"Fine, let's try it!" Ryuuto said to Rocks, his voice sharp. "But if you try any tricks, I won't let you get away with it!"
In the end, Ryuuto decided to agree. He had a gut feeling that what Rocks said was true—that he really could end Shirahoshi's suffering. But he also suspected Rocks intended to use this opportunity to do something to Shirahoshi.
"Let's see what you have planned," Ryuuto thought, unafraid. He would make all necessary arrangements beforehand to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. After all, he had an ace up his sleeve that he hadn't used in a long time: the Drum of Annihilation.
…
"Captain, who is he? Why does he look so much like Blackbeard?" on Fish-Man Island, Nami couldn't stop staring at Rocks, asking a soul-searching question. As she watched the man before them, she sometimes felt the same sinister gloom as Blackbeard, and at other times, an incredibly domineering confidence. The two auras alternated constantly.
Hancock's brow furrowed. Her senses were even sharper; the aura of death, unique to the Davy clan, made her extremely uncomfortable. Others like Jean Bart and Van Augur also watched Rocks with vigilance. To their Observation Haki, the man before them was like a dormant, primordial behemoth—overbearing and immensely powerful.
The little empress, however, looked particularly eager. She desperately wanted to fight the man, but Ryuuto had stopped her, causing her to cast provocative glances at Rocks.
"I didn't expect Fish-Man Island to have already risen to the surface. This must be the work of your captain," Rocks said in a deep voice, striding forward with an arrogant gait after a brief glance at Nami.
"As you can see," Ryuuto replied calmly on Nami's behalf, nodding slightly. "We're almost there." As he spoke, countless bolts of lightning had already surged ten thousand meters into the sky, a precaution he had set in place. Activating the Drum of Annihilation would now take but an instant.
Hearing this, Rocks fell silent and focused his attention ahead. The atmosphere of the group became strangely tense. No one spoke a word. Rocks stared forward in silence, while the others watched him warily.
"We're here!" Suddenly, Ryuuto, who was leading the way, stopped and announced to the group.
They stood before a tall, lavishly decorated room. Yet, the interior was simple. Beyond the large doors was a single shell bed, upon which Princess Shirahoshi lay, her face contorted in pain.
"The Sea King! I've found you!" Rocks's eyes lit up as the thought flashed through his mind.
"Let me take a look! I will now relieve this lady of her suffering!" With those words, Rocks walked toward Princess Shirahoshi in full view of everyone.
Nami shot a questioning look at Ryuuto, her eyes asking, are you really just going to let him get close to Shirahoshi? Ryuuto gave her a reassuring glance and a slight nod.
"Rocks! I'll be watching you!" Ryuuto shouted, his voice a stern warning. At the same time, he commanded the lightning above, causing it to crackle and arc violently. He would strike the very second he sensed anything amiss.
"Gyahahahaha!" Rocks laughed wildly.
He walked slowly to Shirahoshi's side, and a mass of black energy, glowing with a faint light, materialized in his hand. A low hum filled the air. As Rocks brought the dark energy closer to Shirahoshi, the hearts of Ryuuto and the others leaped into their throats, terrified that something might go wrong. Of course, the most nervous of them all was Neptune. His fists were clenched tight.
Then, before their eyes, the black energy exerted an immense gravitational pull, slowly drawing a crimson mass of energy out of Shirahoshi's head. As the red energy was extracted, the look of pain on Shirahoshi's face softened into one of peace.
"It's working!" Nami whispered, afraid to disturb Rocks.
Ryuuto sensed that the extracted energy was some kind of spiritual consciousness, radiating pure brutality and death. Seeing Shirahoshi gradually calm down, Neptune also let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, a cunning glint flashed in Rocks's eyes. He knew his chance was coming. But he also felt a pair of eyes behind him, watching his every move.
"Let's see how you stop me now!" Rocks roared inwardly. He was just one step away from achieving his goal.
The black energy in his hand grew more condensed, and a strange aura began to mix into it. Death! Destruction! In an instant, Ryuuto sensed that something was wrong.
Crack!
Tens of thousands of meters in the sky, countless golden bolts of lightning shrieked and flared, rapidly coalescing into the shape of a massive war drum. How could Ryuuto not understand? Rocks was after the Sea King's power within Shirahoshi—one of the authorities belonging to the God of the Sea. And so, he acted.
"Gyahahahaha! The power of the Sea King is all mine!" Rocks's heart pounded with wild ecstasy. Dropping all pretense, he used the black energy in his hand to forcibly strip strands of blue energy from Shirahoshi's body. This was the Authority of the God of the Sea.
But to Ryuuto's surprise, Shirahoshi showed no reaction to Rocks's actions. In fact, as the blue energy was drawn from her, her expression grew even more relaxed.
"That foolish girl!" Ryuuto sighed.
He guessed that Shirahoshi had always subconsciously rejected this authority. Its power allowed her to hear all the voices of the deep sea—terrifying, cold voices that had always frightened her. Now that the Sea King's authority was being taken away, it was as if a great burden had been lifted, and she felt a profound sense of relief. Perhaps, in that moment, Shirahoshi was thinking, that ability is finally leaving me.
Neptune, not understanding the situation, saw only that his daughter was becoming more and more at ease. He thought she was recovering, and his gaze toward Rocks even held a hint of gratitude.
"This is going even more smoothly than I expected!" Rocks whispered to himself, a look of pure elation on his face as he felt the blue energy flowing into his body. With its infusion, he could feel the Authority of the God of the Sea within him becoming more complete. In addition to the aura of death and destruction, a current of life force began to surge within him.
"It's almost complete! Faster! Faster!" Rocks screamed in his mind.
But Ryuuto was faster. Under his full control, the golden war drum in the sky formed in an instant, its surface covered in ancient, intricate patterns. The boundless golden lightning crashed down upon the drum's surface.
Dong!
A single drumbeat echoed through the heavens. Countless serpentine patterns of light erupted forth. The sky fell silent. A shockwave swept outward, dissipating the clouds and stilling the wind. In that instant, time itself stopped within the entire vicinity of Fish-Man Island.
Rocks had no idea what had happened. The ecstatic grin remained frozen on his face as he stood motionless. Hancock, Neptune, and the others were also frozen in place.
"Five breaths. Let's see you escape now," Ryuuto said softly. A sound like rolling thunder emanated from his body as he transformed into a streak of lightning, appearing beside Rocks in an instant.
One breath!
"Thunder: Heaven-Sundering Finger!" Ryuuto roared. The purple lightning at his fingertip condensed, compressing in an instant to its absolute limit. The erupting power made space itself tremble.
Two breaths!
Ryuuto aimed and unleashed the attack. A brilliant beam of lightning pierced through Rocks's chest. It was so fast that the beam had already vanished from the room before a spray of blood erupted from the wound.
Bang!
Three breaths!
Blood streamed from the corner of Rocks's mouth; he was clearly severely injured. As the third breath ended, Rocks, his Authority of the God of the Sea now mostly complete, regained consciousness. He immediately realized something was wrong. Not only had he been mysteriously wounded, but his body was also paralyzed. Panic and fear seized him.
"Damn it! It hurts! It hurts! Why can't I move? Tidal Force, break!" Rocks screamed internally. An invisible energy, like a tidal wave, materialized in the room and surged toward him.
"Hmm? He's breaking free this quickly?" Seeing the energy fluctuations around Rocks intensify, Ryuuto's eyes narrowed. He swiftly drew the Kuilong Blade from his waist, intending to end Rocks with a single strike.
Four breaths!
But there wasn't enough time! Before Ryuuto's blade could fall, an incredibly powerful force erupted from Rocks. A brilliant, dark green light burst from his body, and he instantly regained his mobility. In just four breaths, Rocks had broken free from the rule-based power of the Drum of Annihilation. This was the power of the God of the Sea.
Ryuuto's Drum of Annihilation could originally only stop time for three breaths. After his Thunder Arts reached the 'Perfection' stage, this had increased to five. He had thought it would be more than enough time to deal with Rocks, but to his shock, Rocks had recovered after only a single attack.
"Breath of the Sea!" Rocks bellowed. The dark green energy around him surged forward like a tsunami, crashing toward Ryuuto. The waves emanated a terrifying aura of death, as if they would corrode anything they touched, and within them, the ghostly visages of powerful souls roared.
At that moment, Ryuuto's Kuilong Blade slashed down. A domineering arc of purple lightning, carrying the immense Might of Retribution, shot toward Rocks, colliding head-on with the dark green tsunami.
Five breaths!
Time resumed its flow. The gentle breeze returned. Hancock and the others snapped back to their senses, only to see Ryuuto and Rocks locked in a violent clash.
"What's going on?"
"Why are they suddenly fighting?"
"I feel like... I've lost my memory of the last few moments!" Nami and the others exchanged confused glances, muttering in bewilderment.
A deafening collision rang out as the two forces tore at each other. Rocks clutched his chest, gasping for breath. Though he had hastily blocked Ryuuto's slash, his injuries put him at a clear disadvantage.
"I've already succeeded in obtaining the other part of the Authority of the God of the Sea. Time to retreat! I'm injured now, I'm no match for Ryuuto if this continues," Rocks thought. "Ryuuto, just you wait! Once I've assimilated this power, I'll be back to settle the score!"
As these thoughts raced through his mind, his body dissolved into a stream of black water and shot toward the door. It all happened in a fraction of a second.
Boom!
With a final roar, Ryuuto's slash tore through Rocks's tidal wave. The attack, still carrying immense power, blasted through wall after wall, cleaving the entire royal palace in two before disappearing into the distant sky. But where Rocks had stood, there was now nothing.
Crack!
Seeing this, Ryuuto's eyes narrowed. His body moved like lightning, transforming into a thunderbolt and streaking after Rocks in the direction he had vanished. Ryuuto understood the principle of eradicating evil completely. He couldn't let Rocks escape.
Rocks had already fled Fish-Man Island and was now out over the open sea. He was about to feel a moment of triumph when he sensed an incredibly terrifying aura closing in from behind. Sweat poured down his forehead like rain.
"This is the only way!" Rocks grit his teeth, his expression savage as if he had made a difficult decision. With a deep roar, he plunged into the ocean.
Bang!
Ryuuto's figure appeared at the exact same spot an instant later. Without hesitation, he veered and dove into the sea after him. A torrent of lightning erupted, forming a protective barrier around him. This shield not only protected him from the seawater and the immense pressure of the deep but also continuously generated oxygen for him to breathe.
"Damn it! He's still chasing me even after all this! Your lightning power is ridiculous! Are you completely immune to the sea?" In the depths of the ocean, Rocks sensed what was happening and cursed loudly. He couldn't believe it. Ryuuto was completely unaffected by the sea, and what's worse, his astonishing speed meant he was steadily closing the distance between them, even underwater.
"Is this even reasonable? Is this even polite?" Panic flooded Rocks's heart. Ignoring his injuries, he desperately pushed his power to its limits and fled for his life. He had thought that once he gained the Authority of the God of the Sea, Ryuuto wouldn't dare follow him into the ocean.