Saving Kaido

The situation was dire.

Big Mom could only use Armament Haki to seal Kaido's wound, preventing his condition from worsening. But even that was only a temporary measure.

The relentless surge of magma continued to consume them both, scorching their bodies with searing, agonizing burns.

"Damn marine!!!"

Sakazuki had endured a powerful slash earlier, burying magma inside Kaido's body. Now, it finally erupted.

Kaido, already gravely injured, was pushed to the brink of death. Even though Big Mom reacted in time, coating the wound with Haki to resist the damage, he was barely clinging to life.

Seeing his dying form, Big Mom nearly lost herself in a fit of uncontrollable rage. But for Kaido, she forced herself to stay in control.

A plan formed in her mind. Her eyes turned ruthless as she swept her gaze across the surrounding marines and pirates.

"Offer your lifespan!"

Her thunderous voice shattered the battlefield.

A violent surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, merging with the eerie, soul-reaping power of the Soul-Soul Fruit.

"Life or Slave!"

The moment her power swept across the battlefield, pirates and marines alike visibly aged in an instant.

"Aaaaahhh!"

"Help!"

"Big Sis, we're on the same side!"

"Damn it!"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

"Big Sis has lost her mind!"

"Crazy women!"

"Somebody save me!!!"

Screams of agony and curses filled the air.

They watched in horror as their own bodies, and those around them, withered and decayed before their eyes. And in the end, as their ambitions and dreams slipped away, they closed their eyes in despair—lifeless.

In just moments, countless pirates and marines dropped dead.

The battlefield, once a chaotic war zone, fell into an eerie silence.

All eyes locked onto Big Mom; her body scorched by magma, clutching a barely breathing Kaido in her arms. But she had no time to care about any of them. Gathering the stolen lifespans in her right hand, she pressed them into Kaido's body.

The lifespans of thousands surged into him.

As the energy poured in, his breathing grew stronger, his aura rising. But at the same time, the lifespan in Big Mom's hand was vanishing at an alarming rate.

She couldn't afford to hesitate.

With a grunt, she hoisted Kaido onto her shoulder and rushed toward Rocks' pirate ship. Along the way, she continued her merciless harvest, reaping the lifespans of pirates and marines alike.

Everywhere she passed, only corpses remained, withered and aged beyond recognition.

The battlefield had already been reduced to ruin by Sakazuki's molten destruction. The surviving pirates had barely regrouped, struggling to steady their morale.

But now, under Big Mom's merciless slaughter, that fragile morale completely collapsed. By the time she stormed onto Rocks' ship, chaos had consumed the battlefield.

At first, people hesitated.

Then, some started moving. Then, walking. Then, running.

In the next instant, every surviving pirate was frantically sprinting toward the few remaining ships.

"Bastard! Get off my ship!"

"Screw you! This ship is mine!"

"Please, let me on!"

"I'm a navigator!"

"Die!!!"

"Get out of the way!"

"I'll kill you!"

A frenzy erupted.

Pirates swarmed toward the ships, desperate to escape. Brotherhood, loyalty—all meant nothing now. They butchered each other without hesitation.

Blood splattered. Limbs were torn apart.

By the time it was over, the ground was littered with corpses.

...

Meanwhile…

Far beneath the battlefield, Sakazuki remained unaware of the chaos above. Through his hazy perception, he could only tell the magma he had left inside Kaido had finally detonated.

Would Kaido die?

With Big Mom's Devil Fruit, it was unlikely. She could easily steal lifespans from others and pour them into Kaido.

Still, some burned organs were inevitable. Kaido had thick skin, but that didn't mean his insides were just as tough.

"Big Mom..." A low, rumbling voice echoed. Then Sakazuki, still in his magma form, continued sinking deeper toward the core of God Valley.

He was about to deliver a grand gift to Rocks and the Celestial Dragons.

...

No one knew how much time had passed.

As Sakazuki descended, the temperature steadily climbed. After plunging thousands of meters below the surface, he finally felt it: the searing heat radiating from the churning magma beneath the earth's crust.

Sakazuki let himself sink into the lava. His lower half dissolved into molten rock, while his upper body remained human-like. Standing on the magma's surface, he closed his eyes, activating his Devil Fruit power.

The endless sea of fire responded. Magma began to swirl around him, flowing in chaotic streams.

For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze. At this instant, Sakazuki was no longer just a man. He was the god of molten destruction.

More and more magma gathered, growing restless. The temperature soared. Countless magma bubbles swelled and exploded in bursts of fire.

Then, after a long while.

"Not yet. Be patient."

Sakazuki slowly opened his eyes, his deep voice breaking the silence.

It was almost like a father comforting his restless child. At the sound of his quiet murmur, the turbulent magma… gradually settled. But only he knew what kind of power lay beneath that eerie calm.

A force that could erase a nation from the map.

A force that could plunge all four seas into eternal winter.

A force… capable of destroying the world.

"I just need the right trigger..."

Sakazuki lifted his gaze, as if his eyes could pierce through thousands of meters of rock.

Far above, he could sense the battle raging on. The titans of destruction tearing the sky and land apart.

Then with a slow, deliberate movement, his body melted into magma. Like a tidal wave of destruction, he surged upward. The ground above him cracked and shattered, giving way to the rising inferno.

A pathway was forming—an escape route for the slumbering disaster beneath.

"Almost there… just a little more."

Sakazuki's deep, rumbling voice echoed through the vast sea of magma.

And as if it understood, the magma began to tremble with excitement. The temperature soared even higher.

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