"Akainu! Kizaru! Who is this guy?!" Caesar shrieked furiously, witnessing the power displayed by the two Marine officers confronting Bege.
"The great pirate with an 850 million bounty, Demon Dragon Capone Bege," a deep voice announced as the three Vice Admirals emerged, their eyes locked onto Bege with undisguised killing intent.
"Demon Dragon, this island will be your graveyard!" the braided-hair Vice Admiral snarled, his face contorted with hatred. "I'll take your head myself as an offering to Vice Admirals Mad Tiger and White Lion!"
Bege frowned slightly. "Two of the Marines' 'Monsters,' along with three Vice Admirals, all waiting here… A pre-planned ambush, then? This just got interesting."
"You won't escape today, not even if you sprouted wings," Akainu stated flatly, his expression unchanged as more and more magma flowed down his arms. The next moment, he attacked.
"Dark Hound!"
With a roar, Akainu's right fist transformed into the head of a vicious magma hound, seemingly clawing its way up from hell as it lunged towards Bege with immense force.
Bege slashed the magma hound apart with his sword and leaped backward.
Akainu pressed his advantage relentlessly, attacking with even greater ferocity.
"Great Eruption!"
A colossal fist of magma, the size of a house, hurtled towards Bege with unstoppable momentum. Bege instantly coated the Fire Cloud Sword in Armament Haki and met the magma fist head-on.
BOOM! The impact caused the magma to explode violently, scattering countless smaller globules of molten rock in all directions. Lab equipment sizzled and melted upon contact.
"My experiments!" Caesar wailed from the sidelines, watching the destruction in anguish.
"You will be compensated after this battle is concluded," one of the Vice Admirals stated impassively.
Magma flowed freely over Akainu's body as his assault grew increasingly violent. Giant magma fists rained down continuously, splashing molten rock everywhere and reducing the laboratory to a scorched ruin.
Bege cleaved through another magma fist, then his figure blurred. He exploded forward with incredible speed, appearing directly in front of Akainu, his previously calm face suddenly twisting into a fierce snarl.
Akainu's eyes widened fractionally in surprise. With Bege suddenly so close, he didn't have time to launch a proper counter-attack and could only attempt to disperse into his Logia form.
However, he was a fraction too slow. A muffled grunt escaped as Bege's attack connected, causing Akainu's body to fly apart into scattered magma.
He reformed some distance away, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes widened slightly in disbelief as he saw the clear sword gash across his chest – Bege's Haki had cut him despite his Logia form.
"Even Logias aren't invincible," Bege stated coldly. But just then, he felt a chill run down his spine as the sound of something tearing through the air came from behind, whipping up a small gale.
Kizaru had appeared instantly behind him, his leg, glowing brightly, swinging towards Bege's head in a roundhouse kick delivered at the speed of light.
Bege ducked low, the light-speed kick whistling over his head. Kizaru's face split into an excited grin as intense golden light gathered at his fingertips. A laser beam shot out instantly, aimed directly at Bege's head.
Bege's eyes narrowed. His Observation Haki picked up the laser attack fractions of a second before it hit, allowing him to tilt his head just enough. The beam grazed his ear, impacting the ground behind him in a violent explosion.
Ignoring the shards of debris peppering his back, Bege spun sharply, his right leg whipping around in a powerful kick aimed at Kizaru.
Kizaru's lazy expression finally changed. He rapidly dissolved into countless particles of light, narrowly evading Bege's counter-attack.
He reformed further away, looking genuinely startled. That had been too close. "This guy… he's even younger than us, how can he be this terrifying?"
Kizaru had barely reformed when Akainu attacked again.
"Dark Hound!"
This time, Akainu launched two magma hound heads simultaneously from both fists. Bege quickly dispatched them with two swift slashes. Akainu used the momentary opening to rapidly close the distance.
Magma bubbled violently from his right hand. Suddenly, he thrust his fist forward. The magma coalesced into a magma hound head that was noticeably darker in color and radiated even more intense heat. It shot forward with astonishing speed, jaws wide, attempting to bite Bege.
"Dog Bite Red Lotus!"
Sensing the terrifying power behind this attack, Bege reacted instantly. "One Sword Style—Fire Demon Ape Slash!" The Fire Cloud Sword erupted in a stunning wave of fiery sword energy, directly cleaving the enhanced magma hound's head in two and forcing Akainu himself back several steps.
From the other side, however, a dense barrage of laser beams shot towards Bege, instantly engulfing his position.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Explosions rocked the area where Bege stood, decimating half the laboratory in a blinding flash.
"Logia attacks truly are astonishing!" one of the three Vice Admirals, who had yet to intervene, exclaimed, watching as Akainu and Kizaru seemingly had Bege overwhelmed. They hadn't joined the fight immediately, confident that Bege couldn't possibly escape this trap, and perhaps intending to let their two prized "Monsters" hone their skills against such a powerful opponent.
"It's primarily because they're both top-tier Logia users," another Vice Admiral commented. "Every single attack carries immense destructive force. Paramecia users or masters of pure physical combat simply can't compare on that scale."
Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, Akainu spread his Observation Haki, pinpointing Bege's location. His right fist pulsed, magma boiling, and he punched towards the spot.
THUD!
A heavy, muffled impact. A crimson-glowing sword met the massive magma fist head-on. Flames and magma scattered violently. Akainu stumbled back five or six steps, while Bege was pushed back only two.
Just then, another laser beam shot towards Bege from behind. He tilted his head again, dodging it narrowly.
"Kizaru, you're really irritating!" Bege growled, clearly annoyed by Kizaru constantly sniping from a distance instead of engaging directly. He'd nearly been caught off guard several times already.
Kizaru chuckled nervously, "Heh heh," his expression wary now, golden light flickering intensely around his body.
At that moment, Akainu attacked once more, fists flying, launching dozens of giant magma fists towards Bege. Bege swung the Fire Cloud Sword in response, meeting the barrage with an equally dense flurry of sword energy slashes that tore the magma constructs apart.
"Scorching Great Eruption!"
Akainu leaped high into the air, his entire right side transforming into boiling magma. He punched downwards, and a colossal magma fist, several meters in diameter, plummeted from the sky.
Bege dodged rapidly. The giant fist slammed into the ground with a deafening BOOOOM! The entire laboratory floor shattered instantly, and cracks spread up the already damaged walls. Splattering, scorching magma flew in all directions, melting everything it touched.
Suddenly, Akainu's expression changed. Bege was charging straight at him with incredible speed. Kizaru quickly intervened, firing intercepting laser beams towards Bege.
Annoyed, Bege paused for the briefest moment, unleashing a massive Flame Dragon slash from his sword that collided with the incoming lasers. The fiery dragon was instantly riddled with holes and exploded, forcing Bege to land quickly.
However, Akainu seized the opening, attacking brutally from above with a fist wreathed in black smoke and flames.
Bege's face contorted in a snarl. He met the descending fist with an upward slash, shattering it upon impact. He then burst forward again, his speed astonishing.
He slashed towards Akainu.
"Dark Hound!"
The temperature surged, as if suppressing immense power. Akainu's face was a mask of fury as his right hand launched another magma hound head, biting savagely towards Bege. Bege cleaved it apart, the Fire Cloud Sword continuing its vicious trajectory towards Akainu.
Akainu instantly crossed his arms before his chest, coating them in black Armament Haki to block Bege's strike head-on.
CRACK!
Immense force slammed into him. Akainu coughed up blood, shot backward like a cannonball, smashed through several large metal research tables, and finally crashed heavily into the far wall, nearly bringing it down.
Gurgle... gurgle... Akainu spat out more blood. His entire body dissolved into churning magma, which immediately began to eat away at the floor beneath him. The ambient temperature skyrocketed, melting the nearby metal tables into pools of red-hot slag.