C24 Meeting Akainu!
Sakazuki's gaze, steely and unwavering like that of a tiger, fixed on the distant boat. Not a flicker of emotion betrayed his thoughts; a minor pirate hardly merited his concern.
"Once you choose the life of a pirate, you must face the consequences," Sakazuki stated coolly.
Buzz!
His right fist transformed into molten lava, the intense heat warping the air around it.
The elite soldiers nearby hastily backed away, not daring to come close.
"Great Eruption!"
With those three words, Sakazuki unleashed a colossal magma fist that rocketed forward.
"Boom!"
The fearsome magma, akin to a volcanic eruption, surged skyward, forming a massive dragon of lava that streaked towards the boat, distorting the air as it blazed through the sky.
Having delivered his strike, Sakazuki withdrew his fist, sparing it not a second glance.
To him, the fact that a lowly pirate had warranted his intervention was a privilege in itself.
Had he not been pressed for time, he wouldn't have bothered to lift a finger.
...
Esaki's pupils contracted sharply at the sight from afar.
"Akainu!"
He hadn't anticipated encountering Akainu here, let alone witnessing his assault.
Sensing the imminent danger, the Australovenator rose to its full, imposing height.
"Mosasaur, make your escape with utmost haste!"
A glint of resolve flashed in Esaki's eyes, yet he harbored no illusions; he was no match for Akainu now and couldn't hope to withstand his onslaught.
"Navy, you will rue this day!" he vowed.
Beneath the waves, the mosasaur let out a thunderous roar, its massive tail striking the water with force enough to hoist the ship onto its back.
Buzz!
With an explosive burst, the mosasaur and the ship became a white crest, speeding away. In mere seconds, they had covered a distance of over a thousand meters.
Above, the fiery lava from the volcano plummeted to earth.
Boom!
The impact echoed to the heavens.
The sea water churned and boiled under the relentless heat, bubbles swelling to enormous sizes as plumes of dense, gray smoke blanketed the sea.
Esaki watched the tumultuous sea with an icy glare. Had he not had the mosasaur, the ocean depths would have been his grave.
...
Aboard the ten warships, the other four admirals watched in astonishment as Sakazuki's formidable attack missed its mark.
"It looks like this Summoner Ze is also a Devil Fruit user," Magma Mountain said with a slight smile, a cigar clamped between his teeth.
"I'm curious about Sakazuki's face right now; it must be quite the sight. Interesting indeed. But by the looks of it, that young pirate aims to enter the Grand Line through the Calm Belt."
A middle-aged man with a mohawk and a goatee, dressed in a light purple striped suit and a dark blue shirt, spoke gravely, his green eyepatch catching the light.
On another naval vessel, a tall man in a white suit vest and dark blue shirt, his forehead adorned with a green eyepatch, watched the scene unfold with a cool, collected gaze. He was Lieutenant Colonel Kuzan, a wielder of the Ice Devil Fruit.
"He actually got away!"
A vicious gleam shot through Sakazuki's tiger-like eyes. A rookie pirate with a fresh bounty had managed to slip away from his strike—an affront to the navy's sense of justice.
"Summoner Ze!"
He repeated the name, committing it to memory.
Once this mission was over, he would personally see to the capture of this little pirate.
At Naval Headquarters.
"To escape from Sakazuki's grasp, he must have some skill."
Looking over the new file, his tiger-like eyes briefly glinted before he doubled the bounty.
This clearly demonstrated the high regard in which he held Ze.
