"Hm?" Doflamingo was somewhat perplexed by Ryuuto's words.
Voom!
High within the island clouds, the Kui Dragon Blade sensed Ryuuto's summons. The blade's body trembled slightly before erupting in a dazzling violet light. It pierced through the cloud layer in an instant, transforming into a streak of purple as it shot toward Ryuuto.
Boom!
The Kui Dragon Blade tore through the sky at extreme speed, accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom as it descended from ten thousand meters above.
"What in the world is that thing?" Garp, sitting beside Ace, was the first to spot the Kui Dragon Blade. He couldn't help but wonder, "That kid Ryuuto is here too! This is bad! He has the power to destroy an entire island."
"What's that in the sky?"
"Such a terrifying presence!"
Moria looked up, muttering to himself in a daze.
"Not good!" Doflamingo watched the rapidly approaching Kui Dragon Blade and cursed inwardly. He leaped backward, pulling his hands apart as his transparent strings tried to slice deeper into Ryuuto's body.
Ryuuto's body jolted. He instantly coated himself in Armament Haki, his entire form taking on the appearance of obsidian.
Crack!
The Armament-coated strings were suddenly locked in a stalemate, unable to penetrate another inch. They scraped against Ryuuto's hardened skin, producing a sound that set one's teeth on edge.
Doflamingo strained, pulling the strings between his ten fingers taut.
"Heh heh heh..."
Suddenly, Ryuuto let out a soft chuckle. With a wave of his right hand, a powerful surge of violet lightning erupted from his body, instantly snapping all the strings attached to him.
"How is that possible!"
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. With a light tap of his foot, he began to leap through the air, his hands hooking onto unseen threads. A primal sense of fear compelled him to put distance between himself and Ryuuto.
Just then...
The Kui Dragon Blade arrived, trailing a long, brilliant tail.
Its target, however, was not Doflamingo, but Gecko Moria.
Boom!
Wreathed in violet lightning, the Kui Dragon Blade descended with overwhelming, terrifying power, slamming directly down on Moria's head.
In that moment, Moria felt as if he were completely locked in place.
"What is this power?! Bats, block it!"
Moria's eyes widened in terror. Countless shadow bats poured from his body, forming a pure black shield to block the Kui Dragon Blade's strike.
But under the brilliant Annihilation Lightning...
The shadow bats met their natural predator. The instant they made contact, they were reduced to ash.
A chill shot through Moria's heart.
Even more shadow bats erupted from his body, covering him to form a thick suit of shadow armor. At this point, Moria could only hope it would be enough to withstand the blow.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain.
The Kui Dragon Blade flared with an even more ferocious burst of violet lightning and struck Moria squarely on the head.
His vaunted Devil Fruit ability was utterly useless!
"Ah... No!"
Moria let out a final, desperate scream as the Kui Dragon Blade pierced straight through him.
Boom!
The blade slammed into the ground, carving out a crater several meters wide. Moria, now split in two, lay at the bottom.
He couldn't be more dead.
Clang!
With a soft ring, the Kui Dragon Blade returned to Ryuuto's right hand.
"Ryuuto's gotten even stronger! As expected of the man I chose!" Hancock watched the scene with a lovesick smile.
"What the hell is this monster?!" Doflamingo's signature grin vanished, completely wiped from his face. A true schemer, unlike the brain-dead Moria, Doflamingo made his decision in an instant: run. There was no way he could win this fight.
He shot his right hand toward a nearby building, using his strings to launch himself away at high speed.
"That is not mere swordsmanship!"
Mihawk turned to face Ryuuto, his right hand once again drawing his great sword, Yoru. He was clearly preparing to defend himself, uncertain if he was Ryuuto's next target.
"A bit of a shame. Moria died too quickly," Ryuuto said softly, glancing at the crater.
Standing on the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku cast a sideways glance. "That's the second Warlord Ryuuto has killed. What a headache."
"Ryuuto..." Ace, kneeling on the platform, now saw Ryuuto's figure and whispered his name under his breath.
"So you know Ryuuto, Ace? I was wondering why he would show up here," Garp said to himself, his gaze shifting to Ace.
"ACE!"
At that moment, a voice echoed across all of Marineford. Luffy, tucked under Jinbe's arm, shot up from the sea surface and into the sky.
"LUFFY!"
Ace's head snapped up, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at his brother flying through the air.
A profound brotherly bond filled the air.
It turned out that Luffy had run into Jinbe, who had escaped from Impel Down. Jinbe and Ace were close friends, so the two had immediately agreed to come to Marineford to save him. It was only with Jinbe's help that Luffy and the others had managed to reach the island.
"Let's make things a little more interesting," Ryuuto mused, taking in the scene. The Kui Dragon Blade in his hand hummed, and a powerful surge of lightning erupted from it.
The recent tempering in the lightning pool had perfected the blade's ability to absorb and release lightning, making its attacks instantaneous. Ryuuto could now wield it with unparalleled ease and precision.
The Kui Dragon Blade was now, in every sense, custom-made for him.
He glanced at Mihawk, gave a slight smile, then turned to Hancock. "Hancock, be careful."
"Jean Bart, keep up!"
With that, Ryuuto pushed off the ground and leaped into the air, heading straight for the front lines of the battlefield.
That was where the fighting was most intense—the main battleground between the Marine Vice Admirals and the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders.
Flash!
With a flicker of lightning, Ryuuto landed in the center of the battlefield. Behind him, Jean Bart followed, carrying a large sack.
Along the way, Jean Bart had used his massive body to plow through any Marine grunts and pirates who stood in their path.
Ryuuto clenched his left fist and instantly appeared before a towering Marine Vice Admiral from the Giant Squad, who wore a T-shaped helmet. This was Vice Admiral Ronse.
Bang!
His black, Armament-coated fist, surging with violet lightning, slammed down.
A colossal force struck Ronse. The giant's massive iron helmet shattered, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
Ptui!
A spray of blood erupted from his mouth.
Vice Admiral Ronse's huge body crashed into a large formation of Marines before hitting the ground hard.
"Vice Admiral Ronse!"
The surrounding Marines stared in shock, crying out his name.
"It's him! Black Dragon Ryuuto!"
"The great pirate with a 1,000,000,000 beli bounty!"
Only when Ryuuto landed softly did the Marines get a clear look at him. Fear immediately gripped them as they raised their weapons, trembling.
Not far away, another giant Vice Admiral, John Giant, was leading his soldiers in an assault on Little Oars Jr., whose size dwarfed even the giants.
Seeing Ronse fall stunned him for a moment. Oars Jr.'s greatsword came swinging down, and because John Giant hesitated for that one second, he could only hastily block. The force of the blow sent him staggering back several steps before he could regain his footing.
"Ryuuto!"
Luffy, with Jinbe's help, had also reached this position. Seeing Ryuuto, he couldn't help but call out.
"Watch out, Luffy!"
Suddenly, a blade flashed toward him. It was Vice Admiral Onigumo, taking advantage of Ryuuto's momentary distraction to launch a sneak attack. Fortunately, Jinbe was keeping a close watch on Luffy. With a loud shout, he shoved Luffy out of the way, allowing him to dodge the attack.
"Concentrate fire on Straw Hat!" Onigumo ordered the Marines around him after his attack failed.
Ryuuto gave Luffy a smile, then pushed off the ground. The Kui Dragon Blade hummed as he shot toward Vice Admiral Ronse.
"Cough..."
Ronse had just propped himself up, struggling to rise, when he saw Ryuuto bearing down on him with the black blade.
His eyes narrowed in alarm. Ronse hastily grabbed the double-headed axe beside him and held it defensively in front of his chest.
"Black Dragon Hunt!" Ryuuto said softly, switching to a two-handed grip on the Kui Dragon Blade, its tip aimed at the Vice Admiral.
Clang!
Black lightning crackled. With a flash of dark light and a clear ring of the blade, Ryuuto instantly appeared behind Vice Admiral Ronse.
Bang!
With a shattering sound, the double-headed axe broke apart. A line of blood erupted from Ronse's body, gushing forth in a torrent.
Vice Admiral Ronse collapsed to the ground.
"Vice Admiral Ronse... was taken out in one hit!"
The nearby Marines stared in utter shock, their attacks ceasing in their terror. The allied crews of the Whitebeard Pirates roared, their morale soaring as they surged forward once more.
"Gurararara! Well done! A friend of Ace's, are you?" Whitebeard stood on the Moby Dick, laughing heartily in approval.
"Damn you!" Akainu, who had been sitting, could no longer remain still. Thanks to Ryuuto's interference, the pirate front line was advancing rapidly, drawing closer and closer to the execution platform.
Little Oars Jr., in particular, was closing the distance with his massive strides.
He couldn't stand by any longer.
With a single step, Akainu vanished from his chair.
"Jean Bart!" Ryuuto called out as he walked toward Ronse's body. Jean Bart understood immediately and tossed the large sack to him. Ryuuto took out a placard that read "Justice Guild" and wedged it into the giant's upright axe.
With that, the Justice Guild had made its appearance at the Summit War.
On an airship hovering above, Morgans was snapping pictures frantically with his camera.
Ryuuto took out a large bag of gold and tossed it to Jean Bart.
Boom!
Jean Bart approached the barely breathing Vice Admiral Ronse. He threw a punch, and empowered by the Mad Blood Devil Fruit, a powerful shockwave shot out. With a sickening crack, Ronse went still forever.
At the same time, Ryuuto received 30,000 reputation points.
Exploiting a system bug is the best, so satisfying! Ryuuto listened to the system prompt with a nod of satisfaction, then began searching for his next target, Kui Dragon Blade in hand.
"Great Eruption!"
Suddenly, Akainu's low growl echoed through the air. He clenched his fist, forming a massive fist of magma that he launched toward Little Oars Jr.
"We're saved! It's Admiral Sakazuki!"
Seeing the giant magma fist heading for the pirates, the beleaguered Marines cheered.
"Oars, look out!" Marco, who was flying nearby, shouted a warning.
But it was too late. With his enormous body and slow movements, Oars Jr. had no time to dodge. He could only watch as the giant magma fist bore down on him.
As the fist grew closer...
Images of his time with Ace flashed through Oars Jr.'s mind.
Boom!
The surging fist of magma arrived.
Oars Jr.'s eyes glazed over as the scorching fist tore through his torso, burning his internal organs and leaving a massive, gaping hole in his body.
Thud!
His life force fading, Oars Jr. collapsed to the ground.
His massive body kicked up a cloud of dust.
"Ace... this is as far as I can go..."
With a final whimper, Oars Jr. fell, his life extinguished.
"Oars!"
Cries of grief erupted from the Whitebeard Pirates.
"I've lost another beloved son!"
Whitebeard stood on the Moby Dick, watching the scene with a heavy heart. He was finally ready to make his move. He gripped his bisento, and with a mighty quake, a massive shockwave spread across the entire battlefield.
"Use Oars' body as a bridge and advance!"
Whitebeard roared, his deep voice thundering across Marineford.
"Charge!"
As if injected with a powerful stimulant, the pirates surged toward the execution platform with renewed ferocity.
Luffy, with the help of Jinbe, Marco, and Jozu, used Oars Jr.'s body as a springboard and launched himself forward.
"Ace, I'm here to save you!" Luffy yelled.
Zoro and the others finally arrived at that moment, joining the battle with weapons drawn. Unfortunately, with their current strength, they could only engage Marine officers on the outer edges of the battlefield.
Whitebeard himself finally leaped from his ship and charged forward.
"Pops is making his move!" Marco said, looking back at Whitebeard from the air with worry in his eyes.
"Akainu, you little brat, take this!"
Whitebeard's towering figure instantly reached the center of the battlefield, and he swung his blade at Akainu. The powerful bisento, combined with the invincible Tremor-Tremor Fruit, sent an unstoppable shockwave hurtling toward the admiral.
"Magma Impact!"
Not daring to underestimate Whitebeard's power, Akainu instantly threw up wall after wall of magma in front of himself.
Boom!
The powerful attack seemed to shatter space itself as it slammed into the magma walls, pulverizing them instantly. Even the surrounding buildings couldn't withstand the force and crumbled to the ground.
This, however, bought Akainu a precious second.
As molten rock flew everywhere, Akainu had already turned into his element and disappeared from the spot.
"Is this the power of an Emperor?" a Marine soldier asked in terror, staring at the collapsed buildings all around them.