Akainu's gaze became sharp again, but within that sharpness, the previous intent to kill Kaido at all costs was gone, replaced by a cold, almost self-sacrificial resolve.
He swung his fist again at the unstable Kaido. The offensive remained fierce and the magma continued to roar, but... there was an extremely subtle "disharmony" in the rhythm that only the top-tier experts could perceive.
Just as Kaido gritted his teeth and swung his spiked club, "hassaikai," wreathed in Haoshoku and Armament Haki, to deliver a ferocious counterattack—
Akainu's giant magma fist, which should have evaded or clashed at a more sophisticated angle, somehow seemed a fraction of a second "slow," or perhaps there was a "miscalculation" in his "prediction."
"BOOM—!!!"
The hassaikai, wreathed in black-red lightning, slammed solidly into the magma arm Akainu had hastily raised! The violent force exploded, and Akainu let out a muffled groan. He was actually sent stumbling back over ten meters by this massive force, his feet melting two deep furrows into the ground! On the arm he used to block, the magma dissipated, and there was even a faint, subtle sound of bone cracking; a streak of glaring blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.
"The Admiral... is injured?!" a Marine exclaimed in shock.
Kaido was also stunned. He felt that although his strike was heavy, with Akainu's strength, he shouldn't have taken the full damage so "honestly."
Only a very few people, like Kizaru with his flickering eyes and Aokiji with his slightly furrowed brows, had a flash of realization deep in their eyes.
This injury happened far too conveniently.
The dull pain in his chest and the slight cracking of his arm bones were incredibly real, but the heavy determination in Akainu's heart to bear the burden alone and secretly defy orders gave birth to a sense of almost tragic self-validation within that pain.
That fellow Kuzan might hesitate, and that bastard Borsalino was always slippery... but at a critical moment, the Marine always needed someone to make a clear choice, even if that choice meant bearing the risk of rebellion and personal injury.
He used the momentum of being knocked back by Kaido to stabilize himself. His sharp gaze swept toward the other two areas of the battlefield, intending to signal with his eyes, or at least confirm the status of his two colleagues facing such an overt threat—were they equally enraged, or forced to submit?
However, the scene that met his eyes caused his usually resolute facial muscles to stiffen for an imperceptible moment.
To the left, the area of the "intense battle" between Kizaru and Zephyr.
Golden light still flickered incessantly, lasers still fired everywhere, and the explosions were deafening; it looked incredibly lively.
But if one looked closely with the eyesight of a top-tier expert like Akainu... Kizaru's signature high-speed movements always seemed to graze the edges of Zephyr's violent but slightly clumsy mechanical fist, and most of the lasers happened to hit empty space or irrelevant ground.
Every time Zephyr roared and smashed down a heavy blow, Kizaru always managed to perilously avoid it by a hair's breadth. Occasionally blown away by shockwaves or aftershocks, he would always roll and dissipate the force in a slightly exaggerated manner, then immediately and tenaciously dive back into the fight, continuing this seemingly fierce but actually... inefficient "performance."
To the right, the area where Aokiji was located.
Cold air still permeated the air, and ice spikes and spears still emerged in an endless stream.
But his primary opponents seemed to be the rubble kicked up by the battle's aftershocks and the occasional low-level pirates or stray waves of energy.
Regarding the truly critical state of the battle, his cold air would sometimes perfectly delay the pursuit path of a Gorosei, and at other times, he would "lose control," causing a patch of ice to suddenly shatter and obstruct the advance of his own Marine soldiers.
Facing the threat from the Gorosei just now, not much of a ripple could be seen on Aokiji's face. His brow was just furrowed tighter, and the cold air around him... seemed even more "erratic."
Was this a struggle or submission after being threatened?
This was clearly... a pre-planned, skillfully executed, and tacitly understood—collective slacking!
The corner of Akainu's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
A mixture of absurdity, realization, and a faint sense of embarrassment quietly replaced some of the anger in his chest.
So... so it wasn't just me who reached the limit and was carrying the banner alone... It turns out these two bastards are each more slippery and calculating than the last. They probably saw through this muddy water as soon as the Gorosei personally joined the fray, or even earlier, and had already worked out their plans and found their exits in their hearts!
And only I... was still here agonizing over convictions, putting on a tragic show, and even going as far as taking a hit from Kaido's club to "make a statement"?
The clown... was me all along?
As this thought flashed through his mind, Akainu felt a rare, almost skin-crawling sense of speechlessness. He could almost imagine Kizaru's usual lewdly grinning face and nonsensical teasing after things settled down, as well as Aokiji's seemingly silent but meaningful gaze.
Tsk!
Akainu spat inwardly. That original sense of tragic isolation instantly dissipated by more than half, replaced by a subtle sense of frustration at being "played" by his "comrades" and only realizing it afterward. However, beneath this frustration, he also seemed to breathe a faint sigh of relief—at least, on this destined-to-be difficult and even dangerous path, he wasn't the only "disobedient" one.
Good then.
He shook his somewhat numb arm, magma surging once more. His gaze toward Kaido still held battle intent, but that resolve of "having to decide life and death immediately" had quietly faded a bit.
Since everyone is acting... then I'll see how this farce, directed by God himself, is finally supposed to end!
While the top-tier powerhouses were clashing violently with their convictions, lives, and world authority, the ghost-like spectators at the edge of the battlefield were seeing their fanaticism and professionalism skyrocket in sync with the escalating battle!
"Brothers! The gift rankings have hit third place! Thanks to the King of Underground Logistics for the Heart of the Universe! I'm a man of my word, I'll move another fifty meters closer right now!"
A pirate with a scar on his face but eyes flashing with gambler-like excitement hissed into his phone while weaving through ruins and smoke like a mole. He kept his camera fixed on the fierce battle between Beckman and Saint Mars. Flying rubble and scorching energy aftershocks almost grazed his scalp, but he seemed oblivious, even trying to adjust the angle to capture a close-up of Saint Mars's Black Flame Feathers.
"Look! Admiral Akainu seems to be injured! He was knocked back by Kaido! Zoom in! Zoom in more! I want to see if that blood on the corner of his mouth is real!"
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