Chapter 590: Such a Big Chunk
Fragmented crystals spun and tumbled through the air, falling from the sky, refracting brilliant colors under the setting sun's rays. However, no one on the Marine side found this scene beautiful at the moment...
Logia types weren't invincible, not even for someone as powerful as a Marine Admiral. Akainu, in his most vulnerable moment, had suffered a heavy blow from Kaido. When his arms shattered, a massive amount of blood sprayed out. As everyone had guessed, the molten glass had indeed touched Akainu's physical body. This scene was the best proof.
Even though Akainu usually maintained a tough-guy image, the excruciating pain of both arms being severed made him let out an involuntary scream. With a loud crash, he slammed to the ground.
"Admiral Sakazuki!?"
Some Marine officers snapped back to reality and immediately tried to rush forward to pull Akainu out.
However, once Kaido realized that the person he had just struck was that bastard Akainu, how could he possibly stop? The fact that he had chosen Akainu as his first target upon waking up, after hearing he was injured, already spoke volumes!
Strike while the iron was hot!
So, after slamming Akainu to the ground, Kaido immediately pulled his massive foot out of the sunken earth, raised it high, and prepared to stomp down on Akainu lying there!
As for Kuina's attacks, Kaido paid them no mind. With Kuina's current strength, it was like a tickle to him. In the few seconds they had exchanged blows, Kaido had been the one attacking. If it weren't for his interest in her being a Mythical Zoan user, Kuina would have long since been overwhelmed.
Kaido's raised foot was somewhat slow because he was still within Fujitora's gravity field. Relying on his monstrous physical strength, Kaido resisted the gravitational pressure, but his movements had become sluggish.
Akainu, caught in the shadow of Kaido's descending foot, instinctively tried to get up and dodge. However, when he pushed his hands against the ground, another wave of searing pain shot through him, causing him to fail in getting up.
His arms were still gushing blood...
Several Marine Vice Admirals nearby were charging toward Akainu's position to rescue him, but in terms of who could reach him fastest, there were only two people on the scene!
One was Kizaru. His extreme speed could get him to Akainu's side in the shortest time.
Yet, for some reason, Kizaru was currently focused on fighting Enel, seemingly unaware of Akainu's peril...
The other was Kuina! Because she was the closest to Akainu!
Seeing Kaido about to stomp down on Akainu, Kuina didn't hesitate. She pushed off the ground with all her strength, lunged toward Akainu, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and dragged him out!
Boom! Kaido's right foot, wrapped in Haki, barely grazed past them as it slammed down, smashing a massive crater into the ground. The edges of the crater were covered in spiderweb-like cracks, showing just how much force he had used...
Many Marines saw Kuina's selfless act of saving Akainu, and for a moment, they were stunned.
None of them had expected that the one to save Akainu would be Kuina!
Not just them, even Ian was a bit taken aback. If Kaido had crushed Akainu underfoot, it would have been something Ian would have been happy to see, especially since that bastard had dodged earlier, putting Kuina in danger.
But Ian hadn't expected Kuina to turn around and save Akainu. What was this girl thinking!? If he was an enemy, wouldn't it be better to just watch him get killed!?
However, when Ian noticed the expressions of the nearby Marine officers, he suddenly understood.
Kuina saving Akainu might actually be a good thing!
Ian was certain that when Kuina saved Akainu, she hadn't thought much about it. It was purely instinct. She was a kind-hearted girl at heart. Although she had joined the Marines to help Ian and Zoro in the future, she had been with them for so long that she had developed some sense of loyalty.
From the Marines' standpoint, they couldn't just stand by and watch a symbol like Akainu fall into danger. So Kuina's reaction was completely normal. At that moment, she hadn't considered any grudges.
Although Kuina's action was instinctive, it meant something entirely different to the other Marine officers.
Akainu had nearly gotten her killed earlier. Given that kind of hatred, no one would have blamed Kuina if she had just watched Kaido stomp on him. She was only a Commander after all; no one would have expected anything more from her.
Yet, she had risked being crushed to save Akainu. This instantly elevated Kuina's image. Almost every Marine who witnessed it raised their opinion of her.
A Marine Commander, and a girl at that, facing the infamous Beast Kaido, had selflessly saved a Marine Admiral—an Admiral who had nearly gotten her killed earlier. What kind of spirit was that!?
Ian understood clearly that, when you thought about it, Kaido's stomp might not have actually killed a Marine Admiral. As the saying goes, at worst, severe injury; dying isn't that easy.
However, the difference between being nearly killed and being saved was huge. Kuina saving Akainu actually highlighted his earlier ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness.
Earlier in the battle, Akainu had accidentally injured many Marine soldiers and even personally executed some deserters. Many around him had seen this but were too afraid of his authority to speak up.
If Akainu could lead the Marines to defeat the Whitebeard Pirates and build immense prestige, the Marines might not care. But the problem was that the Marines' battle situation was dire, and their original strategic goals were impossible to achieve.
So now, the ultimate result of Kuina stepping in to save him might actually cause Akainu's prestige to plummet!
After figuring out the implications, Ian almost laughed out loud. Maybe Akainu hadn't realized this yet, but when he did, he would probably rather have been stomped by Kaido than be saved by Kuina like this!
Marine Admirals had ambitions too. Ian knew that Akainu wanted to take Sengoku's place and become Fleet Admiral. But this incident might not only push him away from the Fleet Admiral's seat but also cause resentment and even contempt from the Marines under his command. That consequence would probably hurt him more than death itself!
"Life Return!"
Ian guessed correctly. At this moment, Akainu hadn't thought about that yet. He was just relieved to have been pulled out. Once out of Kaido's attack range, Akainu gritted his teeth, and the muscles and blood vessels at the broken ends of his arms immediately tightened to stop the bleeding.
But his shattered arms couldn't be reattached...
Kuina's heart was pounding. She had expended a lot of stamina dealing with Kaido, and she didn't understand why she had rushed in like that.
Just then, Kuina noticed a shadow appearing above her again. Looking up, she saw Kaido, his face twisted in fury, clasping his hands together and smashing down toward her!
Having missed his stomp, Kaido was furious. What a perfect opportunity that had been! If he could have killed Akainu, how badly would the Marines have been crippled? Their influence worldwide would have been severely weakened. And that chance had been ruined by a little girl...
Crazy people often act unpredictably. Earlier, Kaido had wanted to capture Kuina, but now he had murderous intent toward her. He brought his fists down with all his might toward the ground.
Kuina was startled and tried to dodge, but at that moment, a wave of weakness hit her legs.
Fortunately, the Marine Vice Admirals who had come to help had arrived. Five Vice Admirals joined forces to block Kaido's hammer strike.
As the Vice Admirals gritted their teeth and held their swords against Kaido's strength, a figure suddenly appeared behind Kaido!
It was Ian!
He didn't swing his sword or do anything else. Instead, from behind Kaido, he formed his hand into a claw and plunged it into Kaido's back!
No wound appeared. Ian's hand vanished, as if entering a ripple. When he pulled it back, he was holding... a massive ball of light!
This scene was faithfully recorded by the war correspondents' Video Den Den Mushi and transmitted via electromagnetic waves across the world, appearing on countless screens.
"W-What is that!?"
They didn't understand what Ian was doing, but they saw that as this ball of light appeared in Ian's hand, the Beast Kaido seemed frozen in place.
Then, the next moment, Kaido's face twisted in fury as he turned his head, staring at the ball of light in Ian's hand with a maddened gaze.
"GIVE IT BACK!!!!"
Kaido let out a massive roar, the shockwave nearly bursting eardrums, and then lunged toward Ian in the air.
……………………
Far away in the New World, on a sweet-smelling Whole Cake Island, the Big Mom Pirates were also watching the New Edd War on television.
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was lying sideways on her bed, eating sweets, surrounded by her children.
When Ian pulled the massive ball of light from Kaido's back, Perospero suddenly screamed, pointing at the TV, "Mama! Did you see that!? That's the move! That's the move!"
Big Mom had seen it. Licking the cream off her fingers, she said, "It's very similar. That massive ball of light is Kaido's lifespan, isn't it?"
Lifespan was essentially life force. Big Mom understood that the massive ball of light represented an enormous amount of life force. It was because of this immense life force that Kaido had the "illusion" of being immortal.
"Without any conditions, he can directly extract someone's lifespan..." Big Mom was a bit surprised by this.
Perospero had reported to her after returning from Dressrosa that Ian might have a Soul Fruit-like ability. Big Mom hadn't believed it before, but now, seeing it with her own eyes, she realized Perospero hadn't lied.
"When is the next tea party?" Big Mom asked, thinking.
"Two months from now!" answered her second son, Charlotte Katakuri, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed, his mouth and chin hidden in his fluffy collar.
"Then, send an invitation to this young man..." Big Mom laughed happily. "Invite him to my tea party!"
"Mama, you want to obtain this ability to directly extract lifespan from him, don't you?" Charlotte Smoothie, the 14th daughter and Juice Minister, grinned.
"That's right! Ma-ma-ma-ma!" Big Mom laughed heartily, spreading her arms. "If I can understand how this ability works, my Soul Fruit might be able to do the same. Then, what's Kaido? Once I take care of him and Whitebeard, no one can stop me from becoming the Pirate King!"