The Third Hokage: First Move Send Danzō to Prison

"Sakazuki! Watch out for Uchiha Itachi!"

While clashing with Rayleigh, Kizaru couldn't help shouting toward the execution platform, his voice laced with worry.

Having previously tangled with that human-phoenix duo, Kizaru knew exactly how troublesome they were.

Last time, his Observation Haki had triggered an intense warning what kind of attack could make even a man made of light sense mortal danger?

Sakazuki… don't mess this up.

"You shouldn't let your mind wander in battle."

Rayleigh took the chance to deliver a horizontal slash.

Kizaru dodged a moment too late.

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, surprised. "You're really that worried?"

Deflecting Rayleigh's blade with his light saber, Kizaru snorted. "You have no idea how difficult those two are."

He swung his saber in a smooth arc.

"And you're not exactly easy to deal with either."

Sakazuki, seriously… don't get careless.

"Kuzan! Come be my son!"

Whitebeard's hearty laugh echoed through the frozen bay. With a casual swing of his naginata, he shattered Aokiji's ice spears into a sparkling flurry.

His eyes drifted toward the distant battlefield, where black flames and molten magma were clashing. His crescent beard lifted as his grin widened.

Aokiji frowned. "You're still saying crazy things at a time like this?"

Placing both hands on the ice, Aokiji summoned countless spears of Haki-infused ice. They flew through the air but disintegrated before reaching within three meters of Whitebeard shattered by invisible shockwaves.

Whitebeard didn't even spare the attacks a glance. His attention was fixed solely on the clash between Ace and Sakazuki in the distance.

"What a pity." The smile vanished from his face. His right fist began to glow with the pale light of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. "Looks like you're not ready to embrace the new era."

This time, no wounds from that cursed blade. Whitebeard was in peak condition.

Crack!

He punched the air, and reality shattered like glass.

A devastating shockwave fanned out, obliterating Aokiji's hastily formed ice wall.

The Admiral was blasted away like a broken kite.

Dismissed.

Hawkeye Mihawk drew a perfect arc through the air with his black sword Yoru, forcing Vista to retreat a few paces. Though clearly dominating the duel, Mihawk didn't press the attack. Instead, he sheathed his blade and glanced toward the execution platform.

"How did that Ace of yours get captured?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Relieved to have a moment of respite, Vista replied, "Some bastard named Blackbeard. A traitor from our own crew."

Mihawk nodded, filing the name away.

To capture a Logia user with advanced Haki techniques that required extraordinary strength.

Might be worth testing him someday.

With that thought, Mihawk once again drew his sword and resumed the clash with Vista.

Three Heroes vs. Sakazuki.

Sakazuki's magma fist struck Ace squarely, blasting him back over ten meters. Just as he moved in for the kill

Shing!

The crimson chakra blade of the Susano'o came crashing down from above, its edge warping the very fabric of space.

In the next instant, the Phoenix's talons raked forward in a deadly arc.

Sakazuki was forced to retreat. A chunk of his magma-formed arm was severed and splattered to the ground, sizzling and steaming.

Annoying.

Even as one of the Navy's most powerful Admirals, Sakazuki was beginning to look slightly overwhelmed under the relentless assault.

Spitting magma onto the ground, he scanned the battlefield with hawk-like precision.

Ace had used the opening to recover. His flames surged anew, creating a roaring ring of fire that forced Sakazuki to divide his attention.

Even worse, black flames Amaterasu ignited once again behind him. Sakazuki clenched his jaw and separated the contaminated magma. At this rate, his admiral's uniform was going to burn clean off.

But then, he caught something just a flicker of detail.

Every time the Susano'o unleashed a heavy strike, or when those black flames appeared, Marco's healing flames would flare erratically… and Uchiha Itachi's face would go pale, his movements just slightly delayed.

"…So that's how it is." Sakazuki's lips curled into a sinister grin.

He had found the weak link.

Itachi wasn't that powerful on his own.

The real trouble was that he was paired with Marco.

So the solution was clear: ignore the cursed bloodline for now.

Sakazuki's molten body surged with force. He took a direct hit from Ace's fire punch, using the momentum to leap backward.

In mid-air, he gathered every ounce of magma and Haki into a single, earth-shattering strike.

This punch infused with decades of battle experience was unstoppable.

Split the team. Isolate the weakest link. Kill Itachi first, then finish off Ace and Marco.

He still held the upper hand in raw strength.

Sakazuki locked eyes with Itachi. For a brief second, he saw fear… but it sharpened into focus.

Wait. His eyes…

That strange, triple-bladed pinwheel began to spin.

No! Something's wrong!

Sakazuki's Observation Haki screamed in alarm.

Too late.

"Tsukuyomi."

Within a swirl of fire and magma, Itachi's red-and-black cloak stood out like a death flag.

Sakazuki suddenly found himself in a world drenched in blood-red sky.

Uchiha Itachi stood before him, his otherworldly Mangekyō Sharingan dominating his vision.

What is this ability?!

In the real world, Sakazuki's magma fist froze midair.

His face shifted from fury to confusion, then to complete blankness.

But even among Admirals, Sakazuki's Haki and willpower were top-tier. He began forcing his way out of the illusion.

Yet in that single, crucial second

"It's now or never, Marco."

Marco's blue healing flames blazed to full power, minimizing the backlash on Itachi's body.

The red Susano'o transformed instantly armor-clad, weapons drawn. Most notably, its right hand gripped a massive gourd.

The gourd tilted.

A ray of crimson light shot forth, solidifying midair into a giant, glowing blade.

The Totsuka Blade.

In Sakazuki's returning gaze, he saw the sword already buried in his chest.

He tried to shift into magma, but his body refused. Tried to harden with Armament Haki, but again no response.

The Totsuka Blade pierced straight through him.

No blood. Only a warm glow radiated from the wound.

"…What is this…" Sakazuki looked down at the blade in disbelief. His body felt weightless.

"The Totsuka Blade's sealing technique."

Standing atop the blue Phoenix, Itachi spoke calmly.

"Your soul will be sealed within an eternal dream."

"Damn pirates… So this is what Borsalino kept warning me about…"

His voice faded.

Sakazuki's body slowly dissolved into glimmering particles of light, drawn into the blade.

His expression shifted from fury, to serenity.

And finally, as if remembering something long forgotten… he smiled in quiet relief.

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