Streams of molten magma flowed endlessly from Akainu's body as he stepped forward, each heavy stride leaving behind a trail of searing lava.
Wherever he passed, the grass and trees ignited into flames.
Before long, the entire island had erupted into chaos — countless fires blazing across its surface.
"Run! Go on, keep running!" Akainu's voice was cold, cruel, and laced with rage. "I'll burn this entire island to ash and see where you think you can escape to!"
"Meteor Volcano!"
His face betrayed no emotion as he raised both arms high. A torrent of molten fire burst forth from the sky like a rain of destruction, turning the Grosseadia into a sea of blazing inferno.
"Wahahaha! Akainu, you'll regret chasing me down here!"
Bonde Waldo stood amidst the inferno, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His face, waist, and shoulders were scorched black by Akainu's molten fists.
That mad dog's mastery over the Magma-Magma Fruit was terrifying beyond belief — even Waldo's Armament Haki couldn't withstand that kind of heat.
No wonder the world called him the strongest admiral in the Marines.
"Regret? That word doesn't exist in my vocabulary."
Akainu's cold smile twisted across his face. His eyes were merciless, his presence suffocating. Under his magma-coated fists, an enemy could dodge a hundred times, but the moment they took even one hit — the fight was already over.
The burns left by his magma were unlike any ordinary wound. The scalded flesh and cooked muscle inflicted agony far worse than any blade or bullet could offer.
"Oh really? Then I hope you can keep acting so tough!"
Waldo sneered, blood bubbling at his lips. His killing intent surged. As soon as Souta Kiryuu's Dragon Crew arrived, he would see just how long Akainu could keep up that fearless act.
He activated his Multiply-Multiply Fruit, his body vanishing in a blur — fifty times faster than before — and disappeared through the inner gates of the island fortress, slipping back into the palace.
Outside, the burning forest blazed like hell itself. The temperature had become unbearable — he couldn't keep fighting there.
He wasn't a magma user; he didn't have Akainu's terrifying resistance to heat.
"Think you can run? Even if I burn everything to the ground, I'll still drag you out!"
Akainu's Observation Haki locked onto Waldo's position. He didn't care if the man was hiding behind a mountain or buried beneath the ground.
Under the molten heat, even walls disguised as cliffs or stone melted away, revealing the fortress within.
Akainu stormed in without hesitation.
Where he passed, mountains turned to rivers of fire, walls melted into molten slag, and even steel barriers were pierced through with glowing, circular holes.
Gairam's cube-constructed labyrinth — the pride of their mechanical fortress — couldn't stop Akainu's unstoppable advance.
Not even for a moment.
Even the two Marine vice admirals following him had abandoned all concern for stamina — blasting through wall after wall instead of falling for any trap Gairam had prepared.
They were Akainu's subordinates — men who shared his brutal, unrelenting nature.
For them, the answer to everything was overwhelming force.
Deep within the fortress, Gairam finally located the injured Captain Waldo, helping him retreat into the deepest level of the island's labyrinth.
"Captain! We should escape through the underground harbor! There's a small boat we can use!"
Gairam urged desperately. He didn't want to abandon the ship-island they'd built with their own hands over decades — but the situation was dire.
The once-proud Grosseadia was burning from end to end. The forest above had been reduced to ash, and Akainu and his Marines were tearing through the fortress's interior without restraint.
Half of the entire structure was already destroyed.
With Waldo and Sebastian both injured, they had no choice but to prioritize survival.
No one knew when Souta Kiryuu's Dragon Crew would arrive. They couldn't bet their lives on uncertain hope.
"…"
Waldo looked at his crew — their anxious eyes pleading for his decision. But his heart burned with hatred. He couldn't just abandon the ship.
That damned Marine had destroyed everything his comrades had worked for — years of effort turned to cinders.
And even if they did escape by boat, the Navy's battleships would hunt them down before they could reach open sea.
No — he wouldn't run.
All he could do now was hold on until Kiryuu's crew arrived, then slaughter Akainu and every Marine in their path.
He snatched up a Den Den Mushi and dialed furiously.
"You bastards! Where the hell are you right now? I'm about to get cooked alive by Akainu! The Grosseadia is burning to the ground!"
As the line connected, Waldo's furious roar echoed through the Den Den Mushi's shell.
If the Dragon Crew had arrived just a little earlier, his proud floating fortress wouldn't have turned into this blazing ruin.
This ship — their dream — had taken thirty years to build, piece by piece.
After everything that had happened recently, Waldo had started forgiving his so-called "traitorous" comrades — rediscovering the purpose and fire they'd shared long ago.
He'd cast off his thirty years of hatred and warped ambition, returning to the man who once dreamed of freedom alongside his crew.
That was why he couldn't abandon the Grosseadia.
This ship was his crew's life — their pride. Even as a ruin, he would protect it.
"Hohoho… Captain Waldo, sounds like you're in bad shape," came Laffitte's voice through the receiver, smooth and teasing. "But we're seeing black smoke in the distance. Seems we're closer than you think. Hold on a bit longer — our captain doesn't want you dying before we get there."
At that, the Waldo Pirates cheered in disbelief.
"They're close?!"
"Then hurry the hell up!" Waldo bellowed. "If you take your sweet time and I die here, don't expect me to lift a finger when we go after the World Government later!"
He still owed Souta Kiryuu a few favors — times when the Dragon himself had come to his aid. When that debt was repaid, they would fight side by side against the World Government.
Kiryuu's ambition burned brighter than even Rocks, the tyrant who once ruled the New World.
"Three minutes," Kiryuu's calm, confident voice replied. "Don't die before then."
Whether it was because he truly valued Waldo, or simply didn't want the Multiply-Multiply Fruit to respawn elsewhere, no one could tell.
"Like hell I'll die!" Waldo spat, voice trembling with fury. "Not until I break that mad dog's legs and crush those World Government scum!"
A deep, resonant dragon's roar echoed faintly across the horizon, and for the first time, Waldo allowed himself a smirk.
Souta Kiryuu was coming.
The tide was about to turn.
"Three minutes… good. We'll just hide in the maze until then!"
Gairam's voice was full of relief — but before he could finish, an orange-red glow spread across the ceiling above them.
In the next instant, molten magma burst through the roof, raining down in blazing streams.
Akainu Sakazuki descended through the molten storm, his figure outlined in fire.
"Found you, little rats. You hid deep this time."
"Great Eruption!"
Without hesitation, Akainu thrust his blazing fist forward — a massive wave of magma crashed down toward the pirates.
"Cube Fortress!"
"Run!!"
Gairam slammed his palms against the ground, conjuring a massive cube wall to block the searing attack. For a fleeting moment, it held — then cracked and melted under the overwhelming heat.
Naiqin scooped up the small-bodied Binjack, dragging the wounded Sebastian with him as they dashed through one of the labyrinth's escape doors.
"Captain! You need to go too!" Gairam shouted.
But Waldo refused.
With a grim nod, Gairam had no choice but to seal the door and leave.
"Take them somewhere safe," Waldo ordered. "I'll hold this mad dog off for a few minutes."
Even in his battered state, his voice carried the weight of command. He could hold the line — at least long enough for Kiryuu to arrive.
Gairam looked at his captain — changed, but resolute. He believed in him and fled through the lower tunnels to lead the survivors away.
Meanwhile, high above the burning island, a crimson dragon sliced through the sky, its roar shaking the heavens as it hurtled toward the column of black smoke.
"Akainu!" roared Souta Kiryuu from above, his voice like thunder. "This time, there's no Gorosei to save you. You're not escaping. That Magma Fruit of yours — it belongs to the Dragon Crew now!"
Excitement burned in his tone. Akainu's body, bloodline, and Devil Fruit — each one was a treasure worth claiming.
And soon… all three would be his.