Takeshi became a streak of white hair and red eyes tearing across the broken island.
Stone shattered beneath his steps. Blood dripped from his wounds, leaving a trail behind him, but he didn't slow down. Behind him, Hirito chased on all fours at times, claws tearing into the earth, growling like a beast that had caught the scent of prey.
Meanwhile, far above on the massive stone arm, Coby, Grus, and Helmeppo kept climbing.
They ran along the uneven surface while pirates pursued them from behind. A cannon roared. The cannonball screamed through the air toward Coby.
Helmeppo didn't hesitate.
He leapt in front of it and sliced through the iron sphere mid-flight. It detonated in his face in a violent explosion of smoke and fire. Coby instinctively glanced back, but Grus barked at him to keep moving.
There was no time to stop.
Back below, Takeshi pushed himself even faster, vision blurring at the edges.
Takeshi (thinking): If this thing really is a puppet... then that means... yes. This should work.
He kept running.
Then he felt it.
An explosion of Haki so overwhelming it made his bones vibrate.
Garp had risen.
And he was heading straight for the gigantic stone skull at the center of the island where Avalo Pizarro was manipulating everything.
Hirito snarled behind him.
Hirito: You have got to be kidding me! Why can't I catch you?!
Takeshi shouted back without looking.
Takeshi: Because I'm persistent, you damned mutt! You're only at fifty percent, and you were never the fastest anyway! I can handle you like this just fine!
That only made Hirito angrier.
The pirate's grin twisted into something vicious.
Hirito: River of Slaughter!!
Behind Takeshi, a massive wave of blood erupted and surged forward like a tidal flood. It devoured buildings and swallowed debris in its wake. It was too wide to dodge and too fast to outrun.
Takeshi stopped abruptly.
He pivoted on one heel, using every ounce of built momentum.
Takeshi: Void Splitter!
His leg carved downward through the air.
The river split cleanly in two.
But this time, Hirito didn't try to block.
He vanished into the blood.
Takeshi froze.
Takeshi (thinking): Dammit... where did he go—
He didn't wait for an answer.
He leapt high and drove both fists toward the ground.
Takeshi: Void Rupture!!
The shockwave detonated outward. Earth and blood exploded in every direction.
For a split second—
Silence.
Then a massive puddle of blood arced behind him, and Hirito emerged from it like a nightmare reborn.
In his hands—
A gigantic crimson blade.
Takeshi barely reacted.
He twisted at the last second, avoiding decapitation—
