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The rampant flood instantly submerged the entire uneven island, filling every crack on the surface.
As expected from Aqua, whose divine power had been significantly enhanced, with just a flick of her hand, she could create an entirely new Aqua Laguna!
The floodwaters poured down for over ten minutes before gradually stopping, leaving only the sound of waterfalls crashing into the White Sea.
The battlefield fell into complete chaos. Both Zyhark's allies and the Flying Pirates' officers were washed away to distant corners, temporarily losing their ability to continue the fight.
Even Aqua, the one who started it all, was stuck in a narrow crevice between two mountains, with only her legs kicking outside.
While it was undeniably a mess, the flood still achieved some unexpected results.
"So, this is Miss Aqua's fighting style. It's quite... dramatic, I must say."
Escanor sat curled up on a tree trunk, hugging his knees.
By now, the sun had completely set in the distance, and his body had reverted to its frail, skinny form.
In this state, even King could easily handle him, let alone the officers who had once followed the Golden Lion across the seas!
From this perspective, Aqua's flood actually saved his life.
The now self-doubting and timid Escanor felt a deep sense of gratitude.
In contrast, King, also an ordinary human, found himself in a rather precarious situation.
Perhaps it was bad luck caused by the foolish goddess's water, but after being washed by the flood, he ended up in a lair filled with the island's mutant beasts.
And the king of these savage and grotesque creatures, the giant gorilla Scarred, was also there!
At Scarred's command, flat sand crocodiles, land squids with fanged mouths, and flying mantises skilled in swordsmanship...
These beasts, some towering over ten meters, swarmed toward King, surrounding him and blocking any possible escape routes!
The foul-smelling breath of these agitated beasts spewed out, but King just stood there with his hands in his pockets, his black cloak fluttering gently.
According to King's Law, the calmer he appeared, the louder the sound of the Emperor Engine would roar!
'What do I do? What should I do next? That giant gorilla alone could kill me, and now there are even more beasts.'
'Somebody, anybody, please come save me!'
Deep down, King's true self was revealed, sweating profusely in panic.
Fortunately, the Emperor Engine's deterrence had some effect, making the beasts hesitate, reluctant to launch an attack.
Even Scarred was unsure, sensing something unusual about the calm demeanor of the figure in front of him, despite their sheer numbers.
The situation reached a temporary stalemate.
On the other hand, Kanna and Meowth were washed to the island's edge.
Used to Aqua's antics, they were in good spirits, standing by the water's edge, looking up at the escalating battle in the sky.
One was an ancient dragon, and the other a Pokémon with resilience comparable to Zyhark's.
Even without the sudden interference from the flood, they would have won against their opponents eventually, so there was no hurry to act.
Looking from their perspective, the darkened sky was filled with thunder and lightning, red, black, and blue bolts constantly exploding, as if tearing the space apart!
Boom!!
After another intense clash, Zyhark and Golden Lion separated, glaring at each other from a distance.
After half an hour of combat, both had sustained wounds, their blood dyeing their tattered clothes red.
Golden Lion's condition was worse, his exposed chest heaving violently.
Already past his prime, he had inflicted severe secondary injuries on his stumps before the battle.
The fact that he could maintain such a high level of Haki and endure a prolonged exchange was a testament to his legendary status.
Only a "monster" like him could manage this!
"Kehahahaha, you really have to admit it, age catches up with you. After such a short fight, my body's already showing signs of fatigue."
Despite his disadvantage, Golden Lion maintained his kingly demeanor, smiling as he commented on his physical condition.
He flicked the blood off his twin swords, his gaze on Zyhark becoming increasingly serious. "Kid, are you really from the weakest sea?"
"In my memory, there's no one like you from there, a monster that grows stronger the more they fight!"
After the fierce battle, what intrigued him the most wasn't Zyhark's Haki or lightning abilities but his body, which was far more powerful than any Mythical Zoan, and…
The unreasonable power absorption!
Indeed, Golden Lion had a preliminary assessment, convinced that Zyhark was using some strange skill like "Devour"!
Though subtle, with each clash, he found his strength mysteriously depleting faster.
Over time, his keen senses picked up on this anomaly!
This was the insight and experience of a top-tier fighter!
Clearly, a Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, yet capable of summoning a giant magma sword at will, with an incomprehensibly strong physique…
Even a former ruler of the seas like Golden Lion had never encountered anything so peculiar.
As a result, he could only attribute Zyhark to being some "special species."
"I did spend a long time in the East Blue, but if you mean my homeland, then I'm sorry to say, I'm not from the East Blue."
Zyhark sheathed his Kitetsu and Yubashiri, calmly stating the fact.
Since Golden Lion had misunderstood him as a special species, letting him continue with that belief wasn't a bad thing.
After several major battles, the two swords that had accompanied him since his "beginner village" days had become slightly darker and more imposing, refined and tempered by Haki.
Feeling the energy still surging within him, even at its peak, he couldn't help but marvel at the "Devour" skill's prowess.
The sense of security from not having to worry about stamina was something his former, less durable self could never have imagined!
"So that's how it is. Truly a perfect species favored by fate…"
Golden Lion took a deep drag from his cigar, exhaling thick smoke.
(Don't worry about how the cigar survived the intense battle; I have no idea either.)
After this motion, Golden Lion seemed to calm down, a confident smile slowly spreading across his face.
"No, there's still a flaw in you now!"
"Lion's Might: Imperial Earth Scroll!!"
Without warning, his attack erupted. The already shattered ground shook violently.
Water splashed, sand and rocks flew, and countless massive boulders broke free from gravity, pulling long trails of dirt as they shot into the sky at high speed!
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The boulders relentlessly bombarded the area where Zyhark stood. In an instant, they formed a small, highly compressed moon, trapping him firmly at its center!
Amid swirling dust, looking down, the island's surface had a colossal circular crater, thousands of meters in diameter!
Zzzz.
After a brief silence, electric arcs flickered across the small moon's surface, jumping and dancing.
The next second, violent energy erupted, and a giant magma sword, entwined with lightning, easily broke through the boulder, triggering a massive explosion!
In the center of the shattered rocks, Zyhark floated calmly in mid-air, hands in his pockets, lightning crackling around him.
Clearly, this move, comparable to the Planetary Devastation next door, posed no significant threat to him while he was still full of stamina!
Golden Lion had expected this. His smile didn't fade; it grew even more intense.
"This is the chance I've been waiting for!"
He waved his arm, and several giant water lions made entirely of flowing water roared and lunged toward Zyhark, who had just broken free and was caught off guard.
By obscuring his opponent's vision with the stone ground and simultaneously using the island's floodwaters to launch a swift follow-up attack...
This was the flaw Golden Lion spoke of: as a Devil Fruit user, no matter how strong their Haki or quick their reactions, being fully covered in water would render them as helpless as a drowning duck!
Being a fruit user himself, he was very familiar with this world rule!
"In the end, you still have to pay a heavy price for your youthful arrogance, Evil Thunder Zyhark."
Seeing Zyhark completely immobilized by the giant water prison, Golden Lion slowly dusted off his clothes before arrogantly spreading his arms, proclaiming his victory.
"Kehahahaha! This battle, I have won!!"
"Oh, so this is the flaw you were talking about? To be honest, it really did give me a scare."
Zyhark stepped out of the water prison, walking casually on thunder, as if nothing had happened.
Golden Lion: "..."
The air froze at that moment, and in the sudden, extremely slow passage of time, Golden Lion's smiling face began to change:
First, he was stunned, then his smile slowly faded, his eyes, filled with blood vessels, gradually bulging from his sockets;
His mouth, wide open, his tongue wobbling up and down, undulating like waves.
"Wha...What?!!!"
As time returned to normal, Golden Lion's expression matched that of the goofy Straw Hat crew members.
Could it be that this water is different from ordinary seawater and has no effect on fruit users?
Unable to believe his eyes, he activated his Float-Float Fruit power to gather the water suspended in the air toward him.
Then…
Blub, blub, blub.
His strength was immediately drained, and after a few struggles, he spat out a string of bubbles, floating in the water like a dead fish.
Ordinary seawater was deadly for fruit users, let alone the divine water summoned by Aqua, which had purifying properties!
"..." Seriously, is this guy really on par with Roger and Whitebeard, the legendary pirates? Now it was Zyhark's turn to be speechless, his lips twitching in silence.
Using your life to experiment in a decisive battle—should he call you brave or overly curious?
No, neither! Are you trying to outdo Aqua's stupidity?
Out of respect for the pirate who dared to raid Marineford alone, Zyhark helped Golden Lion out of the water prison, though he still wore a dark expression.
Of course, more importantly, he hadn't yet reached the limits of his "Devour" skill, so he couldn't let the battle end so quickly.
Golden Lion, panting heavily, expressed his gratitude politely.
After this minor episode, the two once again erupted into fierce swordplay.
Given their respective strengths and weaknesses, the outcome was already becoming clear.
On the lower battlefield.
Realizing that their leader was losing ground, the giant gorilla Scarred finally hesitated no more and launched an all-out attack on King.
The gorilla was cunning, forcing his beast minions to attack first, while he hid at the back, watching the situation.
Facing the charging beast horde, King remained expressionless, slowly raising his stiff, trembling arms, crossing them in front of him.
With no escape, he could only place all his hopes on this last-ditch move, hoping to buy some time.
To his credit, his extreme acting skills and posture resembling some powerful starting move indeed intimidated the somewhat intelligent beasts.
All the creatures screeched to a halt, standing rooted in place, their eyes filled with terror.
"Charge, damn it! If any of you dare take a step back, I'll tear you apart first!"
Unfortunately, Scarred from the back showed no mercy, barking his orders.
Forced by the threat of death, the beasts' eyes turned bloodshot as they resumed their crazed charge.
Seeing his intimidation fail, King could only bite the bullet and continue.
"Infernal Unmatched…"
"Scorching…"
"Wave Cannon!!"
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield, tongues of flame leaping skyward, sending thick black smoke billowing!
As the wide-eyed King slowly opened his eyes, he saw the scorched bodies of the beasts lying on the ground!
It was clear they had been caught off guard and severely injured by this blast!
"Huh?" King blinked in disbelief.
As if to answer his unspoken question, enthusiastic shouts suddenly rang out behind him.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Along a special cloud path made of white clouds, a dense crowd wearing cloud shoes and carrying firearms was rapidly approaching.
It was the Shandian warriors, led by the Oni Warrior Wiper!
"Support Mr. Zyhark! Drive these damn Blue Sea pirates out of our territory!"
Wiper shouted loudly as he fired the mortar slung over his shoulder without hesitation.
The dark projectile drew a graceful arc through the air, landing squarely on Scarred, erupting in a burst of fire!
The Shandian warriors followed closely, rushing past King to engage the remaining beast horde.
Watching the impressive charge of the warriors and their battle with the beasts, the rescued King slowly lowered his raised arms, breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
Phew, phew, the summoning skill worked out once again…
(End of Chapter)