"Oh~ Kawaii ne~ Got caught by Observation Haki that easily?"
The voice was dripping with sarcasm, high-pitched and mocking, as a man stepped out from among the ranks of Marine officers. He wore a striped shirt under the Justice-embellished cape, a leering smile twisting his lips.
"Quite the monster, aren't you, Black Gun Ozz~?"
That greasy, drawling tone could only belong to one man: Vice Admiral Borsalino, wielder of the Glint-Glint Fruit.
Ozz responded with a half-smile, his voice full of wry amusement.
"Heh... 'Monster,' huh? I've gotten pretty used to that one by now."
"Still, it's cute. You all need to gang up on me just to feel safe? Seems the mighty Marines don't like to play fair."
"Black Gun—Dotorre Ozz!!" bellowed Sakazuki, ignoring every word Ozz had said. "For a menace like you, a threat to world peace, the Marines owe you no honor, no mercy!!"
"Great Eruption!!"
Sakazuki wasted no time on speeches. His body surged with a crimson glow, instantly morphing into molten magma. Sulfurous steam hissed from his pores as thick magma churned across his body, even his uniform glowing like it might burst into flame. Power welled up in his gloved fists—pure, raw force, like a volcano on the verge of annihilation.
Even from a distance, the air began to boil. The wave of heat rushed toward Ozz, making his long hair whip like a storm-tossed flag.
The Magma-Magma Fruit, the Logia with the highest offensive output…
No surprise. That kind of force—the same that could blast hundreds of tons of volcanic rock a thousand meters into the sky—was bound to pack some serious punch.
But it wasn't without its flaws.
Speed, for one.
Unlike the blinding mobility of the Glint-Glint Fruit, or the massive area control of the Ice-Ice Fruit, magma required time. Charging up such devastating power meant a painfully long wind-up. And against someone who could see into the future...
This so-called "Great Eruption" might as well not exist at all.
Ozz had no illusions about Logia powers—they were indeed blessed by nature. But he also understood that certain Paramecia fruits, especially those based on rule-bending concepts, could surpass them entirely.
He could have dodged.
But that would defeat the whole purpose.
It wasn't every day that he found opponents on his level. Most were too weak, or far too strong for a fair fight. Not once had he experienced a battle where he could go all out.
And that, frankly, wasn't good for his Conqueror's Haki.
So instead of retreating, Ozz stood tall, facing Sakazuki's blazing fist head-on. His crimson eyes shimmered, devoid of emotion, glowing with prophetic clarity.
The future he saw? It matched what he'd expected.
Ching—!
As the magma bore down on him, Ozz calmly clenched his fist. A layer of flowing Armament Haki wrapped tightly around it.
From a distance, the surrounding officers—who had wisely spread out to avoid collateral damage—watched with wide eyes.
"He's not... he's not seriously planning to clash with that thing head-on, is he?"
"That's suicide! Even with Armament Haki, which can touch a Logia user's real body, that much heat and force would melt the flesh right off his bones!"
"What an arrogant brat!!!"
But Ozz's strength clearly went far beyond their calculations.
The next moment, black and crimson lightning crackled to life around his fist.
The earth itself seemed to recoil from the sheer force he radiated—his presence alone causing the ground to crack and groan.
"That kid...!"
Even from afar, the three legends locked in battle froze for a split second, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.
"You're kidding...! Conqueror's Coating—at fifteen years old!?" Sengoku's eyes gleamed with a razor-sharp light, blood vessels standing out in his strained gaze.
"GWAHAHAHA!" Garp bellowed with laughter. "No wonder Roger called him a monster! That brat with the gun... he's got the makings of a world-shaker!"
"Oi! You two! We're still fighting here! Taking your eyes off me already? How dare you ignore the great Golden Lion?!"
Shiki's roar thundered across the battlefield, forcing both Sengoku and Garp to double down on their defense. The Golden Lion's fury was not to be taken lightly.
Meanwhile, Sakazuki—barely out of his twenties—stood frozen for a heartbeat, sweat trickling down his face before vanishing into the steam.
"Nani...?! That Haki...!"
But there was no escape.
The magma fist surged forward, erupting like a mountain blowing its top.
And Ozz answered with his own full-power, Haki-infused punch—Flowing Sakura, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki.
The two forces collided with a cataclysmic BOOM, vaporizing the ground beneath them in a flash of molten destruction.
The sheer pressure alone warped the terrain. And yet, somehow, Ozz's fist—crackling with black and red lightning—remained untouched by the magma.
It was as if an invisible barrier repelled the lava before it could make contact.
Sakazuki's face twisted in disbelief.
The watching Marines were stunned silent.
"That's the power of Conqueror's Coating, Sakazuki."
"Even your precious volcanic force... is nothing special in my eyes."
Ozz's muscles tensed. Power surged from his waist through his spine.
The ground beneath him cratered violently, hundreds of meters sinking from the sheer recoil.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he burst through Sakazuki's magma fist and closed the distance.
To the stunned Admiral, Ozz appeared like a devil king emerging from the inferno, his eyes glowing blood-red, his fist trailing god-slaying lightning.
With one mighty blow, he drove his fist into Sakazuki's chest.
The impact caved it inward.
Coated in Ryuo and Conqueror's Haki, his strike prevented Sakazuki from slipping into elemental form.
He took it all.
The full force.
A hit so brutal it made even the beating he'd taken during the Paramount War seem tame.
Blood exploded from Sakazuki's mouth. His eyes rolled back.
Ozz was ready to follow up—but the other Marines were not mere spectators.
Beams of light and pillars of ice rained down on him in an instant.
With a flicker, he vanished beyond their reach.
But the black-red lightning still danced along his knuckles.
Amid the chaos, he stood tall beneath the storm.
Wind whipped at his long coat, his hair dancing like wildfire. His handsome face wore that same calm, amused smile.
In his hand, the power of Conqueror's Coating pulsed steadily.
His eyes, glowing with foresight, never wavered.
And in that moment, every young Marine on the battlefield—watching from Marinford's blood-soaked ground—felt it.
A crushing, suffocating despair.
Because just one man… was enough.
And he spoke, voice cool and casual:
"So then…"
"Who's next?"