Sakarski's large hand, clad in a black glove, clutched the flying head.
Yasopp's headless corpse plummeted powerlessly, lost to the sea amidst the chaotic tempest.
A core member of the 'Iron Wall Pirates,' renowned for having the most balanced and uniform strength among the Four Emperors, had died so easily...
This was Sakarski's unsolvable, or rather, his underhanded, brilliance.
Few could achieve such a feat. A cataclysmic self-detonation, even the Four Emperors' pirate crews couldn't maintain their composure and stable aerial positions.
Hell Nock could achieve such a level, but his strength couldn't create this overwhelming dominance.
Under the impact of this explosion, the Red-Haired Pirates, unable to stabilize themselves, couldn't attend to everyone.
And with Sakarski's strength, his engagement with each individual was crushing. Only Red-Hair's observation killing and speed posed some trouble...
*Swish—*
A streak of light tore through heaven and earth, Red-Hair's roar arriving just after:
"Yasopp!!!"
A vertical slash, as if cleaving space in two, shot out, aimed at Sakarski.
Seeing the vertical slash, which seemed to carry the weight of the world and crush down upon him, Sakarski raised his left hand, still holding Yasopp's head.
This sight, to Red-Hair, who had just stabilized himself and charged in behind the sword energy, filled his eyes with fury:
"Sakarski!!!!"
His current rage was matched only by his immediate regret, and then by even greater fury...
Sakarski sneered at the corner of his mouth and held Yasopp's head forward.
The colossal slash, dominating the view and connecting heaven and earth, crushed forward, first annihilating Yasopp's head...
In just an instant.
Before the eyes of Red-Hair and the Red-Haired Pirates, it turned to dust and vanished...
Yasopp's head was extinguished, and then the attack struck Sakarski's hand.
Sakarski's arm, imbued with Armament Haki, his dark palm grasped the sky-shattering sword qi, and he was forced to retreat, pushed back.
Even the island below, covered in lava, was sliced by the sword qi, yet it couldn't halt its momentum.
From afar, Red-Hair charged.
Approaching at extreme speed, Griffin, his sword, crackled with red lightning as he swung at Sakarski.
Sakarski's hand exerted force.
*Crack—*
The colossal sword qi's great opening was directly crushed and splintered.
It transformed into a shower of sword qi fragments scattering into the air.
Following this was Red-Hair Shanks' killing blow.
Despite clearly seeing the attack, he felt no presence, this strange dissonance made Sakarski find it exceptionally interesting...
Raising a hand and slashing, a magma blade appeared, grasped with one hand, imbued with Haki.
*Clang!*
The two swords crossed.
Clashing Conqueror's Haki compressed and flickered with energy between their blades.
Sakarski looked at Red-Hair Shanks and said indifferently:
"Why are you angry."
"It's just the death of one person, and you've killed far more, haven't you."
But Red-Hair Shanks had no mood for bickering with Sakarski; the accumulated rage made him want only to kill the man before him...
Sakarski chuckled and continued, locked in a struggle with Red-Hair:
"I can't think of any reason for you to be angry."
"Because he was a comrade?"
"But as pirates, you should have expected this day long ago."
"Or is it because you relied on your great strength before and never suffered a loss..."
*Boom—*
As they grappled, the compressed Conqueror's Haki erupted, directly creating a mushroom cloud in mid-air.
Both were sent flying back, but this explosion was far less powerful than Sakarski's self-detonation. Shanks stomped his foot and immediately halted his momentum, charging again.
Sakarski also stomped his foot, halting his own movement.
The smoke from the massive mushroom cloud was torn apart, and Red-Hair's figure surged forward like a streak of light.
Sakarski's brow furrowed slightly. His Observation Haki sensed nothing. Relying on his extensive combat experience, he directed the magma long blade in his hand to the side.
*Clang!*
He just managed to block Red-Hair's Griffin.
The suppression of Observation Haki had too great an impact on the fight...
At this level of combat, the eyes couldn't keep up with the speed; only Observation Haki could be used to its maximum potential...
*Boom!*
Red-Hair actively pulled back and retreated, then vanished in a flash.
From afar, bullets, sonic roars, and other attacks arrived. The recovering Red-Haired Pirates also struck back in anger.
Sakarski raised a hand, swatting away several attacks. He scanned around, and suddenly his pupils constricted.
Using Life Return on the muscles and bones of his chest, he instantly shifted position.
*Thwack—*
A long blade pierced his chest from behind.
Sakarski didn't hesitate. He grabbed the blade of Griffin with his left hand and swung his right elbow in a rotation towards his back.
*Crack—*
A faint sound of bone cracking was heard.
Shanks's face was shattered by Sakarski's elbow strike, held tightly without any intention of withdrawing.
Griffin was firmly grasped by Sakarski. Letting go would mean having his sword stolen, a considerable insult, which Sakarski clearly understood.
Thus, the instant his skin was pierced, he abandoned using Armament Haki to resist, allowing it to pass through his chest.
Immediately after, he tightly grasped Griffin's blade and simultaneously struck Shanks with his elbow.
Sakarski and Shanks were locked in a stalemate, falling downwards:
"What a troublesome ability..."
"This indeed allows you to dominate the seas, to act with impunity."
The terror of observation killing lay in the fact that once visual contact was lost, even Sakarski could only react upon being attacked.
"Unfortunately... none can escape retribution."
His right elbow glowed crimson, intensely hot, and an extremely threatening energy gathered:
"Dai Funka."
His elbow resembled a volcanic crater, erupting with intense shockwaves and magma, directly blasting towards Red-Hair Shanks's head.
Simultaneously, he released his grip on Griffin, and they separated amidst the immense impact.
Red-Hair's figure turned into a streak of light and vanished completely.
Sakarski's brow furrowed. The muscles and bones in his chest rapidly regenerated, returning to their original state, leaving only a faint wound from the piercing.
Once Red-Hair's trace was lost, he was difficult to find. Primarily, Enel hadn't been brought along...
Roaring bullets, sonic attacks, and the like assaulted him again. Sakarski indifferently glanced at the Red-Haired Pirates, who were employing their tactic once more.
Without dodging, his figure was engulfed by the sonic attacks...
Beckman reacted swiftly, shouting to Garp:
"Garp, retreat quickly!"
But it was already too late...