As the syringe in his hand drew closer to Sakaski's body, a flicker of joy flashed in Ivankov's eyes.
Sakaski looked down at Ivankov's fingers piercing his leg with indifference.
Seeing that Sakaski made no move, Ivankov quickened his pace.
The moment the skin was pierced, he couldn't help but exclaim:
"Success!!!"
*Crack—*
Under Sakaski's indifferent expression, the few syringes in Ivankov's hand were crushed.
Sakaski's body was, at some unknown point, covered in black Armament Haki.
Before Ivankov could react.
*Bang—*
A loud noise, accompanied by the crisp sound of bones cracking.
Ivankov's chest caved in directly, and he was sent flying backward, crashing towards Lightning.
Lightning plunged his hand into the ground, lifting slabs of rock that flowed like liquid, absorbing Ivankov's impact.
*Boom boom boom—*
After smashing through several rock slabs, he finally hit Lightning, barely coming to a halt.
Ivankov injected himself with a dose of stimulant hormone at an incredible speed, his body trembling:
"Heehee!!!!"
He leaped up abruptly, landing on the ground.
Shouting with full force:
"Everyone! Evacuate immediately!"
"Lightning and I will hold them here! Meet us at the usual spot!!!"
The surrounding soldiers, seeing Ivankov completely unharmed, felt a sense of relief:
"Yes!!!!"
Their morale boosted, they quickly withdrew.
The ordinary soldiers had no idea what kind of power an Admiral represented.
Nor did they know that even Ivankov, after injecting the stimulant hormone, still trembled slightly—that was fear...
Lightning stood beside Ivankov expressionlessly, stabilizing the troops' morale.
Sakaski lightly raised his arm, a movement that almost broke the composure of the two, threatening to shatter their calm.
He let out a soft chuckle and reached into his pocket, pulling out a Den Den Mushi.
*Ring ring~ Ring ring~*
Sengoku's voice came from the other end:
"How is it, Sakaski."
Sakaski replied:
"Ivankov has been captured."
"And we've captured another one."
He looked at Lightning:
"What was your name again?"
Lightning's expression was calm:
"Lightning."
Sakaski nodded:
"The other is named Lightning."
"It seems he holds a considerable position."
"If we had arrived half a day later, the Kingdom of Kageguri would have ceased to exist."
"Heh..."
Sengoku's voice came from the other end:
"Is that so..."
"The World Government had no prior intelligence at all..."
Sakaski nodded:
"Indeed."
"And we cannot rely too heavily on the Government's intelligence."
"Let's establish our own intelligence department."
"We solved the crisis of the Kingdom of Kageguri's destruction, so the reward will be substantial."
"It can be used to fund the establishment of the intelligence department."
Sengoku's voice came from the other end:
"Makes sense."
"We'll discuss it in a meeting later."
"Have those people been captured?"
Sakaski said:
"Several high-ranking individuals have been apprehended."
As he spoke, he gestured with his finger, and the legs of several squad leaders directing from the rear exploded, turning into bloody mist.
Those who tried to rush forward to save them were also obliterated by Sakaski's finger guns.
Ivankov and Lightning watched, their eyes wide with fury, but they dared not make a move.
Sengoku's voice came through:
"That's good."
"Escort them to 'Impel Down'."
"Government personnel will handle the interrogation later."
Sakaski replied:
"Understood."
*Click—*
He hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Sakaski looked at the two of them:
"Alright, surrender now."
Ivankov stared intently at Sakaski:
"As expected of a Marine Admiral renowned throughout the world for his brutality."
"They were just ordinary soldiers, posing no threat."
"And you showed them no mercy."
His remaining intact hand grew syringes again, pointing them at Sakaski.
Sakaski chuckled:
"I am brutal?"
"I own it."
"As for you... what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Are you playing house here tonight?"
"Preparing these soldiers, gunpowder, guns, and cannons..."
"Were they just for show?"
"If this battlefield had erupted tonight, the death toll would not have been this small."
"Liberation? Freedom?"
"Did you ask the opinion of the kingdom's fallen soldiers?"
"Killing people... there's no need to hide it."
"It's just a difference in stance. Isn't it normal for me to kill your people?"
"Why do you define yourselves as the righteous side, standing on a moral high ground to condemn others?"
"Hmm?"
*Bang—*
Sakaski's arm erupted into magma, and under the glow of the flames, the thick black smoke was clearly visible.
Ivankov was momentarily speechless, wanting to retort, but... he couldn't think of anything to say back.
After all, he had killed many people himself. From their perspective, he certainly deserved to die...
Lightning, however, reacted quickly:
"Don't be swayed by him."
"There's no way to answer these kinds of questions."
He had completely blocked off any escape route; no matter how they answered, it would be wrong... unless all wars in the world ended without casualties.
Lightning plunged his hands into the ground and moved rapidly.
Ivankov reacted and injected himself with a syringe:
"Facial Growth Hormone!"
His entire face suddenly swelled several times, resembling a giant wall standing on the ground.
Ivankov's massive face took a deep breath:
"Hell Wink!!!"
An amplified version of the deathly seductive gaze, with power enough to shatter city walls and create a colossal mushroom cloud nearly a hundred meters high.
Ivankov dared not hold back against Sakaski and unleashed his ultimate move from the start.
The explosive airflow rushed towards Sakaski at an extreme speed, and at the same time, Lightning covered Sakaski with rings of ground.
*Boom!!!*
The explosive airflow reached Sakaski first and detonated.
The surrounding erected rock slabs surrounded Sakaski, and with the obstruction, the power of the explosion became more concentrated.
However, it only lasted for a moment before the rock slabs shattered.
A sharp mushroom cloud shot out, sweeping away with the vast dust.
Lightning returned to Ivankov's side, crossing his massive pincers over his chest.
Ivankov waved the dust away from his face:
"Cough cough..."
"Did it work?"
*Crack!* x2
Two crisp sounds of bones cracking.
"Of course not."
Sakaski appeared behind them at some unknown time, grabbing and crushing their arms:
"This is what you call hell?"
A sinister grin spread across Sakaski's lips:
"Lava Bakujyu..."
*BOOM!!!!!!!*
The island shook violently, waking everyone on it.
Endless red light rose from the jungle outside the Royal City...
The intense tremors and the partial shockwaves caused the city walls of the rear Royal City to shake and collapse continuously.
A larger portion was directed towards the direction of the Revolutionary Army's escape, a directed explosion...
The magma spread out in a fan shape towards the distant mountains, engulfing everything.
Flowing magma, pungent smoke, destroying everything in their path.
It was like hell...