Fos Fitz's body had already begun to beastialize before the thought even fully formed in his mind.
There was no time left to ponder success or failure.
Sakazuki was flying back at an incredible speed, and in an instant, he was right in front of Fitz.
At this moment, Fos Fitz had transformed into a giant saber-toothed tiger. His already three-meter-plus frame had expanded significantly, making him appear like a mountain of flesh, but a mountain composed entirely of muscle...
The colossal saber-toothed tiger crouched on the lava, its posture akin to a feline predator preparing to pounce.
Its entire body was coated in black Armament Haki. Its powerful limbs were deeply embedded in the lava, gripping the ground with all its might, and the muscles around its body bulged with exertion.
Its gaze was fixed intently on Sakazuki, who was rapidly approaching:
"Rankyaku..."
His blood began to surge, acting like a massive pump, channeling an endless stream of energy towards the front of his body.
Utilizing Armament Haki, his already incredibly tough physique, when combined with Rankyaku, became utterly indestructible...
"Fang Slash!!!"
Before Sakazuki could collide with him, Fos Fitz, in his giant saber-toothed tiger form, sprang from his crouched position and charged.
His sharp saber teeth aimed directly at Sakazuki's heart, as if intending to pierce through his back and impale him.
The recoiling Sakazuki and the afterimage of the saber-toothed tiger met.
BOOM—!!!!
A deafening explosion erupted, and a violent gust of wind swept outwards, flinging molten rock into the air.
Revealing the subtly collapsing ground beneath.
At the epicenter of the collision.
Sakazuki stood with his back to the giant saber-toothed tiger.
And the saber-toothed tiger's razor-sharp fangs were pressed firmly against Sakazuki's back, unable to penetrate even an inch...
A flicker of shock crossed Fos Fitz's tiger-like eyes. How could this be...?
Sakazuki, with his fangs pressed against his back, turned his head slightly:
"Rokushiki?"
Seeing that Sakazuki was completely unharmed, Fos Fitz snapped back to reality, and a cold sweat broke out...
Sakazuki gazed indifferently at the saber-toothed tiger, which was several times his size:
"How is your Soru?"
From a distance, Kaido's roar echoed:
"Idiot!"
"What are you waiting for!!!"
Kaido, in his dragon-human form, wielded his kanabō, which crackled with lightning:
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
A cylindrical blast of energy was unleashed by Kaido, crushing everything in its path as it hurtled towards Sakazuki.
WHOOSH—
Fos Fitz, in a panic, exerted all his strength and used Soru to flee in the opposite direction, his pink hair fluttering like a stream of pink light.
BOOM!!!
A tremendous impact sounded behind him.
Fos Fitz's heart leaped as he suddenly sensed something or someone by his side.
He turned his head slightly, his pupils contracting, and the entire world seemed to slow down.
Even at the extreme speed of Soru,
He could clearly see Sakazuki, also employing Soru, catching up from behind.
Looking at him as if he were already dead...
Then...
Sakazuki's figure vanished from his flank...
Before he could even look forward.
BOOM!!!!
Fos Fitz, in his giant saber-toothed tiger form, was seized by the fangs and slammed onto the ground by Sakazuki.
Meanwhile, far behind him, Kaido's columnar blast aimed at Sakazuki had only just landed, causing a tremor...
Sakazuki looked at the beast's head, contorted in terror.
His left hand, holding the fangs, shifted slightly, repositioning them. He slowly raised his right fist:
"Shigan."
CRACK—!!!!
A colossal sound reverberated through the heavens and earth.
Sakazuki's arm remained in its clenched fist pose, seemingly motionless, and then slowly lowered.
His left hand also released the giant beast's fangs.
The beast's head was filled with horror, as if something had shattered.
The massive saber-toothed tiger collapsed to its knees. It stared at its own chest, miraculously intact, and muttered in disbelief:
"How... is it possible..."
"Rokushiki... can actually..."
So powerful...
These were the last three words that flashed through his mind. His body, which should have fallen forward, unnaturally folded backward...
Fos Fitz, once a prodigy of CP9, a master of Rokushiki, who had ascended to the position of a Tobi Roppo through his Devil Fruit and his mastery of Rokushiki.
His talent and strength were undeniable.
Yet, he had never imagined that someone's Rokushiki could reach such a level.
He himself had been completely crushed and killed by Rokushiki...
His years of arduous training felt like a cruel joke...
Behind the fallen Fos Fitz,
The violent shockwaves from the punch had pulverized a large section of the ground.
The lava behind Fos Fitz had been obliterated in a fan-shaped pattern, stretching endlessly...
The flesh and bone within the giant saber-toothed tiger's chest had been reduced to powder and dispersed as a bloody mist, leaving only the skin on the front of his chest intact.
His back had been completely blown out and hollowed, hence the unnatural backward folding of his body...
THUD—
Fos Fitz's corpse fell lifelessly to the ground, motionless.
Ignoring the useless corpse of a dead man.
Sakazuki looked up slightly.
Kaido had also arrived from behind, flying in with fury and leaping into the air.
He gripped his kanabō tightly, Conqueror's Haki wrapping around it. The storm clouds in the sky responded to Kaido's rage:
"Roar! Thunder! Bagua!!!"
The kanabō, connected to lightning, crashed down upon Sakazuki.
CRACK—!!!
Sakazuki raised his left hand to catch the descending kanabō, the immense sound echoing.
He was driven into the ground by the impact. Sakazuki's brow furrowed slightly, his palm feeling numb. It was clear that taking the full force head-on was still a strain.
But Sakazuki's objective was not to kill Kaido; he still had a use for him...
With a slight exertion of force, his left hand lifted the kanabō a little. He looked indifferently at Kaido:
"Before I flip the table,"
"Who gave you the courage to attack first?"
"After being called an Emperor of the Sea a few times, did you really start thinking you were something special?"
Kaido's face darkened, his voice filled with killing intent:
"You! What! Did! You! Say!!!"
The muscles in his arms bulged, and the crackling of electricity sounded like the cacophony of tens of thousands of birds.
Endless electrical sparks ignited, seemingly on the verge of melting the kanabō, pressing Sakazuki further into the ground.
Sakazuki merely looked at Kaido indifferently. On the surface of his left hand, which was holding the kanabō, Armament Haki erupted externally.
CRASH—
He transformed into lava and merged with the molten rock that covered the island.
BOOM!!!
The kanabō smashed into the ground, shaking the very foundations of the island.
Kaido's enraged voice boomed across the island:
"Everyone!"
"Leave here immediately!!!"
From Roo, all the way to Fos Fitz, Kaido finally understood Sakazuki's intention.
That man intended to kill all of his subordinates one by one as revenge...
But he couldn't afford any more losses...
The accumulation of years; there were so few high-ranking executives.
Below the Three Calamities were the Tobi Roppo, and now three of them were dead, leaving half of them incapacitated.
Below them were the Numbered Ones guarding Wano Country.
The rest were the Tobiroppo and below who had been brought along; they had basically all died in Sakazuki's self-detonation...
---------
On Kibao Island, on the other side.
As Sakazuki's body reformed, he sensed Kaido rapidly approaching from that direction.
However, Sakazuki paid him no mind. His right hand transformed into lava and he raised it, looking at a blank space in the sky:
"Inugami..."
An infinitely extending pillar of lava shot out, reaching nearly a thousand meters.
STAB—
It pierced through something, yet nothing was visible.
Sakazuki's figure vanished from the island. Through the elongated lava pillar, he appeared in the sky a thousand meters away, his body solidifying.
His right hand, however, did not withdraw; instead, it twisted. The blank space in front of him contorted in pain, revealing a figure unable to control itself:
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Researcher Queen..."