One Piece: Investing In Whitebeard At The Start.

"The dog eats the red lotus!"

Akainu stood up again, his body—just split in two—reformed itself. With both fists, he released molten lava in the form of dog heads. He felt like he was being toyed with. No one could understand just how furious he was. Even tearing Vane into pieces might not be enough to quench that rage.

Vane grinned. "As long as I defeat you today, my name will echo across the seas! What happened with the Blue Pheasant last time? You covered it up, just like what happened on Enies Lobby. After all, everything's under the Navy and the World Government's control. But this time? You won't be able to hide it!"

"This is the Sabaody Archipelago! The smallest disturbance here reaches the entire world!"

Vane launched a right-handed punch, colliding with Akainu's lava dog. The shockwave shattered every molten hound, sending burning embers scattering across the battlefield.

"You want to use me to gain fame? Brat, you've got guts!"

Akainu roared. They'd been fighting for over an hour, neither showing signs of exhaustion. Of course, Vane was no different. When two powers clash evenly, battles drag on. Vane remembered how in the original story, Akainu fought Aokiji on Punk Hazard for ten days and nights, turning the island into a frozen inferno.

But now, Akainu was growing impatient. He was losing to this upstart pirate, a child compared to his long-standing reputation. That was humiliating.

Their clash had already wrecked large portions of Sabaody.

"Fall, brat!"

Their fists met again, both covered in Armament Haki. Vane showed no fear in the face of Akainu's molten heat.

"You're dangerous," Akainu growled. "If I don't end this here, you'll cause chaos in the New World."

He glared furiously at Vane.

"Hey now," Vane smirked. "Don't get too worked up, or you'll start foaming at the mouth."

"You little—!"

Akainu towered over him, eyes burning with fury.

"If this keeps going, I imagine reinforcements from Marine HQ will arrive soon."

Suddenly, Vane stomped on the ground—an ice spike shot upward, piercing Akainu from below. It tore through him from the base up.

"Argh!"

Akainu screamed—not from pain (his elemental body couldn't feel that)—but from sheer indignity. The spike had struck a sensitive place.

Lava surged as he began melting the ice.

Vane floated before him, calmly in the air.

Then—bam! A Haki-coated punch slammed into Akainu's gut, sending him flying.

Vane didn't let up. If reinforcements were coming, he wasn't going to waste time. Killing an admiral now could mean fewer enemies later.

But letting Akainu live? That could be more entertaining.

Akainu was a hawk of the Navy, reporting directly to the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders. He was destined to be Fleet Admiral—unless, of course, he died.

As Akainu's body went flying, pierced again by an umbrella-sized icicle, Vane soared through the air. Another punch landed mid-flight, and before the admiral could hit the ground, Vane twisted and delivered a brutal kick to his spine. The crack of bones was audible even through the chaos.

Akainu screamed.

The cycle repeated. Trees snapped in half or exploded into splinters. Akainu's body slammed through the illegal zones of Sabaody, eventually crashing toward the Marine station—beyond which lay the sea.

Vane was airborne.

Akainu's mouth bled, his justice cloak torn to shreds, his cap long gone.

He was a mess in crimson.

As Vane approached again, Akainu landed a punch—right in Vane's chest. But Vane blocked it with his Armament Haki. Though the magma could sear even a monster like Whitebeard, Vane's durability was something else. If Whitebeard represented the peak of human strength, then Kaido and Big Mom had already transcended humanity.

Even so, Vane felt that punch—but shrugged it off.

And then, he launched Akainu into the sky like a kicked cannonball.

"What was that?!"

"Something's flying in!"

"That's… Admiral Akainu?!"

The Marines watching from the Navy outpost were frozen with fear. Akainu smashed into the ground outside, forming a massive crater. Bloodied and snarling, he roared at them.

"Get out of here!"

Lava surged, and the Marines panicked.

But just as he stood up, a shadow came hurtling in—a leg smashed into his waist, folding him in half.

Akainu was launched again—this time into the sea.

About fifty meters from the shore of Sabaody, he skipped across the surface before finally plunging in.

Vane landed on the water and slammed his palm down—ice burst forth from it. In a matter of seconds, the freezing power spread like a plague, coating the ocean in frost.

Akainu was stuck—frozen in place, only his head poking out above the surface.

He had only just swum back up before being trapped.

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