One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 650: Black Blood Backlash!

Chopper's summoned vine hunting grounds became a verdant cage. The Kirin Gom was pinned down in the very center.

Dark red demonic energy spewed wildly from the crack in his chest. The energy clashed with the vines. Emerald runes flickered. Acrid white smoke rose. The cramped space felt oppressive. The Celestial Dragon's dignity was crushed to dust by this five-meter cage. He turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot. His soul imprint trembled violently. Which three nightmare monsters would he summon? He needed a human shield to take the blows.

The mark is deathly still.

His gaze pierced through the thin snow. He looked at the distant ice. His pupils contracted to pinpoints. A giant spider. A mountain of flesh. A vicious dog. The three-headed monster lay limp on the broken ice. Chopper's summoned thick wooden spikes pierced them mercilessly. The emerald green spikes transformed into greedy suckers. The demonic energy was drained. The massive bodies deflated into black shells.

Only three of the giant spider's eight steel legs remained, twitching unconsciously. Each twitch emitted grayish-white smoke from its joints. All the hundred pupil-less white eyes on the surface of the mountain of flesh cracked, their surfaces covered in spiderweb-like fissures. Its tentacles, dozens of meters long, shrank into withered, rotten ropes. The vicious hound's massive jaws slammed into the ice, its three rows of fangs breaking. Black crystalline armor plates peeled off piece by piece, turning into foul-smelling black liquid. Chopper's wooden spikes remained firmly embedded in its core. Residual demonic energy was continuously channeled into the ground, the earth's purifying power erasing the filth. The Nightmare Legion was now destroyed.

Qilin Gom's facial muscles twitched wildly. His expression twisted and ferocious. He was a god. How could he be cornered by two lowly pirates? He didn't even have a single usable soldier left. He opened his mouth. His vocal cords vibrated.

Only hoarse gasps escaped his throat.

The Rain God's fusion form suffered a fatal malfunction. Its three black water arms could only intermittently spew out jet-black poisonous bubbles. The bubbles burst mid-air, splashing out a few drops of black water. A piercing, screeching sound emanated from the crimson vortex on its chest. Rusty gears were grinding against each other forcefully. The fusion form was on the verge of collapse. Its power had been cut off.

Death loomed. He had to keep the Rain God calm. He had to reignite the machine. He raised his right hand, his five fingers reaching for the tattered black crystal keratin on his chest. He would tear the armor apart, feeding the flesh and blood stained with the Celestial Dragons' blood to the Crimson Vortex.

His fingers trembled as he moved forward. His fingertips barely touched the edge of the crack.

A sudden change occurred.

A violent force surged forth from the depths of the crack. The lingering, dark golden ghostly energy left behind by Zoro. This slashing intent had been lurking, relentlessly cutting through flesh and blood. A flash of dark golden light. Three deep, bone-revealing wounds were instantly slashed open at the fingertips.

Crimson mixed with black blood gushed out. Black blood dripped from his fingers into the cracks. The black blood, imbued with the bloodline of the Celestial Dragons, failed to repair the armor. The moment they touched, a violent chain reaction erupted. The remaining demonic energy clashed fiercely with the remnants of dark gold power. The two forces fought a brutal battle, using flesh and blood as their battlefield.

Excruciating pain tore at his nerves. He let out a horrific scream. His hand didn't retract. Madness consumed his reason. He endured the agony, his five fingers digging desperately into the crack.

His arm muscles bulged. He forcefully tore a large piece of bloody, fleshy black crystal keratin from his chest. Blood trailed red in the air. The keratin was directly stuffed into the crimson vortex. The pure bloodline of the Celestial Dragons mixed with black crystal demonic energy. The dying reactor was about to be reignited.

The vortex swallowed up the dead skin cells in one gulp.

A brief silence.

A blinding red light shone from within the vortex. The jarring sound vanished. The vortex spun wildly once more. The three withered, black water arms on its back swelled up as if inflated. Demonic energy surged once more. A vicious smile appeared on Qilin Gom's face.

The next instant, a devastating backlash erupted.

His smile froze. He had made a fatal mistake. The torn keratin contained not only flesh and blood, but also Zoro's Dark Gold Slash Intent and the purification runes on Chopper's vines. These two forces had remained attached to the keratin.

Now, he personally drove these two deadly nails into the core of the Rain God's power furnace.

A muffled explosion emanated from within the vortex. A burst of light, a mix of emerald and dark gold, erupted from its deepest point. The light was blinding, instantly tearing through the outer layer of crimson demonic energy. Life force and destructive intent surged within the core, creating a storm.

The three black water arms, which had just swelled, froze in mid-air. Then, they shattered inch by inch from their roots. Black water splashed everywhere. More black water residue rushed back into the chest cavity through the energy channels.

The Qilin Gom Holy Bow straightened its back. A cracking sound came from its spine. It opened its mouth and spat out a large mouthful of thick, black blood.

The black blood was mixed with numerous fragments of shattered black crystals, as well as pieces of tissue shattered by the vortex. The foul-smelling remains fell onto the ice surface, but before they could corrode the frozen soil, they were captured by the surrounding vines. Emerald green runes flashed wildly, and a powerful suction force held the remains firmly in place. The power of purification activated, and the black blood and fragments transformed into harmless white mist and dissipated.

His chest exploded completely.

The crack that had been concealed was now exposed. A fist-sized hole had been blasted into the center of the core black crystal armor. The edges were jagged, and charred flesh and blood clung to it. Through the hole, one could see directly into the interior. Deep inside, the remnant core of the Rain God was exposed. The remnant core had lost its ferocious power, flickering dimly, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

This was the perfect opening to deliver the decisive blow.

Chopper seized the opportunity presented by the backlash. His massive body sank. His four powerful hooves pushed off simultaneously, plunging deep into the frozen earth. The last bit of forest power within him was completely squeezed out.

Vines erupted all around him. Thick vines coiled wildly upwards from his calves, their surfaces sprouting countless sharp barbs that precisely pierced the cracks in his leg armor. Emerald runes burst forth with blinding light. The vines, carrying immense force, pinned the Qilin Gom Saint firmly downwards.

A deadly threat loomed. Instinctively, he lifted his leg to retreat, trying to create distance to protect the breach. But his leg muscles were completely stiffened by the emerald runes. The demonic energy was firmly sealed, and his muscles lost their explosive power. He strained with all his might, but his knee only lifted half an inch.

A terrifying pulling force came from the vines. He was mercilessly pulled back onto the ice. His heavy body slammed down. His feet crushed two deep craters into the hard frozen ground. He was completely locked in place, unable to move.

Zoro didn't wait. He wouldn't give his prey a second to catch its breath.

He crouched on a branch of the giant tree. He pushed down with his right foot, unleashing a torrent of power that penetrated deep into the wood. The thick branch couldn't withstand the recoil. Countless cracks appeared on the bark. The wood fibers snapped. The branch was pushed to its bending limit.

Then it bounces back.

His body shot out with the force of the violent spring. Just before leaving the branch, the three famous swords in his hands were fully drawn.

Enma is in the upper right. Sandai Kitetsu is in the lower left. Wado Ichimonji is bitten in the mouth.

Three blades traced three deadly trajectories in mid-air. Dark gold ghostly energy carried destructive arrogance. Blood red demonic energy carried tearing madness. Pure white blade light carried pure severing power.

Three blades converged in mid-air. There was only one target: a fist-sized hole in the chest—the only passage to the heart of a god.

In sight, Zoro's figure transformed into a dark golden meteor.

He saw Sauron move. The shadow of death loomed over his soul. A broken roar escaped his throat. He desperately tried to raise his arms. To cross his arms over his chest. To protect the fatal wound.

Chopper didn't give him a chance.

Two thick vines shot up from the ground, precisely wrapping around the wrist and ascending the arm to tightly bind the shoulder. Emerald green runes flashed wildly, suppressing the demonic energy within the arm.

This force couldn't completely stop the Celestial Dragons' brute strength, but it did successfully slow down the speed at which their arms came together.

Half a second is enough.

Zoro burst forth from the giant tree branch, spinning in mid-air. The violent centrifugal force propelled the power of the three famous swords to their peak. Three streaks of sword light flashed as he spun, tearing apart in mid-air with a thunderous roar.

Dark gold. Blood red. Pure white.

Three colors of blade light intertwined. The first blade light of the cross-shaped strangulation net was fully formed within the holy pupil of Qilin Gom.

The Grim Reaper's scythe. Pressed against the throat.