A deafening explosion erupted, and searing waves of heat surged outward layer by layer.
At the epicenter of the blast, Sakazuki, his entire body coated in Armament Haki, had his left hand clamped onto Geyiram's skull.
Beneath his palm, Geyiram's eyes had rolled back, his consciousness extinguished.
Sakazuki's left hand tightened his grip.
Crack!
The sound of shattering bone echoed as, within Sakazuki's Observation Haki, Geyiram's life force rapidly faded.
Then, still gripping Geyiram's head, he flung the corpse in a predicted direction, sending it hurtling to land before Wald.
Wald, who had been locked in combat with Sengoku, his speed multiplied by fifty, was taken aback as Geyiram's corpse crashed directly in front of him.
Sengoku seized the opportunity, a white light flaring in his palm as a massive, translucent shockwave was pressed downward, engulfing Wald.
Hum—!
The airflow of the shockwave whined, followed by an endless golden light that illuminated the night sky, resembling daylight.
Centered on the shockwave, the very earth churned and expanded outwards wildly.
A pit over a hundred meters wide appeared. Blood trickled from Wald's seven orifices, and his Armament Haki-covered body showed numerous cracks. Standing at the bottom of the pit, his face contorted with madness, he roared:
"You dare!!!"
"You dare!!!"
"Momo! Hundredfold speed!!!"
The ground at the bottom of the pit, compacted by the explosion's shock, was blasted open again. Before Sengoku could react, Wald vanished.
He reappeared before Sakazuki in the distance, his fist smashing into Sakazuki's chest:
"Die for meeeeeee!!!"
Sensing Wald's presence but unable to react in time, Sakazuki was sent flying.
A concave fist print appeared on his chest as he flew hundreds of meters, crashing into a dilapidated house, which collapsed with a roar.
Sakazuki adjusted his position, only to be struck again by the frenzied Wald. As Sakazuki feigned being unable to defend himself, his body was sent flying in a particular direction.
The two gradually moved away from the town center.
Sengoku watched Sakazuki's retreating figure without concern. Bondi Wald's ability was indeed troublesome, making him difficult to capture.
Excluding his Devil Fruit powers, he was merely a formidable pirate with decent Armament Haki.
The golden Buddha, several meters tall, focused on the three members of the Wald Pirates fleeing from the town center. A shockwave energy blast formed in its hand.
The blast sliced through the sky, sweeping away everything in its path as it rushed towards the trio.
Sensing the whistling sound from behind, Sebastian, the strongest of the three, a fish-man giant, turned, his pupils shrinking in shock.
He looked at the incoming shockwave. Though fear flickered in his eyes, he suppressed it, turned, and stopped, assuming a horse stance.
A roar erupted, as if to bolster his own courage:
"Fish-Man Karate!"
"Five Thousand Tile Punch!!!"
His right fist, previously at his waist, shot out, piercing the massive shockwave. Half a second later.
Crack!
The sound of bone breaking echoed as Sebastian's right arm, subjected to the immense force, shattered into pieces.
His right arm hung limply, and the colossal shockwave pushed his body backward towards the other two.
Boom!
A giant mushroom cloud bloomed, and raging shockwaves dispersed the smoke. Binjek, Wald's elder brother, was instantly killed among the three.
Sebastian was knocked unconscious.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!....
Footsteps approached. The golden Buddha, Sengoku, several meters tall, walked forward.
The ship doctor, Nai Qin, struggled to crawl towards Sebastian, pulling out a green syringe from her coat pocket and injecting it into Sebastian's body.
Sebastian's body trembled for a few seconds before his physique surged, and he suddenly opened his eyes, but they were now a blood-red hue, devoid of reason.
Sengoku, who was approaching, looked at the irrational fish-man giant charging towards him with a blank expression.
Hum—!
A shockwave formed in his hand, and his palm pressed down like a colossal mountain.
Amidst the fish-man Sebastian's agonized roars, endless golden light ignited and exploded.
When the shockwaves subsided, a thick, blue arm had fallen from the sky and landed on the ground...
Nai Qin looked at the approaching golden Buddha and scrambled backward, yet the distance between them only grew shorter.
Until Sengoku reached her. Overwhelmed with terror, she mustered a final desperate resistance.
From her pocket, she produced a handful of powder, her eyes fixed on Sengoku with utter madness:
"Chinese Medicine Fist..."
Before she could finish, Sengoku's massive golden palm pressed down, a booming sound echoing as the ground shook.
At this point, no one remained alive except Sengoku.
Meanwhile, under Sakazuki's deliberate guidance, they finally reached the edge of the town, crashing into a fruit stand. The copious amount of bloodstains inside indicated what had transpired there.
Sakazuki had already scouted the town's layout when he infiltrated underground to manipulate magma earlier.
This fruit stand, with scattered fruits on the ground, also had a warehouse beneath, filled with fresh produce.
His Observation Haki exploded to its maximum, predicting Wald's next punch.
Boom!
Sakazuki's hand grasped empty air, missing by a hair's breadth, but he wasn't sent flying, his feet firmly planted.
He reached out again in another direction, again missing by a sliver.
After enduring several blows, his extreme prediction finally succeeded. The instant Wald moved, Sakazuki lunged and grabbed at seemingly empty air.
Snap!
He seized Wald's wrist. Wald, startled, tried to pull away but couldn't budge.
Sakazuki grinned cruelly, gripping Wald tightly with his left hand and pulling. His right fist flowed with black Armament Haki.
Pulled by the immense force, Wald was sent hurtling towards Sakazuki's extended fist.
A punch landed squarely on Wald's chest, the sound of bone cracking ringing clearly in their ears. Sakazuki's fist sank directly into Wald's chest.
Intense pain shot through Wald's mind, causing him to momentarily falter.
Sakazuki then kicked at Wald's knee. His body's frantic warning signals snapped Wald back to awareness.
A glint of fierce madness flashed in his eyes. He raised his left leg, its knee covered in Armament Haki, and rammed it into Sakazuki's foot.
Crack!
Wald's left knee was instantly shattered, bending forward at a ninety-degree angle. He screamed wildly:
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Sakazuki's foot stomped down, crushing Wald's lower leg and ankle, which were now at a ninety-degree angle.
The continuous sound of cracking bones echoed as Sakazuki's right foot pulverized Wald's ankle.
The searing pain drove Wald completely insane. His face contorted into a demonic mask, and he roared, raising his fist to smash Sakazuki's head.
Sakazuki dodged by tilting his head, simultaneously extending his right leg. A sharp "crack" sounded as Wald's right knee was also broken, his entire body instantly shrinking.
Sakazuki's left hand tightened its grip, lifting Wald, and a whip kick swept horizontally. Wald's upright body was instantly knocked down in mid-air.
He grabbed Wald's wrist with his left hand and yanked it to the left, then seized Wald's broken knee with his right hand. Raising his right knee upwards, he brought both hands down with immense force.
Crack!!!