Zzzzzz!!
The magnetic field around Daren suddenly surged into chaos, so intense that even Marco saw the space around him start to distort.
A crushing force field exploded outward, blanketing nearly half the island.
Blue lightning visibly danced across Enma's blade before transforming into a massive, exaggerated surge of propulsion, launching the cursed sword—reputed to be capable of destroying Hell—howling forward like a missile.
Marco's pupils shrank. Blood vessels burst across his eyes.
So fast!
With his Observation Haki, he could clearly sense that under the propulsion of the raging magnetic field, Enma had shattered the sound barrier in an instant. It tore through the air, unleashing wave after wave of white shockwaves.
The sheer speed and impact tore a massive trench into the ground beneath its path.
A chilling, suffocating pressure rushed toward him. Marco glanced at the severely wounded Kozuki Oden, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward.
This attack... there was no dodging it!
In an instant, blue-green phoenix flames engulfed Marco's body, expanding into a massive, circular shield that spread out before him.
"Fujiazami!!"
Shing!!
Enma, wrapped in terrifying momentum and penetrative power, slammed into the flaming shield with unimaginable speed. It paused for just a breath—then punched right through.
Slash!!
One of Marco's wings was severed clean off, spinning away in the wind before dissipating into flickers of blue flame and vanishing into the air.
Marco's face turned pale. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Even in phoenix form, with near-immortal regeneration, there was a cost—his stamina.
Daren's attack had been devastating. Enma's speed was so overwhelming that Marco hadn't even had time to dodge.
Boom!!
Only now did the full sonic boom explode outward, deafening and thunderous.
Marco exhaled heavily.
He'd managed to stop it.
But in the very next instant, his face twisted in alarm.
Enma, after ripping through both his flame shield and wing, hadn't slowed in the slightest. Instead, like a rocket, it kept accelerating—blasts of white shockwaves bursting from behind it.
At a terrifying speed...
It sliced across hundreds of meters of ocean!
Its target...
Marco's eyes widened. His heart trembled.
The Moby Dick!!
"Oyaji!!" he roared, bloodshot eyes blazing.
If that strike hit the Moby Dick, the entire ship would be split clean in two!
With Enma's edge, combined with Daren's magnetic propulsion, Marco had no doubts—it would tear through everything!
...
On the Moby Dick.
The crew of the Whitebeard Pirates felt a chill run down their spines as they watched the black blade streak toward them like a phantom.
"Don't underestimate the Whitebeard Pirates!!!"
Diamond Jozu roared, stepping forward to intercept the strike.
But a massive hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him.
A towering figure stepped out—and leapt high from the bow of the ship.
"You Marines brats don't know your place..."
Whitebeard's eyes burned with fury and icy menace. His golden hair whipped wildly in the howling wind. His grand white captain's coat snapped behind him.
He gripped his enormous naginata with both hands, a pale, glowing aura enveloping the blade...
Then swung it down with overwhelming force!
"I'm Whitebeard, damn it!!"
With a thunderous roar, Whitebeard's colossal naginata struck Enma head-on with unerring precision!
Bang!!
For a split second, it felt like space itself froze under the sheer force of the blow. Everything slowed.
The howling black cursed blade was locked midair, pinned in place. Black and red Haki surged violently from its trembling form.
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed. The muscles in his arms bulged as veins popped beneath his skin, tightening his grip on the naginata.
A pale white glow burst from the blade.
Crack—crack—crack...
Like shattering glass, thin white fractures began spidering across the space in front of him.
Rumble...
A deep, gut-wrenching tremor spread outward. Within moments, the low rumble turned into an earsplitting roar.
The sea churned, and the island quaked violently. Massive bubbles erupted on the surface as the ocean itself seemed to rise in fury.
"Don't tell me..."
Marco's heart pounded wildly. Without hesitation, he slung Kozuki Oden over his shoulder. His blue-green phoenix wings flared to life, and he shot into the sky.
At the same moment—
Rumble!!!
Layer upon layer of waves surged up from the sea.
Meters tall.
Tens of meters.
Hundreds!
Massive tidal waves, like roaring dragons, raced toward the island, snarling and crashing, ready to drown everything in their path.
The roar was apocalyptic.
Boom!!
A towering tsunami came crashing down on the island like a celestial river. The surging sea obliterated everything before it.
Massive reefs, dense forests, even rolling mountain ridges—nothing could withstand the disaster-level impact. All were shattered and swept away.
The island trembled violently, groaning under the weight of destruction. The land split open, massive cracks spreading for thousands of meters.
...
On the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates stared in stunned silence at the island as it crumbled and sank into the sea, now a flooded wasteland.
High above, Marco hovered just outside the range of the tsunami, barely having escaped with Kozuki Oden in tow. He looked down at the devastation, swallowed hard, and muttered with a pale face,
"Oyaji... he's seriously pissed off..."
...
On the raging ocean below, Whitebeard stood at the bow of the Moby Dick, eyes narrowed. He reached out toward the hovering black blade in front of him.
But just as he was about to grab it—his hand closed on air.
As if pulled by an invisible force, Enma spun and shot back toward the island at breakneck speed.
Marco and the others paled instantly.
No way... that guy's still alive!?
But he's a Devil Fruit user!
There's no way he could survive being submerged in seawater!
The next instant—
Whoosh!!
A three-meter-wide black sphere suddenly burst out from the raging sea.
Its dense Armament Haki coating peeled away, revealing gleaming silver metal underneath.
The sphere opened and twisted rapidly, revealing two figures within. It reshaped itself into a streamlined silver hoverboard.
With a blast of wind, the board carried both of them upward at blazing speed.
The wind howled.
Daren stood confidently on the board, one arm wrapped around Amatsuki Toki's slender waist. His defiant eyes locked onto the distant Moby Dick as he let out a wild, arrogant laugh.
"Whitebeard Pirates... that's it?"
As his voice rang out, fury lit the faces of the Whitebeard Pirates—eyes bloodshot, teeth grinding.
The metallic board surged forward, disappearing into the clouds above.
The black Enma followed in a streak of motion, tailing them closely.
"Don't run!!"
Marco gritted his teeth and tried to give chase, but searing pain and crushing fatigue overwhelmed him like a landslide.
The aftermath of taking that strike...
He was almost completely spent.
"Let it go, Marco."
Whitebeard's deep voice carried over.
His face was grim, veins bulging on his hand gripping the naginata.
Even if Marco could catch up to that kid...
With his current strength, it wouldn't end well.
"Get Oden back first."
"Damn it..."
Marco muttered, biting down in frustration.
"Oden, are you alright?"
He glanced back at the man on his back.
But Kozuki Oden didn't respond.
His eyes stared blankly in the direction the Marines had vanished, like his soul had left his body.
He couldn't explain why...
But he felt like he had just lost something—something incredibly important.
And that something...
Wasn't Enma.