At that moment, Elior stepped past the ice wall and caught sight of a disheveled Akainu in the distance.
To be fair, when Akainu first arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago, Elior had already scored a significant blow.
Struck by a massive ice spike conjured by Elior, Akainu's head was completely obliterated. His body was sent flying into a tall hill, smashing it into rubble upon impact.
Akainu quickly reformed his humanoid body, steam pouring violently from his magma-coated form. Anyone with half a brain could see it—he was furious.
With a powerful stomp, Akainu rocketed toward Elior at high speed.
A deep crimson magma fist hurtled toward Elior, the intense heat tearing the air apart with a deafening roar.
Elior, unfazed, met the attack with a punch of his own—this one forged entirely from compressed ice. The two forces clashed head-on.
The impact echoed like an explosion.
Akainu's punch was undeniably strong—his face twisted with rage, his attack filled with ferocity. It was the strike of a man hellbent on destruction.
And yet, the shocking thing was—Elior held firm.
This time, it wasn't a wall of ice protecting him. It was a direct clash of strength.
The collision created a massive shockwave, splitting the battlefield in two—one side scorched red with molten lava, the other frozen white and crystalline. Fire and ice, clashing in equal measure.
The very air around them quaked.
Akainu's power was feared across the world. Rumors claimed he was the strongest of the three Admirals. And though no definitive battles had ever confirmed that, the title of Admiral alone meant he was one of the world's top forces.
But now, in front of countless stunned witnesses, this boy — this youth who had decapitated Celestial Dragons in broad daylight — had stopped Akainu's fist.
Anyone else would've been blasted dozens of meters by Akainu's fist—or lost a limb entirely.
Which could only mean one thing: Elior's strength rivaled that of an admiral.
Suddenly, the Supernovas felt insignificant. Before Elior, their so-called "Worst Generation" looked like children playing pirate.
"Where the hell did this monster come from?" Law muttered under his breath. Elior had once approached him, saying his crew needed a capable doctor—and asked Law to consider joining.
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes. "This freezing ability… Aokiji is still alive. But this? This doesn't feel like a Devil Fruit someone's just awakened. Not at this level…"
Little did they know — Elior wasn't even a Devil Fruit user.
"Trying to stop me, Akainu?" Elior said calmly, a half-smile tugging at his lips. He stood like the eye of the storm—calm, precise, unshaken.
"Pirates like you… all of you deserve to die!" Akainu growled, furious and frustrated. He hadn't expected Elior to meet his blow head-on, and now he was certain—this boy's strength was real. Possibly equal to his own.
But what mattered more was that Elior had openly defied the World Government and slaughtering the Celestial Dragons — the gods of the world. It was an offense on the level of Rocks D. Xebec himself. And though the name Rocks crossed Akainu's mind, he wasn't ready to rank Elior in the same tier — yet.
"The war with the Whitebeard Pirates is about to break out. The world is shifting fast. Are you really ready to risk everything in a deathmatch right here, Akainu? That might not be the wisest move" Elior warned.
The Marine Headquarters couldn't possibly foresee what was coming. If the timeline played out as expected, Whitebeard's death would give rise to something far worse — Blackbeard.
Whitebeard had only occupied a small part of the New World, living peacefully with his sons. Though considered the man closest to becoming Pirate King, he lacked the ambition.
But Blackbeard was different.
His flagship was named Xebec, and he had established Hachinosu (Pirate Island) as his base of operations. His intentions were clear—he wanted to become the next Rocks.
He had the ambition. He had the power. And if left unchecked, he could become the final boss of the era.
The war at Marineford wouldn't just end an age — it would start a far more terrifying one.
"Justice will prevail!" Akainu roared. His entire body surged with magma as he shoved Elior back a full meter—then followed up with another blow.
This time, his right hand morphed into a titanic fist of lava. With a violent surge, it crashed down like a volcanic meteor aimed straight at Elior.
Elior didn't flinch. He raised one hand—and with a flick of his fingers, a massive sphere of ice materialized from thin air, slamming directly into Akainu's attack.
The sound shook the heavens. Lava and ice collided with such force that even the atmosphere twisted violently.
The ice sphere began to shatter—but Akainu's fist kept burning through, spewing more magma.
"This is even more insane than Kuzan's freezing powers" Akainu growled. "That bastard couldn't create ice constructs out of nothing ."
"This brat… if I don't take him out now, he'll become an even greater threat in the future…"
But even as he pushed forward, Akainu's expression grew darker.
Breaking through that ice ball wasn't going to be easy.