Joy Boy once again charged in riding Zunesha through the sky. But this time, Carl was well-prepared. A violent, blood-red aura swirled around his arms, feeding him an endless surge of strength.
In the next instant, Carl placed a single bare hand atop Zunesha's massive head. A burst of white mist mixed with blood energy exploded outward, unleashing a shockwave of terrifying magnitude. Even at ten thousand meters above sea level, the violent ripple of power caused tidal waves to surge across the ocean far below.
...
The sea surrounding the Red Line was thrown into chaos. Gale-force winds howled, and thunder as thick as barrels roared through the skies, casting flickering shadows across the heavens.
At the heart of the storm, Carl kept one hand pressed against Zunesha while the other released his demon blade, Muramasa. The blade spun rapidly in midair, transforming into a black crescent moon that slashed toward Joy Boy atop Zunesha's back.
Joy Boy's expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his wrist, space around him twisted into a spiraling vortex. The flying blade Muramasa was diverted off course the moment it touched the vortex, circling his body without ever reaching him.
Now calm and composed, Joy Boy's Nika power was clearly stronger than before. Glancing at the blade whirling nearby, he smirked and said,
"Trying to take my head off again? That killing intent's a bit much, don't you think?"
Carl said nothing. With a flick of his finger, Muramasa returned to his grasp. Then, his eyes opened slightly, and a deep violet gravitational ring manifested from thin air, layer upon layer pressing down on Zunesha.
Zunesha's massive form paused midair. Carl seized the opportunity and soared forward, pressing downward with one hand. The gravity intensified again, slamming Zunesha—and Joy Boy with him—toward the ocean below.
As they plummeted, Carl pointed Muramasa downward. A torrent of darkness burst forth from behind him like a waterfall from the heavens, engulfing Zunesha and plunging into the sea.
The ocean darkened rapidly as the black surge spread. Joy Boy and Zunesha vanished beneath the surface, failing to resurface for some time.
...
Carl descended slowly, tapping the sea's surface with the tip of his boot. He stood above the water, then bent down and pressed one palm flat against the surface.
The once-calm sea instantly turned violent. A massive whirlpool of darkness expanded outward from Carl's hand like a growing abyss.
Carl's expression remained serene, but within, he was already locking onto Joy Boy's position in the darkened depths. The sea within a ten-kilometer radius had already been fully assimilated into his darkness—an extension of his own body. The moment he made contact, he pinpointed the location of both Joy Boy and Zunesha.
It wasn't that Joy Boy was deliberately hiding in the sea—rather, the power of darkness within the Black Sea was simply too overwhelming. Any ordinary creature would be torn to shreds the instant they entered. Only Joy Boy had the strength to endure and move freely within it.
At that moment, Joy Boy shielded both himself and Zunesha using his Nika powers, struggling to rise through the darkness. When Carl locked on to him, Joy Boy sensed the danger instantly. His face grew serious as he muttered under his breath,
"This is bad…"
No sooner had the words left his lips than the surrounding darkness exploded. Spiraling vortexes surged from every direction. Joy Boy released waves of Nika power, forming a white, spherical barrier to protect himself and Zunesha as he desperately shot toward the surface.
But just before he could break through, Carl's icy voice echoed in his ears:
"Funeral of Darkness."
...
Suddenly, the entire sea shuddered violently. Then came a thunderous roar from the ocean's depths. The previously raging Black Sea abruptly froze, as if someone had hit pause on reality itself. After a brief stillness, the sea returned to its original state.
Carl slowly rose, watching as a small white light below the surface grew larger—rising like a sun. It soared upward and came to a halt, floating before Carl.
When the light faded, Joy Boy and Zunesha stood revealed.
Zunesha hung his head low, breathing heavily, while Joy Boy's white shirt—formed from Nika's power—had several gaping holes. Smoke curled from the scorched edges, refusing to heal.
Clearly, the Funeral of Darkness had not been easy to withstand. Even Joy Boy had nearly succumbed. The power of darkness was indeed among the most dangerous forces in the world.
...
Yet before Joy Boy could even catch his breath, Carl suddenly thrust Muramasa into the sea once more. Black ripples spread out as a terrifying aura surged from the depths.
Carl gripped the demon blade tightly.
Joy Boy's pupils shrank. He had already experienced this technique during his time possessing Roger—it was terrifying then, and no less so now. Without hesitation, he attempted to fly upward with Zunesha in tow.
He was fast. In a blink, they had already climbed hundreds of meters.
But in that same moment, a colossal dragon's head—spanning a full kilometer—erupted from the sea, its massive jaws snapping Joy Boy and Zunesha out of the air. The beast vanished back into the depths, leaving behind a towering tsunami.
...
Watching from afar, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and the others came to a halt atop a floating iceberg conjured by Aokiji.
Aokiji knelt with one knee, hands pressed tightly against the ice. It had taken everything he had just to create this hundred-meter-wide patch of ice on the Black Sea's surface.
Under normal circumstances, his power could freeze thousands of kilometers, forming ice sheets reaching kilometers in depth. But here, his abilities were drastically weakened. Even maintaining this small iceberg required constant output of his Devil Fruit power. The Black Sea threatened to swallow it at any moment.
Borsalino stared ahead, adjusting the bridge of his glasses with a lazy pout.
"Is the fight over already? The Fleet Admiral's not gonna chew us out for being late, right?~"
Aramaki clenched his fists, eyes blazing with fanatical excitement as he gazed at Carl standing tall on the sea.
"As expected of Saint Carl! Even Joy Boy from 800 years ago couldn't defeat him!"
Behind them, Aokiji, drenched in sweat and struggling to maintain the ice, wailed miserably.
"Aramaki! Stop fanboying and help! Can't you use your powers to make some dandelions or something? I can't hold this ice much longer!"
Aramaki shot him an annoyed look.
"Don't distract me while I'm admiring Saint Carl's majesty! You're hopeless, you know that?"
Aokiji was about to explode in frustration when Sakazuki suddenly shook his head. Staring at Carl, who remained fixed on the sea, he spoke in a low voice:
"The battle isn't over yet."
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+150 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg