In an instant, Akainu's flesh was sliced into countless pieces by the black spatial cracks.
But when those same spatial fissures reached his bones, they were met with a brutal, forceful resistance.
Boom!
The entire space trembled. The power of Akainu's desperate struggle was simply too terrifying. Even something as horrifying as the spatial cracks were, in the next moment, smoothed out in large swathes by surging magma.
At the same time, the shockwaves themselves were being worn down.
"It seems that relying on just the already-awakened Tremor-Tremor Fruit alone, it's hard to kill him in a single blow."
Creed sighed, admitting Akainu's toughness.
Or rather, once a Devil Fruit has fully awakened, it is, in a sense, already close to the level of a law. To completely erase that kind of power in a short time is extremely difficult.
However, that did not mean Creed was helpless, nor that he would let Akainu go.
Akainu's current strength was no longer inferior to Big Mom or Shiki. And because he was much younger than those two, at this age he could only be described as being in his absolute prime. It was impossible to predict whether he would step up in the future and advance to the very peak of SSSS+ tier.
A deadly enemy like that—since Creed had the chance to kill him today, he would never let the opportunity slip by.
Besides, Creed still had plenty of trump cards left.
With a single turn of his thoughts, his eyes immediately shifted into a new form, irises rippling with concentric rings as they transformed into the Rinnegan.
His gaze locked in and focused.
Akainu, who was just about to tear free of the net of spatial cracks, seemed to sense something at that very moment. A sudden, ominous premonition surged up in his heart.
He had only felt this once before—during his training in the Death Volcano.
Only a danger that truly threatened his life, a crisis almost impossible to resist, could trigger this kind of gut-deep, fate-like premonition.
"Damn it!"
Akainu roared. Crimson-violet magma erupted from him like a volcano, sweeping across dozens of miles and dyeing that stretch of sky a blazing red-purple.
But it was already too late.
Black flames of unknown origin had already burst into life across his body, igniting fiercely. They spread from his wounds into his very bones and were devouring his life force and everything he had at a terrifying speed.
This fire was even burning away the Devil Fruit power within Akainu's body.
Rinnegan: Amaterasu (Rinnegan: Heavenly Illumination Black Flames)!
The strongest physical attack!
Creed had finally used this long-sealed ability once more.
And now, its power was at least ten times stronger than before.
"AAAHHH! What is this flame?! It can't possibly surpass the flames from the earth's core! Impossible!"
Under the combined assault of the net of spatial fissures and Amaterasu, Akainu let out his final, unwilling scream. At the same time, the crimson-violet flames erupting from his body began to weaken, no longer the sky-covering inferno they had been.
"Admiral Sakazuki!"
"Creed, you devil—die!"
Seeing Akainu fall into such a crisis, there were finally those among the distant observing Marine elites who could no longer hold themselves back. Two figures rushed forward at full speed.
They were Akainu's trusted Vice Admirals: Onigumo and Doberman.
Both men possessed strength close to an Admiral candidate. Now that they were attacking together, countless sword slashes filled the sea, their combined killing intent and sword aura truly impressive.
Unfortunately, a battle at this level was no longer something they could intervene in.
Before they could even get within a few miles of Creed, they were knocked from the sky by the flames from the earth's core and layered shockwaves. Their swords were shattered to pieces, and they barely managed to avoid losing their lives outright.
"So this is the battle between the very strongest in this world?"
The two men crashed to the ground. Looking at Creed in the distance, their hearts could not help but quake in terror.
As strong as they were, they couldn't even get within a single mile of Creed.
It was a crushing blow to their pride.
Ching!
Just then, a soft sword hum rang out. The scene before their eyes suddenly changed; it was as if a boundless sea of blood rose up before them, blotting out heaven and earth.
Stretching across that sea was an overwhelming, razor-sharp killing intent—the stench of blood so intense it seemed it could drown the world.
Under that vast and absolute blood-soaked killing intent, even veterans like Doberman and Onigumo felt ice-cold dread. In an instant, their limbs went weak, and not even the slightest thought of resistance could arise in their hearts.
"Blood Shadow…"
And yet, despite their fear, they were secretly delighted.
Blood Shadow's Five Blades—each one of them had strength comparable to an Admiral. If they were to take action, then Admiral Akainu might yet be saved.
However—
"AAAH!"
"You dare!"
Within the sea of blood there suddenly rang out a dying scream, followed by a furious roar.
Hearing that scream, despair washed over Doberman and Onigumo. They both knew: Admiral Akainu had probably been killed.
They knew exactly what kind of man he was. In all his years in the Marines, no matter how badly he was injured, that iron-willed man had never once screamed from pain.
But today, Creed had forced him into screaming again and again like some coward facing death.
That could only mean one thing: Admiral Akainu's mental defenses had been shattered.
And once the spirit of a peak powerhouse collapsed like that, even if he somehow survived by luck, he would, in all likelihood, be a cripple in the future.
"Gala!"
"Crash!"
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The sound of shattering reverberated once more. The raging sea of blood split with one fissure after another, then exploded in a chain of blasts as countless massive bursts of life force detonated within it, blooming like enormous crimson flowers, dazzling enough to be intoxicating.
Yet within that intoxicating sight, the danger was something Doberman and the others understood all too well. They hurriedly sank their bodies into the mud and stone of the seabed, trying to shield themselves and survive.
Boom!
The powerful aftershocks swept out in all directions, making the entire seabed heave and tremble violently.
When Doberman and Onigumo finally came back to their senses from beneath the slurry of mud, they saw a blood-colored figure standing before them, blocking all of the remaining force of the attack for them.
They had no idea which Blade of Blood Shadow this one was.
"Hurry and get out of here!"
The blood-clad figure spoke coldly, then turned into a streak of sword light and shot into the surging sea of blood ahead.
There, two figures were already locked in a fierce battle, their clash so intense that heaven and earth seemed to change color.
Blood Shadow had actually dispatched two Blades at once—two against one!
What could Doberman and Onigumo say to that? All they could do was scramble away from this deadly battlefield as quickly as possible.
Having just forced back the blood-robed swordsman who had ambushed him, Creed stood a hundred or so meters away, gazing at his opponent with a calm expression and saying nothing.
Inwardly, however, he was pleasantly surprised.
This Blood Shadow carried within him a SSSS-tier Chi Satsu Ken'i (Blood-Slaughter Sword Intent)—perfect for Creed to extract and integrate into his ultimate sword intent in the future.
"Chi Satsu Ken'i (Blood-Slaughter Sword Intent) is being extracted. Extraction will complete in two minutes. Killing intent can further amplify the offensive power of this sword intent…"
The system's notification made Creed's delight grow even greater.
As expected.
Judging from the name alone, he had already guessed that killing intent could amplify this sword intent. The only question was by how much—something he would only know once the extraction was complete.
"State your name. I don't cut down nameless people with my sword."
Creed drew Rinne from his side and lifted the blade, his voice calm as he spoke.
He needed to buy a little time—for the extraction to complete and for himself to recover some stamina.
Of course, every Blood Shadow Blade was an apex great swordsman. Between swordsmen, it was only proper to cross blades and let the sword decide victory and defeat. By drawing his sword first, Creed was also showing them enough respect.
"Second Blade."
"Third Blade."
Another figure dropped from above, landing beside the blood-robed swordsman from before. Shoulder to shoulder, they announced their names together.
(End of Chapter)
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