time he had been knocked out by Renji.
This time, there was no sneak attack.
It was a direct, frontal clash.
Any excuse the Marines could make was completely shut down.
For a moment, the entire battlefield fell silent.
Everyone's attention was fixed on Renji.
Shock.
Disbelief.
A complete standstill.
"This kid…"
Monkey D. Garp slowly stood up.
He looked toward Renji, his brows tightly furrowed.
His expression was conflicted.
Not because he feared Renji.
But because now that Akainu was down…
The only ones left who could stop Renji were him and Sengoku.
And in a war like this, the Fleet Admiral couldn't act freely.
Which meant only garp remained.
"…Sigh."
Letting out a long breath, Garp began walking toward the execution platform while everyone else was still focused on Renji.
"Damn it…"
Regret.
That was all Sengoku felt now.
He had the chance before.
No he had been certain he could eliminate Renji.
But because he had to prepare for the war, and because Silvers Rayleigh was also a problem
He chose not to act.
Sengoku had lived nearly eighty years.
Very few things made him regret his decisions.
But putting Renji's elimination behind the priority of the war…was one of them.
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