CHAPTER 173- The Wrath Beneath the Cloak; Aramaki's Fury Ignites

The overwhelming pressure gathering in the sky finally reached its peak.

That crushing, suffocating aura detonated like a bomb, igniting every last nerve across the battlefield.

"RUN!! If we don't, we're all going to die!!"

No one could tell who screamed it first—but the moment it was heard, it became a tsunami of instinct.

Without another thought, Capone Bege, Urouge, and even the notoriously defiant Eustass Kid turned and fled in blind panic.

The will to fight had utterly evaporated.

But they had barely taken more than a few steps when it happened—

BOOOOM!!!

From the heavens, a devastating impact plummeted to the ground.

An explosive shockwave, like a wrathful hurricane, erupted outward.

The very earth around the landing point—thousands of meters in radius—was flattened in an instant, as though a god had smote it with divine fury.

Everything within range was shredded like paper, obliterated without resistance.

The Marines who had decisively fled earlier now found themselves filled with relief—they had never been so grateful for an order to run.

As they turned back to look at the so-called "Worst Generation" now being ragdolled across the battlefield, they finally understood why the tactical order had contained only one word:

"Escape."

The dust storm that followed engulfed the entire first island like a great sand sea.

Figures flew through the air like broken kites—slammed into mountains, walls, and hills with such force that some became embedded into solid rock.

Some vomited blood on impact.

Others simply passed out, their lives hanging by a thread—or worse.

From afar, Luffy and Trafalgar Law, who had initially chosen to flee, paled in horror at the sight behind them.

They didn't even dare pause.

They simply turned again and ran faster.

A moment ago, they had still harbored fantasies—maybe they could fight alongside the Marines. Maybe they could steal back initiative from the World Government.

But now?

No more illusions.

"Luffy! Get down—NOW!"

A hoarse, aged voice suddenly cut through the chaos.

Rayleigh burst into view, blade drawn, closing the distance in a blur.

BOOM!

A colossal collision erupted between Rayleigh and the golden Hundred-Hand Guanyin behind Luo Yu.

The impact blew Luffy and the others off their feet.

When they staggered up and turned back—mouths gaping—they saw the two figures now locked in a brief but monumental standoff.

Rayleigh—once the Right Hand of the Pirate King—stood, blade out, eyes steady.

He had shed the disheveled look he wore moments ago and was now radiating the aura of a true legend.

He had blocked Luo Yu's terrifying attack.

"Heh, Luo Yu… never thought we'd meet again so soon." Rayleigh chuckled wearily."You promised me—if Shakky helped you find intel, you wouldn't go after the people I protect."

"This time, it's Luffy I want to protect. You don't mind, do you?"

Luffy and the others blinked in disbelief.

The ragged old man… knew Admiral Luo Yu?

More than that—he'd just stopped his attack.

Even though it seemed Luo Yu hadn't gone all-out, Rayleigh's feat was already worlds beyond what the Supernovas had been capable of.

"Rayleigh, you're still too fond of playing the saint," Luo Yu sighed, sipping from his clay wine gourd. He glanced casually at Luffy."Relax. I'm here for the Celestial Dragon."

"That guy sure ran fast. That's a ten million bounty gone just like that… and I'm off-duty in a few minutes."

"Oh right—these brats just came from the Thriller Bark region, didn't they?" he added, looking at Rayleigh."You haven't told them yet, have you?"

He had assumed his arrival would throw off the timeline and prevent the Supernova gathering.

But it had all still happened.

The wheels of fate were rolling forward regardless.

"…How was I supposed to tell them something like that?" Rayleigh shook his head."You know Luffy. If he learns the truth here and now, it'll be suicide."

"I'll tell them—after they're gone."

"Oh, and thank you—because you pissed off Kaido, I didn't have to go running to Shanks to help stop him from ambushing Whitebeard."

"You and Shanks… working together?" Luo Yu raised a brow.

In the original timeline, Rayleigh hadn't shown up at Marineford. Luo Yu had always suspected there was more behind that absence.

Now it was becoming clear.

The "Red-Haired interception" of the Beasts Pirates had likely involved Rayleigh and possibly other remnants of the Roger Pirates.

Otherwise, with Kaido's nature, he wouldn't have given up so easily.

And Whitebeard wouldn't have been so assured, marching to war against Marineford.

Rayleigh smiled faintly and sheathed his sword.

"It wasn't really 'teaming up.' I owed Roger some things. It was time to repay them."

"Anyway… the Supernovas are all escaping. You're not going to chase them?"

Luo Yu shrugged. "Not worth it."

"I don't do low-pay jobs. At least, not me."

"I'll find that Celestial Dragon first."

With that, he raised his head.

His Observation Haki erupted—blanketing the entire first island.

Then he paused.

His expression changed subtly.

Meanwhile, at the seaside edge of Island No. 1—

Fujitora, leaning on his cane, sat under a small shop awning, casually munching on skewered dango.

Next to him sat a shirtless man in sunglasses and a green cloak, legs crossed.

"Oi oi, Fujitora-ossan, never thought I'd run into you here," the man chuckled.

"You didn't come here because you got word I was about to act, did you? What, planning to stab a fellow Admiral in the back?"

He laughed freely, voice loud.

"But don't worry, Fujitora—just a little rookie Admiral. Loud entrance or not, once I get serious, he'll be nothing but nutrients for the soil."

"I haven't eaten in two years, you know? And that's a real pain."

"Oh yeah, didn't Fleet Admiral Sengoku invite you to join the Special Forces too?"

"Didn't think you'd reject it like I did."

"Guess you don't like this new Admiral's style either, huh?"

Fujitora slowly lifted an eyelid, glancing at the chatty man.

"Aramaki, you never change—still playing loyal lapdog for the Celestial Dragons."

"But don't worry. I'm not here to help you."

"Hahaha! Good! That's exactly what I wanted to hear." Aramaki laughed loudly, propping up a leg.

"Wouldn't want folks thinking I needed help after I crush that new Admiral."

"And the timing's perfect. That Celestial Dragon's finally been found, eh?"

"That's something to celebrate."

His face darkened as he looked toward the distance.

There, covered in blood and dirt, stumbling with exhaustion and escorted by Spandam, was Saint Charlos.

Aramaki's expression turned grim.

He stood slowly.

As a zealous defender of the Celestial Dragons, seeing one reduced to such a disgraceful state—filthy, bloodied, beaten—it was like a blade to his pride.

The Celestial Dragons were supposed to be untouchable.

They were gods.

To see one dragged through the dirt like a dog—

That was Aramaki's reverse scale.

And now…

That scale had been torn open.