"What incredible swordsmanship! Don't you realize what level he's on?"
As masters of swordsmanship, both Mihawk and Vista deliberately turned their attention to Elior. The sword strike Elior had just unleashed wasn't flashy or destructive at first glance, but for those with true understanding of the blade, both Mihawk and Vista instantly recognized the terrifying depth behind it.
Both were silently speculating.
But only Shiryu knew the real extent of Elior's power.
A true Great Swordsman!
That's right — Elior's swordsmanship had already reached the level of a Great Swordsman!
What was even more shocking was that Elior wasn't even a pure swordsman by trade. He had a Devil Fruit ability, overwhelming physical strength, and now, swordsmanship of this caliber.
That's what makes him terrifying.
No matter the field — swordsmanship, physical combat, Devil Fruit abilities — Elior had reached a level most people could never hope to touch, even in a lifetime.
This was one of the biggest reasons why Shiryu was now willing to follow him. After all, in Shiryu's eyes, following a truly powerful man was nothing to be ashamed of.
"That guy..."
Looking at Elior, who had sheathed his sword and was now engaged in close combat, Tashigi didn't know what to say. There was no chance of getting her sword back — her beloved Shigure was now with Elior. This left Tashigi with a deep, gnawing feeling of guilt... like she had somehow aided the enemy.
But there was nothing she could do about it now.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield—
Bullet was locked in a brutal fight with Aokiji. Two overwhelming forces clashed, and the sheer impact made the surrounding area a death zone. No one dared approach. The ground within at least ten meters had been shattered from the repeated collisions, and Aokiji's freezing powers had nearly frozen the surrounding air solid.
Aokiji exhaled cold breath, visibly struggling for air.
He had been fighting Bullet for nearly an hour.
This level of high-intensity combat wasn't something he was used to. Casual rides across the sea on his bike didn't even come close to this kind of stamina drain.
This was real exhaustion. Riding across the ocean took almost nothing from him. But this... this was on a whole different scale.
"What a pain!"
Right in front of him, Bullet loomed large. His right arm had morphed into a massive mechanical fist— a brutal combination of countless weapons: swords, guns, cannons... anything he could fuse into his arm. Much like Kid's Devil Fruit ability — but unlike Kid, Bullet didn't rely on magnetism.
Instead of fusing into a giant robot which would severely slow his movement, Bullet opted for compact power, two enormous fists that amplified his strength while allowing for fast, flexible attacks. This approach let him avoid the typical sluggishness of larger mechanical forms.
Aokiji was locked in, unable to disengage. One hour of nonstop fighting wasn't long in absolute terms, but against an opponent of Bullet's caliber, the stamina drain was enormous.
Bullet's power level wasn't far below Aokiji's, and inevitably, the admiral had taken several solid hits. His face and mouth showed signs of bruising from Bullet's punches—while not fatal, the pain was undeniable.
Bullet, of course, had taken his fair share of heavy hits too.
But true to his nature, Bullet only got more excited the longer the fight dragged on. He was a monster who thrived on combat and killing.
After all... this was Aokiji, one of the Marine's strongest.
The violence of their fight made it clear: no marine or pirate dared venture anywhere near them.
"Damn troublesome guy!"
Aokiji surged forward again, unleashing a massive wave of freezing air. The temperature around them plummeted.
Another violent clash erupted.
Bullet's massive mechanical fist collided with an ice wall that Aokiji had thrown up—one eerily mimicking the style Elior had displayed earlier. However... compared to Elior's ice, Aokiji's wall clearly lacked that same overwhelming presence and hardness.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface.
Compared to Elior's ice, Aokiji's felt a full tier lower in durability.
"Your ice is useless!"
Bullet grinned fiercely, tearing off his tattered shirt to reveal muscles pumped to the limit. Fresh blood dripped from new wounds, but they didn't slow him in the slightest.
BOOM!
With a sudden burst of explosive force, Bullet surged forward. His massive mechanical fist shattered Aokiji's ice wall, slamming straight into the admiral's body.
Like when Elior had fought Kizaru earlier, Bullet didn't hold back—this punch was infused with advanced Armament Haki.
The impact echoed like an explosion.
Bullet's punch sent Aokiji flying.
In midair, Aokiji coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"I'd love to kill an admiral today... but clearly that won't be easy."
Bullet cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, then vanished with terrifying speed.
Elsewhere, the battle between Akainu and Dragon was equally fierce.
They were still on the ice near the bay, close to the open sea.
Just like with Bullet and Aokiji, no one dared approach.
Akainu, locked in a fierce struggle with Dragon, was determined to defeat — or even kill — the leader of the Revolutionary Army right here and now.
But despite his brutal aggression, Akainu couldn't gain the upper hand against Dragon, whose strength rivaled his own.
Likewise, Dragon wasn't finding it any easier to bring down Akainu.
In such an even match, the winner wouldn't be decided quickly. Unless someone surrendered or a lucky fatal sneak attack landed, this fight was going to be about stamina and endurance.
At this moment, Akainu's body was almost fully transformed into magma. The surrounding ice shattered violently as waves of lava poured from the cracks, erupting like a volcano.
Within seconds, the entire area was filled with boiling lava.
Akainu stood atop the molten sea — an absolutely terrifying sight.
His control over the Magma-Magma Fruit now felt like Devil Fruit awakening, altering the environment itself. Thick steam rose, distorting the air, and temperatures skyrocketed. The ice beneath was melting faster and faster.
"Dragon! All criminals will be judged by justice!"
"Justice will prevail!"
Akainu's faith in his own absolute justice was unwavering.
Suddenly, the lava beneath him erupted, and Akainu charged at Dragon.
"Hound Blaze!"
A massive, lava-formed hound—its head twisted in a terrifying snarl—roared toward Dragon. Its gaping mouth, dripping molten rock, lunged forward.
RUMBLE—
Dragon countered by releasing a violent tornado from his right hand, slamming it into the lava beast.
At that moment, several massive lightning bolts suddenly exploded from the sky — striking Akainu.
The tornado and lava dog collided in a fierce burst of energy, holding each other in a brief deadlock.
Meanwhile, the lightning tore through Akainu's semi-elemental body, blasting away half of it — but of course, that wasn't enough to bring down the Admiral.
Dragon's goal was clear: rescue Ace. That was all that mattered.
As for fighting Akainu? Even Dragon hadn't expected this battle.
Akainu was going all out now.
Elsewhere, Kizaru was finally climbing out of the giant pit beneath the shattered ice.
His condition was shocking — even to the nearby marines.
His clothes were in tatters, his hair a mess, glasses missing. A gaping 50-centimeter-long wound stretched across his torso, still bleeding — preventing him from fully elementalizing in that spot.
His uniform was drenched in blood.
The marines nearby trembled just looking at him.
Even admirals could be injured like this?
With the other two admirals still locked in their own brutal battles — with Dragon and with Bullet — the situation on the battlefield was dire. Neither Aokiji nor Akainu could gain the upper hand.
"How bad is it, Borsalino?"
Tsuru asked with concern.
Kizaru shook his head. The lazy, nonchalant air he usually carried was completely gone. His expression was serious — even grim. His face looked pale.
"I'm fine... but with this wound, I can't move properly. Every motion tears at it. I definitely won't be fighting at full strength."
"But I'm still in the fight... Where's Elior?"
Kizaru scanned the battlefield.
"He's entered the plaza" Tsuru replied. "The strongest members of CP0 are keeping him contained."
"Kaeya? The awakened Devil Fruit user?"
Kizaru's brows rose. Of course he knew who Kaeya was.
"Yes. No matter what, we still have a chance. Kong and the others are here too."
"Good... Even this old man's getting a little fired up now..."
The scene shifted back to Elior.
After sending Kaeya flying with a single blow and preparing to continue his assault—
Suddenly, from behind—a huge ship roared toward him.
Squard had arrived, riding in on a ship.
"Avenge Pops!"
"Save Ace!"
Squard felt overwhelming guilt and grief.
He had actually believed Akainu's manipulative words... and attacked his own father—the man who loved him more than anyone.
Now... Squard could never forgive himself for that.
Now, no matter what, they had to charge into the plaza, support Whitebeard and the others, and rescue Ace!
At this moment, the massive ship helmed by Squard was barreling straight toward Elior from behind.
"Huh? That guy…"
Squard had obviously spotted Elior — but at this point, there was no way he could stop the ship, even if he wanted to!
"Hey, hey! It's about to crash!"
"Why's that guy just standing there like an idiot?!"
One of the crew shouted anxiously.
Whitebeard, Sengoku, and many others turned their eyes toward Elior. In truth, most of them had already noticed the ship charging in from a distance — loaded with members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
But what shocked them was that Elior was standing directly in the ship's path — and the massive vessel was only seconds away from plowing right into him!
Boom!
At that exact moment, Elior casually raised his left hand and placed it against the ship barreling towards him like a runaway beast.
With a deafening crash, the entire square was stunned. The massive ship had been stopped—completely—with just one of Elior's bare hands.
And Elior? He hadn't budged an inch!
He stood there, unmoved. His expression didn't even flicker. He hadn't spared the ship a single glance.
And just like that—the entire massive ship screeched to a halt.
"What the hell… A monster!"
"Stopping a ship like that with just one hand?! This is New World-level insanity!"
Doflamingo's eyes widened behind his sunglasses, hiding the sheer disbelief on his face.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes.
"A monster… beyond imagination."
"Interesting…"
Even Whitebeard let out a low chuckle of surprise. For him, stopping a ship barehanded was no big deal — but to see a scrawny-looking kid pull it off? That was something else entirely.
"What kind of freak is this guy…?" Sengoku's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. The sheer power in Elior's single hand… and the fact that he remained planted on the spot!
Without warning, after stopping the ship, Elior vanished from view.
The next second, he appeared high in the air, both hands gripping his sword. An immense shockwave of force radiated from his body as the aura of a true Great Swordsman erupted from him.
In one fluid motion, Elior brought his sword crashing down — an enormous slash tearing through the air like rolling thunder — straight toward Kaeya below.
Kaeya didn't hesitate. Countless sheets of paper swirled around him, merging into a thick, reinforced wall — an improvised shield to block Elior's attack.
Boom!
The clash of blade and barrier shook the paper wall violently, cracking it down the center.
But to Elior's mild surprise, the crack healed almost instantly — stitching itself back together at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This was the first time Elior had seen paper used like this. He had to admit… he was a little impressed.
But he didn't stop.
Landing atop the paper wall, Elior clenched his left fist — pouring raw power into it.
Pure brute force… amplified with the secret technique of Shigan.
A devastating punch!
The air warped from the sheer force behind it, sending out intense shockwaves.
"It's useless!" Kaeya yelled confidently from behind his wall.
"My defense is unbreakable! I'm an awakened devil fruit user! This isn't ordinary paper — its hardness surpasses steel itself!"
Kaeya sneered.
"Try all you want! I guarantee the Gorosei will be collecting your corpse today!"
Elior didn't care for the speech.His fist smashed down onto the wall.
BOOM!!
The sound was earth-shattering.So deafening that everyone across the plaza felt their eardrums ringing in pain.
Centered on Elior's punch, a massive shockwave blasted outward like a tsunami. Pirates and Marines nearby were blown away like ragdolls. The ground under Kaeya's feet collapsed almost instantly—leaving a crater more than forty meters wide.
And Kaeya's so-called "unbreakable" paper wall? Shattered.
Elior's fist punched through it like wet tissue—crashing straight into Kaeya's face.
The impact obliterated Kaeya's mask and pulverized his facial bones beneath it.
Caught dead center in the blast, Kaeya's body felt like it was disintegrating from the inside out.
"If that punch had hit me… I'd be dead" Doflamingo muttered, eyes wide again.
"My birdcage wouldn't stand a chance against that kind of power…"
Turning to Crocodile, he said with a bitter smile,
"Your captain's a real monster, Crocodile."
Crocodile casually lit a cigar and took a slow drag.
"I'm used to it. But yeah… he's even more twisted than people imagine. Almost like he's not from the same world as the rest of us."
"Jeez… that's terrifying. Are the CP0 members gonna get beaten to death?"
"Is this just raw physical strength? Garp, what's your take?"
Sengoku asked, heart pounding after witnessing Elior catch the ship with his bare hands… and then obliterate Kaeya's defenses with one punch.
Garp frowned deeply.
"His fighting technique isn't refined… but his physical power is absurd."
Physical technique — style and form — wasn't Elior's specialty. As someone well-versed in hand-to-hand combat, Garp could tell. But that wasn't the point.
Elior's sheer brute strength made technique almost irrelevant.
"Damn it… I'm going to kill you for this!"
Lying in the crater, Kaeya's shattered facial bones sent waves of unbearable pain through his head.If he were anyone else… he'd already be dead.
His whole body throbbed, especially his back.
His ultimate defense… broken.
And just as Kaeya was trying to get up—
A shadow fell from above.
Elior.
Landing like a meteor, Elior's foot slammed straight into Kaeya's chest — driving him deep into the crater, meters down. Kaeya's ribcage caved in with the impact, his internal organs rupturing under the pressure.
"Pffft!"
Blood burst from Kaeya's mouth uncontrollably. As CP0's leader, he struggled to stay conscious, but his vision blurred, and his face turned ghostly pale.