It all happened so fast. Someone yelled, "It's Admiral Akainu!" — confusion and dread spread through the ranks. Pirates and Marines alike froze, unsure how he had appeared so suddenly.
"Little Oars, run!" someone shouted. The warning came too late. Before many realized what had happened, Little Oars' massive form was engulfed by magma. His enormous body was aflame, his skin seared by scorching heat. Instinctively, he lurched toward the sea to escape the burning agony.
"Die, demon…" Akainu roared, his magma-clad fist surging forward. With a bellow of "Great Eruption!" molten fury arced toward Little Oars.
But before the magma could strike, Marco leapt forward without hesitation. Blue flames erupted around him, coalescing into a circular blaze that roared to life, forming a protective barrier against the molten onslaught.
"Marco, a mere captain dares to block me?" Akainu snarled, his tone overflowing with contempt as his magma surged more violently.
Marco felt crushing pressure, the kind that could snap bones, yet he stood his ground. The phoenix-fire shield flared brighter. Drawing deep from his resolve, he pushed back with everything he had, voice roaring, "Akainu, don't underestimate me!"
The magma fist slammed into the blue-flame barrier. The impact trembled through the air, heat like boiling acid pressed against Marco's defenses. The shield wavered under the assault, cracks forming where flame and magma clashed.
Realizing the danger, Marco hardened his arms with Armament Haki, scarring his skin beneath the heat but restoring his defense. Flames danced around him, blue and defiant. Brace sprang in his limbs, and he braced himself for another strike. As Akainu prepared a second eruption, Marco drew on every reserve of strength and will.
The magma fist collided again — this time Marco met the force head-on, gripping the molten fist with both hands. Using precise control and Haki reinforcement, he twisted and redirected it aside. Magma splintered off, raining molten fragments across two nearby pirate ships. The explosion rocked the decks, timbers groaning, sailors thrown off balance.
Chaos erupted among the pirate crews. Screams of terror split the air: "Abandon ship! Get out!" Cannons and pistols fired wildly, bullets and cannonballs streaking toward Akainu. Each shot was cloaked with Haki, striking the magma-clad Admiral's form. Shells exploded in a heavy barrage, obscuring vision under smoke and debris.
For a moment it seemed the assaults might succeed. Pirates shouted, "Feel the wrath of our Haki!" Their voices echoed over the battle noise. But to everyone's horror, Akainu — half his body shattered — rose unscathed. His form flowed, magma shifting and reforming, revealing that the attacks had done little more than burn away superficial layers.
Panic spread quickly. Marine and Pirate alike recoiled. "He's a monster…" some cried. Others, guns shaking in their grasp, fired again at the molten figure. Shells and bullets struck, but magma seeped out instead of blood. The wounds sealed as quickly as they opened.
Marco's face turned grim. He gathered all his remaining strength, pouring it into his physique. He raised his eyes to Akainu, fury and determination burning within. Strength now surged at 6,895 points.
Akainu let out a roar, raising his magma fist high — larger now, over twenty meters wide, a molten giant waiting to crush the pirate crews.
"Captain Marco, save us!" some shouted in desperation, panic clear in their voices.
Marco roared back, voice deep and commanding, "Everyone retreat, fall back! The Admiral's power is beyond what any of you can handle!"
With that he charged forward, speed blazing. He focused his Haki into his right foot, tension coiling like a spring beneath the surface. He roared, "Phoenix Seal!" Flames and Haki fused, and with a thunderous impact his kick struck the massive magma arm.
There was a blinding explosion. The magma limb shattered mid-air. Molten fragments erupted outward like volcanic bombs, raining down in a deadly cascade of heat and flame. Pirate ships nearby caught fire, sailors scattered screaming. Some dove overboard; others tried frantically to flee the inferno.
Amid the chaos, Marco stood firm. The ground beneath him was scorched and cracked, heatwaves distorting the air. He shouted once more, his voice cutting through the pandemonium, "Pull back, regroup at a safe distance! This is more than any ordinary battle — the Admiral's fire is nothing to fool with!"
As pirates scrambled away from the blast zone, and the sea hissed where molten bombs plunged into the waters, Marco remained alert. The flames around him flickered but refused to die — a blazing testament to his resolve.