One piece: I,Akaino will not die easily

"How should I respond?" Sakazuki looked at Lindemann, who was wiping his face with a napkin. He truly hadn't expected that Robin could win the recognition of the former CP9 members. The key issue was that from the tone of that kid, Rob Lucci, it seemed like he had suffered quite a loss.

Sakazuki had a clear understanding of Robin's abilities, even though she had been training over the past few months. The Vice Admiral still didn't think she could defeat the young leopard, who had already mastered around three of the Rokushiki techniques. After all, that kid was a true genius.

"Haha, Vice Admiral, it's better if you don't know," Lindemann chuckled bitterly as he recalled that night when he had nearly been scared out of his wits from a distance.

What kind of answer was that?

"What exactly—? Mm! Thank you." Sakazuki was about to press further when a steaming cup of coffee was suddenly brought right to his lips.

The young girl's face was flushed red as she glared at the fox with shame and anger, her expression carrying an implicit warning—"If you dare to say it, you'll get a taste of it too."

The Vice Admiral, with his mouth blocked by the coffee, looked at his adopted daughter in slight surprise. From Ohara until now, their relationship had never been particularly good. After all, it was Sakazuki himself who had personally arrested the girl's biological mother and destroyed her homeland.

Sakazuki had already prepared himself for them to maintain this distant relationship until the girl came of age. Whether she chose to seek revenge on the calamity that was him or let go of her hatred and dedicate herself to the Navy's mission of protecting civilians, that would be Robin's own decision to make.

Although the cup of coffee handed to him now seemed to be meant to shut him up, could this be considered the first step in improving their father-daughter relationship?

Sakazuki didn't dwell on it. He turned to walk out the door and ordered, "Pass down the command—clean up and prepare to move out. Also, inform those two giants to gather at the warship."

"Is Brogy planning to join the Navy as well?" Lindemann, who had just managed to swallow his mouthful of food, asked the ship's doctor seated nearby.

"You better eat less! If you survive the jungle only to stuff yourself to death aboard a Navy warship, the Marine Headquarters won't be able to afford the embarrassment!!" The ship's doctor glared at him and swiftly snatched the plate from Lindemann's hands.

The fox gazed pitifully at the ship's doctor, who sighed lightly and changed the topic. "The two giants had already agreed to join the Navy, but that big-nosed fool suddenly brought up their combination attack, saying it might be able to take down Charlotte Linlin."

"Impossible!" Lindemann shook his head immediately. "Big Mom's skin and muscles are known as an 'iron balloon.' Even a hail of bullets wouldn't cause her any harm, let alone the fact that she possesses an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit ability."

The ship's doctor nodded. "Exactly. That fool, Onihige, thinks the two of them can take down that infamous Yonko. Vice Admiral Sakazuki plans to give him a proper lesson."

"Oh! Looks like you're ready to get beaten! Give it your all, Navy!" The giant with the horned helmet, Brogy, roared loudly.

Sakazuki sneered as he looked at the arrogant Brogy. "Where do you get the confidence to make me go all out?"

This fool, Onihige, had never fought against him before, which made him especially disdainful of the Navy. Back when the Giant Warrior Pirates were sailing the seas, they had sunk quite a few Navy warships commanded by Vice Admirals.

"The times have changed, Brogy." Sakazuki's expression remained indifferent. He needed to make this guy fully submit; otherwise, he would be nothing but trouble at Marineford in the future.

The fleet of dozens of warships and supply vessels anchored in the inland river began departing the island according to orders, avoiding unnecessary involvement in the battle.

Dorry, the Blue Ogre, naturally noticed this. He didn't hold a grudge against the Navy and kindly reminded them, "Be careful. There's an Island-Eating Beast in this sea area! How about we deal with it before our duel?"

"Oh? An Island-Eating Beast? Indeed, Fleet Admiral Sengoku did mention in the mission notes to watch out for these enormous Sea Kings." Sakazuki nodded and pulled out a Den Den Mushi. "Lindemann, have the fleet sail straight ahead."

Lindemann, who never questioned the Vice Admiral's orders, quickly relayed the command to the dozens of massive supply ships following behind their warship.

"What the hell is that?!" Even Lindemann, who had seen his fair share of terrifying things, was shocked as a monstrous creature suddenly emerged from the depths of the sea.

The enormous Sea King, resembling a gigantic goldfish, far exceeded the size of any normal sea beast. "Damn it, now I understand why Vice Admiral Sakazuki insisted that we land on the other side of the island when we arrived!"

The massive creature was nearly half the size of the Ancient Island itself. The part of its body that surfaced above the water alone was several times taller than the two giants.

"Evade!!" The transport fleet behind them fell into chaos. The supply ships weren't equipped with heavy artillery, and even coastal defense cannons would barely tickle a monster of this scale!

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki ordered us to sail straight ahead. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot." Lindemann's smile was chilling. Over the past year under the Vice Admiral's command, absolute obedience had been the most basic requirement. If anyone dared to defy orders, he had no qualms about executing a few World Government supply captains.

"Are you handling it, or should I?" Dorry and Brogy stood side by side on the shore, looking up at the colossal Sea King. "If we don't act, the children will end up in the belly of that Island-Eating Beast."

Sakazuki's shoulders began to emit thick, choking black smoke. The clenched fist at his side slowly turned dark red, the bubbling sound of magma accompanying the transformation. He then strode toward the shore.

The two giants caught the strong scent of sulfur and turned to see what kind of technique Sakazuki was about to unleash.

They watched as his entire right side was engulfed in molten lava. The dark red magma coiled around his arm, swirling continuously as it thickened layer by layer.

Sakazuki slightly turned his body. The lava encasing his arm spun and spiraled, its mass steadily growing into an enormous, looming fist.

"Great Eruption!"

With astonishing momentum, like a volcanic eruption, a massive magma fist shot toward the distant giant beast at extreme speed. During its flight, the terrifying magma fist continued to expand in size.

The outstretched arm grew from small to large, resembling a swirling vortex of flames, lifting and supporting the precisely formed magma fist at its forefront.

The giant fist effortlessly pierced through the head of the Food Island Beast, yet no blood splattered. At the moment of impact, Great Eruption had already evaporated the blood of the Sea King that should have sprayed out.

The two giants were left utterly stunned by this strike. Although Dorry knew that Sakazuki was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, this was his first time witnessing such a man-made large-scale natural disaster.

The massive fist that had pierced through the Sea King's head hovered momentarily in the air before suddenly exploding from within. It shattered into dozens of enormous volcanic bombs, which rained down directly onto the colossal body of the collapsed Food Island Beast that lay on the water's surface.

"Impressive!" Dorry sincerely praised.

Sakazuki raised an eyebrow. To Dorry, this was just a spectacle, an outsider marveling at the show. But if it were fellow Logia users like Kuzan or Borsalino witnessing this, they would truly understand the sheer power of Great Eruption. If it were merely about propelling magma outward with volcanic pressure, he wouldn't have even needed to charge up.

This punch was a true demonstration of property transformation. It started with lower-temperature lava encasing magma, solidifying into form while simulating a volcanic eruption. By withstanding immense pressure differences inside and out, he had launched this dozens-of-tons-heavy fist at a velocity of 300 meters per second toward his opponent.

During its flight, to prevent the collapse of the eruptive column and to maximize both speed and range, Sakazuki structured the magma to spiral along the continuously extending arm.

Finally, through property transformation mid-flight, the Great Eruption transitioned into a Plinian eruption, culminating in the formation of dozens of massive floating magma volcanic bombs that inflicted secondary destruction.

Having struck his target, Sakazuki paid no attention to the roaring cheers from the distant warship. Instead, he turned around and gestured for the two giants to pay attention.

In his view, Logia, Logia—the true essence lay in evolving into one or multiple natural phenomena. Sakazuki dropped to one knee in a formal military stance, his glowing magma-coated hands suddenly plunging into the ground.

"Geodynamic Surge!"

The ground around Sakazuki trembled violently. As they watched the molten surface melt away, the Logia user slowly raised his head.

"Uh... so, Sakazuki, right? Cool pose and all, but… that's it?" Brogy, who had been on high alert, looked confused at what seemed to be a thunderous yet underwhelming move. The previous Great Eruption had left a deep impression on him.

Sakazuki chuckled and stood up. "What's the rush? When Whitebeard uses Seaquake, doesn't he take a moment to charge up too?"

Dorry and Brogy exchanged looks. "Whitebeard? Who's that?"

"No idea. Probably some big-shot," Brogy guessed.

Damn it—Sakazuki had forgotten that these two had been shut-ins on this island for 80 years.

Before the Red Ogre could continue his complaint, the entire prehistoric island suddenly began to shake.

"Look!" Dorry turned toward the island's central volcanoes and pounded Brogy's shoulder excitedly.

Before his slow-reacting companion could turn around, the volcano erupted.

"You've got to be kidding me! That's the entire island's volcanoes!" On the warship's lookout platform, Lindemann widened his usually squinted eyes.

Rocks and deep magma shot skyward at extreme speeds, forming towering pillars of fire. Billowing volcanic smoke painted the once-clear sky a mix of black and red.

Yet the tremors continued. The violent shaking sent both giants tumbling to the ground. As they turned in horror, they realized that the most intense quaking was happening right beneath Sakazuki's feet.

The ground, which had been melted away by his arms earlier, was now expanding in range. The Marine Vice Admiral remained firmly rooted in place, his lower body fully magmafied.

With a mocking look, he glanced at Brogy—the very opponent who had forced him to go all out.

"Still not running?"

The Red Ogre began waving frantically at the distant fleet. Seeing the situation turning south, Dorry immediately grabbed Brogy and leaped into the sea. His judgment was spot on—the ground beneath Sakazuki suddenly shot upward. At its center, the terrain began to rise.

"Shit!! Paddle faster!!!" The two giants flailed desperately, propelling themselves toward the nearby ships.

Sakazuki simply closed his eyes, fully attuned to the surging forces of the earth's veins. By wielding the power of nature, he effortlessly reshaped the terrain itself.

Dinosaurs scattered in all directions. After surviving on this prehistoric island for so long, today, they had finally met their ultimate fate.

"Now, it's your turn."

At the epicenter of the upheaval, a small volcano rapidly took form beneath Sakazuki.

Remaining fully elemental, his massive, fiery-red figure loomed amidst the island's ashen haze.

"You sought to witness me going all out… Now, you will see it firsthand!"