The Greatest Disgrace in Marine History-Chapter 264 - 166: Sailing Toward Dawn

The battleship crushed the raging waves beneath its prow, its aura roaring with unstoppable force.

Sakazuki stood immovable at the bow of the ship, his figure towering and steadfast amidst the howling storm. Merely standing there, he exuded an indescribable sense of oppression.

His cold, stern gaze locked onto the small vessel drifting precariously in the tumultuous seas. Beneath his military cap, his eyes were dark and unyielding. A crimson glow began to emanate from his entire right arm.

"The truly troublesome one has arrived..."

Dragon's face turned pale under the lashing rain, his lips pressed tightly together.

If Borsalino—the inscrutable one—might still be swayed by past camaraderie, then Sakazuki, the man of "Absolute Justice," would never show even a shred of mercy.

Boom!

A cannonball suddenly fell from the sky but was halted by a swirling vortex of wind, plunging instead into the ocean.

Explosions blossomed beneath the waves, sending towering plumes of seawater surging into the air. The small ship rocked violently, struggling to stay afloat amidst the barrage of waves and cannon fire.

Orange-red flashes of artillery lit up one after another on the distant battleship, the shells whistling ceaselessly through the air.

On the swaying deck, Dragon gripped the mast with white-knuckled fingers.

"Sir, if this keeps up, the ship won't last much longer!"

The shipmaster's voice trembled slightly.

"I know!"

Dragon clenched his teeth and let out a low growl.

His eyes stayed fixed on Sakazuki atop the warship, and in that moment, he made a resolute decision.

Don't look back...

A swirling, dark green hurricane formed visibly in his palm.

"Then let me witness your resolve, Sakazuki..."

Dragon's bloodshot eyes blazed as he hurled the sphere of wind. frёeωebɳovel.com

"The ocean is my battlefield!!"

The instant the sphere left his hand, it expanded uncontrollably, swelling into a colossal waterspout that reached from sea to sky.

In this storm-lashed world, the water tornado surged with even greater power, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it advanced toward the warship like a massive, crushing wall.

Heaven-rending, earth-shattering!

"What... what is that?!"

"What a monstrous tornado!!"

"Damn it!! At this scale and speed, the warship can't possibly dodge it!"

"..."

The faces of the Marines aboard the ship instantly turned ashen, terror gripping their eyes as they watched the towering oceanic tornado engulf the sky and sea. Their bodies shivered uncontrollably.

Witnessing this awe-inspiring spectacle, even Darren's pupils constricted, a tremor passing through his heart.

In such a climate and setting, the power of Dragon's Wind-Wind Fruit was at least twice its normal might!

It was no exaggeration to say—this stormy sea was indeed his domain!

"A force of natural disaster... When Fleet Admiral Kong entrusted this Devil Fruit to Dragon, he must have hoped it could counter Whitebeard and Golden Lion's powers..."

A slow, casual voice suddenly sounded behind Darren.

Darren turned to see Borsalino stroll up beside him, his narrowed eyes flickering.

"You're not going to help?" he asked.

Borsalino scratched his head with a show of helplessness.

"I really did use my full power, but I couldn't do anything to him, you see..."

"From here on out, it's up to Sakazuki. After all, everyone at Marine Headquarters knows—among the Marine's new generation, only he can stand alongside a genius like Dragon."

"And besides..."

He pointed at Darren's battered, bloodied form and sighed.

"I still have to tend to the injured, don't I?"

"With wounds like yours, if they aren't treated soon, you might be in mortal danger..."

Darren's eyes flickered.

He and Borsalino locked gazes and—somehow—both broke into smiles.

"Indeed. We've both done everything we can."

Darren nodded gravely in agreement. Then his pale face twisted as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Take care of it for me, Rear Admiral Borsalino."

The two of them—one standing, one sitting—remained perfectly in place.

Meanwhile, that monstrous ocean tornado descended upon the battleship like the maw of a furious beast, ready to swallow the entire vessel whole.

The storm had arrived!

For a heartbeat, the entire world seemed to hold its breath.

Through the twisting vortex and crashing waves, Darren caught a glimpse of a crimson figure leaping from the prow of the warship.

And then—

It was as if molten flame erupted in the sea itself.

Or as though magma had burst from within an iceberg.

A blazing red sphere of molten power swelled at the heart of the green hurricane.

In the next moment—

Boom!!

A pillar of surging magma tore through the water tornado, blasting an enormous hole in the roaring seas.

"Die, Dragon!!!"

Sakazuki soared forward like a relentless hellhound, his feet pounding the air as he smashed through the rain and waves, hurtling straight for the small vessel.

"The world's future is waiting for me!!"

Dragon's eyes burned as he too leapt up, his arm transforming into a wild, howling hurricane.

The two of them met in midair, their eyes locked in a shared battle fury.

A tattered dark green coat and a snow-white Marine coat billowed in opposite directions.

Above them, the clouds gathered, thunder crackling within them, brewing a storm of apocalyptic power.

Dark red magma surged and swelled, coalescing into a colossal hound of molten rock.

The howling hurricane twisted and roared, forming the shape of a blue-green dragon.

A fist!

A claw!

"Hellhound Crimson Lotus!!"

"Hurricane: Dragon's Roar!!"

Boom!!

Fist and claw collided!

Their attacks crashed together like meteors striking the earth.

The roaring wind dragon and the infernal hound of magma seized each other's throats in a death grip!

A mighty shockwave exploded outward from their clash, spreading in every direction.

Dragon's Devil Fruit power and Sakazuki's Haki forged two opposing cyclones of dark green and crimson, devouring and grinding into each other.

Molten magma dripped from Sakazuki's chin as he roared, eyes bloodshot:

"You have betrayed the Marines!!"

Boom!

His magma-infused fist surged forward again, beginning to overpower the dragon's claw.

Dragon coughed blood, staggering under the crushing force.

In that instant of haze, countless images flashed through his mind.

A little boy flying a kite,

The hateful faces of the Celestial Dragons,

His parents, trembling as they raised a gun,

The faint ache in his face...

Every face, every memory—like a lantern procession—flashed before his eyes, finally coalescing into a single, ancient word:

The People!

In that instant, an indescribable feeling rose from Dragon's chest, a long-suppressed fury and defiance finally bursting free!

Boom!!!

A surge of profound, boundless aura erupted, the entire island seeming to tremble.

Crack—crack!!

Bolts of black-red lightning snaked through the air.

"Conqueror's Haki!?"

In Sakazuki's stunned cry, Dragon laughed and roared:

"But I have never betrayed justice!!!"

His three-fingered dragon claw erupted with astonishing power, like a dragon's breath.

Sakazuki's eyes widened in shock, his pupils turning bloodshot.

Bang!!

The molten magma hound exploded. His body was flung backward, crashing onto the deck of the battleship amidst a chorus of horrified Marine cries.

Dragon, too, was knocked back to the small ship, blood at the corner of his lips.

His face was deathly pale, but his eyes shone brighter than ever.

"Hahahaha!! Hoist the sails! Set course!"

He didn't look back.

With a sudden snap, the merchant ship's tattered sail unfurled in the wind, lifting like a fledgling eagle and carrying the ship through the storm.

Dragon laughed wildly, snatching a bottle of strong liquor from a smashed crate and drinking deeply.

The searing burn of the alcohol sliced down his throat, his blood-red eyes blazing. Conqueror's Haki burst from him in an unrestrained torrent, knocking distant Marines to their knees, dizzy and overwhelmed.

Lightning flickered across the night sky, and in the reflection of the bottle, Dragon saw his scarred, battered face.

He grinned.

With three fingers, he clawed across his left cheek, tearing it open and marking his old wound with a new, blood-red cross.

Reborn!

He stood in the raging storm, arms outstretched as rain washed the blood from his skin.

The road ahead was heavy and difficult. There was no one he could speak to.

So he would speak to the world instead!

In his mind, he recalled an ancient ballad from a forgotten tome and raised his voice in song:

"For the will of the people,"

"For the progress of society,"

"Let the fiery liquor of rebellion fill your soul,"

"Farewell for now, my friends,"

"We will create the light, though the night is long,"

"To illuminate this land, to change our lives..."

His voice rose higher and higher, his song growing ever more soaring and resolute. His hands conducted the storm itself.

This rain,

This wind,

It all echoed his laughter and his fury.

The ocean heaved in furious waves,

Driving the little ship onward,

Celebrating his rebirth, his transformation.

The song of freedom echoed across the sea, across the world.

"I will give everything I have,"

"And if I must die for it,"

"I will be the first,"

"To carve my name upon the monument of hope..."

And so he stood there, on that battered little boat—

Singing,

Laughing,

Crying,

Bleeding,

Sailing through the endless storm,

Toward the distant dawn.

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To be continued...