"Stand back, kid."
The Golden Lion took a breath of the scorching air, his expression growing solemn as he stared at the flowing river of magma before them. As a user of the Float-Float Fruit, his destructive power in an environment like this would be elevated to a terrifying level. But by the same token, anything the Float-Float Fruit could do, the Gravity-Gravity Fruit could do as well. Shiki told Bellamy to retreat because he likely wouldn't be able to intervene in the fight to come.
Lion's Threat: Fire God!
The power of the Float-Float Fruit silently swept up a massive glob of magma, stretching it rapidly into the air to form a gigantic lion's head. The instant Shiki made his move, Fujitora activated his own ability without hesitation.
Gravity Blade: Weightlessness.
An invisible gravitational wave followed the swing of Fujitora's sword, pulling a tremendous amount of magma from the river. The scalding liquid slowly took the form of a phantom tiger, roaring wildly as it coiled around him.
In the blink of an eye, countless flames, sparks, and embers shot out in all directions, transforming the entire underground space into a fiery purgatory.
Bellamy, caught in the center of the battlefield, was forced to retreat frantically to escape the initial onslaught. Magma's temperature hovered around 1,000 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt gold and iron with ease. Even with his Armament Haki pushed to its limit, Bellamy couldn't last long in such an environment. Faced with two opponents who could freely manipulate magma, he had no choice but to fall back.
At that moment, Bellamy was once again confronted with his own shortcomings—or rather, the shortcomings of the Spring-Spring Fruit. When faced with elemental attacks like this, his fruit's range was far too limited. Whether it was magma, ice, or lightning, they could all inflict terrifying destruction and damage from a great distance. Bellamy often found himself helpless against such opponents. The Glint-Glint Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, in particular, were his perfect counters. No matter how fast his springs propelled him, he could never be faster than lightning or light. No matter how strong his explosive power, it could hardly surpass the destructive force of thunder and photons.
If the Gravity-Gravity Fruit could restrain him so severely, he would likely be powerless against the three Admirals in his current state. The more he realized this, the more resolute Bellamy's determination to capture Fujitora became.
The Golden Lion can't last much longer. I can't just stand by and watch.
At that moment, a duel of abilities was unfolding in the subterranean cavern. Several lion heads made of magma were viciously assailing a single magma tiger. Though outnumbered, the magma tiger held its ground, stubbornly defending a small pocket of space without collapsing. It was clear from the state of the battle that the Golden Lion's Devil Fruit ability had managed to suppress Fujitora's.
Bellamy also began to realize that Fujitora's Gravity-Gravity Fruit had not yet reached the stage of Awakening. However, its power was clearly superior to that of the Float-Float Fruit. The ability to make objects weightless and control them was merely one small branch of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit's many powers. It was by relying on his other abilities that Fujitora was able to hold firm against the Golden Lion's offensive. It was now basically confirmed: the Float-Float Fruit was a lesser version of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit.
Faced with this disadvantage in Devil Fruit abilities, the Golden Lion was momentarily at a loss. High-magnification gravity could easily nullify the Float-Float Fruit's power, allowing Fujitora to erase Shiki's painstakingly crafted attacks at will. Although it looked like the Golden Lion had the overwhelming advantage, Fujitora was tenaciously defending his small foothold, determined to drag the fight into a battle of attrition.
If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the Golden Lion's stamina gave out.
Just then, Bellamy moved.
"Shiki, I'll attack, you defend!"
Bellamy's figure suddenly leaped out from the rear, bouncing wildly within the burning cavern. In an instant, countless blurry afterimages appeared above the searing river of magma.
"Are you insane?!" Shiki's eyes widened in disbelief at Bellamy's actions. Below them was a river of magma. One wrong move and he'd be half-dead, if not worse. Moreover, they had already pulled vast quantities of magma into the air, filling the space with fire and lava. To force an attack like this might leave him gravely injured before his opponent took any damage at all.
What kind of deep-seated hatred does Bellamy have for this blind man to be fighting so desperately?
"Enough talk! Just help me cancel out his gravity field!" Bellamy yelled, narrowly weaving through a falling glob of magma as he leaped toward Fujitora.
Faced with such a frenzied assault, Fujitora was forced to divert his attention, drawing his sword and pointing it at him.
"Heavy Pressure!"
In an instant, a hundred times the force of gravity slammed down on Bellamy. His body immediately became like a lead weight, plummeting straight toward the magma river below. Fortunately, the Golden Lion was paying attention and used his ability on him just in time. The very moment the soles of Bellamy's feet touched the magma, his body returned to normal.
Bellamy unleashed a powerful kick against the surface of the magma, sending up a shower of sparks. His figure followed in their wake, charging madly toward Fujitora.
"Madman!" Like the Golden Lion, Fujitora was now screaming the same word in his mind. This Bellamy fellow was fighting with a complete disregard for his own life. He was currently protected by a shell of magma; even if Bellamy forced his way in, he would be severely burned before his attack even landed. This was a tactic of sacrificing a thousand of his own to injure the enemy by five hundred.
"Break for me!"
Bellamy didn't care about any of that. Today, no matter the cost, he would capture Fujitora alive!
This desperate fighting style completely overwhelmed Fujitora in terms of sheer presence. Even now, Fujitora didn't understand why this battle had even started. If his life hadn't been threatened, he would have had no reason to be fighting to the death with two top-tier powerhouses.
"Your Excellency Bellamy, is it really necessary to continue this fight?"
"Of course, it's necessary!" Bellamy ignored Fujitora's attempt at a truce. He knew it wasn't a sign of weakness, but rather that his opponent didn't want to engage in such a pointless battle. "Don't hold out any hope, Fujitora. If you lose, your life is mine."
Bellamy truly had no intention of killing him; from the very beginning, his goal had been to capture him alive.
"If you wish to take my life," Fujitora replied, his voice firm, "you'll have to ask the sword in my hand first."
As the battle progressed to this stage, all three had gained a very clear understanding of each other's strengths. First, Bellamy was, on the surface, the weakest among them. The Golden Lion surpassed Fujitora in both swordsmanship and Devil Fruit ability. Fujitora, seemingly caught in the middle, was in fact at his absolute peak, making his true combat power, without a doubt, the strongest of the three.