The moment Is and Rocks clashed, it marked the official beginning of the war.
The members of the Rocks Pirates charged forward in overwhelming numbers, while Madara and the others gripped their weapons and rushed ahead as well.
Tatsumaki VS one of the officers.
Senju Hashirama VS Whitebeard.
Uchiha Madara VS Charlotte Linlin.
…
Almost everyone had matched themselves against officer-level opponents.
Golden Lion was quite clever with his choice.
He specifically picked the Old Heavenly Master as his opponent.
However, once the battle truly began, he quickly realized things were nowhere near as simple as he had imagined.
As the fighting expanded, the combatants gradually scattered apart.
Some chased each other farther and farther away from Rocks' location.
Without question, every battlefield was rapidly turning into ruins at an astonishing pace.
The battle became increasingly intense, and the tremors shaking God Valley grew more frequent.
At this rate, the island itself wouldn't last much longer before sinking beneath the sea.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Is continuously swung his sword, yet Rocks managed to block every single strike.
His physical combat skills and all three forms of Haki had already reached the absolute peak.
Because of that, this battle wouldn't be easy for Is to gain an advantage in.
BOOM!
After another violent collision, both men were blasted backward by an invisible force.
However, while flying backward, Is instantly activated his Paper-Paper Fruit ability.
Countless flaming paper arrows shot forward.
SHING! SHING! SHING—!
Rocks frowned slightly.
He hadn't expected Is to continue attacking at a moment like this.
Quickly grabbing the ground to stabilize himself, he dodged sharply to the side.
The flaming paper arrows exploded like artillery shells the moment they struck the ground, massive clouds of smoke chasing after Rocks.
At the same time, Is had already regained his footing.
But instead of immediately rushing toward Rocks, he slammed one hand onto the ground.
The earth rapidly transformed into paper at a speed visible to the naked eye, spreading wildly toward Rocks' position.
"This is… an awakened Devil Fruit ability?"
The moment Rocks spoke, the paperized ground suddenly erupted upward.
Countless sheets of paper gathered together and formed a gigantic hand that slammed down toward Rocks.
BOOM—!
A massive explosion of smoke erupted instantly.
"HUUUUU—!"
Suddenly, a gigantic mass of black mist shot into the sky and swallowed the enormous paper hand whole.
Is paused slightly, though this outcome was still within his expectations.
The black mist quickly condensed together, forming a massive black dragon.
The dragon roared toward the heavens before charging directly at Is.
Leaping backward, Is shouted:
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
The moment the words fell, a gigantic wooden dragon with hooked horns and countless spikes burst from the ground.
The wooden dragon and black dragon collided head-on.
The black dragon was instantly shattered apart, while the wooden dragon also exploded into fragments.
"Another ability?!"
Rocks frowned deeply in shock.
"Could it be… two different Devil Fruit powers?!"
However, after using Wood Dragon Jutsu, Is didn't stop attacking.
He raised his hand once more.
A crimson fireball appeared out of thin air.
Then the fireball rapidly expanded, illuminating the entire battlefield with blinding red light.
"Yet another completely different ability?!"
"HAAAH!"
With a furious roar, Is hurled the gigantic fireball directly at Rocks.
This time, Rocks had no intention of blocking it.
The more he fought Is, the more confusing this battle became to him.
BOOOOOOM—!
A violent explosion erupted.
The earth trembled violently as a mushroom cloud soared into the sky.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Hashirama slammed his hands together and shouted.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK—!
The earth shook violently.
Countless gigantic roots burst upward from underground.
Like a massive flood, they surged directly toward Whitebeard.
"This guy…"
Whitebeard muttered.
He immediately planted his naginata into the ground while white shockwave halos formed around both fists.
Then he swung forward violently.
BOOM—!
The front wave of charging roots instantly shattered into pieces.
But the assault didn't stop.
Seeing this, Whitebeard rapidly continued throwing punches.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Nobody knew how many shockwaves he unleashed before the endless roots finally stopped advancing.
Only then did he stop attacking.
SWISH!
At the same moment, Hashirama descended from above.
Armament Haki coated his fist as he smashed downward toward Whitebeard with full force.
Whitebeard reacted just as quickly.
Armament Haki instantly covered his own fist as he struck back.
BANG—!
The collision of their fists instantly blasted apart the ground beneath them.
"It's been a long time since I've had such an enjoyable fight."
Hashirama laughed cheerfully.
"The people under Is really are monstrously strong one after another," Whitebeard replied calmly.
"What I find strange is this—you all possess such incredible power. Normally, people like that wouldn't willingly serve beneath another person. Yet I can tell your relationships are genuinely good."
Indeed.
The Rocks Pirates themselves were the perfect example.
As the crew became stronger and stronger, the hearts of its officers also began changing.
Every single one of them had become increasingly arrogant and unruly.
The crew slowly fractured apart, and their relationships worsened day by day.
Back when the crew first formed, the officers would still help each other.
But now?
Every one of them practically wished for the others to die.
"Edward Newgate…"
Hashirama smiled faintly.
"Don't you already understand the reason yourself?"
Of course Whitebeard understood.
The officers aboard the Rocks Pirates were all filled with ambition, greed, and personal agendas.
That was precisely where the problem began.
"Gurararara—!"
After hearing Hashirama's words, Whitebeard burst into loud laughter.
"You're right. How could the relationships between people filled with ambition possibly remain good?"
The battle continued raging on for a long time.
Meanwhile—
A Marine battleship slowly approached the harbor of God Valley.
Looking at the countless wreckages floating across the sea, and then at God Valley itself now engulfed entirely in black smoke, Garp's expression darkened slightly.
Watching the rippling shockwaves spreading across the ocean surface, one Marine soldier spoke first.
"What… exactly is happening here right now…?"
Garp didn't answer.
He directly leaped from the ship onto the harbor and immediately sprinted forward.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"You all leave part of the crew behind to guard the ship. Everyone else comes with me to the front lines!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Please subscribe, subscribe, and vote monthly tickets! Important things must be said three times! If everyone enjoys the story, please continue supporting it. Flowers and support are greatly appreciated!
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/c/GojoSP