The clock rewound slightly.
As Sakazuki's deafening roar echoed across the plaza, the wild laughter of Golden Lion Shiki on the other battlefield came to an abrupt stop.
"Thief hahaha… A bunch of ants who don't know their place. Still barking at a time like this!" Although he spoke with disdain, the combined pressure from Garp and Sengoku had already left him struggling to breathe. The sudden surge in Marine morale, sparked by Sakazuki's words, only added to his growing irritation.
"Stop spouting nonsense, Shiki!" Garp's fist, wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki, seemed to make the very air groan with every swing. "Don't you understand the situation you're in?!"
"Garp is right," Sengoku said, his golden Buddha form radiating a solemn power. The shockwaves he sent out were like a collapsing mountain and a crashing tsunami, each one stronger than the last. "Your era ended the moment we joined forces!"
"Ended?!" The Golden Lion's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman. "Don't be so arrogant! My grand ambition has only just begun!"
He completely abandoned all defense. His two legendary swords were transformed into two massive slashes that seemed to tear the heavens and the earth apart as he attacked the two men with reckless abandon.
An opening.
In Garp's eyes, this all-or-nothing madness was the greatest flaw of all. "Too naive, Shiki."
Garp's figure suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already high above the Golden Lion. He raised his right fist, concentrating all of his terrifying Haki and power into a single point. On the edge of his fist, it looked as if an entire galaxy was collapsing in on itself.
"Fist Bone: Meteor!"
The Golden Lion's pupils constricted. He had no time to react before the fist, which seemed to carry the weight of a planet, had already slammed into his chest.
Boom—!!!
The destructive power, delayed for half a second, finally erupted with a roar.
Like a true meteor, the Golden Lion's body fell from the sky with unstoppable force. He crashed heavily into the plaza of Marineford, creating a massive, seemingly bottomless pit. Spiderweb-like cracks spread out from the impact, covering half of the island.
"Pwah—"
At the bottom of the pit, the Golden Lion spat out a mouthful of blood. Countless bones in his body were broken, and he no longer had the strength to even stand up. However, the attack wasn't over. Sengoku understood the importance of finishing the job.
"Buddha's Shockwave!"
Sengoku's giant golden palm descended from the sky, aimed at the center of the pit, and slammed down with immense force. The golden shockwave solidified, pressing down on the Golden Lion like the hand of Buddha himself, pinning him to the bottom of the crater and robbing him of any last chance to resist.
"Oooohhhh!"
"The Golden Lion… has been defeated!"
The remaining Marine officers erupted in cheers of survival. They quickly grabbed the Sea Stone chains they had prepared and rushed forward, binding the immobile Golden Lion tightly.
"Bastards… Garp… Sengoku…" the Golden Lion cursed weakly, bound by the Sea Stone. Then, his head slumped, and he fell completely unconscious.
Having dealt with the major threat, Garp and Sengoku finally turned their attention to the other battlefield. With just one glance, the relief on their faces vanished. What they saw was a field of ruins that had been completely leveled. They saw Kuzan, Borsalino, and Sakazuki lying among the rubble, covered in injuries and struggling to stand, only to collapse helplessly.
And in the center of it all, Iron Kyle still stood quietly.
The two legends exchanged a look. Without a word, they both rushed toward Kyle. Kyle's gaze passed over the two rapidly approaching figures, instead falling on the Golden Lion, who was being tied up by the Marines in the distance.
"Truly… an unsightly end, Shiki," Kyle murmured softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it.
The wind howled. Garp and Sengoku landed on either side of Kyle, forming a new, tense standoff. There were no roars, no questions. The three men, who stood at the apex of the seas, simply looked at each other in silence. The invisible clash of their auras made the surrounding air feel thick and heavy.
After a long moment, Kyle broke the silence. He slowly lowered his black-gold naginata, gripping the hilt with both hands and settling into a steady stance.
"It's a shame," his voice was calm, yet it carried clearly to Garp and Sengoku's ears. "This blade has been with me for decades, yet the world still doesn't know its name."
Kyle's body sank slightly. The brilliant golden light in his eyes receded, replaced by a bottomless darkness.
"Today, I'll use it to end this farce."
The moment he finished speaking, black and gold Haoshoku Haki burst from his body like a volcano. The dark clouds in the sky began to spin wildly, forming a giant vortex filled with lightning and thunder.
"This sword is named 'Nidhogg'!"
"And this move is named—"
Kyle gripped the sword with both hands and swung it upwards in a sudden, powerful motion.
"—Dragon Slayer!"
Roar!!!
A dragon's roar, one that sounded as if it came from the dawn of time, echoed throughout Marineford. An indescribable pitch-black slash detached from the blade. It was not mere sword energy; it was a giant, pitch-black dragon formed from the purest will of destruction and the Haki of the Supreme King.
Black and gold lightning coiled around its body. Its scales were sharp and distinct, and its eyes were ferocious. It carried the power to destroy heaven and earth as it roared towards Garp and Sengoku. Wherever it passed, the earth was torn apart, the sky was severed, and all matter was crushed and disintegrated by its overwhelmingly powerful force.
Faced with this terrifying slash, which looked capable of splitting Marineford in two, the expressions on Garp and Sengoku's faces changed completely.
"You bastard!" Garp roared in anger. He did not retreat but instead charged forward. His right fist, pushed to the absolute limit with Armament Haki, shone like a black sun as he bravely met the ferocious dragon's head.
"Hah!" Sengoku attacked at the same time. The golden Buddha's palm reappeared, and a spherical shockwave, more condensed than ever before, slammed heavily onto the dragon's body.
At that moment, the two strongest fighters of the Marines joined forces to resist with all their might.
Boom!!!
An indescribable roar tore through the world, and for a moment, all sound and color seemed to vanish. Blinding light engulfed everything. A terrifying energy storm swept out in all directions from the point of impact. The outer walls of Marineford's fortress crumbled layer by layer like dry biscuits. Countless buildings were ripped from their foundations and thrown into the air, only to be torn into dust by the violent energy.
Smoke and steam obscured the sky, lingering for a long time. After what felt like an eternity, everything finally subsided, and the storm of destruction dissipated.
Traces of blood seeped from Garp's fist, and a streak of blood ran from the corner of Sengoku's mouth. They had blocked it.
But the space in front of them was now empty. Iron Kyle had vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there at all. Only the massive scar that now ran across the entire island of Marineford, and the cold rain that was still drizzling down, proved that any of it had ever happened.
And so, the event that would later be known as the "Dragon and Lion Rebellion," which destroyed most of Marineford, came to an end.
The "Flying Admiral," Golden Lion Shiki, was defeated and imprisoned.
The "Wave Guiding King," Iron Kyle, escaped and was now on the run.
The Marines suffered heavy losses.
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