Chapter 90: A Battle with a Strong Start but Weak Finish

In the face of Adrian's ridicule, Sakazuki did not say a word, silently activating Life Return.

His wounds began to rapidly writhe, and the rolled-up flesh and skin once again adhered together. The bleeding ceased, leaving behind a large, ugly scar in the area cut by the Yubashiri.

This wasn't the most severe injury Sakazuki had endured, but it left the deepest impression on him!

Especially due to that inexplicable and eerie ability!

Sakazuki forced himself not to recall his embarrassing performance when struck by the Negative Ghost just moments ago…

The powers of Devil Fruits, especially Paramecia types, exhibited a myriad of peculiar effects. Sakazuki had encountered such abilities in battles against pirates before.

The only effective strategy against such enemies was to prevent them from having the time to use their powers!

"Purgatory Dog!"

A scorching lava arm struck Adrian again.

The attack was extremely fast, but Adrian's eyes flashed red as his Observation Haki revealed the precise trajectory of the lava. He raised his arm and swung his sword horizontally.

Clatter!

The dark red lava arm was directly cleaved in two by Yubashiri, which was coated in Armament Haki. The front half of the arm turned into a stream of boiling lava that fell to the ground, rolling and burning the earth.

As a monstrous Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, Sakazuki's Observation Haki was not weak either. He had also sensed Yubashiri's attack in advance and dodged it by splitting his body into elements.

Sizzle!

At this moment, the lava that had fallen to the ground on Adrian's left side suddenly transformed into Sakazuki's body.

His lower body merged with the lava, and his upper body entered a fully natural state. His eyes were filled with a cold determination to eradicate evil, and he struck Adrian's face with another lava arm.

Clang!

Magma hit the blade of Yubashiri, splashing everywhere.

Adrian held the hilt of Yubashiri in both hands and used the momentum to sweep it forward. A white Sword Power burst out and struck forward fiercely.

Sakazuki used his elementalization to dodge Adrian's attack again. His upper body tilted and fell to the ground, while his lower body quickly gathered into a human shape.

"Dog Biting Crimson Lotus!"

Sakazuki did not give Adrian a chance to react. He waved his arm and entered a state of magmaization. In the flowing dark red semi-solid, he turned into a ferocious molten dog image and bit at the latter.

Adrian stepped forward, used his waist and abdomen to exert force, twisted his body, and once again swung his sword to block the magma dog head.

Sakazuki's eyes were cold. He clenched his fists and punched Adrian fiercely.

The magma in the sky suddenly turned into countless huge fist shadows, pouring down like a storm of wind and rain.

Adrian moved his mind and once again used the power of the Ghost Warrior to switch his original position with an innocent white ghost.

Sakazuki looked up at Adrian, revealing a sinister smile. He angrily shouted, "Meteor Volcano!"

Instantly, the entire ground was replaced by scorching magma, erupting in terrifying waves that shot into the sky. It resembled the scene of an earthquake during a volcanic eruption, with countless stone-like magma liquids erupting into the air. Following the laws of gravity, they poured down from the sky, as if trying to bury Adrian beneath this overwhelming volcanic eruption.

"Are you insane, Sakazuki? With such a wide-ranging magma attack, are you trying to destroy the entire town? No one in the town can withstand such an attack!" Adrian exclaimed.

Sakazuki's face darkened, and he showed no wavering in his anger towards Adrian. "They sacrificed themselves for justice!"

No longer engaging in pointless verbal arguments, Adrian clenched his teeth, summoning one massive ghost after another to intercept the falling lava meteorites. Before they reached the town, he intercepted them, shattering them in mid-air. Crimson magma rained down like droplets, leaving numerous burnt holes on the ground.

"I shouldn't have provoked you, you crazy dog!" Adrian rarely swore. If he had known that the current Akainu was so indifferent to humanity, he would have shifted the battlefield to a more distant location!

Sakazuki remained silent, executing Moon Walk to fly into the air, once again swinging his magma-infused fists in an attack.

After Adrian swapped positions once again using Ghost Warrior, he decided to forego swordsmanship and instead continuously released White Ghosts to harass Sakazuki.

Still haunted by the terror of the Negative Ghost just moments ago, Sakazuki was unwilling to engage with these frightening spirits at the moment.

Entering the elemental state, he utilized the ability to continuously shift positions within the magma, desperately avoiding the white ghosts whose effects he wasn't entirely sure about.

As time passed, the battle began to lose its initial intensity.

With the full utilization of Observation Haki, Sakazuki managed to completely evade the ghosts created by Adrian, but he had almost no remaining strength to counterattack.

The magma Sakazuki occasionally released was effortlessly dodged by Adrian.

As for Adrian, he was momentarily unsure how to deal with Sakazuki.

Given Sakazuki's heightened vigilance against Negative Ghosts, the likelihood of inflicting further damage on him was minimal, and the other ghosts had little effect on the magma fruit ability.

In addition, the town is too close by. If Sakazuki goes crazy and uses his large-scale magma ability again, I'll have to split my attention to protect the townspeople...

Damn it, what kind of world is this, where a pirate hunter has to prevent the Marines from killing hostages!

Adrian was simply frustrated.

Little did he know that Sakazuki was also very frustrated at the moment, but he kept his expression stiff and did not show it easily.

Since graduating from the elite training camp of Admiral Zephyr, Sakazuki has been on the front lines of hunting pirates. If it wasn't for the order of the World Government, he would still be on the Grand Line fighting pirates right now!

He thought that coming to the South Blue to carry out a mission would not be a difficult task, but he did not expect to run into such a troublesome 'White Ghost!'

Flying ability users are not easy to deal with, and moonwalk can only 'fly' in the sky for a short time. The magma fruit's aerial ability is not strong either…

But the White Ghost's trouble is not just this!

The key is that he can easily create terrifying ghosts that can easily influence the minds and wills of others!

Sakazuki still couldn't be sure at this point whether Armament Haki could resist those ghosts, and he didn't dare to try it rashly.

If the resistance was successful, that would be fine. But if it didn't work...

Wouldn't that leave another black history that could cause a lifetime of shadows?

Recalling the scene just now, Sakazuki couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.