Although everyone knew the three—Mihawk and the others—had not used their full strength, the fact that Charles could end the fight so quickly still proved his own power.
Unlike the pirates' headlong advance, Sengoku was truly learning the meaning of being at his wits' end.
On the main front, the rampaging Whitebeard, though the last to enter the field, had bulldozed his way to become the one closest to the scaffold.
If Little Oars Jr., Luffy, and Whitebeard were a trident, then Whitebeard was the central jutting tip—and that tip had already thrust beneath the scaffold.
To break this trident would require absolute top-tier might, a task only Admirals could take on.
Sengoku looked another way, where Kizaru was locked in a fierce duel with Rayleigh.
Sengoku knew Rayleigh's strength well. It was no small feat for Kizaru to pin him down and keep him off the field… even so, he couldn't shake the feeling Kizaru was slacking.
There would be no relying on Kizaru; only the other two could turn the tide.
Akainu and Aokiji realized as much and, without Sengoku's orders, charged Whitebeard together.
"Ice Pheasant Beak!"
"Inugami Guren!"
A frost giant bird and a magma hound lunged from opposite sides; Whitebeard clenched his fist, ready to shatter both with his power.
But before he could act, an unexpected thing happened.
Several fire dragons appeared out of thin air, seized the onrushing ice bird, and tore it to pieces.
And the magma hound was smashed to bits by a single flame-wreathed punch from Charles!
Whitebeard felt the changing of the times; the youngsters were showing excellent strength.
An attack launched at him by two Marine Admirals had been blocked so easily.
And, amusingly enough, these two youngsters, like that captured blockhead of a son of his, fought with flame.
They almost seemed better at using fire than Ace, the Mera Mera no Mi user!
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri to the ground and looked at Charles landing before him. "You two brats, I'm not so frail I need your help!"
"We took payment, after all," Charles said. "We've got to do some work.
Besides, those two old men on the scaffold are the real trouble. I'm already slacking."
Whitebeard laughed to the sky. "Interesting brat. Interested in coming aboard as my son?"
"Forgive me, I must decline," Charles smiled. "I already have as qualified a father as one could ask for."
"Shame," Whitebeard said, hefting Murakumogiri. "But you'd better not miss the banquet after this war!"
As they spoke, a great sheet of magma swept in—Akainu had reached the field.
Charles flexed his fingers and rolled his flames back, walling off the raging magma.
Whitebeard bared his teeth, blasted a cluster of Marines flying with one punch, and strode toward the scaffold.
On the other side, frost spread over Aokiji's face as a plume of chill puffed from his lips.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
A straight line of ground sprouted jagged ice, racing toward Whitebeard.
Stella stomped and shattered the frosty path. The freeze that sealed all things was scattered at once by the flames she drove.
Still reeling that a girl could wield such brute strength, Aokiji saw Stella charge like a tyrant lizard, the Feilong Sin Sword cleaving down rough and heavy.
He forged an ice saber and caught the cut. Even so, her arm strength exceeded his expectations. He couldn't imagine such slender arms housing such force.
Which meant that in this clash, the one to yield was him, a Marine Admiral.
Lazy as he might be like Kizaru, Aokiji could still get serious… as he did now.
Hands tightening on the hilt, he forced Stella back. Flame and frost crashed together.
Sizzle…!
Dark-red magma seeped through the firewall, dripping to the ground with a sinister hiss. Akainu strode forward, molten rock streaming down his frame.
"Don't know where you crawled out from, brat. Tough luck. Your power is fire, and mine is magma, which burns even fire to nothing."
"Is that so?" Charles said mildly. "Then try burning mine."
"Flame God Dragon's Crushing Fist!"
"Hellhound!"
Neither had any interest in trading words. They simply struck.
Dark-red flame and magma slammed together. A savage grin twisted Akainu's stern face.
The truth wasn't as he'd claimed. His magma wasn't burning away Charles's fire. On the contrary, it began to dissolve into nothing within Charles's flames.
There is no true hierarchy between magma and flame. The reason Akainu could burn Ace's body was simply that his mastery far outstripped Ace's.
But for Charles, who had grasped the essence of flame and absorbed Ignia's fire, mere magma was fit only for dessert.
With a thunderous boom, flame and magma burst at once, turning the surroundings into a purgatory.
Akainu skidded far back, lava splattering in his wake. Charles was already on him, driving a punch.
"Weren't you going to burn my fire away? Try again!"
In a former life many argued that Akainu alone fought in earnest at the Summit War, his iron stance worthy of praise.
But after he destroyed Ohara's refugee ship, "absolute justice" had nothing to do with justice.
The Marines are, of course, the World Government's instrument of violence. In that sense, Akainu's uncompromising defense of their rule might be understandable. The problem is using so-called justice as a pretext.
To Charles, Akainu was merely a butcher with blood on his hands—nothing to admire in his resolve.
Naturally, Charles's fists showed no courtesy.
"Don't get cocky! Helping pirates, how could you possibly defeat those backed by Justice!"
"Great Eruption!"
He said precisely what Charles hated to hear. So when the massive magma fist came crashing in, Charles met it with everything he had.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"
Charles gathered every flame and flung them all at once.
Akainu's pupils tightened as he saw his magma fist collapse from the center and flame spread from within.
In the next instant, the fire burst through the magma and smashed into him.
"Let's see whether your 'justice' soaked in innocent blood is as solid as you claim!"
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