One piece: I,Akaino will not die easily

A common issue among Logia-type Devil Fruit users is that, due to their elemental nature and lack of a fixed physical form, mastering Armament Haki is significantly more difficult for them than for those at the same level of strength.

As a result, most Logia users choose to enhance their Devil Fruit abilities rather than train and strengthen their Armament Haki. Even among those who do master Haki, many find themselves in an awkward situation where their Haki proficiency is not high enough—neither strong nor weak, but falling into a middling, ineffective state.

The smoker of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Smoker, is the best example of this. In his early days, he relied heavily on his Devil Fruit abilities. After the Summit War, he finally managed to learn Haki, yet he still found himself unable to match most pure physical fighters or those who had rigorously trained in Haki.

Expanding the range of one's Logia elemental form only makes them a more obvious target in the eyes of high-level Armament Haki users.

As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, and Fire Fist Ace—both great pirates who had fought in the New World—no one would believe that they were unaware of what Haki was. However, when faced with the choice between investing high effort for little return to attain low-level Haki proficiency or refining and strengthening their Logia abilities for a quicker and greater return, they made their choice. (Oda mentioned in an SBS that Ace could use low-level Haki.)

For a pirate attempting to hook and one-shot Sakazuki, it is not wrong to consider the possibility that Logia users either do not use Haki or have only low-level proficiency. This is, after all, a commonly accepted belief. However, they overlooked the unique properties of the Magma-Magma Fruit.

In most people's understanding, magma is an extremely destructive, superheated fluid. However, when magma cools, it is nearly a thick, viscous solid. Once fully cooled, magma forms hardened volcanic rock with visible mineral crystals and dense air pockets.

In reality, the Magma-Magma Fruit is a special kind of Logia—it possesses both an elemental state and a tangible, solid form. On one hand, the Devil Fruit's properties provide a unique advantage. On the other hand, Sakazuki not only has great innate talent but is also far more diligent in his training than most within the Navy. His mastery of Haki—both in time and proficiency—far exceeds what pirates could imagine.

The wide-range attack and his apparent disregard for the bomb were both traps, baiting the pirate in front of him—someone who, according to intelligence, possessed a strong Armament Haki.

Sakazuki's attitude of seeming completely unbothered by physical attacks, along with his deliberate act of being caught by a Haki-coated chain, made it appear as if the Rear Admiral had been easily pulled toward the pirate. But in reality, as a power-type fighter, if he had truly been caught, the one being forcefully dragged over should have been the pirate, not him.

Step by step, he led his opponent into a trap, paying attention to precise details—all for this one moment of sudden attack—

The avenger could see the somewhat panicked expression on the navy officer's face.

"I got him!!"

For a fleeting moment, both of them had the same thought.

"Mm?!"

A magma-coated fist, hardened with Armament Haki, struck the multi-functional large shotgun—designed in the Future Kingdom of Baldimore—shattering its internal components.

Using the pirate's pulling force to his advantage, Sakazuki felt it was still not enough. In midair, he stomped down heavily. The two were now in extremely close proximity. The overweight pirate, now stuck to Sakazuki, had lost his ideal striking distance. The same applied to Sakazuki—close-range combat was for fists and kicks, but at this extreme proximity, it was unsuitable for even those.

With an elbow that was nearly glowing white-hot, he ruthlessly slammed into the pirate's bloated abdomen, searing into his skin and fat.

Sakazuki, merciless in combat, treated his elbow as a blade, brutally dragging it in a wide, slicing motion.

Like a burning-hot knife slicing through butter, it encountered no resistance.

The Haki-coated, Devil Fruit-enhanced elbow strike—[Purgatory Heat Blade]—landed successfully.

Marco, his abdominal cavity split open, lost his balance as his knees crashed to the ground. His intestines and internal organs, following the downward momentum, slipped out of his body.

"Why didn't my Haki…?"

The pirate, who had instinctively used Haki to defend his upper body the moment he was engaged at close range, was utterly confused.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. If Sakazuki had fought head-on, his advantage would still have been great, but he wouldn't have achieved such a devastating, single-strike result.

"High-level Haki and the technique of superheated magma—that's all there is to it, ignorant pirate!"

Sakazuki's free right hand swung out to the side, unleashing a large wave of magma fists, blocking the advancing Frank N. Stein, who was trying to rescue his fallen comrade.

"Ignorant, huh? Heh… Hahaha! The innocent people of Flevance believed in your lies!!"

"Why didn't you warn us about the dangers of Amber Lead?! You heartless bastards, profiting off of our lives, then turning around and calling us 'ignorant'!!!"

"…"

Sakazuki, who had originally intended to mock him further, suddenly fell silent.

Lowering his head, he looked at the dying man covered in white blotches and asked softly, "You're from the White Town?"

On the brink of death, Marco clutched the navy officer's ankle tightly, refusing to let go.

Lifting his head, he saw the anxious Frank N. Stein and let out a desperate, hoarse shout:

"RUN!!"

Any satisfaction Sakazuki had felt from taking down the "Roadhog and Mad Rat" duo vanished completely.

He watched as the mad scientist turned and fled, his brows furrowing.

"The World Government was wrong first—but that does not justify you slaughtering innocent civilians. Using vengeance as an excuse for indiscriminate slaughter… what a disgrace!"

Justice has its targets. If this Amber Lead-afflicted pirate had solely sought revenge against the government, Sakazuki would have taken on the mission himself and even held a degree of respect for him.

But blaming his misfortune on society, making innocent people suffer alongside him—what kind of person does that make him?

A coward, hiding behind the excuse of righteous revenge while committing atrocities.

Coming from Baldimore—the "Island of Mechanization" known as the Future Kingdom—Frank N. Stein was once hailed as a genius among geniuses, specializing in explosives research. His reckless detonation of gunpowder had angered his colleagues.

Ignoring their warnings, this explosives prodigy was eventually crippled by another "genius among geniuses."

Swearing revenge, Frank N. Stein left, taking with him his proudest creation—the Controlled Bomb Wheel.

Knowing his dying bodyguard couldn't stall that treacherous Logia user for long, and that he himself didn't even know Haki, Frank N. Stein retrieved a wheel-shaped device resembling a ship's helm from his back and ignited its internal engine.

The metallic wheel tore across the soft ground, hurtling toward the two men still standing there.

The scientist didn't expect it to harm a Logia user, only that the sheer force of the explosion would create enough of an opening for his escape.

Without running in a straight line, he immediately turned into an alleyway off the main street. He didn't bother looking back to see how the bomb had exploded.

"Damn Marines," he cursed under his breath.

Ducking into a tavern's backyard, he steadied his unbalanced mechanical prosthetic.

"Damn you, Vegapunk!"

Completely focused on his escape, he failed to notice the transformation taking place behind him.

A massive, crimson magma hound head formed around Sakazuki's arm—drooping magma ears, jagged white-hot fangs, all meticulously controlled.

"Hellhound Maw!"

The beast's jaw snapped shut, devouring the delirious pirate whole before turning toward the incoming bomb wheel—biting down.

BOOM!

Molten rock erupted. The magma beast's head distorted and exploded from within.

Yet, due to magma's near-cheat-like properties, Sakazuki—who had refined his Logia control to an absurd degree—was barely affected.

"You won't escape a hunting hound, little pirate rat!"

With a sinister grin, the towering Marine unleashed his Observation Haki, sinking into the ground amidst thick, black smoke.