Sengoku raised his palm again, launching wave after wave of increasingly powerful shockwaves, each one hammering into Rosinante's body and forcing blood from his lips. But every time Rosinante spat blood, he stood up once more and charged toward Sengoku with another attack. Eventually, even Rosinante began to gasp for breath.
The silent injuries, the silent power boosts—everything had drained a massive amount of his stamina.
"So that's how it is… As expected of an Admiral. Your power is terrifying," Rosinante gasped as he stood, smiling even through the pain. "But even more terrifying is that razor-sharp mind of yours. In just this short time, you've already picked out the weaknesses in my techniques and devised counters for them—some I wasn't even fully aware of myself. You really are different from him."
As he spoke, Rosinante cast a glance toward Akainu, seated nearby and silently watching the battle unfold. The magma-wielding Admiral had finally calmed down, though his injuries were still evident. His face might have been composed, but his clenched fists crackled with magma—proof that his heart was anything but still.
Hearing Rosinante's words, Akainu furrowed his brows, but said nothing in return.
He knew. He'd lost composure in the earlier battle, too eager to win, and Rosinante had led him around by the nose from start to finish.
"They're still young," Sengoku said coldly, "They have time to grow. They are the Navy's future, and one day they'll surpass you so completely that you'll be nothing more than a forgotten name rotting away in Impel Down, listening to their legends echo through the world."
"You've got a lot of faith in them, huh?" Rosinante sneered. "But aren't you underestimating me a bit too much? Impel Down? That's not where I'm headed. My destination… is the sea of stars."
As he finished, he struck out with his fist.
The moment the punch was unleashed, the air itself twisted. A massive, fist-shaped column of compressed force erupted from his arm and hurtled toward Sengoku.
Seeing the attack coming, Sengoku's expression changed instantly. He raised his palm and countered with a shockwave far more powerful than the ones before.
"Still underestimating me, Sengoku! Giving me so much time to charge up—big mistake!" Rosinante shouted.
The Admiral's shockwave was forcefully pushed back by Rosinante's punch.
"Impossible! That level of power—!" Steel Bone Kong couldn't help but show a flicker of surprise on his usually calm face.
"Not happening!" Sengoku roared, launching another massive shockwave to suppress the incoming force.
But no matter how hard he tried, Rosinante's furious fist-force continued to press forward, slowly, steadily overpowering the Admiral's technique.
"Haah!" Sengoku bellowed once more, pouring everything he had into a final shockwave.
For a moment, it worked—the golden force of his shockwave pushed the punch-column back.
Rosinante's attack surged again, swallowing the shockwave whole and pressing on toward Sengoku.
Just as the devastating punch-force was about to slam into Sengoku's body, the power within it suddenly waned.
Sengoku's shockwave surged forward and struck Rosinante directly in the chest.
A thunderous explosion split the heavens.
The ground ruptured beneath their feet, long cracks tearing through the stone like spiderwebs. Huge chunks of shattered earth flew in every direction.
Rosinante's upper garments were blown apart. His bones and meridians fractured and ruptured under the immense pressure. Blood sprayed from his skin in jagged lines, and gouts of it spilled from his mouth.
When the shockwave finally faded, Rosinante was left panting amid the wreckage. The ground around him was decimated.
Beside him, a long, deep fissure ran through the earth—so deep it seemed to pierce through the planet's surface.
He was still standing.
This was the man who had clashed evenly with Whitebeard. Sengoku the Strategist wasn't just a master of war tactics—his raw power exceeded the standard of Admirals and reached a whole new tier.
"What… was that?" Sengoku murmured, breathing heavily.
"I didn't think the great Sengoku could still be surprised," Rosinante chuckled, blood trailing from his lips.
"So that's the punch that destroyed Ohara…" Sengoku said grimly.
"Ohara's destruction wasn't just my doing," Rosinante said coldly. "Your Navy's cannons played their part. And Akainu and Aokiji, those two Vice Admirals, each contributed a wave of destruction."
He paused, then his voice grew colder.
"And yet, you blame it all on me because he bombarded the evacuation ship and you needed a scapegoat. You labeled me the butcher. That's why I've come to Marineford today—to demand justice. Why should I bear the blame for your Navy's filth?"
"Such arrogance, from a pirate!" Sengoku snapped—and struck again without another word.
A massive shockwave surged forth.
Rosinante looked up, grinned faintly, and swung his fist.
"You hit me pretty hard just now… Time to return the favor!"
"Release—Limit Breaker!" Rosinante roared.
As his fist exploded forward, it carried a roar of thunder. The pressure from the punch crushed the very air in its path, and a colossal column of force—stronger than any before—erupted from his arm.
"What?! That earlier punch… you were just baiting me? But you should've been completely drained by now!" Sengoku's expression twisted in disbelief.
His reasoning wasn't wrong. Rosinante's Silent abilities—muting damage, muting strength, releasing strength in counter—each had a steep price: physical stamina.
Whether he was nullifying damage, accumulating power, releasing stored blows, or using his Limit Breaker technique, all of it drained his body.
While Rosinante's strength placed him firmly among the top-tier Admirals, his physique had only just reached that level. He was still so young, and to be this strong already was almost unbelievable.
Sengoku's plan had been simple: wear him down until there was nothing left.
Rosinante had endured attack after attack. That earlier devastating punch, and the internal injuries from withstanding Sengoku's shockwaves with Silent Defense, should've drained him dry.
By all logic, he shouldn't have had the stamina left for this.
The tremendous force of his final punch surged forward with the momentum of a storm, threatening to shatter everything in its path.
Sengoku's body responded automatically, years of battle-hardened reflexes kicking in. He met the attack with another shockwave.
The two powers collided—fist force and shockwave—like two cataclysmic forces from the end of the world.
The earth exploded beneath them. Massive boulders were hurled into the air. The collision of their power created a blinding flash, followed by a deafening explosion that swallowed both fighters whole...