Chapter 23: Chapter 23 – The Death of Rocks
The Buster Call fleet side.
All the soldiers had already boarded. One warship after another accelerated as they sailed away from the island.
Sakazuki stood on deck, gazing toward the center of the island.
The battle there was becoming more and more ferocious, visibly intense. The island was slowly splitting apart from the impact.
Sakazuki knew there wasn't much time left.
Such intense combat would hasten the eruption of the volcano. With a single step, his figure vanished in an instant.
A blur flashed by and appeared at the stern of the final warship.
This warship hadn't moved; it had stayed behind to evacuate the others.
"Vice Admiral Morris, let me stay to handle the evacuation."
"My ability is magma—it's the lowest risk."
"This... alright then, just be careful, Sakazuki."
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Morris."
Morris hesitated for a moment.
Then he agreed to let Sakazuki stay behind, just as Sakazuki had said.
As a Magma-Magma Fruit user, only he was the best fit for this kind of situation.
He then handed the Den Den Mushi to Sakazuki and jumped onto the neighboring warship, which slowly sailed away from the island.
Sakazuki watched Morris leave, then stood still at the stern of the ship.
He recalled the pillar of energy he had seen earlier, tearing through the sky and earth.
No one on the island had the ability to produce something like that, so...
Could it be that super battleship?
Looking toward the center of the island where the sky had been ripped apart, Sakazuki's brow furrowed slightly.
...
The heart of the battle.
Boom—
Haki clashed wildly, accompanied by the thunderous crackle of Conqueror's Haki colliding and erupting.
On Rocks' side, he swung a fist and knocked Garp back.
Kong and the burly Elder immediately charged in afterward.
Before he could repel them, Rayleigh, Roger, and the others rushed in with blades drawn.
Rocks was like a trapped beast, gradually being forced into a corner.
Outside the crater, Rocks was sent flying and landed there.
The heat pouring from the crater now could easily burn human skin.
Though everyone had Armament Haki covering them, they still felt the discomfort.
Blood flowed from Rocks' chest, but the moment it oozed out, it was instantly vaporized, leaving behind dry streaks of blood.
"Huff... huff..."
Rocks panted heavily, looking at the people surrounding him.
One by one, he glanced over them—two Elders, Kong, Roger, Garp, Sengoku, Rayleigh, Gaban.
Rocks looked across them all and sighed:
"I've lost."
"But... you cannot stop the will of the D."
"Ahahahahaha!!!!"
One of the Elders raised his sword, wrapping it in Conqueror's Haki.
He looked at Rocks and spoke calmly:
"Enough talk."
It was like a judgment.
Hearing the sword-wielding Elder's words, Rocks slowly fell silent.
He looked at the Elder, sneering mockingly:
"Heh."
"This decaying world ruled by a bunch of swine... truly..."
Then he turned calmly to Roger, as though he had accepted the fate that awaited him, no longer harboring hatred:
"And you."
"Do what you must, Roger."
With those words, endless bloodlust erupted from Rocks, intertwining with his Conqueror's Haki.
Burning his life force, his expression turned wild and savage:
"I—"
"AM—"
"ROCKS D. XEBEC!!!!!!"
BOOM!
The heavens and earth seemed to tremble. The clouds above were shattered and swept away.
The sea churned restlessly, and the island shook and split apart violently.
...
From Sakazuki's point of view—
First, a blinding white light burst forth, followed by an earth-shattering explosion.
Moments later, thick smoke surged from the island.
Dark red magma, wrapped in rolling black smoke, shot up to the sky.
Accompanied by an overwhelming rumble.
The magma pillar shooting into the sky visibly thickened and spread outward.
Lava, several times greater than the Meteor Volcano, fell from the high heavens at terrifying speed.
In the smoke-shrouded sky, tens of thousands of fiery red trails were left behind.
The island shattered under the tremendous force, endless magma erupting from beneath the ground.
The entire island became a volcanic crater, and a vast mushroom cloud filled the sky and earth.
The sea turned violent as well, with hundred-meter-high waves crashing outward layer by layer.
Along with the hurricane winds, volcanic ash swept in like a blizzard.
It was foreseeable that all life within ten thousand kilometers of sea would be completely wiped out.
A volcanic eruption of this scale—
The temperature across the West Blue in the coming year would remain low. Volcanic ash would cloak the skies, blocking out the sun.
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