The raging wind swept across the island, and the people on the island couldn't be bothered with this chaotic night.
Everyone hurried back into their homes, shutting all doors and windows, waiting for the storm to pass.
Sakazuki stepped on the two people beneath his feet, steadying their bodies from being blown away:
"Too scared to show yourself, huh."
Boom——!!!!
A violent wave of Conqueror's Haki burst out recklessly, sweeping across heaven and earth.
Everything on the island fell unconscious...
Even the howling winds seemed to stop, rapidly retreating.
From far away, so far that Gagao Island was just a tiny black dot when seen from the sky.
Sakazuki's Conqueror's Haki couldn't reach here, and the retreating wind condensed into a shape.
Dragon appeared midair, frowning tightly:
"Such a huge range..."
The overwhelming Haki could suppress Devil Fruit abilities.
That was why Dragon didn't dare confront him head-on. He had met Sakazuki more than once.
If he got exposed under the impact of this Haki, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out who he was.
But only after retreating this far did Dragon finally stop feeling the pressure of Sakazuki's Conqueror's Haki. This range... troublesome.
It wasn't yet time to declare open war...
Dragon took a deep breath, and his figure suddenly dispersed.
A massive waterspout appeared over the sea.
It kept drawing in seawater... a towering water pillar formed.
At the very top of the water tornado, Dragon, half-submerged in the sky, pushed his power even further.
Until the inertia of the tornado grew so great that even he was losing control.
He suddenly pushed it toward Gagao Island.
The towering water tornado, so tall its top was unseen, hurtled toward Gagao Island.
Its roaring sound rumbled across the ocean without resistance.
Even Sakazuki, whose Haki couldn't reach this far, could faintly sense the danger.
Dragon turned into roaring wind swirling around the water tornado. Everything would be decided by this one strike...
...
Sakazuki's Observation Haki sensed the incoming water tornado:
"Quite the grand gesture."
If that thing hit the island... the power could literally split it in two.
Or more likely... sink it entirely...
"Trying to save people, huh."
As his voice fell, his body swelled rapidly. In an instant, a magma giant over thirty meters tall appeared.
Clasping his hands together, he pulled outward, forming a long magma spear coated in Armament Haki, power continuously surging into it.
Compressed again and again, even with Armament Haki, it faintly glowed red.
Sensing the tornado's center with Observation Haki, he hurled the spear with his right hand.
Whoosh——
The sound of it tearing through the air rang out, like a blazing red meteor.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the tornado.
Boom!!!!
The condensed Armament Haki violently shattered the swirling winds and water walls.
It pierced into the calm center of the tornado.
And exploded.
Like a bubble expanding outward, the shockwave spread in all directions, sucked into the water tornado.
Dragon could control the wind, but not the water now far beyond his grasp.
After the magma surged in, the tornado's rotation gradually slowed.
The magma inside spun along with it, but kept building up, reaching down toward the seabed.
Until after nearly a kilometer forward, the tornado completely stopped...
Now, a towering magma pillar stood on the sea.
All the water had long since evaporated, squeezed out by the magma.
Dragon, guiding the tornado with his winds, completely abandoned the rescue attempt...
There was no helping it. If the attack had landed, he might have had a chance.
But before it even reached, it had been stopped.
The surface of the magma slowly solidified, turning black, seemingly cooled.
Dragon sighed inwardly. Another failure... truly powerful.
Cracks began to spread across the magma pillar's surface...
Boom——!!!!!!!
It exploded outright, a ring-shaped shockwave spreading outward.
Countless chunks of magma were hurled in all directions by the blast.
Dragon, caught in the violent air currents, his wind form spinning out of control, vanished...
...
Only after being carried far away did Dragon finally reform his body:
"What power..."
He took out the Log Pose, but it only gave a faint reaction. He shook his head.
He could only follow that weak signal, searching for an island to determine his location...
...
Gagao Island, dawn.
Six black dots appeared on the horizon, growing larger and larger.
They were the Navy warships rushing day and night.
Before long.
As the ships docked at the shore, the first to disembark were men in black suits.
The CP agents in black suits approached Sakazuki respectfully:
"Admiral Sakazuki."
Sakazuki nodded:
"Mm."
Getting up, he kicked the two people at his feet and told the CP agents:
"Get them treated quickly."
"Don't let them die."
The CP agents replied respectfully:
"Yes, sir."
They gestured, and several men quickly carried the two prisoners away.
Sakazuki headed for the warship.
Suddenly remembering something, he released a wave of Conqueror's Haki toward the island behind him, flashing by.
Ignoring the puzzled looks from the others, he walked into the rest cabin.
...
Gagao Island, inland.
The residents who had endured the sweeping Conqueror's Haki had long since slipped from unconsciousness into deep sleep.
Then, under Sakazuki's controlled wave of Conqueror's Haki...
The entire island's sleeping residents were jolted awake.
"What the..."
"What happened, why am I on the ground?"
"Huh? Huh? What happened?"
"Was last night... a dream?"
"Hey!!!"
"That huge mountain over there!!!"
The massive peak, covered in magma, proved... last night was no dream.
Something had happened... though no one knew what.
For a time, fear gripped the island. Many people packed their things, preparing to leave.
By afternoon.
After the kingdom communicated with the World Government, they finally learned the details of last night's danger.
The frightened nobles all praised the government, sending large sums of money to the Navy...
Money could be earned again... but without the Navy, their lives would have been gone last night...
...
Several days later.
Marineford, Navy Headquarters.
Sakazuki had barely docked when he noticed the difference:
"Full of energy, huh."
There were several times more people than usual.
In just a few days, it would be Sengoku's promotion to Fleet Admiral.
Everything was moving in a good direction.
The soldiers were all brimming with fighting spirit, preparing for everything...
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total