"You go first!"
Akainu growled, "I'll cover for you!"
"Screw you, Sakazuki!"
Kizaru suddenly flared up, unusually bursting into profanity, and angrily shouted:
"Cover for me? What do you need to cover? If it weren't for the fear that you, stubborn dog, couldn't escape alone, I would've retreated already. If I really wanted to run, do you think they could stop me?"
The world's fastest speed granted by the Glint-Glint Fruit is no joke!
Looking at the unusually genuine expression from Kizaru, Akainu was momentarily stunned, then took a deep breath: "I understand."
"But I'll say it again, you retreat first, and I'll cover for you."
Akainu turned his face away, said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, once you're gone, I'll instantly retreat with absolute confidence of getting away!"
Absolute confidence?
Kizaru frowned, a bit puzzled, but Akainu's words were emphatic, not as if he was joking.
Trust him!
"Should've been like this earlier!"
He breathed a sigh of relief, barely managed a smile, and his form suddenly scattered into countless golden light particles, "Then I'll go first, you old guy, don't go back on your word!"
Whoosh!
Kizaru's figure instantly surpassed the obstructing Fujitora, disappearing into the sky completely.
Akainu watched his old friend leave, then slowly turned his head to look at Shano opposite.
"Kid."
He sneered, his left arm turning into lava again, "I'll admit that you all won! But trying to keep me here won't be easy!"
Boom!
His words hadn't even fallen yet when Akainu suddenly plunged his lava arm into the ground!
"Hell's Inferno: Grand Eruption!"
Rumble!
The whole island shook violently!
Centered around Akainu, countless lava fireballs soared skyward, engulfing the entire battlefield in a sea of fire!
This was his last, desperate blow!
Both to vent his frustration and to buy time for his escape!
"Be careful!"
"Retreat a bit outward!"
Kuina, Kuma, and others had originally surrounded him, but upon seeing the situation, their expressions changed, and they quickly retreated while remaining vigilant to prevent Akainu from escaping in their direction.
Kizaru's speed couldn't be stopped, but obstructing Akainu was possible!
Shano stood still, only squinting slightly, watching Akainu's figure gradually being engulfed in lava, his aura becoming increasingly faint.
What's he trying to do?
This guy doesn't excel in speed; if he tries to escape from above, no matter which direction, with his current control over the Aerial Dance Skill, he can keep up.
Could it be...
Quickly scanning the surrounding ground turned into lava, Shano's gaze turned cold!
In an instant.
He guessed Akainu's escape route.
It's downward!
This old dog wants to use the battleground turned into lava to burrow directly under the island's continental shelf, escaping into the lithosphere atop the mantle!
The lithosphere is the main source of magma.
For Akainu, it's like a drop of water entering the sea, and the best escape route!
If it weren't for his foreknowledge of the world's internal structure, he would never have realized this.
"Not so easy!"
Shano's eyes flashed with cold light, his right fist suddenly clenched, churning with black and red Supreme King, and he struck fiercely downward!
"Pierce it for me!"
Boom!!!
Shano's fist smashed into the lava, the terrifying impact forcefully blasting a vertical channel down through the crust!
With his Observation Haki fully unleashed, Shano quickly locked onto Akainu's boiling magma form rapidly fleeing deeper underground.
"Found you!"
He grinned and without hesitation, leaped into the channel, his long black hair wildly flailing in the scorching air.
On the ground.
"Lord Shano!"
Kuina anxiously wanted to follow, but was stopped by Fujitora reaching out.
"Don't be impulsive." Fujitora shook his head slightly, "Below is all lava thanks to Akainu; the temperature isn't something your body can withstand. Relax, trust the captain, nothing will happen."
Everyone could only stay where they were, closely squinting at the slowly healing lava entrance.
A moment later, when Angewomon returned with the unconscious Saint Mars, she saw the scene.
"Huh?"
Angewomon asked curiously, "Where's the master?"
"Went underground to chase Akainu."
Jack cornered his bloodied mouth and tossed the dying Saint Saturn on the ground, "You came back just in time. No matter what I do, I can't kill this old thing; it's up to you now, Glutinous Rice Cake..."
Can't call it out!
Jack twitched his eyes, feeling inexplicably distressed.
No.
Although Glutinous Rice Cake would transform whenever she evolved before, it was always between cute, fluffy creatures.
Except for Nami, who would cry with joy, everyone accepted it.
How is it this time that she directly transformed from a cat into the archangel from religious legend? This span is too ridiculous!
That sacred, pure aura, just looking from afar made him feel ashamed, unable to look directly.
Can't associate her with the name "Glutinous Rice Cake!"
"The fate of these two old guys should be decided personally by the master."
Angewomon didn't notice Jack's expression, shook her head lightly, placing the White-Bearded Five Elders next to Saturn.
Bang!
Using Divine Power to form chains, she securely bound the two Five Elders together, ensuring that even if they stealthily awoke, they couldn't break free, before softly speaking:
"Let's leave it as it is, let the master decide when he returns."
"That's how it should be, well done."
Kuma nodded with satisfaction, the Undying Regeneration Ability granted to the Five Elders was clearly stronger than that of the Divine Knight Order.