The intense battle with Akainu earlier had made Leno far more proficient with the Chop-Chop Fruit.
His mastery had improved significantly.
And because of that, the demonic statue representing Wrath inside his body reacted in an ominous way.
The chains wrapped around the statue clattered loudly.
As if they were about to fall off!
The demon within the statue stirred restlessly.
Leno didn't know how others awakened their Devil Fruit abilities.
But he knew one thing—
The abnormal movement of these statues inside him was definitely not a good sign.
He needed to find a quiet place as soon as possible to figure out what was happening.
He couldn't keep wasting time here with the Navy.
When Sengoku and Akainu heard Leno's final ultimatum—
What choice did they have?
Their expressions were extremely ugly, like they had swallowed flies.
But Leno held the ultimate bargaining chips in his hands.
At the same time, those same hostages also restrained Leno from killing them.
They could see it clearly—
Leno didn't want to fight.
Even though they didn't know why.
But if Leno didn't want a full-scale battle, he wouldn't actually kill Hibari and Kujaku.
After all—
Living hostages with powerful connections were far more valuable than two corpses.
That realization reassured them slightly.
Since they were no longer worried about the girls' immediate safety—
Leno was no longer the person they hated the most at the moment.
Instead—
The one who infuriated them the most was the hidden rat in the shadows.
The bastard who had nearly killed Kujaku!
They couldn't vent their anger on Leno…
But couldn't they settle the score with the culprit who fired those shots?!
Without even speaking, the two reached an understanding.
Hibari and Kujaku would be saved.
And the hidden bastard had to die.
"Move!" Sengoku barked.
In the next moment—
Both of them kicked off simultaneously.
"Geppo!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sengoku and Akainu shot into the sky.
Higher vantage point—better vision.
Hovering midair, their powerful Observation Haki spread outward at full force.
They relied not only on Haki, but also their eyes.
They had already roughly judged the direction the bullets had come from.
Now, looking down from above made spotting suspicious targets much easier.
It didn't take long.
Their gazes locked onto a patch of sea in the distance.
There—
A pirate ship was suspiciously retreating!
The moment they saw the flag, both men understood.
"The Blackbeard Pirates!!"
Sengoku gritted his teeth, fury in his voice.
"Marshall D. Teach! You sewer rat!!" Akainu roared, equally furious.
Magma boiled violently around his body.
A mangy dog like Blackbeard wanted to sit back and reap the benefits?
What a joke!
Now they understood—
Everything had been Blackbeard's doing.
Meanwhile, aboard the Blackbeard Pirates' ship—
When Blackbeard looked through his telescope and saw Sengoku and Akainu flying upward instead of fighting Leno, his heart sank.
"Damn it! We've been discovered!!"
He immediately realized things had gone terribly wrong.
Against an enraged Fleet Admiral and Marine Admiral—
His strength wasn't enough!
"Turn the ship around! Full speed retreat! Leave the Calm Belt!!"
He completely forgot about the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Survival came first.
He shouted frantically, panic spreading across his face.
His crew reacted the same way.
Especially the escapees from Impel Down.
"Damn you, Blackbeard! Look what you've done!"
"I told you we shouldn't interfere!"
"Run! I'm not going back to prison!"
"…."
They might be brutal—
But they weren't idiots.
If they couldn't win—
They had to run.
But running wasn't that simple.
"Run?! Stay right there!!"
Both Sengoku and Akainu were overflowing with rage.
Seeing Blackbeard trying to escape—
How could they possibly let him go?
Did he think they were pushovers?
Letting Leno humiliate them was one thing.
But Blackbeard?
Who did he think he was?
All the frustration they had endured from Leno—
They unleashed it upon this scheming bastard.
"Meteor Volcano!!!"
Akainu punched both fists toward the sky.
Countless magma fists erupted like a volcanic explosion.
They shot upward—
Then rained down like meteors toward the Blackbeard Pirates' ship!
The sky turned crimson.
The scorching heat could be felt even from afar.
"Great Buddha Shockwave!"
Since Akainu had already attacked, Sengoku naturally joined in.
His palm struck outward.
A massive shockwave blasted toward the side of Blackbeard's ship.
Facing the overwhelming meteor storm and shockwaves—
The Blackbeard Pirates descended into chaos!
"Damn it! Block it!!" Avalo Pizarro roared, his arms coated in thick Armament Haki.
He shattered one magma fist—
Only for more to follow.
Splattering magma burned his skin, making him snarl in pain.
"Drunken Furnace Fire!" Vasco Shot opened his mouth and spewed flames to counter the magma.
It barely helped.
Instead, he was pushed back repeatedly.
(Fire vs Akainu—history has proven that doesn't end well.)
"Black Hole!"
Blackbeard, furious and terrified, refused to let the attacks touch him.
After all—
His double pain drawback wasn't something he wanted to experience.
He unleashed massive waves of darkness, swallowing the falling attacks.
At least this was his specialty.
Since most of the magma was Devil Fruit energy, his darkness could absorb it.
But—
The density and intensity of the barrage far exceeded his absorption speed.
He was practically overstuffed.
"Blackbeard! Look what you've done!!"
Catarina Devon shrieked angrily while dodging attacks.
"I just got out and you're already trying to get me killed!!"
Sanjuan Wolf howled in pain.
His massive body made him the perfect target.
Several magma fists smashed into him.
His skin burned black, smoke rising everywhere.
The others fought desperately as well.
All traces of their earlier confidence had vanished.
"Captain! This situation is bad!"
"Damn it! It's all your fault for dragging us into this!"
"Marshall D. Teach! You've screwed us all!!"
Blackbeard's face had turned completely green.
While desperately using the Dark-Dark Fruit to defend, he shouted toward the sky:
"It's a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! We were just passing by! We don't know anything!!"
A very weak excuse.
"Passing by?" Akainu sneered.
"Passing by while hiding so far away acting suspicious?! Die!!"
At this point—
It didn't even matter whether Blackbeard was actually responsible.
What Sengoku and Akainu needed was someone to vent their rage on.
Sengoku's face was dark as stone, completely ignoring Blackbeard's explanation.
Shockwaves blasted out one after another without mercy.
"Stubborn criminals! Today we will capture you escaped convicts once again!"
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