One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 98: [98] Storming the Base (V)

[3175 words]

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A huge club was smashed into the boiling earth below.

"WORORO! Damien, let me fight him!"

All Kaido got in return was an off-handed remark, "And repeat what happened with Garp?"

The beast growled, his veins popping. 

"I don't have time to babysit you, Kaido. Basara has long since encased the island with a mountainous border, reinforcements from Marineford are surely on their way. We have at most ten hours left."

Nomu, the Saké-Fruit user, could not help but express his thoughts, "If we can't go around the Admiral, what do we do?"

"We go through him," Indra answered in a plain voice.

The pirate gawked at the swordsman and then at the volcanic titan in the distance, one that was a walking natural disaster.

"Don't whine now, Nomu. The Commander is known to do some crazy things," Kaen balled his fist into the palm of his other hand, "I'm all fired up!" Sparks erupted all around his body, reflecting the grin in their bright flames.

"Pablo, juice us up," came Damien's order.

The drug master did not hesitate, he loaded some orange liquid into his pistols and opened fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The projectiles dissolved in all their skins, seeping into their bloodstream.

"Haaah," Damien sighed.

His eyes burned as his body started to explode in crimson energy. The Pulverizing streams of power churned without delay, bursting out from his pores.

"Empyrean Release."

Kaido gave out a grin, his body began to pop with muscles as purple thunder arched around him. Indra and the others each felt the huge influx of strength and stamina, relishing in its power.

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In the meantime, Basara was secretly controlling the earth around him, doubling the thickness of the walls that surrounded the island, ensuring that by no chance could the pirates find a way out.

He gazed at the riled-up pirates with slight surprise. "Overdrawing your fruit ability will take years of your lifespan, is it worth it?"

The question echoed through the wrecked base, reaching the pirate's ears. "Rahahaha! A few years is nothing in contrast to taking down a strong enemy, let alone an Admiral!"

Ryushi spun around in Damien's grip, ready once more.

Basara scoffed and replied with a mountainous fist that birthed torrents of air in its wake. It was as primal of a strike as they came, a simple, disastrous punch dripping with molten malice.

The ground erupted as Damien, Kaido and Indra all took to the skies.

"One-Sword Style: Beautiful Death!"

"Raimei Hakke!"

"Crimson Comet!"

BOOOM!

Under the combo of the three, the arm was completely pushed back as tons of rocks rained down upon the ruined lands and the broken shores.

Basara did not even grunt, simply commanding the ruined arm to reform.

However, that small window gave the trio time to prepare for their next attack. 

Seeing their movement, the Admiral moved his other arm. Its gargantuan size swung across an area that covered all three of the pirates, resembling flies being swatted!

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"Saké Golden Geyser!"

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A wide stream of golden liquid shot out from the ground far below, dousing the entire arm of its richness. Kaen leaped to the sky next, aiming his hand at the doused arm.

*Snap!*

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"Blazing Glory!"

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The entire mountain-limb exploded into a flame, corroding a good chunk of its top layer. The Admiral growled in anger, though it was before another flurry of attacks.

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"Majin Missile!"

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A giant shadow was catapulted from ground level, its body rolled up in a ball that exposed thick and sharp spikes.

BOOM!

Bull's eye—it hit the arm right at the elbow, forcing it to rebound backwards.

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"Huh!?" Basara wanted to sweep away the nuisances below, only to feel another obstacle.

He gazed down and saw a giant snake coiling around his leg just under the kneecap, imposing a vice-like grip on the limb to the point where it was shattering right through it!

It was a good fifty meters long, all wrapped around the titan's leg. Basara tried to kick it off, smashing into a newly-emerged hill, but to no avail.

The snake simply exploded into stone, slowly coming back into the shape of the giant serpent that coiled around him once more, adding incredible stress to the joint.

*Crack!*

The thick limb was soon covered in cracks, enough to force the colossus to lose balance and flinch forward.

Before Basara could continue, he saw a bright purple flash that extended from the sky to his shaken arm's shoulder.

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"Crashing Thunder!"

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Kaido's blackened club sparked with purple lightning as he swung down his club upon Basara's left shoulder.

BOOM!

The sheer power sent a tremor of shock down the colossus, one strong enough to pop the arm off of it!

By now, Basara had reformed the right arm, readying its massive size to deliver a punch that could surely erase Kaido away.

However, another pirate came in his way.

Indra held his Great Grade Sword, which had been doused in saké and ignited, using its burning heat topped with his Haki to zoom at the reeled-back limb.

Basara Haki picked up the coming threat a mile away, reaching out at great speed to grab the soaring pirate and ruthlessly crush him into his mountainous grip!

However, things didn't go as planned.

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"One-Sword Style: Dance of the Fiery Dead!"

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A scarlet light erupted as Indra shot out of the grip in a swirling tornado, his sword spinning with his body as the thick rocky fingers were slashed apart.

*Fwoooo* *Gzzzzz*

Indra then turned into a crimson light, his body shooting onwards, cutting and razing the entire arm of the giant in a spinning motion that resembled more of a blazing wheel! 

The great speed topped with the sharp and fiery blade was unstoppable, soon reaching the deltoid in one smooth attack.

"Insects!"

Damien grinned at Basara's angered gaze. Ryushi in his hands started to blaze with power as he charged ahead. A familiar feeling ran through the pirate and entangled itself into the weapon.

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"Armageddon!"

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BOOOOM!

The infused attack of three separate powers slammed upon the giant face of the colossus, sending nerve-destroying shocks through the body, rippling down every limb as cracks followed.

"Guuuhh!"

The Admiral leaked blood, but it was not enough to shoot him down. He saw the pirate nearby and commanded the volcano below his head.

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"Great Eruption!"

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The volcano bubbled with the raging lava, exploding into a fiery light.

Damien was caught in the hellfire and was forced back to distance.

Basara was not satisfied, he forced the disaster to get even more violent, wanting to swat away the flies that bothered him.

*Purrup*

The huge mass of boiling-hot lava began to tremble. The earth below the volcano shifted, turning into giant boulders.

At the Admiral's command, the giant rocks shot out from under the volcano and into the sky.

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"Meteor Volcano!"

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The newer pirates could not help but falter at the sight of the fiery rain. Giant molten rocks bathed in lava, falling from the reddened skies; a scene from hell itself.

Damien got up from the crater he had been tattooed into, looking at the spectacle.

"These moves are awfully familiar to a certain someone from the future," he muttered, collecting Ryushi from the floor.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

"Indra, his weakness lies in the fact that the colossus is linked to his own body. I need you to immobilize him for a little while."

After saying those words, Damien disappeared into a blur.

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"..." Indra had no intention of asking questions, he just carried them out. His mind raced at the speed of light, thinking of something, and soon, it clicked.

*Vwooo*

His lean body shot forward, moving like a bullet.

He gathered up the five fodders and unsheathed his weapon.

"Hey Boss Indra, you don't need to cut us up," Majin voiced out, unsure of the pirate walking toward them with a sword.

Indra did not respond, he just slashed his sword.

A huge chasm formed under his blade, cutting a giant piece of molten earth to the sky.

"Majin, Arai, pull it up!"

The two dimwits chose against arguing and did what they were worth: hauling weight. Their arms popped with muscles, pulling up the huge chunk of boiling-hot earth.

Indra nodded, looking at the sight of the wall.

BOOM!

The volcanic rocks landed on the wall, sending cracks through. The structure began to teether and whine in pain, threatening to fall apart.

"Nomu, douse it with saké!"

The white-haired man was caught off-guard. "B-But that'll only make it worse!"

Indra did not speak, he simply gave a dead stare to the pirate, forcing him to swallow his inhibitions.

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"Saké Golden Shower!"

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His elementalized body burst out with huge amounts of golden-brown liquid, raining down on the giant burning wall.

BOOM!

A huge inferno exploded the moment the fluid came in contact with it, bringing about a heat that could easily melt metal.

"Add fire."

Kaen nodded and pointed his hands at the fiery wall.

*Snap!* *Snap!* *Snap!* A combo of snaps forced the blazing rock to turn hotter and hotter. Its minerals began to become molten, mixing in with the lava itself.

Very soon, it would become a tsunami of hellfire!

[Image (in Discord)]

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"Pablo, give me a few more shots."

The short pirate hesitated for a second and did as asked. "It'll overwhelm your system when it runs out but fine, señor!"

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* 

Three shots, three streams of adrenaline and other drugs vastly increased the victim's blood flow.

*Hisss*

Indra's skin started to turn red to the point where it began to turn the water in the air into vapour, resembling a kettle.

Indra nodded in satisfaction and held his blade in hand, coating it with Haki.

With little time to waste, the pirate shot ahead, his body whistling through the air. 

His eyes traced the wall that had entirely become liquid, a mix of lava and molten earth hot enough to melt through just about anything.

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"Hellfire Sculpting."

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Shing!

The pirate moved at extreme speed and sliced at the tidal wave of hell, causing it to explode. 

*Swish!* *Vvoosh*

The next few slashes wrapped air around in a way that the droplet of lava would move as he wished.

Voluminous streams of hellfire, being controlled like clay.

Shing! *Zwip*

Cut after cut, the huge tsunami of lava was being sculpted into a painting with Indra as its artist.

"T-That fire can easily melt through the island we're standing on!" Kaen commented, lost in the beauty of the flame. It was art!

Indra was satisfied with his creation, this time, shooting off the ground directly into his art.

Indra grasped the sword with both hands, his arms popping with muscles.

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"One-Sword Style: Hellfire Fiend!"

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One swing of the sword unleashed a huge influx of purple energy. It was so vast that it rocketed out toward the titan in the distance, right through the construct of lava.

The lava did not stop the attack, rather it combined with it! Every drop of hellfire was very quickly absorbed into the thundering attack, forming the shape and body of a beast with three heads borne of hell!

The attack flew through the sky, leaving a trail of black smoke behind. Violent roars bellowed out, bubbling in its fiery wrath.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

The hellish creature soared through the sky onto the colossus.

*Szzzz*

Upon contact, the thick earth began to sizzle, releasing copious amounts of thick, black smoke.

It was an unorthodox attack, blessed with a lot more fluid movement than expected. Instead of drilling into the colossus, it doused it under a blanket of magma with each head coiling around.

"!!!" Basara's eyes widened as he started to lose connection to parts of his colossus. At first glance, his entire creation had begun to melt.

He was sweating lava! 

The marine commanded the rocks to concentrate further together then wrapped them all with his Haki, slowly but surely, they grew thicker and more resistant.

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"Evil Omen, you again!?" Indra wasn't one to wait for his enemy to recover, opting to attack again.

The pirate zoomed all over the colossus, his blade weaving and slicing through the collection of hellfire. Oddly enough, the slices did no real damage, rather they simply swished through the dense heat and plasma.

'An amalgamation of explosive volcanic eruption, ash, rock, lava, and sometimes water collide, creating an electrical charge in the eruption plume, and if the charge build-up is high enough, lightning is born,' Indra thought to himself.

*Crackle*

His theory was true, the famed blade in his grasp started trembling with electricity, releasing volatile charges through its body.

He continued gathering the loose charges, storing the electricity in his blade and readying the attack.

Boom!

He leaped off the body, his weapon now sizzling with huge strikes of purple lightning. 

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"One-Sword Style: Theory of Death!"

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Indra slashed down his thunderous blade, sending on a giant collection of pure lightning, crackling its way to the massive titan.

The lightning burst ahead and began to form the shape of a beast, vying for nothing but destruction. 

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

Basara, who was slowly converting the lava to rock, was forced to stop midway to defend himself.

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"Great Eruption!"

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*Splash* The boiling lava simply exploded under the advent of Indra's attack, failing to defend. The thunderous dragon roared out with fury, crashing into the colossus. 

BOOM!

A huge purple flash went off, blinding anyone watching the scene. The individual charges coursed through Basara, leaving behind a huge explosion and creating a chasm near the titan's heart.

"Auughh!" Basara roared in pain, not just from the attack he took, but also from the excess hellfire that had a straight path to his heart.

The Admiral felt his construct turning liquid and began withdrawing away, only for another annoyance to arrive.

*Fwooo* Kaido suddenly appeared, his menacing eyes blasted open with great spirit, enraged with Conqueror's Haki.

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"Divine Thunder!"

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 The devastative kanabo club shot forth and rammed the Admiral in the back, forcing him to jolt forward, driving more of the lightning and molten hell into his core.

*Thud* Indra crashed onto the ground, his breathing erratic from the heat and electricity himself.

"Remove his last remaining limb," he painstakingly commanded, clenching his burnt palms.

The pirates responded to Indra's orders, rushing onwards.

First was Arai. His stone-like body rushed through the earth.

With a burst of air, he transformed into an ancient snake, one long enough to wrap around a large ship!

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"Coiling Fever!"

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The giant snake soared through the air, wrapping around the upper arm, exerting great force, great enough to send cracks through the limb. 

Then came the zooming catapult.

The Ankylosaurus was rolled into a ball, catapulting at the remaining arm of the colossus. Though this was different, the spikes thicker than a tree's bark were covered in Haki!

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"Majin Magic Missile!"

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Behind him, was a volley of projectiles being readied.

Nomu formed three dozen spears of golden-brown saké.

*Snap!* *Snap!* *Snap!*

Kaen ran his ability over them all, igniting them into a blazing inferno.

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"Devil's Spear Parade!"

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The catapulted Majin slammed hard into the center of the arm, at the inner elbow and deepened the cracks to the point where they were as wide as ravines!

Next came the blazing spears that lodged themselves throughout the weakened limb. Their heat was suddenly magnified by vast proportions, credit to Indra's attack that was yet to die down.

BOOOM!

It happened all at once, the entire reformed limb shattered like glass, raining boulders over the ruined lands.

Copious amounts of blood dripped from Admiral, his entire body aching from the repeated assault.

The titan still dwarfed all of G-2, but now it was without any arms, forced onto its ruined knees.

Deep breathing echoed out from the head of the colossus.

"So you figured out that my colossus is linked to my body, so what!? I'll just reconnect it and then tear you apar– Hmm!?"

His furious eyes gazed around, feeling a change in the setting.

*Zip* The molten earth below had taken on a checkered pattern, around 200 meters of such.

Basara's Observation spiked, soon finding the one responsible for it.

He locked onto the Empyrean figure who had both his hands placed deep into the ground below him.

Damien looked up, matching the gaze of the Admiral who was slowly reforming his body. A single word uttered out from the crooked mouth, reached the Basara's ears:

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"Crumble."

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And so it did.

A sound of pixelation went off, loud enough to reach distant islands.

What followed was instantaneous and merciless.

All of the land holding up the goliath, exploded into a cacophony of tiny, red blocks.

Under the uncertain terrain, the entire Molten Colossus had nowhere to go but down. Its absurd size slowly sank into the unforgiving sea below, swallowing it bit by bit.

Basara, who was still at the helm, felt an aching sensation.

His eyes widened as he collapsed from his position, the sinking feeling spreading through his legs and up his core.

"Ughh… you want me to get swallowed by the sea!"

Basara grunted in pain, the Curse of Sea imposed on those who've eaten Devil Fruit began to act up, and it hit him hard.

The ocean was unforgiving and showed no mercy to the Admiral, easily devouring his half-a-kilometer-tall colossus with ease.

*Whizz!* The brown flicker, evident of Basara, shot out from the titan's head and into the sky, roaring past the pain with fury.

The air shuddered once more, this time from the Sin Incarnate who launched up as well.

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Regardless of the pain from the previous abuse or the numbness born from Indra's lightning or the Curse of the Sea, the Admiral made his stance clear, "Don't underestimate the Justice of the Navy!"

Damien was all but twenty meters from the Mountain-maker, his eyes sharpening at something—it was just past Basara, his broken colossus.

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"Wood Dragon Shackles!"

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"!!!" The Admiral's eyes shot open under the chains locking around his limbs. His eyes fell onto the flood of trees growing from his abandoned titan. 'Without my direct touch, the colossus reverted to its original shape!'

It happened in mere moments, Basara was left crucified in the sky, halting his offense.

"Ryushi Combat Arts…"

*Crackle*

The weapon was exploding with pulverizing energy as a black and red streak of light followed Damien's descent.

Adding in Emission and Infusion, Damien brought down his mighty weapon. Basara could only glare daggers at the coming charge, gnashing his teeth in helplessness.

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"...Tectonic Shift!"

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A red dawn bathed the island as the scarlet meteor plummeted down in all its apocalyptic glory.

Black lightning sparked everywhere as Basara felt the grazing, plunging sensation of Ryushi's boiling blades piercing his proud chest and through his marine coat.

The memories of his career, his victories, his losses and his supremacy flashed by; 

BOOM!

Finally, he crashed onto the debris floating below, a craft of his own doing, followed by darkness and despair.

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

This battle was far longer than intended but giving time to both sides proved to be difficult.

The custom Super Rookie giveaway is still live (3 winners): https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q