"Vohahaha!" Rocks' laughter echoed across the sea. "If I were a Devil Fruit user, I'd be dead just now!"
Makoto stood within the Susanoo, smiling without speaking.
People in this world really had issues. So many major battles in the original work took place on islands… damn, with so many Devil Fruit users, couldn't you just ambush them while they were on their ships?
With luck, you could wipe them all out in one go, saving the trouble.
Seeing Rocks still fine, Makoto felt it didn't matter. He had plenty of ways.
The next instant, Makoto formed hand seals again. At the same time, the Mangekyo Sharingan in both eyes spun rapidly, the pattern of the Eternal Mangekyo swirling wildly in his crimson irises.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."
"Amaterasu."
Two techniques, activated simultaneously. Black flames poured from Makoto's right eye, while a colossal fire dragon erupted from his mouth.
The black flames adhered to the fire dragon's body, dyeing the originally orange-red dragon an ominous pitch black.
A massive Eastern dragon, its entire body engulfed in black flames, rose before Makoto, opened its huge mouth, let out a silent roar, and charged towards Rocks.
"This time it's fire?!" Linlin's eyes widened. Her Soul-Soul Fruit ability could create Homies, but this black fire dragon before her was on an entirely different level from the dolls she created.
Rocks watched the black dragon charging at him, and the smile on his face finally faded a bit.
He gripped his sword with both hands, every muscle in his body tensed. Armament Haki coated the blade, turning the entire sword pure black.
Conqueror's Haki also wrapped around it, dark red aura flowing over the sword's surface.
"Haaaah—!!!" Rocks roared and swung his sword. Black-red sword energy clashed with the pure black dragon in mid-air.
Boom—!!!
The explosion was deafening. The shockwave blew away all the remaining seawater on the surface, exposing a wider seabed.
Both ships were pushed backward by the shockwave for dozens of meters, the keels groaning under the strain.
Rocks's slash had severed the black dragon's head. The dragon's body exploded in mid-air, scattering into countless small black fireballs.
But the battle wasn't over.
Those black fireballs didn't dissipate, didn't extinguish. Instead, they rained down on Rocks like a torrential black downpour.
Seeing this, Rocks' expression changed. Without hesitation, Rocks unfastened his coat and threw it out. The coat landed on the ground, and the black flames quickly devoured it, burning it to a pile of ash within seconds. But on that ash, the black flames continued to burn.
"What the hell is this..." Rocks gritted his teeth. He didn't dare take any more hits. He erupted with incredible speed, sprinting across the seabed, dodging the falling black rain of fire.
The entire battlefield was becoming a sea of black flames.
Whiirrlll—
Suddenly, the sound of high-speed rotation, like a helicopter's rotor, filled the air. Everyone turned to look.
In Makoto's right hand, a massive blue-white spiraling energy sphere was condensing. Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
The sphere was over three meters in diameter, formed by countless tiny, blade-like Chakra rotating at high speed, emitting a piercing whine.
The Rasenshuriken spun in Makoto's hand, then was hurled violently.
The Rasenshuriken arced through the air towards Rocks. And more terrifyingly… wherever it passed, the scattered Amaterasu flames in the air were all attracted by its rotating airflow.
Black flames adhered to the surface of the Rasenshuriken, layer upon layer. The blue-white energy sphere turned pure black. Like a giant black flaming wheel, descending from the sky.
"..." Rocks watched the black energy sphere flying towards him, his pupils contracting sharply.
Rocks gritted his teeth, gripped his sword with both hands, and poured all his power into this single slash.
"Haaaah—!" Rocks roared and swung his sword at the Rasenshuriken.
The moment the sword tip touched the Rasenshuriken…
Screeeech—
A piercing grinding sound erupted, sparks flew, and black flames scattered from the point of contact.
Rocks' feet plowed two deep furrows into Forget Island, his body pushed back continuously by the Rasenshuriken.
The Rasenshuriken spun at high speed, the attached Amaterasu flames constantly billowing towards him.
Small flames licked at his arms, his shoulders, his cheeks. The burning sensation ached dully. Rocks clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead.
"That guy Rocks... is completely suppressed," Shiki said, raising an eyebrow, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"He truly deserves to be the King of the New World. No wonder he could humiliate the World Government like that," Miss Bakkin said, turning to look at Newgate. "Newgate, after this, the two of us should form a new pirate crew."
"I don't want to," Newgate said, curling his lip.
"What did you say?" Miss Bakkin instantly bristled.
Just then, Ochoku looked at the Otherworlder-Go opposite and his eyes lit up. "Speaking of which, their ship is really luxurious. They must have looted quite a bit from the World Government, right?"
As soon as he said this, everyone turned their gaze to Ochoku.
"What are you thinking of doing?" Newgate asked, squinting. Although everyone on the Rocks Pirates besides him was basically greedy for money, Ochoku was definitely the standout among them.
Although Makoto was currently occupied with Rocks, and only three little girls were visible on the opposing ship, Newgate didn't think taking advantage of the situation to loot was a good decision.
"Just saying," Ochoku said, curling his lip.
But then… Ochoku's expression froze mid-change.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Linlin asked curiously, seeing the guy's expression stiffen. The next second, everyone saw Ochoku's head begin to move laterally.
From left to right, smoothly shifting. Then—
Plop.
The head fell onto the deck, rolled a couple of times, and stopped at Kaido's feet.
Seeing this, everyone was startled.
Newgate's expression changed. He turned his head to look at the bow of the ship. There, at some point, stood a figure clad entirely in black armor.
The figure had four arms, each ending in a high-speed rotating chainsaw. And even more shocking was… a large intestine was wrapped around his neck like a scarf.
Tied to the end of the intestine was another person's head. [Red Count] Patrick Redfield. A great pirate with a bounty over one billion, a powerful figure Rocks had long wanted to recruit… was now nothing but a head, its expression frozen like Ochoku's at the moment of death, its mouth slightly agape as if it still wanted to say something.
"Who are you?!" All members of the Rocks Pirates changed their expressions dramatically and assumed fighting stances.
However, the figure in black armor ignored them. The black-armored figure visibly shrank in size. The armor faded, the chainsaws retracted, the four arms merged. Finally, it turned into a small dog with a chainsaw.
"Woof woof!" Pochita leaped onto Makoto's shoulder. Makoto, who was still engaging Rocks, looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Pochita, why did you suddenly transform?"
But he quickly understood why. He turned his head to look at the Otherworlder-Go, Erina, Alice, and Leonora were standing on the deck, with Alice still holding a Devil Fruit in her arms.
Pochita had clearly transformed to protect them.
"Good job," Makoto reached out and patted Pochita's head. Pochita woofed in response and squinted his eyes.
Just then, Rocks below let out a roar of rage.
"Haaaah—!!" Using all his strength, he finally shattered the Amaterasu Rasenshuriken.
The Rasenshuriken exploded, scattering into countless tiny chakra fragments. Rocks stood where he was, panting heavily. Various parts of his body were stained with Amaterasu flames, burning his skin. But he didn't fall.
Swish—
Rocks unhesitatingly slashed at his own flesh where the flames had attached. Blood gushed from the wounds, dripping down his body to the ground.
"What a tough guy," Makoto commented from above.
Pochita, lying on Makoto's shoulder, asked, "Is he an enemy? Then let's finish him off quickly."
As he spoke, Pochita prepared to fuse with Makoto.
"No need. Go back to sleep. I'll give him a quick death myself." Makoto looked at Rocks, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned. As one of the few characters in the latter part of the original work who hadn't disgusted him, Makoto decided to be merciful and let Rocks leave with dignity.