[2300 words]
As I said in the comments last chapter, my final exams are approached with a vengeance so another break will be gracing you all with its presence soon. Though it should happen once the arc is over (including the aftermath, news. bounties, etc.)
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[The Remains of Glint Island]
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*Gurrug*
*Gulp*
*Burp!*
2 men sat face to face on a broken part of the island that slowly drifted about.
"Oye, Newgate, this stuff isn't bad!" Roger declared as he drank from a large saké cup.
Whitebeard too was gulping down litres of saké like it was oxygen.
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"That kid Damien's had a saké-fruit user in his division. I almost tried to steal him myself, Gurara!" The giant man laughed.
*Rumble*
Both men then looked to the far horizon and saw the giant fireball that was soon covered in a mountainous shield, even then, the rumbling of the very plates beneath seemed to reach here.
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Roger's jaw dropped, "That Damien guy truly is the marines' nightmare, Wahaha!"
"Gurarara!"
"Wahaha!"
"Gurarara!"
…
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[Nearby]
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*Rumble*
The same rumbling travelled to this part of the sea as well.
"It seems the Navy has been hit hard once more by that young man…" An aloof voice broke out.
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"Redfield, how dare you look away in the midst of our fight!" Shiki roared in anger as he slashed down a golden arc of endless energy.
The man in question simply countered it with an equally-powerful attack from his umbrella.
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"Paha! That aside, it's best I head back now. I had a delightful time in our little contest, Shiki-kun," Redfield said as he prepared to leave.
The Golden Lion growled in rage as he felt like he was being treated like a toy.
"You damn red prick…!"
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The Red Count then proceeded to take out a pen and a few leaves from his pocket that seemed to give out a faint warmth.
"Do busy yourself with this parting gift," Redfield smiled as he wrote something on the leaves.
*poof*
The 5 leaves exploded into a cloud of smoke as a few shadows stepped out.
"Under the flag of justice, we will take you down!"
"Shiki? Take my fist on that shiny head of yours!"
"Pirate scum, surrender!"
"Golden Lion Shiki, it's time to take you down."
"I haven't left my office in a while, I hope my fists haven't gotten rusty."
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5 clones created by Red's pen - the Mythical Zoan Fruit - Bake-danuki!
The 3 Admirals, Garp, were brought out alongside even the Fleet Admiral - Kong!
*Click*
Redfield then opened his umbrella and floated away with a mysterious smile as he gazed at the explosion nearby.
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Shiki growled in annoyance as his prey escaped, leaving him with a few false enemies.
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Above Glint Island]
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Nearly 8000 meters in the sky was another fight.
*Screech*
A loud cry broke out as a majestic sunbird flapped its mesmerizing wings and blew out an inferno.
On the other side was a man with a katana.
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"River of Death!"
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Xebec slashed down his Mokushiroku as an arc of utter death raged out as it completely withered away the air around it.
BOOOM!
Sol who had already spent over 15 hours since he had fully used Awakened his fruit and was knowingly approaching his end.
In the time that had passed, Xebec had had some fun.
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"Death Storm!"
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The crazy pirate's open palm suddenly exploded with withering-black swirls of energy as it seemed to storm up into a black mass of endless despair.
The torrents of death felt like wind… however the wind wasn't actually there as it had all but withered away.
The torrents were literal streams of death energy that slashed and whirled around the disaster that Xebec brought.
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Sol felt his divine wings made of solar flames slowly wither away as dull gray feathers slowly appeared.
He gave out a loud screech mixed with pain and rage.
He then gathered his energy and condensed it to his very core.
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"Grand Solar Burst!"
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Like a supernova, the body released incredible amounts of unbelievably hot flames as they countered the swirls of death.
Though Xebec, who had seen the ever-decreasing strength of his adversary, was losing interest.
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Xebec controlled his endless supply of death energy as it rippled into being, whirling and crying out in impatience. Greedy to pull others to its deathly embrace.
A giant beast started to form around the Great Sin as his body fuelled the attack.
2 legs, 2 arms. A humanoid body that stood around 40 meters in height.
*Voooo*
And then the black energy swirled around the face as giant skulls popped into being.
Not 1 but 3!
They were animal skulls that glowed with an ominous light in their eye sockets.
Sharp horns were erected all over the back of the deathly beast.
It was simply horrific.
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"Fiend of Death."
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"The incarnation of pure death seemed to bring forth its anger in a deafening cry. The growl alone would cause most to shudder in fear, their primal instincts over flooded.
[A/N: Image.]
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Sol's eyes were filled with dread as he soon made up his mind.
"If I die… I shall do so in the most glorious of ways!"
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A literal sun seemed to appear as it stormed out of the sunbird's body.
The golden halo sharped the rays of the sun as they amalgamated into a single attack.
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"Grand Solar Eclipse!"
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[Back to the Scorched Sea]
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Tens of thousands of cannonballs were launched as countless bullets were fired across the broken lands.
They skimmed over the rocky platform and rained down upon the marines.
9000.
8700.
8300.
7900.
7600.
The numbers dropped by the passing minutes. All the while arcs of light continued to shine through the cracks of the mountain shield that held the blast from before.
6900.
Alas, it finally stopped.
*Thud*
Zephyr fell to a single knee as he felt his stamina greatly lessened from the constant Emission Haki that was used in controlling the explosion.
It took nearly 20 minutes!
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Sengoku transformed back into his human form as he too exhaled a heavy breath.
*Shatter*
Basara's mountains fell apart as the rocks rained down onto the devastated seas nearby.
"What a ridiculous attack," Garp sighed as he felt the need to inhale a few tons of rice crackers.
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"Someone check on Kurowashi!"
A few Vice Admirals arrived and found a giant hole in one of the marine warships. A crater.
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"Masao-san is alive, but..." A highly decorated Rear Admiral voiced out.
"But what?!"
"H-His body is in horrendous condition!"
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The Rear Admiral was left shocked and frozen as he saw Kurowashi.
Blood dribbled out from his skin as charred flesh remained all over his body.
You could smell it. The scent of burnt skin, almost as if one left a slab of meat in the oven for far too long.
Kurowashi's face was left scarred and unrecognizable. The messy yet dazzling Admiral was left with a hideous appearance.
Faint groans escaped the fallen Masao's mouth, he was conscious but in intolerable pain. After all, being bathed in the heat from an atomic bomb and having your innards shaken would leave anyone broken.
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Basara grinded his teeth in fury, "The Ox Lloyds Warship is all but ruined and its commander is also left in such a condition. DAMN PIRATES!"
And it was true.
The Ox Llyods Warship that sailed the great seas and induced endless courage in the marines and fear in the pirates was left with a giant gaping hole at the center. If not for Basara, the little portion of wood they stood on would have long since vanished.
"We were able to save the Ox Bell. As long as it remains, the warship can be rebuilt," Zephyr said as he regained his bearings.
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Sengoku then saw the carnage of the remaining marines.
He saw hundreds of his men die at the passing second.
He saw the sea below having had changed from an azure blue to a dull red, bathed in his men's blood.
He saw the proud marine warships in ruins as only a few remained standing.
On top of that, he saw a pillar of the navy, an Admiral, left in a condition some would consider worse than death!
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Sengoku was a Conqueror and such a loss was not something he wanted to see, alas, the reality is cruel.
"...Basara, create mountains parallel to our formation, protect us from all fire."
"Zephyr, Garp. You both clear any large debris that is in the way of our movements."
"All available Vice and Rear Admirals are to take over the recollection of the wounded and the bodies!"
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Sengoku gave out a deep and helpless breath.
He then reached into his pocket and took out a snail and issued a single order.
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"ALL TROOPS! MAKE A FULL-SCALE RETREAT, IMMEDIATELY!"
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The heavy words laced with anger resounded even through the mayhem and carnage and brought much-needed relief.
Basara's voice then resounded, "Tend to the wounded, carry the dead if possible. We will shield you."
"We may have lost the battle but the war will be ours!"
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The Admirals' words echoed everywhere as it somewhat brought back the broken spirits, most could only utter a single thought,
'Loss is temporary, Justice is forever!'
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*Rumble*
The ground suddenly shook as 300-meter tall mountains were extended out from the sides of the formation, parallel to their retreat.
They extended tens of kilometers making for a landmark of its own.
Garp and Zephyr and the other Vice Admirals all worked together to smash apart any broken ships in the way.
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Meanwhile, Sengoku glared at the pirates' side.
Specifically at the man at the helm.
The Admiral murmured in understanding, "Your goal was never to hold us off till Xebec was finished."
"But rather take down Kurowashi and the Ox Lloyds Warship in a single go and destroy our entire formation in one move!"
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Damien stood at the very front of the Suicidal Rambo and gave the Admiral a slight smirk.
"Don't you want to chase them and take them all out, Damien-chan?" Shakky's voice reached in his ears.
But the young man shook his head.
"Forget it, we also have many wounded and those 4 still stand. We may have cut their numbers to a small amount, but as the saying goes, 'a cornered dog will bite.'"
His goal was complete, plus, killing any further would only affect his plans negatively.
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Shakky nodded and then gave an impressed look.
"That aside, Damien-chan. It looks like you left quite the mark here."
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The youth smiled and nodded.
It wasn't exactly planned but it had a nice look.
Even the pirates who were annoyed by the order to remain on standby seemed lost in the sight before them.
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It was at the area of the explosion.
Or at least what was left from it.
The nuclear bomb that Damien dropped was special; laced in pulverizing energy.
The explosion released, though quelled, had some extra spice in it.
The pulverizing energy in unison with the nuclear radiation had caused an interesting occurrence.
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It was a giant crater in the sea.
Giant volumes of seawater seemed to whirl into a vortex that was generated from the gaping hole, yet to no avail.
The giant rocks that decorated the enormous hole from Basara's shield gave it a rather natural yet fear-inducing look.
Added to that, sparks of lightning also seemed to go off every so often.
A soft red hue seemed to shine through if one looked closely enough.
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Overall, it was simply a scar left behind by the Scorched Sea War that spanned more than 2 kilometers in diameter!
One might even think it was the domain of some mythical beast!
[A/N: Image of the 'Scar'.]
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"It's most likely here to stay… How poetic," Rayleigh commented as he polished his saber, his hair slicked with sweat from the earlier battle.
Not just him, but practically all of the participants of the war had taken a great deal of damage.
Damien's left arm was left sore and purple after having healed from Garp's punches.
He was even missing a few teeth; nothing that some milk couldn't fix.
As for the soreness and leftover damage, it was attributed to the Grandmastery of Armament which Garp was kind enough to display.
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Apart from him, Silver Axe had skiffs while Wang Zhi had cuts all over his hind legs.
Rayleigh, apart from his new scars from Sol, was also left with some injuries from Sengoku. A few cracked ribs and whatnot.
Linlin was munching on one of her ships that had crashed, eating the remains.
A thundercloud and miniature sun danced around her voluptuous waist.
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Kaido sat with a gloomy expression, angered by Damien's consistent rise in strength.
The pirates were busy either salvaging for remains or tending to their injuries.
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*Fwooooo*
A sharp whistle blew.
Damien and the others looked in the sky and saw a comet descend from the sky.
A blazing flame covered the object as it got closer and closer to the ground.
"Hmm?"
Damien's eyes zoomed in and saw a familiar figure.
It was Pryde D. Sol.
His eyes were whitened out, his face was stiff as a corpse. His body was layered with black cracks.
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BOOM!
Like a meteor, the body crashed onto the remains of Glint Island, sending ripples of shock out.
The inferno-body of the Overlord caved down into the ground as it ran through the broken island.
*Purrup*
The sea steamed as the body of the fallen pirate dug into the seafloor and the bedrock below.
Magma churned all around as the God of Fire seemed to have died.
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Pryde D. Sol had fallen and the Pirate Festival had come to an end.
The Scorched Sea War had also come to a conclusion!
The marines were forced to retreat, resulting in a grand victory for the forces of the pirates!
With a powerful Overlord having died, the world would surely recall this day.
A day that would lead to the greatest showdown between the Navy and the Pirates in history!
A day where the sun was plucked from the sky!
A day to go down in the annals of time!
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