Blazing fires burned fiercely. Large groups of Marine soldiers were enveloped by a tsunami of pure white flames, and localized, suffocating heat waves violently rushed toward them.
It was fortunate that these elite soldiers possessed a decent level of Haki and physical strength, barely preventing them from being instantly burned to ash by the residual, ambient heat radiating from the firestorm.
Just then, Sakazuki—the strongest among the survivors—suddenly let out a furious, blood-curdling roar.
"Flame Emperor Pirate scum!!"
He violently swung his longsword and charged directly through the searing flames, aiming straight for the origin source.
York calmly watched the rookie Marine charge at him, his expression entirely bored. He casually swung his massive sword.
Disdaining to even use Haoshoku Infusion against someone of this caliber, York relied solely on the devastating Bombardment Swordsmanship he had learned directly from Rocks D. Xebec. With a single, heavy strike—which felt to Sakazuki like an apocalyptic meteor slamming down on his chest—the young Marine instantly spat out a massive mouthful of blood and was sent violently flying backward.
BOOM!
The tall, muscular figure slammed heavily into the bedrock, creating a deep, spiderweb crater. Simultaneously, York smoothly retracted the towering sea of flames he had just unleashed.
"This Marine rookie actually has some courage," York noted coldly, resting his blade on his shoulder. "Capture him. Leave absolutely no one else alive."
York issued the kill order with zero hesitation, and Emporio Ivankov executed it with lethal efficiency.
Before long, all the remaining, struggling Marine soldiers in the western part of the island were entirely wiped out. The only one left breathing was Sakazuki, who was tightly bound and officially became the Flame Emperor's high-value captive.
"York!! Give Nightin back!!"
Byrnndi World, who had managed to recover a tiny fraction of his stamina by desperately hiding behind Ginny's Bari Bari no Mi barrier, stood up from the rubble and demanded the return of his ship's doctor.
York glanced at the exhausted legend with absolute indifference.
"Nightin is already my hostage. If you want to take her back, come to my Empire and try to steal her yourself!!"
York's eyes narrowed. "We are pirates, World! If you don't possess the strength to protect what is yours, don't ever expect others to show you mercy or charity!!"
Having delivered that reality check, York turned his back and walked away.
He had no interest in killing Byrnndi World today.
For one, it was entirely unnecessary. A rabid mad dog like World couldn't genuinely threaten his Empire; his continued existence on the seas would only cause greater, chaotic trouble for the World Government and the Marines—especially since York now held his primary physician as leverage.
The other reason was a calculating consideration for Nightin's eventual loyalty. It wouldn't be strategically sound to directly execute her Captain right in front of her.
It wasn't that York purely spared World out of the goodness of his heart, but rather that Nightin's specific abilities were absolutely worth the diplomatic price.
Currently within the Crimson Empire, even though York had already secured the unparalleled genius of Vegapunk and had recruited a group of first-rate, skilled doctors from the Drum Kingdom, his massive medical department still lacked a primary, biological leader.
Nightin's miraculous medical ability was perfectly suited for this role. In the original timeline, her mastery of Kempo and herbal medicine allowed her to temporarily restore an eighty-year-old body to its absolute physical peak of a young woman in her twenties just by using a few specialized traditional mixtures. If York provided her with unlimited resources to continue specializing in her unique medical arts, she might very well become the Vegapunk of the biological and medical field.
Even if she didn't become quite as outrageously revolutionary as Vegapunk, becoming a medical giant on the level of Queen the Plague or Vinsmoke Judge would still be a massive geopolitical victory for the Empire.
To ensure Nightin eventually served him wholeheartedly, the first psychological condition was simply not to murder World—or at least, neither York nor his direct subordinates should be the ones to kill him.
In any case, York knew from his meta-knowledge that Byrnndi World would soon be jointly besieged by the Marines and Cipher Pol within a few short years. He would be betrayed by an undercover spy, after which he would happily receive thirty years of frozen prison food in the lowest levels of Impel Down. York had absolutely no need to exert extra effort to speed up his demise.
Looking at the departing backs of the Crimson Empire's Vanguards, Byrnndi World felt truly, violently unwilling to accept this absolute defeat.
However, he was currently utterly powerless to launch a rescue mission for Nightin; he couldn't even definitively defeat the three brats under York's command.
'What an disgrace!!'
World furiously smashed his fist into the shattered ground, causing the earth to tremble.
He didn't hate York's arrogance or his tyranny; he hated his own pathetic lack of current strength. He had genuinely thought that after dominating the New World for so many years with his Moa Moa no Mi, he was practically invincible. Yet he never expected the sheer, insurmountable gap between himself and the Flame Emperor to be so vast!
"World..."
His sickly older brother, Byrnndi Byojack, looked at him from the rubble with a deeply worried expression.
After venting his impotent, destructive rage on the spot, World eventually forced himself to calm down, panting heavily.
"Let's go, Byojack."
"World! Aren't we going to try and save Nightin?!" Byojack gasped.
"It's not that we won't save her... it's that we don't have the power to save her right now!"
World looked up, his crazed eyes gazing intensely in the direction York and his crew had departed.
"We desperately need to improve our strength. I am currently no match for York. Even if we charged in right now, we would just die and fail to rescue Nightin."
Hearing this rational assessment, Byojack subtly let out a massive sigh of relief.
He had actually been terrified. He was profoundly afraid that World might act on pure, suicidal impulse, entirely ignoring the apocalyptic disparity in strength and foolishly attempting a frontal rescue, ultimately dooming their entire Pirate Crew to incineration. He was also afraid World might become entirely cold-hearted, abandoning a former comrade and chilling the loyalty of the crew.
Now it was fine. World's sanity and tactical awareness had returned! The World Pirates could finally focus on rebuilding their strength!
Returning to York's side.
After successfully capturing Sakazuki, York had Ivankov physically restrain and securely escort the struggling Marine—along with the rest of the group—back toward the southern part of the island.
Currently, except for the western shores, which York had completely cleared out with his firestorm, violent fighting was happening almost everywhere else across the island. The deafening roar of cannons, the lethal clash of swords, and fierce, bloodthirsty battle cries rose and fell continuously in the night air.
The peaceful and harmonious hot spring inn where York had stayed before departing was now severely structurally damaged due to the various chaotic battles spilling into the streets.
Fortunately, the interior of York's specific suite was still relatively safe. With the stoic Gunko standing guard at the door, the unconscious Nightin remained perfectly unharmed.
"Captain York! Are we going to physically break out of the blockade next? Or..." Ivankov asked, adjusting his grip on the chained Sakazuki.
York smiled confidently, looking at the towering Vanguard. "What do you think we should do?"
Ivankov was stunned for a moment, unsure how to properly reply to the Emperor's test.
York chuckled, adjusting his coat. "You all stay right here first. Keep a very close, lethal watch on this stubborn captive. I'm going to personally take care of the Marines' commanding officers!!"
With that, he turned and left the inn once more.
Stepping onto the ruined, ash-covered main street, York fully unleashed the absolute limits of his Advanced Observation Haki.
He felt it was entirely unnecessary and too time-consuming to manually kill all the thousands of Marine grunts swarming the island; he only needed to decapitate the snake by dealing with the high-level commanders of this Buster Call.
The fully spread, invisible dome of his Observation Haki acted exactly like a high-tech radar, projecting a massive, highly detailed 3D topographical map of the island directly into York's mind. It pinpointed the exact locations and intensity of all the powerful auras currently present on the Marine side.
York's Observation Haki hadn't yet demonstrated the god-like ability to "Hear the Voice of All Things," but it did possess a terrifying, macro-level function similar to a global scanner. It could clearly, flawlessly display the complex topography around him and the exact distribution of all high-tier combatants.
Furthermore, when entering active combat, his capture of enemy micro-movements was absolute. This meant that even though York hadn't actively trained his Observation Haki to the specific, specialized point of seeing into the future like Katakuri, his processing speed was so high that he could still flawlessly, accurately anticipate an enemy's next possible move simply by judging their current muscle twitches and intent.
"Found you."
York's handsome lips curved slightly into a predatory smile. He moved instantly, leaping with blinding speed directly toward the eastern part of the island.
In the precise perception of his Haki network, Vice Admiral Tsuru's highly familiar, disciplined aura was located exactly in that direction!
But besides her, there was another, incredibly powerful aura standing nearby—an aura entirely comparable to an peak Admiral-level expert.
'Is it Sengoku?' York pondered as he crossed the island. 'No, the signature is too heavy and straightforward. It should be Zephyr!!'
He had personally met Sengoku once during a clash and, if not entirely familiar with his golden, Buddha-like aura, he at least had a very distinct impression of its pressure. However, the heavy, imposing Admiral-level presence he sensed now was completely unfamiliar to him.
Therefore, considering all logistical factors and the presence of recruits, the highest probability was that the powerhouse currently standing beside Tsuru was 'Black Arm' Zephyr.
'Heh heh, Zephyr?' York mused, a dark, calculating glint in his eyes. 'Should I seriously consider kidnapping him beforehand? Putting aside his monstrous physical strength... his legendary teaching ability is certainly highly commendable for the Empire!'
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Give me powerstones.
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