Within the roaring sea of molten lava, Akainu smashed through the cube-shaped wall with a blazing punch.
His body dripped with magma, every movement radiating heat intense enough to melt steel.
When the wall burst apart, he stepped through the fiery smoke and appeared before Bonde Waldo.
"Still trying to run?" Akainu's voice was cold, cruel, and utterly unfeeling. "Don't worry. None of you are leaving this island alive."
The admiral's indifferent tone made it clear—he had already written off the Waldo Pirates as dead men walking.
To him, these small-time pirates were meaningless.
All that mattered was capturing the World Destroyer himself — Bonde Waldo.
"Heh… hahahaha!" Waldo tilted his head downward, his eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his hair. His mouth curled into a sinister grin that soon exploded into manic laughter.
"You've got it backwards, Akainu! It's you who won't escape alive!"
He could already imagine it — the expression on Akainu's face when Souta Kiryuu descended upon this battlefield.
That cold, stony mask would finally crack.
Akainu's brow twitched as he sensed the subtle change in Waldo's aura.
This wasn't an empty bluff.
The man truly believed powerful reinforcements were coming.
Could it be… the Dragon Crew?
"You mad dog! You burned down my island-ship! I'll make sure you stay buried here forever!"
Waldo's Armament Haki surged through his body like a tidal wave. From his fists to his forehead, his entire frame turned jet-black, his skin reflecting metallic light.
"Trash," Akainu sneered. "You must've called for Souta Kiryuu's help, didn't you? Tell me—who did he send to save you? You look pathetic, clinging to your master like a dog begging for protection."
He took a step forward, voice dripping with venom.
"Once, you were the great World Destroyer who terrorized the seas. Now look at you — barking under another man's command."
Akainu's words weren't random—they were deliberate. A provocation to shake Waldo's composure and extract information.
"Watch your mouth!" Waldo snarled, fury blazing in his eyes. "I'm no one's subordinate! Souta Kiryuu and I are allies—equals! We stand together against the World Government! You're the real dog here, Akainu! A rabid hound the Government calls and dismisses at will!"
Akainu's face darkened.
So it was true — Souta Kiryuu was coming.
His pupils shrank.
If Kiryuu himself descended here, the entire Dragon Crew's core members might not be far behind.
And his current Marine fleet… wouldn't stand a chance.
"Wahahaha! Scared now, aren't you?" Waldo roared with laughter, his voice echoing across the burning ruins. "Too late to run! He'll be here any minute now!"
Time ticked away — half of the three minutes had already passed in their heated exchange.
With his Multiply-Multiply Fruit, Waldo could easily toy with Akainu for a few minutes.
Akainu glared at him, his instincts screaming that Waldo wasn't lying.
He had to end this quickly.
Without hesitation, the admiral launched his counterattack.
A crimson flash erupted beneath his feet.
"Cheap tricks won't save you, Waldo."
Before the pirate could react, a massive lava hound burst from the molten floor, lunging at him with terrifying speed.
"Damn it—!"
Waldo twisted aside, using his acceleration to dodge, but more magma beasts emerged, cutting off his escape routes.
"Your Observation Haki's that sharp, huh?" he cursed through gritted teeth, his blackened arms crossing before him as another magma hound crashed into him head-on.
The impact sent him flying backward. Even with Armament Haki shielding him, the unbearable heat scorched his arms until smoke rose from his skin.
The agony made him hiss in pain.
"I'll crush you before Souta Kiryuu arrives!"
"Hellhound!"
Akainu's voice cut through the smoke. His magma fist condensed into a molten demonic hound, its body gleaming like liquid metal as it roared toward Waldo's face.
"Kill me? You'll have to do better than that!"
"Multiply — One Hundred Times Speed!"
Waldo's voice boomed as his body vanished into a blur. His entire frame shimmered, encased in Armament Haki.
He could only handle that kind of acceleration while fully hardened. Without it, his body would rip itself apart.
Normally, he operated at ten, thirty, or fifty times speed—but now, he had no choice.
"Haah… haah…" Waldo panted from a distant perch, glaring at the magma admiral. "That fruit of yours really is monstrous, Akainu!"
"I hate fast pests like you," Akainu growled, his frustration mounting. He didn't know when Souta Kiryuu would appear—but when he did, the situation would spiral out of control.
"And I hate magma freaks like you!"
"Multiply — One Hundredfold Slash!"
Waldo drew the short blade from his waist. Under his fruit's power, it expanded in an instant—becoming a massive, forty-meter blade.
With a furious swing, he cleaved through the air, slicing Akainu clean in half.
The magma admiral's torso split apart—then melted into liquid fire, reforming into a massive serpent that coiled up the length of Waldo's weapon.
"Damn Logias! Damn that elemental regeneration!"
Waldo cursed, flinging the blazing blade away and vanishing once more at blinding speed.
He despised magma's unbearable heat.
Akainu despised Waldo's impossible velocity.
That hundredfold acceleration exceeded even Akainu's Observation Haki—it was too fast to predict.
If it had only been ten or twenty times, maybe he could've tracked a shadow, used overwhelming magma strikes to counter… but this speed left him blind.
"Magma World!"
Akainu roared, unleashing his full power. Lava erupted from beneath his feet like a volcanic sea, flooding the entire underground labyrinth in molten destruction.
The very air rippled from the heat.
"You sure that's wise?" Waldo taunted from above, standing midair on Geppo. "That move must burn through your stamina fast. By the time Souta Kiryuu gets here, you'll be too drained to fight!"
Despite his mocking tone, even Waldo looked wary.
The entire subterranean fortress was transforming into a magma hellscape—a place where few could even survive, let alone fight.
Akainu ignored him completely.
With each motion, a new magma fist burst upward, soaring toward Waldo like volcanic artillery.
The pirate darted left and right through the blazing sky, each dodge a desperate dance between life and death.
Their battle became a deadly chase—fire against speed, fury against pride.
The question now was simple:
Could Bonde Waldo endure long enough… for Souta Kiryuu to arrive?
Meanwhile, far from the inferno, the remaining Waldo Pirates had run into disaster.
They'd been spotted by Vice Admiral Guilloché the Guillotine, and a fierce battle erupted on the island's outskirts.
Naiqin, the elderly woman who had rejuvenated herself with experimental medicine, fought desperately—but even in her prime form, she was no match for the Marine officer.
Injured and cornered, the giant fishman Sebastian roared, charging back into the fight alongside her.
Moments later, Gairam arrived, hiding the frail Binjack before joining the fray himself.
But their combined efforts only drew more Marines—Vice Admiral Tocha and his men—who quickly surrounded them.
The surviving Waldo Pirates found themselves trapped once again, outnumbered and wounded.
Their only hope now… was that Souta Kiryuu would arrive before the flames claimed them all.