"Thunder Angel: Originates from Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Fifth Angel is shaped like a regular octahedron and can transform into multiple configurations according to the situation. It is an aerial fortress with both offensive and defensive capabilities, and its A.T. Field can block all physical attacks."
The original Thunder Angel was powerful, but the positron cannon powered by all of Japan's electricity could still destroy its core in a single shot. The current Thunder Angel, however, was even stronger than the original.
A fragment of The X-Axis had been fused into its core.
The Schrift "X," The X-Axis, had been torn into numerous fragments and fused into different living beings and objects. The Thunder Angel had received more than thirty percent of its power.
By combining its already formidable lasers with the power of The X-Axis, the Thunder Angel gained even greater sniping range and the ability to pierce anything with its laser fire!
The Thunder Angel possessed an A.T. Field. In addition to granting an immensely powerful defense, it gave the creature's attacks an effect similar to Haki. Even a Logia user's elemental body could be pierced and forced into tangible form.
Its lasers were also so fast that Akainu could not evade them even after his Observation Haki foresaw the future.
Indeed, Akainu and the other two current Marine Admirals had all attained a high level of mastery over Observation Haki. They possessed exceptional talent for it. As Admirals who had eaten Logia-type Devil Fruits, they did not depend on Armament Haki, but Observation Haki was critically important to them.
Their bodies were fluid. As long as their Observation Haki was sufficiently powerful, they could anticipate and evade attacks infused with an enemy's Armament Haki.
Fleet Admiral Ann naturally understood this. To help the three Admirals make better use of their advantages, she had personally trained them for a long time and refused to let them leave until their Observation Haki met her standards.
To Ann, meeting the standard meant acquiring future sight, even if they could see only one second into the future.
Ann regarded that level of Observation Haki as barely adequate, but to the outside world, it was an extraordinary and exceedingly rare accomplishment.
Fewer than ten people in the world could see the future.
Akainu could glimpse the immediate future, but foreseeing an attack did not always mean he could evade it. The Thunder Angel's attacks were simply impossible for a human to dodge!
The lasers were so fast that the moment one saw them appear, they had already arrived.
Now an unbroken line of lasers stretched before them, seemingly poised to level the Red Line itself.
Most importantly, the enemy had not even appeared before them. The Marine soldiers stationed along the Red Line were beginning to break down. They did not know who or where the enemy was. All they could see were lasers continuously arriving from far beyond the horizon.
"Great Eruption!"
Akainu roared, and magma surged forth, blanketing everything ahead like a sky filled with burning clouds. Compared with the incoming lasers, however, even that seemed insignificant.
He could no longer afford to conceal his strength. If those lasers swept across the Red Line, the soldiers would probably be vaporized.
Fusing with the Fire Card had already made Akainu stronger than his original self. Now, as he unleashed its magic without restraint, his aura erupted like a volcano and sent tremendous power surging forward.
Rumble...
A chain of densely packed explosions erupted before Akainu's section of the Red Line. The resulting shock waves instantly sent the closest soldiers flying.
Screams filled the Red Line. Akainu gritted his teeth and refused to retreat a single step, while the Thunder God transformed into lightning and raced toward the Thunder Angel!
Boom!
Another laser suddenly shot toward the Thunder God. Electricity crackled across his entire body as he struck it with his fist, deflecting the beam into the sky.
The laser instantly pierced the clouds and left spiraling layers in the heavens, as though it had passed through the atmosphere and entered outer space.
"Judgment!"
The Thunder God roared. The moment the laser tore through the sky, vast quantities of lightning gathered inside the spiraling cavity. Thick arcs of electricity escaped from it, only to transform into pure energy and merge back into a growing sphere.
An enormous dark-blue sphere of lightning, more than five hundred meters across, appeared in the sky. It seemed capable of devouring everything and was several times larger than even the Thunder Angel's colossal body.
The Thunder God thrust his hands downward, and the enormous sphere began to fall.
The Thunder Angel transformed again. Blue crystals clustered around its central core, and the reflected image of the core made eyes seem to appear within each diamond-shaped crystal.
Even the sound accompanying the creature's appearance changed, becoming still grander and more majestic.
Red light gathered. Before the sphere of lightning could descend, a thick crimson beam blasted into the sky.
The beam swallowed the falling sphere. The tremendous power gathered inside the lightning did not resist for even a second before being consumed. The red beam then swept toward the Thunder God, who barely evaded it with his extraordinary speed as it lashed past like a crimson whip.
He could dodge, but the sea could not.
When the crimson beam swept downward and touched the water, it split the sea apart. The ocean surged frantically toward either side as both the water and the creatures within it seemed to flee from the beam.
"What a nuisance. The Black Order has certainly brought us an enormous problem," Akainu remarked.
He had arrived using Geppo and finally saw the true form of the being with which he had been struggling. The Thunder Angel's appearance and its terrifying attack, which seemed capable of devouring everything it touched, drew the complaint from him.
"This is necessary for the peace of the world," the Thunder God replied gravely.
He was an Admiral of the Black Order, so naturally he had to refute Akainu's words.
Akainu said nothing else. He had initially been deeply dissatisfied with the Black Order's request. The Marines and the Black Order were separate institutions and had clashed repeatedly over how to handle pirates and demonfolk. Yet a mere claim from the Black Order had forced the Marines to help guard Lilith's Egg.
If the Black Order had not suddenly requested their support, the Marines might already have planned a war against one of the Four Emperors!
Most importantly, the Black Order had provided no evidence for any of its claims.
They said Angels would attack Lilith's Egg. They said that if an Angel reached Terminal Dogma inside Lilith's Egg, it would trigger an Impact that destroyed a third of the world. They had offered no proof, yet expected the Marines to divert so much of their military strength to guard it. Akainu found that impossible to accept.
But a soldier had to obey orders. He trusted Ann's judgment, so he had ultimately gone.
He had remained there for an extremely long time without learning the slightest thing about the Angels. Only now had he finally encountered one.
Although the claims about the Impact remained unconfirmed, the Angels' existence had at least been proven.
And this thing...
It was certainly strong!
"Hold the Thunder Angel back for now. I've already ordered Aokiji to your position."
Ann's voice came through his earpiece. Akainu clicked his tongue but did not object.
Given the present situation, he and the Thunder God could not easily handle the Thunder Angel. Their greatest problem was the sea beneath them. Both men were Devil Fruit users. Aokiji's presence would greatly improve matters, since he could freeze the ocean and create solid ground on which they could fight.
"But will that be safe? Kizaru has already gone to Alabasta. If Aokiji comes here too, won't the Black Order be left with only Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Makima?"
"You don't need to worry about that. In truth, it wouldn't matter even if Admiral Sengoku left as well," Ann replied. Her voice made her confidence in Makima's strength clear.
And with good reason. Ann was probably the only person in the present world who understood Makima's true strength.
Roger had once fought Makima with everything he had. He had not only learned the nature of her combat abilities, but also discovered her true identity.
However, Makima had told him then that an Impact would occur if a Demon Lord came into contact with Lilith's corpse. Now, she was telling the Five Elders that an Angel would cause it.
Demon Lords and Angels...
What relationship existed between them?
The name Thunder Angel alone made it clear that the creature was not a demon.
If it was not even a demon, it certainly could not be a Demon Lord.
Ann could not determine what Makima was thinking, but she was at least certain that the Impact was real. Whether or not an Angel touching Lilith in Terminal Dogma would truly trigger it, Ann could not take that risk.
Besides the Thunder Angel, two Demon Lords were now highly likely to appear. If Makima truly intended to trigger an Impact to permanently eliminate certain demons, then what came next would present the perfect opportunity.
They therefore needed to eliminate the troublesome Thunder Angel as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, while communicating with Akainu, Ann's pupils contracted.
Her Observation Haki, which covered most of the Grand Line, began frantically warning her of danger. That should have been impossible. Her mastery allowed her to see quite far into the immediate future, especially when the danger involved her personally.
Yet this time, she had noticed nothing until the threat was almost upon her.
Had the enemy concealed itself from her on a mental level?
Ann had no time to think. An immense psychic force followed the connection created by her Observation Haki and entered her mind. A piercing pain struck her almost instantly. She clutched her head with both hands. Not since the original Roger died had she felt such a profound sense of danger.
After Roger's death, she had inherited his "legacy" and grown tremendously stronger. No Demon Lords had appeared in the world afterward, leaving her effectively invincible for a time.
Now danger had finally found her. Reality reminded her that peace was always temporary. No matter how far someone progressed, another crisis would inevitably arrive.
Her invincibility had been an illusion. Demon Lords still existed, along with other hidden beings.
Her mental strength was naturally immense, yet it seemed insignificant compared with the psychic force attacking her. That force was doing more than assaulting her. It was trying to control her!
"Y-You won't..."
Ann groaned in pain. She understood exactly what would happen if she fell under its control. She had never imagined that someone could control her from such an enormous distance.
Was it a Demon Lord?
She had just ended the conference with the World Government's various departments, and Akainu, with whom she had been speaking, was already fighting the Thunder Angel. If she were controlled now, no one would realize that Fleet Admiral Ann had become a Demon Lord's puppet.
If that happened, the world was finished!
This Demon Lord was cunning beyond imagination. Unlike the nearly insane Aatrox, it understood how to exploit internal conflicts among humans.
Even Shinso at Ann's side seemed to resonate with her. This weapon, which had gained consciousness after being fused with a Devil Fruit and demon cells, had accompanied Ann for many years. They were the closest of comrades. Ann held her head with one hand and gripped Shinso with the other.
She would rather kill herself than let a Demon Lord claim her!
Whether as a pirate or a Marine, whether as Roger or Ann, she would never permit another to control her or trample upon her will!
She pointed Shinso's tip at her throat and thrust without the slightest hesitation. She felt that she could resist for no more than another two seconds.
After that, the Demon Lord would dominate her mind!
But at that critical moment, a hand suddenly caught Ann's wrist.
An invisible force swept through her, greatly easing the piercing pain in her mind.
Ann's eyes were unfocused as she stared blankly ahead.
"Hey, giving up this quickly isn't like me!"
Someone had appeared before her. A man...
Or rather, a creature with a man's appearance.
A white mask that seemed fused to his cheeks covered part of his face, while an empty black hole gaped in his chest.
An evil aura surrounded the creature, yet Ann seemed to lower her guard.
Finally, she scoffed. "You finally came back."
"I was just lucky." The man did not release Ann's wrist. Instead, his mind seemed to merge with hers as they endured the Demon Lord's psychic assault together.
There was unquestionably only one man capable of doing that.
The man known as the Pirate King, who had once been one and the same with Fleet Admiral Ann.
Gol D. Roger!
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