[115] The Scorched Sea War (IV)

[2360 words]

New giveaway to put in a reoccurring character in Discord!

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[Ten Minutes Later]

The second stage of the war was about to commence.

The pirate's side had received Damien's calming reassurance, and they roared with boisterous spirit to tear down their foes.

The small intermission allowed both sides to finish any further plans, all under the shutters of hidden cameras.

The Sin Incarnate faced the enemies once more. "Charge," he commanded, sending streams of crimson energy to tear all earth spikes in the way.

Once again, the forces of both sides raged ahead, clawing their way through Basara's landmass.

Boom!

Bang!

Vvoosh!

Both sides started to trade endless fire as the cannons exploded with gunpowder. Streaks of dust followed the countless cannonballs as the naval battle continued, all occurring while the armies met on the land at the center.

.

It was a fearful spectacle under the ships' fire from afar, not for the faint of heart.

Pieces of flesh rained down as blood seemed more familiar than oxygen. The ground below had turned from a bronze colour to primal red.

Boom!

Zephyr's seastone fist smashed upon a fruit-wielder, and his entire body popped like a grape. The Admiral Candidate was on a crusade as he vanquished incredible amounts of foes.

His black fist was about to clear another group of pirates however… it stopped midair! A spiky-black club alongside two Haki-clad axes pushed it back, sending ripples of shock.

"He thinks he can order me around," a voice grumbled under the veil of the dust cloud. "I'll deal with him after taking you out, you one-armed bastard!"

"Kaido, you wail like a child but still do as Damien-guy said!" Gaban, his 'companion,' laughed.

The Oni growled like an angered beast, his fury reflected in the mighty swing of his club. *Grrrr!* Zephyr was pushed back as his feet dug into the ground.

The Admiral Candidate narrowed his eyes at the two enemies and studied them. "I see," he mused. "So the Sin Incarnate sent two non-fruit wielders to deal with me, a good thought."

Kaido bashed his club and spat, "Hah? If Damien could take your arm, then I can take your life!"

…

Such obstacles occurred across the battlefield.

"Insufferable pirates!" Basara roared while dropping large boulders onto the incoming masses.

His irate assault was put on hold while a large 60-meter-wide rock shattered into dust.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma!" A menacing grin appeared on the newly arrived pirate. "That Damien started giving orders… I'll take you down first, Basara and then harvest his seed!"

*Fwooo!* Napoleon descended upon the one-eyed Admiral, releasing a powerful burst of sliced air. Giant parts of earth coiled in the air, shooting to bombard the buxom pirate.

"Hehe," Big Mom knew she was on the losing side in terms of firepower and clawed at empty air. "Zeus, Prometheus, come to me!"

""Yes, Mama!""

…

It was undoubtedly quite the view for Damien, with explosions and shockwaves going off on all sides.

"That ogre friend of yours works quite well with Gaban," Rayleigh commented, stroking his beard.

To which Damien scoffed, "Kaido is not exactly my friend… but he's easy to work with, a frenemy, perhaps."

"You just gotta punch harder than him, transforming him into a wrecking ball."

While the two chatted, a marine squad approached.

They moved at great speeds, whizzing through the air at incredible speeds, credit to their title as the Special Forces of the Navy - Cheetah Division.

"You're open, Sin Incarnate!" the cat-like Rear Admiral roared as six other shadows flew alongside him.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* Three shots later, the squad was dead.

*Szzzzz* The wounds left behind sizzling steam, burning deep into their bodies. "B-Black Death…" The last living marine growled his final breath.

Damien looked down at the miserable six and left a piece of advice, "Next time, don't announce your surprise attack."

He then glanced to the side, seeing a cloud of smoke with three bullet holes in between; the ashy gas cleared up to reveal a black-haired woman. 

Shakky returned a wink before turning elsewhere and unloading a mag of rounds; one hand was busy with a cigarette while the other shot endless bullets.

Damien just rolled his eyes, returning his gaze to the battle. Meanwhile, the golden-haired man nearby was left speechless, "What a woman…" Rayleigh muttered, his eyes glued to Shakky's silhouette.

He was lost in thought as he subconsciously fixed his posture, appearing dignified.

.

Damien saw the distracted pirate and called out. "Oye, Rayleigh, stop dawdling and get a move on."

The Dark King cleared his throat, loosened his collar, and fixed a few loose strands of his hair.

*Vvoosh!* He then whizzed forth in a flash of silver, rather flamboyantly.

Within moments, three Rear Admirals fell before his mighty saber, bringing meaning to his incredible bounty. 

However, his charge soon met a solid golden wall.

The Dark King was rather energetic, going beyond the necessary as he clashed with a human god, "Sengoku? Very well, allow me to entertain you!"

Damien deadpanned as he heard Shakky giggle from the side. 'Is he seriously going to face off an Admiral to impress a girl?'

"Shakky-nee, I'll let you hold the fort," Damien announced. "I still have an unfinished duel with someone."

…

[Nearby]

"FIRE!"

Boom! Bang! *Whizz!*

Cannons continuously fired as warships traded fury over the giant rocky field, hiding a flickering shadow.

BAM!

The captain of the Goose Pirates saw a rocket of a punch before the very floor beneath his feet was annihilated. *Rumble!* The sails fell, the wood broke apart, and the frame collapsed.

Garp was on a mission. He had made up a quick mini-game: destroy as many ships within a single minute, and every vessel destroyed equalled one hundred bags of rice crackers from Sengoku's pocket.

Naturally, the deal was not previously discussed with the Buddha beforehand.

BOOM!

A blazing red trail of air current went off as Garp was lifted off his feet and tossed far aside. Like a stone skipping over the sea, the Vice Admiral eventually was smacked onto a marine ship.

.

Damien floated in the sky, watching the debris of the quivering vessel. 

Garp stood up through the dust, lacking even a scratch. "Bwahaha!" he laughed, "I was wondering when you'd come back!"

"I hear you have an extraordinary way of teaching the young," Damien abruptly added. "A punch to set them right; I respect that."

Garp's eyes brightened like stars, "To appreciate my Fist of Love Technique, you are even better than I thought!"

Damien gave a knowing nod as he recalled the effectiveness of the Fist of Love that he had used on Kuzan. "It works wonders," he shared, cupping his chin midair. "It instils discipline and a sense of measure; it is very effective."

"Bwahahaha!" Garp slapped his thigh, wiping a tear of joy.

Both men chuckled at one another until suddenly, the air was plunged with silence and coolness.

Garp raised an eyebrow as he saw the red-eyed youth.

*Fwwm!* A soft hum of metal plating went off as black armour coated Damien's body. The plates then started to bond and ripple about. 

The armour on the back was coiled in unison as they creaked in a mailable shape. Seconds passed as feather-like blades pointed from the newly made black wings.

"Hadean Release."

Garp hummed, "Oh? I wonder how many fists it'll take to break that armour…"

Damien grinned as he set his Ryushi to Ravager Configuration.

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"Frenzy."

.

The wings behind Damien suddenly exploded into endless wings and shuttled ahead in a razor-sharp fashion. They hailed on the Vice Admiral, who had thrown up an x-shaped defense.

Each feather rang the marine's body with a spark of crushing energy and flowing Haki, multiplied by hundreds, and even Garp was momentarily stunned.

*Grrrrrr!* The air quaked under Ryushi's advent, crashing at the marine's chest.

"Ugh," the Vice Admiral let out a painful grunt. His boots dug into the well-crafted wood below, sinking deep and shooting screws from his weight.

But even under the Supreme Weapon's fury, the man smiled. His left hand shot at breathtaking speed, locked onto the sleek blade, and held it in place.

*Fwwm!* A thick coating of Armament boiled around the marine's dominant fist, turning it purple; Haki Layering was in effect.

"Fool me once…" Damien muttered, releasing a countermeasure and backing up.

A burst of crimson and an enormous shield appeared, freeing Ryushi from its lock-hold. At its front was a powerful suction, practically eating away the atmosphere and turning it to void.

.

"Dead Zone."

.

It was Damien's most robust defensive ability that atomically dismantled all incoming attacks.

Garp gave a dull grin, leaping from the sinking ship and driving his mighty fist forward. "You can't defend against discipline!"

Boom!

The Vice Admiral slammed his fist onto the barrier, sending deep tremors. Yet before they could span out, they were devoured.

Garp narrowed his eyes, feeling his Haki run dry,

"!!!" a foreboding sensation fell upon the marine, one borne from endless combat. Garp hopped, using the shield as a launching platform to retreat to the skies.

The streak of blue was followed by a swirling black liquid trailing behind like a homing missile!

It climbed dozens of meters in the sky, hunting the burly soldier.

"Hmm," Damien muttered, his eyes flashing red in Observation.

The swirling black liquid responded to the pirate's thoughts, suddenly warping into an open section of the air.

"Huh!?" the Vice Admiral grunted in shock, seeing the liquid form a dark sphere around him. "Annoying Future Sight!" the man grumbled, covering every inch of his body.

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"Death's Cradle."

.

The sphere did as commanded by Damien, collapsing from its vast 10-meter space to all but 1 meter!

Garp was entirely bathed under colossal amounts of pulverizing energy, crushing him into paste!

*Grrrrrr!* The volatile energy was unforgiving, nailing itself into the marine's body and seeping into his pores, shredding as much as possible. 

The man let out a dull roar and found the energy to bash both fists in opposite directions to his side.

Like glass, the sphere fell apart, inviting light to grace the Vice Admiral.

Yet the sunlight dimmed as Garp was met by a fist-sized red pyramid pushed forth by an armoured hand.

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"Atomic Fracture."

.

The object blazed in a cone-shaped attack, directly ramming into Garp's chest.

BOOOOM! *Grrrrr!*

Blood shot out of the Vice Admiral's mouth as he felt his very chest being crunched up and dismantled, drilling deep within.

'It's trying to tear me open!' Garp exclaimed.

Damien, however, was disappointed, 'His Haki is ridiculously tough!'

With a moment's notice, the marine smashed both fists into Damien's wrist and disrupted the drill.

The pain of a crushed arm was secondary to Damien as he returned a sweeping kick and sent the Armament master flying back with great force.

Boom! *Rumble!*

Garp crashed into another marine ship hundreds of meters away with wooden floorboards raining down.

The towering masts also fell, crashing on the deck, and the vessel sank!

Marines on nearby ships were dumbstruck at the turn of events with a single thought in mind: "Was The Fist, who regularly clashed with the likes of Shiki, Newgate and Roger, thrown back?"

.

A dull chuckle broke further confusion; Garp stood tall with his usual grin, balancing over a thick wooden log.

*Bam!* He suddenly punched his own chest, realigning a few ribs in the process. "That one hurt; it's getting fun!"

*Vvoosh!* Dust was the only thing left as the marine shot out from the sunken ship, leaving behind a trail of shrieking air. 

Damien felt the threat, unleashing a wide-range attack.

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"Onslaught!"

.

Like a cannon, a dozen attacks landed from every direction under the command of a dozen Damiens.

Garp returned a circular punch, tearing apart the attack; where there was a stab, there was a fist to meet it; where there was an attack, there was a fist to meet it.

BOOM! *Pop* BAM!

Air pockets exploded from the constant collisions as Damien moved once more. What followed was a lengthy stalemate.

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The rest of the war was nothing but death and pain.

Damien's division mates clashed with the Rear and Vice Admirals as the newly arrived supporters did the same.

Roger's crew faced strong foes as the casualties piled on.

The pirate side quickly dropped to around 12,000, and the opposition sat at around 16,000; Kurowashi's previous boost had a visible effect.

…

"Perorin~!" A young voice went out. "Mama put me in charge; let's go, you all!"

Perespero, Oven, Daifuku & Katakuri stood at the helm of a smaller ship of candy galore.

The ship had detached after Big Mom had clashed with Zephyr. Obeying an order directly from their loving mother. "Apollo Island is where Sol keeps all his gold," Perespero said, licking his candy staff. "Kukukuku, Mama wants us to grab his treasures!"

Katakuri remained silent as a form of agreement.

"Hmph, let's hurry before the other losers get there!" Oven announced in a frenzy of warm air as his fruit power was released.

"Don't forget what Mama said; we must advance quietly, so don't make too much noise," Daifuku grumbled, ready to rub his lower abdomen against any threat.

"Set sail, Perorin~!"

…

Such hidden tactics were more prevalent than most people would expect of pirates.

*Puff* A cloud of smoke floated out from Shakky's mouth, hiding the muzzle fire of her gun. "Looks like Damien-chan is quite trusting of you," she said to the man at the side.

It was a dark-skinned swordsman who nodded in return.

Indra held his famed sword in one hand, and a glowing object pulsing with ominous warmth was in the other.

Behind him were three more pirates.

"As the Sin Incarnate said, I shall aid you," the white-masked Henso spoke emotionlessly. His demeanour reflected the bland expression of the mask.

"Wawawawa! Let's do it, Hellspawn!" The elephantine Wang Zhi roared, bashing his chest.

"We shall clear the path for you," a confident and firm voice came.

Indra nodded at the Fifth Division Commander, Silver Axe.

The small party walked to the side of the Titanic, peering deep into the Marine formation. "The entire plan relies on this; failure is not an option."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

A bunch of different things are going down everywhere.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q