[147] Cradle of the Gods (IV)

[2490 words]

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"Battalions 3, 4 and 5 move in from sector right. Battalions 1, 2 and 6 pull back to resupply from that cover."

"Ranged Division, take your shots; Gunner Battalion, cover their fire."

"Explosives Battalion, aim for the center of the collection of pirates. Destroy every shred of their momentum."

Sengoku continued ordering through the transponder snail, dropping commands by the second. He watched through his circular glasses, his mouth subconsciously giving commands, bringing significant casualties to the pirates.

That all changed when the battle came to him...

BAM!

The Admiral was suddenly shot back, his head spinning for a second and crashing into a hill.

"Yo, Sengoku."

"I remember a time when you were throwing me around back at Borealis' Auction, say, why don't we pick up where we left off."

The crater momentarily shook before exploding from the man clawing his way out. A trail of blood seeped out from the marine's mouth as he glared at his attacker with a grim expression.

"Damien…the Undying."

Sengoku wiped the little bit of blood, sighing in exasperation. Unfortunately, his mind was constantly pulled into a different direction.

"Don't worry, it looks like you've got Rocks held down. Look closely."

Sengoku's brows furrowed. He turned to the faraway castle at the center of the twin peaks, seeing cracked skies above it.

"Garp and another source of powerful Haki… Roger!?"

The Admiral's face warped into pure shock as he felt the tremors from afar.

It was a collection of dense Conqueror's Haki that was spasming through the castle. Three such bubbles covered the gold-encrusted manor.

Garp's bright-green Haki, Roger's crimson and Rocks' raven-black Haki.

Damien smiled at Sengoku's surprise. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he commented.

"I can't believe this…" the Admiral mumbled, massaging his forehead. "What a mess, but I can't allow you to wander freely here either, Sin Incarnate!"

A golden bubble of Conqueror's Haki spanned out from the marine, taking apart massive clusters of land in the process.

BOOM!

Damien's dark-red Haki responded with full force, quaking through the atmosphere and smashing into the Admiral's attack.

The resulting explosion tore away the land below, cracking it to its roots! The broken skies above gave way once more as they were shredded apart from the coming clash.

…

[Near the Pier of God Valley]

"Kuhuhuhu, that fist really packs a punch!" a tattooed pirate laughed, patting a few rotten branches off his body.

"I'll roast him at a barbeque!"

"Seastone is quite the trump card."

All these comments fell into the ears of the sole marine taking them all on.

Zephyr scoffed, fixing a few strands of hair that had fallen across his forehead.

"The three of you rely too heavily on your Devil Fruit abilities."

The Black Arm didn't have a flashy fruit power like Sengoku or a terraforming one like Basara, nor was he as rowdy and reckless as Garp. However, what he did have was a steel resolve and an air of justice around him; someone genuinely deserving of his position as an Admiral Candidate.

Solomon ignored the aching pain across his chest and narrowed his eyes at the metal arm of the marine. It shined a pristine silver even through the bloody air and dusty surroundings.

.

"Black Arm Suppression!"

.

It came out of nowhere: a thick stream of concentrated air, a shockwave, released from the seastone arm.

*Fwooo!* The howling winds raged across the battlefield, obliterating the earth nearby and shaking the forests of God Valley.

"Damn!" Solomon cursed, unable to completely dodge the simple attack as it dug into his chest. The Zoan user eyed the gaping hole in his body; his entire left arm and shoulder were missing!

*Krrrr*

However, instead of a geyser of blood, there was simply a mass of rotten branches growing from his body and reforming the lost flesh.

"It's quite a sustainable ability," Zephyr commented before turning to the two other pirates making their moves.

.

"Raging Inferno!"

.

"Wrathful Flames!"

.

The heat came at an alarming rate and from both sides!

Boom!

The scorching hell crashed onto Zephyr's body, blazing onto his arms, legs and torso.

The man grunted slightly, taking on a defensive stance using his Haki to block the attacks.

Hensō looked under his maddening mask and threw on a new face. It went from that of wrath to sloth, seeming tired and doozy.

.

"Graceful Wind."

.

The flames emitted from his body suddenly turned into wind, blasting out with a powerful gust.

Zephyr groaned as he felt Kaen's Ignite-Ignite Fruit burn hotter from the added wind that encircled his body, eating away at his defense.

Yet all of this was not a problem for an Admiral Candidate; even with the sharp torrents trying to tear open his skin or the flames baking him alive, they left not a single ounce of damage behind.

'The reliance on fruit powers as always,' Zephyr scoffed.

He was seconds away from exploding with some emission haki to evaporate the blazing heat, but that thought changed…

"!!!" The man froze in his steps, eyes wide open in deep shock.

He ignored the heat that bubbled around him and saw a distant figure through the clouds of fire. He couldn't really see through the hell, yet a person was there? 

A woman.

She was covered in blood, her face pale and troubled. The teary eyes were glued on the shaken marine.

Her broken voice called out, ridden with doubt and pain: "Zephyr… why didn't you protect me? You promised you'd come back one day…"

The veteran marine's heartbeat spiked. He absently watched as the woman burned to death, her tears and blood turning to ash: "Yūgata…"

Unknowingly, his dense Haki grew unstable, allowing the flames and torrents to harm him.

With a desperate hand, Zephyr reached for the woman...until his eyes suddenly sharpened with resolve.

Boom!

A thick pulse of bubbling Haki roared, quaking in the form of Emission and imploding the nearby attacks and terrain to nothingness.

"Ugh!"

"Auugh!"

Both Kaen and Hensō were caught in the Haki as it reached their bodies and assaulted them from within, shaking their very cores.

"Haaaah, huuuuh," Zephyr wheezed, blinking at his surroundings. With one knee on the floor, he fell. "You bastard!"

The curses were directed at the towering Solomon wrapped in nefarious black mist.

The pirate grinned, though soon shaking his head in disappointment. "Looks like you have a woman waiting for you at home. I'm sure you don't want to let her down…"

Zephyr grunted and stood tall again, his body inked with black marks.

Solomon raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Don't get me wrong, it's beneath me to go after someone's family… I just couldn't help but materialize the fears of a man as powerful as you."

The purple-haired man scoffed at the explanation. "Perhaps you're right; I should go home to find her…but that will no longer hold me down from beating you into a pulp!!!"

*Fwwm* A dense coat of Haki plated his arms alongside a crimson bubble gently floating around them.

"Kuhuhuhu! Come on then!"

…

Each of the Fourth Division members had met some form of enemy. Now, the Vice-Commander was facing his...

"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit has been missing for nearly 150 years," Xerxes recounted with evident surprise. "I'm curious where your Commander found such a treasure."

"Though even more curious about why he would trust it with a pirate who joined under Rocks' banner."

Indra, bathed in the blue electricity, didn't show any expressions. A bright flash and the pirate was already by Xerxes' side.

Boom!

The howling fist stabbed forth, releasing a bright light followed by the roar of thunder.

"Ugh!" Xerxes grunted, holding up his arms in defense. 

The electricity crackled without mercy, seeping into the man's arms and burning his skin and flesh. He was shot back a few dozen meters, slowly coming to a stop.

Xerxes growled past the electricity overloading his system, but before he could claw his way out from the crash site, the air crackled once again in blue lightning...

*Rumble* Indra stood fifty meters above the crater, holding both arms into the sky. They burst with powerful electricity as he directed the charge downwards. 

His exact motion was mirrored by the skies above, bathing Xerxes with hell itself!

.

"Seismic Storm."

.

Boom!

BAM!

Boom!

The overwhelming ability to manipulate lightning was shown in full force; its unstoppable momentum frightened nearby soldiers.

The fallen Chief was struck with over a hundred arcs of lightning, forcing the hole to grow wider with each.

"..."

Indra floated to the ground, his eyes never losing sight of the enemy.

He could feel it...a bubbling source of chaotic energy. "As expected, he's a tough opponent."

With a snap of a finger, both hands quaked with fluid lightning, shooting out toward the figure hidden under the dust cloud.

.

"Thunderbird."

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"Lightning Tiger."

.

A bird of stormy clouds and a tiger with thunderous power. The two beasts cried out in fury, rampaging onto the Head of Cipher Pol with their unforgiving assault.

[Attack Images (in Discord)]

BOOM!

The electricity was not simply destructive; it was also scorching! Such a collection of energy would naturally generate tremendous heat, reflected across the nearby blazing landscape. Entire trees were ignited, bringing plumes of smoke in the process.

"…"

The Hellspawn shook his head and crossed his arms. The heightened Observation from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit showed that his attacks failed.

"I suppose considering your two agents utilizing such rare abilities, it should not be a surprise to see their leader with one just as rare and even more powerful."

The thunderous pirate easily made out what was happening even under a cloud of smoke, fire and dust—he saw the broken figure of Xerxes transforming!

"Xa-Xa-Xa! It's been a while since I could let loose my anger. I hope you can hold it for at least a while…"

Xerxes' body had begun to shift, contorting into a massive, hulking form as his once-human features twisted into something more fearsome. His legs extended and thickened, taking on the powerful, muscular structure of a lion, stretching out to an incredible 200 meters in length. His face elongated into a blend of human and beast, crowned by an enormous, ancient headdress that gleamed with an unnatural glow.

Towering over 70 meters high, his eyes burned with otherworldly power, casting a sinister light across his surroundings as the ground trembled beneath his immense frame. As the transformation was completed, whirling sand and debris were drawn into the air, floating alongside the long tail swaying about.

Indra narrowed at the menacing figure, speaking in a low voice, "The body of a lion and the face of a human…Cat-Cat Fruit—Mythical Model: Sphinx."

Another thought came to mind as Indra noted the black clouds around the beast. 'He's more animal than you'd expect of a sphinx, though. An Awakened Zoan.'

[Creature Image (in Discord)]

"Xa-Xa-Xa!" The calamity opened its spanning maw, spitting, "Your Boss has caused me so much trouble! Now bear my anger, Hellspawn!"

*Fuuuu* *Vvooo* A loud gust of wind began to churn, slowly filling the air with loose minerals. They were tiny, fine sand!

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"Nekrikí Palírroia!" (Funeral Tide)

.

It spanned a huge part of God Valley, even touching distant battles between marines and pirates, taking them on quite the adventure. The brown soil below turned orange from the change in terrain, turning into fine particles! A giant tide of sand and dust bellowed out, covering the sky with its darkness.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

*Crackle* Indra turned into pure electricity, attempting to dodge.

'How come!?' The swordsman looked to his arms and chest—what should be intangible was no longer so! 

*Burrr* *Pop!* It failed every time he willed his body to zap to the side. 

"...I see. Such fine and pure sand makes for a powerful insulator."

Indra hummed as he lost the advantage of being a Logia user. "Everyday sand would not cause such a thing; it looks like your sand is quite special."

His words reached the dull figure of the beast afar, who grinned in return. "Get swallowed by the endless sand, Hellspawn!"

The rumbling from the sand was alarming.

Such a massive amount was so powerful that it could rip apart entire fleets from a distance and leave entire cities in shambles. The mineral was fine and sharper than usual; even a single crystal of Xerxes' sand could pierce a Sea Beast's thick skin!

"Though your powers may counter mine…" Indra mused, "...that goes both ways!"

He then extended his hand above, communicating with the clouds and commanding their fury. With a violent image in mind, the heavens shared their master's wrath.

.

"Pillars of Creation!"

.

Within moments came a deep rumble of thunder.

The attack unleashed towering pillars of lightning, surging violently from the heavens to the ground, splitting the sky with blinding energy. Each pillar was colossal, stretching hundreds of feet into the air, dwarfing everything around them.

The bolts intertwined and crackled, igniting the landscape below as the sheer force of the storm scorched everything in its path.

They crashed at speeds beyond what a human could compute, wreaking the tides of sand with great electricity, but most importantly, heat!

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

Xerxes growled his frustrations, pushing the whirling sand in defense.

*Whururu* 

Torrents of sandstorms bursting in blue light—it cast a blue dawn across God Valley! 

But where there was heat and sand, there were shimmering crystals...

"Glass…" The Sphinx murmured, his paws numb. "I'll take great pleasure in delivering your corpse to your Commander...and he will follow suit!"

The crystals rained down, illuminating the ashy battlefield and unveiling a wasteland wrought by Indra.

*Crackle* The lighting human appeared before the humongous lion, his body swimming with the blue electricity. His hand traced along the sacred scabbard, grasping at the grip.

Shing!

The blue lightning suddenly warped, blending with the unsheathed blade's beauty. The plasma turned a sacred white!

"I have questioned, over and over," Indra began, his voice quiet yet carrying the weight of countless battles fought and victories earned, "whether or not I deserved this power. Whether I was worthy of the blade I hold or the storms I command. Even now... I have no answer."

A deep and dull growl broke out from the beast's maw, angered by the unfazed expression on its prey. He was nearly sixty times bigger than the eleven-foot Indra, yet the pirate stood tall. 

Indra's dark pupils locked onto the human-faced lion, void of emotion. He recalled the duty carved into his very soul—a weapon forged by Polemos Island, bound to the one who commands him.

The Warborn's gaze pierced through the air, thick with blood and ash. "The only thing I know for certain is my task."

His voice hardened as he stood firm against the Face of Justice. "My duty is to keep you from reaching him. Death can wait its turn."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Current main battles: Whitebeard vs Garling & his Knights. Sengoku vs Damien. Shiki vs Rayleigh & Gaban. Zephyr vs Solomon, Hensō & Kaen. Rocks vs Garp & Roger. Basara vs Silver Axe & Wang Zhi. Indra vs Xerxes.

This chapter highlights Solomon and Indra and the elusive Xerxes before we return the camera to chaos elsewhere...

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