A terrifying aura erupted!
Wang Zhi transformed into a colossal Island Man hundreds of meters tall. Arcs of black lightning crackled across his body, unleashing an overwhelming wave of pressure. With a sudden, violent shudder, he broke free from the grip of Vivi's massive Sake Dragon, which let out a mournful cry as it was cast aside. Burgess, scorched by the earth's magma, was forced to leap away.
Wang Zhi then began to swing his massive fists wildly, smashing down at Vivi, Van Augur, and Burgess. Each blow carried terrifying power and was wreathed in immense heat. The three of them could do nothing but scramble to evade the onslaught, forced into a desperate retreat. In his current state, Wang Zhi boasted incredible defense and attack power; his only weakness was his slightly slower speed. This left Vivi and her comrades completely on the defensive.
Meanwhile, Buggy and his crew were having much more success. After a few exchanges, Buggy found himself facing the great swordsman Lin Sheng. Though Lin Sheng's slashes were shockingly powerful, they were utterly useless against Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit. He emerged from every attack completely unscathed amidst the chaos.
This sent Buggy into a fit of ecstatic laughter. He darted around, constantly harassing Lin Sheng with his daggers. The attacks dealt little damage, but the humiliation was immense.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!"
"Qingping Slash!"
Lin Sheng roared, and his blade, Tianqie no Mine, flashed forward in a streak of green light, piercing straight through Buggy's body. An instant later, countless phantom slashes erupted from within Buggy, seemingly engulfing him completely.
Boom!
When the dust settled, Buggy stood in the same spot without a single scratch.
"Hahahahahaha! I'm a Chop-Chop Fruit user! Is that all you've got? Bring it on!" Buggy taunted, patting his chest as he roared at Lin Sheng.
"Water Wave Calm!"
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind Lin Sheng. A vast, thick mist instantly spread across the area, concealing the glint of countless blades within. Following the shout, Cabaji appeared, moving like an acrobat through the fog. Vicious slashes shot out in every direction. Within the mist-covered battlefield, blood sprayed as one fearsome pirate after another collapsed to the ground. Lin Sheng was no exception; numerous wounds appeared all over his body in an instant. This was Cabaji's self-developed Acrobatic Swordsmanship. Its power was astonishing.
With Buggy and Cabaji working together, Lin Sheng was completely overwhelmed.
Elsewhere, Alvida was teaming up with Mohji and Richie to fight Kote. As a Slip-Slip Fruit user, Alvida was immune to all physical attacks, including the chains Kote wielded. Discovering his chains were useless against her, Kote switched to pure hand-to-hand combat.
Wielding a pair of black maces crackling with dark lightning, Kote clashed violently with Alvida's iron mace. The force of their collisions sent powerful shockwaves outward, kicking up clouds of dust.
"You crude brute! How dare you lay a hand on a woman as beautiful as me!" Alvida snarled through gritted teeth.
Mohji and his lion, Richie, worked as a pair. Richie's fur bristled as he swiped his sharp claws at the charging pirates, each movement accompanied by the crackle of electricity. He quickly incapacitated them with powerful electric shocks. It was clear Richie had awakened the Mink Tribe's natural electro abilities, and his power was not to be underestimated. Mohji, meanwhile, flashed between the gaps, his twin pistols barking as he efficiently picked off any stragglers Richie missed.
Having cleared the fodder, Mohji and Richie turned their attention back to Kote, adding immensely to the pressure he was under.
"I didn't expect you all to be this strong!"
Kote snapped one of his chains out to block Richie's advance, his face grim as he stared down Alvida and the others.
"Roar!"
Richie, annoyed, swiped a claw through the air. A powerful electric current instantly surged down the black chain and into Kote's body.
Crackle!
A brilliant blue light flared, and Kote was enveloped in a ball of static electricity.
The few remaining grunts had their luck stolen by Nami, rendering them comically inept. Some accidentally struck their own comrades, while others twisted their ankles at critical moments. This further solidified the advantage for the Buggy Pirates.
"Looks like it's up to me!"
"Fighting is just that simple!"
Nami nodded in satisfaction before turning her gaze toward Wang Zhi's terrifying form.
"Looks like he's the real challenge today," she mused. With a flick of her wrist, she twisted the end of her Sorcery Clima-Tact, and a small thundercloud slowly emerged from it.
Just then, a grotesque face materialized from the shadows behind Nami. It was Caribou, his expression one of twisted triumph. With a strange cackle, he drew a sickle-like weapon from the swampy ground beneath him and swung it down at Nami.
"Hehehehehehe, die!"
Seeing that Nami hadn't seemed to notice him, Caribou's expression grew even more manic.
"Doesn't this guy know about Observation Haki?" Nami had sensed him long ago. Her expression was odd, almost as if she felt bad for shattering his fantasy.
Clang!
The large sickle drew closer and, just as Caribou had imagined, struck Nami's body with a sharp, metallic ring. The effect, however, was less than impressive. Coated in Armament Haki, Nami's skin had taken on the properties of obsidian. Caribou's attack did nothing more than produce a shower of sparks.
"Why does everyone have Armament Haki?"
Caribou froze, his mind reeling with doubt. He wondered if things might have turned out differently had he not been so quick to attack. But it was too late.
"Thunder Strike!"
With a sharp cry from Nami, a bolt of lightning descended from the thundercloud above her, striking Caribou directly.
Crackle!
As countless sparks danced across his body, Caribou's skeleton became visible through his flesh. The sound of crackling electricity filled the air.
"My father will avenge me..."
When the lightning faded, Caribou was revealed. His body was charred black, his face covered in blood. He managed to force out one last, defiant phrase.
"That must be your father over there. Trust me, he'll be dealt with soon enough." Nami frowned, glancing up at Wang Zhi. She then delivered a powerful kick to Caribou, unleashing a storm of black lightning. He was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing into the buildings in the distance.
Crash! Boom!
Numerous buildings collapsed from the impact. Caribou's body was finally embedded deep into a wall, his bones shattered and his limbs twisted at unnatural angles. He was completely still.
"Brother!" Coribou finally reacted. With a great roar, his legs transformed into a jelly-like substance, coiling with stored elastic energy. He launched himself toward Nami like a rocket. As he flew, his right arm swelled into a giant jelly fist, swinging with ferocious momentum.
"I'll avenge my brother!" Coribou's normally dull face was contorted with absolute rage.
Bang!
A single gunshot echoed, and a bullet tore through the air. Coribou, seemingly caught completely off guard, ran right into it.
First came the staggering force. Coribou coughed up a mouthful of blood, feeling several of his ribs snap instantly. Then came the cold sensation of flesh being torn, followed by a wave of excruciating pain. He was wounded. His vaunted jelly ability had failed to protect him. The bullet, a full-powered shot from Van Augur, had pierced straight through his chest. He was grievously injured and quickly lost the ability to fight, collapsing weakly to the ground as blood trickled from his mouth and chest.
Nami shot Van Augur a grateful look.
By now, Van Augur, Vivi, and Burgess were not in good shape. Wang Zhi was a great pirate from the Rocks era and the user of the Island-Island Fruit; his power was immense. Now, in his giant Island Man form and cloaked in a terrifying amount of Armament Haki, he was unstoppable. The attacks from Vivi's group couldn't even scratch him. Furthermore, Burgess, their primary attacker, had lost his Seastone arm during the fight. Vivi was panting heavily, her stamina nearly depleted as she stood atop a ruined building. Van Augur had already retreated closer to Ryuuto, his face a mask of solemnity.
"A monster from decades ago... his strength is no joke," Van Augur thought to himself.
Watching all this, Ryuuto knew they couldn't continue like this. None of them—not Vivi, Burgess, or Van Augur—had mastered the advanced application of Armament Haki: Ryuo. They stood no chance against Wang Zhi's nigh-impenetrable Island Man form.
"Burgess, Vivi, let your Haki flow!" Ryuuto shook his head, then slowly rose to his feet. He began walking step by step across the rubble-strewn ground toward Wang Zhi. Today, Ryuuto was going to be a teacher.
Seeing Ryuuto's back, Jean Bart and Van Augur fell into deep thought.
Hancock, meanwhile, was strolling about idly. Her perfect figure was on full display, causing countless nearby pirates to erupt in massive nosebleeds once again. She looked at them in disgust. Drawing her hands back as if pulling a bowstring, she formed an arrow of pure pink energy.
"Slave Arrow!"
With a soft cry, Hancock released a volley of countless pink arrows. The pirates, their hearts captivated by her beauty, didn't even try to dodge. The arrows struck them one by one, turning them into pale gray stone statues.
"What an absurdly powerful ability!"
Witnessing this, Van Augur quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look at Hancock for even a second longer, fearing he would be the next one petrified.
"You will all die! You will pay for what you did to my sons!" Wang Zhi had seen the fates of Caribou and Coribou, and he was consumed by rage. With a furious roar, he unleashed a powerful shockwave. The very ground for thousands of meters around him began to move under his control.
Rumble!
The earth surged upward, rapidly curling in on itself to form a gigantic sphere. Nearly a tenth of the island trembled violently. People lost their footing and began to flee in terror, afraid of being trapped forever within the colossal ball of rock.
The Buggy Pirates and Kote's group were already a good distance away, placing them outside the initial range of Wang Zhi's attack. Only a few unlucky souls were caught and swept up into the massive stone sphere.
"Ah! Run! Lord Wang Zhi is furious!"
"The island is being torn apart!"
"What a terrifying attack!"
The Buggy Pirates and Kote's men stared in shock as the sphere, now hundreds of meters high, continued to contract, their voices filled with terror.
"Oh no, Captain Ryuuto!" Buggy's eyes widened in alarm.
As for Ryuuto and the others... they were the primary target, located at the very center of the sphere.
Van Augur's form flickered as if he were about to use his Devil Fruit ability, but perhaps seeing Ryuuto's calm demeanor, he canceled it. Instead, he simply walked over to stand near him.
The sphere continued to shrink. Soon, the last sliver of light vanished, plunging them into a completely sealed space. Worse still, the sphere was still contracting, crushing inward with the intent to annihilate everyone inside. It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
"Ultimate Art: Planetary Devastation!"
Outside, Wang Zhi watched with a look of vengeful ecstasy. He roared the technique's name, and an invisible force took hold, causing the giant rock sphere to compress even faster. If nothing changed, in the next few seconds, the sphere would shrink to a diameter of just a few dozen meters. The pressure and heat inside would reach the temperature of magma before the whole thing detonated violently. This was Wang Zhi's strongest attack, one that consumed an enormous amount of stamina. In his youth, he could have encompassed a quarter of an island with this move. But he was old now; he no longer had that kind of power.
"Lord Wang Zhi!"
"It's his ultimate technique!"
"Die, you damn outsiders!"
Kote and the other subordinates roared in triumph. This only served to darken the expressions of Buggy, Alvida, and the others. They charged once more at the bloodied Kote and Lin Sheng. The battle raged on.
"Now that's a scary attack!" Ryuuto's lips curved into a playful smirk, for a moment bearing a striking resemblance to Kizaru. Then, with a sudden movement, he drew the sword at his waist, Kuilong Zan.
"Thunder God: Purgatory!"