"Wo ro ro ro ro ro!!!"
"Still blazing hot, Marines!!!"
After all, this was the world's strongest creature still in his prime. Facing the magma giant fist billowing with smoke, he could actually withstand it head-on with sheer physical strength and Haki.
"Marine Headquarters is not a place where you can run wild, Kaido!!!"
"Great Eruption!!!"
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle!!!!
The stench of burning mixed with air warped by intense heat. This strike was like a volcanic eruption, carrying terrifying temperature and impact.
And after the smoke dispersed, a pair of vertical pupils glowing red suddenly snapped open.
"This is the kind of slaughter that really gets the blood pumping!!!"
A furious, unrestrained roar mixed with the lightning of Conqueror's Haki suddenly exploded in front of Akainu, making his eyelids twitch.
Immediately after, the massively muscled dragon-man, as if completely ignoring the magma fist that had slammed straight into his chest, rapidly swung his arms.
Within the clouds, purple thunder flashed, then wrapped itself around the wolf-toothed kanabo that was leaving afterimages as it swung.
Mixed with terrifying Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and driven by an incomparably powerful dragonized body, laughing wildly and crazily, he angrily swung the kanabo up from the magma.
"Great Thunder Bagua!!!"
This overwhelmingly powerful blow smashed straight into Akainu's head, his body even beginning to twist and deform.
An extreme sonic boom erupted, then the ground was instantly torn apart as he was sent flying, crashing through one building after another in a trail of dust.
He finally came to a stop amid the ruins of the Marine Headquarters building, and everything fell into temporary silence.
"Wo ro ro ro ro!!!"
"What a blazing-hot war!!!"
Kaido threw his head back and howled. His sharp claws tore open the carbonized layer of dragon scales on his chest, and thanks to the powerful recovery of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, new scales quickly grew back once more.
"Hmm??? Even with powerful Armament Haki plus the boost from the Azure Dragon Fruit, it shouldn't be possible to block Sakazuki's volcanic-eruption-like punch so easily, right?"
Orin tilted his head, sidestepping another ice-spike spear, curiosity evident.
He knew Sakazuki's strength very well.
A top-tier among the Yonko-level elites, not far off from the King tier at all.
And Kaido's Drunken Dragon form was only just barely standing at the edge of the King tier.
Even if there was a difference, it shouldn't be this big.
"Hah???!"
Hearing this, Kaido turned around to look at Orin, then threw his head back and burst into laughter.
"That's obviously because over the years my chest has taken too many powerful attacks! With my race physique plus the top-tier mythical Zoan adaptability of the Azure Dragon Fruit, of course I'd have even stronger defense!!!"
Hearing this, Orin raised an eyebrow.
Then, with microscopic-level Observation Haki, he quickly saw through the scar-covered scales and skin on Kaido's chest.
This...
Maybe it really was the reason he was called the strongest creature—he'd evolved something extra.
But to put it simply...
Wasn't this just getting beaten so much that his skin got thicker?
Compared to Mihawk's ultimate sharp slashes, or Orin's spatial-powered Conqueror's Sea, magma fists really did have slightly weaker penetration.
But Sakazuki wasn't some weakling either.
After all, he was the man who had taken several Divine Departures back then and still stood up to trade punches with Orin.
At this moment, the Marine Headquarters—now reduced to ruins—had shattered bricks slowly melting into pools of liquid. A magma figure glowing red stepped out from within.
"Beasts·Kaido, you still have time to chat?"
"The battle isn't over yet!!!"
Facing the massive magma projectile, Orin flashed away to the distance.
Watching two guys built like blood tanks and armored fortresses stand together again in excitement, Orin shrugged.
Kuzan quickly caught up as well.
But he seemed to realize that simple attacks couldn't restrict this man's movements.
So despite cold air billowing from his body, Kuzan didn't strike. Instead, with a frosty expression, he shouted at Orin.
"So this is what you meant by the war not ending easily, Orin!!!"
"One of the Three Legendary Pirates, and now a Yonko joining in—are you trying to make the situation even more chaotic?!"
Hearing this, Orin turned his head back, a gentle smile on his face, and gazed straight at Kuzan.
Then...
Whether it was an illusion or not, that gentle smile seemed to slowly take on a slightly more malicious edge.
"No, no... this is only the beginning. Please always believe that my pursuit of fun—we're old pals already. You still don't understand me well enough, Kuzan~"
...
Elsewhere, under the united efforts of Mr. 3 and Luffy,
"Clang..."
The Seastone handcuffs fell to the ground.
"You've always been this reckless, Luffy."
Flames burned fiercely as all the Whitebeard Pirates watched them with hope in their eyes.
Luffy was grinning from ear to ear as well.
"Ace!!!!"
"Don't let your guard down, Luffy. We need to break through!!!"
Ace grabbed Luffy's sleeve, Luffy grabbed Mr. 3's collar, the three of them facing a hail of bullets and pursuit.
"Heh... kids really are noisy."
Orin was just about to say something when a spreading magma projectile, along with raging winds and breath spilling over, instantly engulfed him.
Casually swatting it away, Orin furrowed his brows.
"You two..."
Two lunatics with extremely violent fighting styles—especially when both of them could cause natural disasters—were seriously ruining Orin's viewing experience.
"Why aren't they here yet..."
He was already prepared to switch these two to new opponents.
Just as Orin was waiting to the point of almost using the Warp-Warp Fruit to speed things up, a disturbance erupted from the distant harbor.
"Seriously..."
Orin helplessly shook his head. With a flash of his figure, he instantly appeared at the center of the battlefield between Sakazuki and Kaido.
This place no longer had room for ordinary pirates or marines to stand. Rolling magma and black-red lightning filled the air, making even Orin frown.
"That's enough. Go play with the newcomers for a bit."
"What?!!!" ×2
The two who had been fiercely exchanging blows froze for a moment. But before they could react, what greeted them was a zero-frame-start teleport kick.
"Swoosh—"
"Swoosh—"
Some low-level grunts noticed the situation.
"What's going on? Admiral Akainu and Yonko Kaido were fighting just now, and they vanished in an instant!!!"
"Kaido's over at the harbor!!!"
Many people followed the sound and looked toward the distant port, where they discovered several familiar figures.
"That is... the Blackbeard Pirates???"
"The Shichibukai who never showed up? But..."
"Why does it look like they're being hunted down?!"