Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

Robin didn't know when she woke up.

The air behind her swayed, and a door opened out of thin air. She stepped out, gently hugged Sheng Ren from behind, pressed her face against his back, and hugged him silently for a few seconds. Then she let go, picked up the incense burner at her feet, and retreated back into the doorway.

The air swayed again, the door closed, as if it had never existed.

Sheng Ren stood at the cave entrance, listening until the sounds behind him completely ceased.

The wind blew in from the cave entrance, carrying the salty smell of the sea and feeling cool.

In the distance, on the horizon, a dark cloud was pushed closer by the wind, obscuring much of the morning light.

As dawn broke, the silhouettes of ships appeared on the horizon.

Seven naval warships surrounded the unnamed island from three directions, their hulls pressing against the waves, making it impossible for even a seabird to fly away. The ship's guns were all turned around, their dark muzzles pointing towards the beach, the morning light casting a cold, hard glow on them.

Sheng Ren stood on the beach, looking at the seven ships.

The sea breeze blew his short jacket onto his back, but he didn't move an inch.

The first warship launched its landing craft with a clang, and more than twenty marines, rifles at their heels, jumped out and rushed ashore, splashing through the waves. The leading major drew his saber, pointing the tip at Sheng Ren, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Naval patrol! Don't move! Or you'll be shot on sight!"

Sheng Ren didn't move.

They rushed to within 20 meters of the beach, and suddenly stopped.

The leading major, upon recognizing Sheng Ren's face, turned deathly pale, and his hand holding the knife trembled: "It's him! The one who bombed Mary Geoise!"

Sheng Ren took a step forward.

In just one step, a distance of twenty meters, he was right in front of the major, raised his right hand, and pressed it against the other man's face.

White flames erupted instantly. The major didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying backward, knocking over three marines behind him. When he landed on the beach, he was a charred mess, his bones charred beyond recognition. The sand sizzled and steamed from the heat.

The remaining marines were terrified and turned to run frantically towards the landing craft, not even daring to pick up the guns that had fallen into the water.

Sheng Ren didn't pursue it.

He stood there, watching those people scramble and crawl onto the boat, rowing desperately toward the warship.

Then he looked up at the seven warships on the sea.

The ship's guns were shaking, the gunners' hands were shaking, and the sound of the Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) drifted over on the sea breeze, making them as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Sheng Ren tugged at the corners of his mouth and smiled.

Fifty miles away, at the bow of the giant ship of the naval headquarters.

Akainu stood at the forefront, his cloak flapping wildly in the sea breeze. Sengoku's roar came through the Den Den Mushi: "Sakazuki! The target is fifty miles northeast of you, on a deserted island! I've sent you the coordinates! Aokiji is heading there; you must hold him off! We can't let this villain who destroyed the Holy Land escape again!"

"Full speed ahead!" Akainu shoved a Den Den Mushi at his adjutant, spitting out the words through gritted teeth, "Main guns ready! Today I'm going to burn this island, along with that villain, to ashes!"

Shengren waited on the beach for twenty minutes.

The seven warships were anchored to the sea, their cannons pointed at him, but none of them dared to fire, and no one dared to go ashore.

Sheng Ren looked at the group of marines huddled inside the ship and took a step forward.

With just this one step, the seven warships on the sea all retreated a bit, and even their hulls rocked.

He took another step forward.

The warships retreated again.

It was as if he were facing not seven fully armed warships, but seven terrified rats.

As he stopped, a giant ship, larger than the seven ships beside it, was cleaving through the waves on the distant horizon. Its steel prow, like a red-hot knife, forcefully split the waves in two.

The man standing at the bow of the boat had his cloak billowing in the wind, revealing the word "Justice" tattooed on his chest. His face was as cold as iron, and his scarlet eyes were fixed on Sheng Ren on the beach. The heat emanating from him could be felt hundreds of meters away, and even the air around him seemed to sway.

Navy Admiral, Akainu Sakazuki.

Sheng Ren stood in the seawater, watching him rush towards him.

The giant ship came to a sudden stop 500 meters from the beach, and the resulting waves crashed onto the sand, splashing Sheng Ren's trouser leg.

Akainu jumped off the bow of the ship. The moment he landed on the sea, the seawater beneath his feet exploded with a "sizzle" and a cloud of white steam, and the surrounding seawater instantly boiled and foamed.

He walked step by step onto the beach, his feet sinking into the boiling sea. The heatwave swept over him, even scorching the hair on Sheng Ren's forehead.

He walked onto the beach and stopped about twenty meters away from Shengren.

The two people were twenty meters apart, staring at each other.

The sea breeze passed between them, one side cool and the other hot.

Akainu spoke first: "You villains who bombed the Holy Land and desecrated the World Government, prepare to die!"

Sheng Ren didn't respond, he just raised his eyelids slightly.

Akainu took a sudden step forward. As soon as he stepped down, the sand beneath his feet melted instantly, sizzling and emitting white smoke. A wave of heat capable of melting iron rushed over him, as if to evaporate Shengren entirely.

"The order of the World Government! The justice of the Navy! How dare you, scum, trample upon it!" he roared, his entire right arm turning into molten lava. "Today, I, Sakazuki, will grind you to dust!"

Sheng Ren looked at him without saying a word.

Akainu suddenly charged forward, his lava-transformed right arm growing larger, and he slammed a punch into Shengren's chest—his signature move, "Great Fire Breath."

The lava carried hot air, and before it even reached him, the sand beneath Sheng Ren's feet instantly hardened into a block.

Sheng Ren didn't dodge; with the blessing of the Phoenix Reborn, he was immune to all fire-based attacks.

The punch landed squarely on his chest, and the lava exploded with a "boom," splashing scalding hot magma everywhere. When it landed on the beach, it burned deep craters, turning the sand into transparent glass shards.

When the smoke cleared, Sheng Ren was still standing there. His short jacket had a large hole burned in it, and the exposed skin was only red. It wasn't burned or even blistered.

He looked up at the bewildered Akainu, his tone slightly mocking: "You could have used a little more force!"

"Damn it!"

Akainu's face instantly turned ashen. He had fought his entire life, battling countless great pirates, and no one had ever been able to withstand his lava so head-on and emerge unscathed.

But he instantly realized: the magma fire couldn't burn this kid, so he would use Armament Haki to deal physical damage. Even if he couldn't be burned to death, he could still smash his bones with one punch!

The thought had barely formed in his mind when Akainu's entire right arm was instantly enveloped in jet-black Armament Haki, gleaming black, even the lava covering it was compressed considerably, all its power concentrated in his fist. He stomped his foot, creating two deep craters in the sand, and charged forward like a cannonball, delivering a solid straight punch straight at Sheng Ren's face without any fancy moves.

This punch, accompanied by a whistling sound, could pierce through not only a person but also a mountain.

Sheng Ren finally raised his hand, his forearm held horizontally in front of his face, and took the punch head-on.

"Bang!"

With a deafening roar, the two fists collided, sending sand flying everywhere, blinding everyone. Sheng Ren's feet sank half an inch into the sand, and his arm went slightly numb—this admiral's Armament Haki was indeed formidable, far superior to those mere flashy displays. Fortunately, he recovered quickly with a switch of his Devil Fruit ability.

Seeing that his punch had been blocked, Akainu's anger intensified. He didn't give Shengren a chance to breathe and immediately followed up with his left fist, which was also covered in Armament Haki and had hot magma around the edge.

He had fought for decades, and his physical skills had long been perfected. His punches were so fast that they were just afterimages. He attacked with both hands, and every punch was aimed at vital points such as the heart and head. There were no superfluous movements, and every move was intended to kill.

Sheng Ren remained calm and composed, raising his hand to block, his arms flying as he deflected Akainu's heavy punches one after another. The two men's fists collided, producing a series of muffled thuds, and waves of air surged outwards, leaving the beach riddled with holes and even causing the nearby rocks to crumble.

After throwing a dozen or so punches, Akainu became increasingly alarmed. He had never encountered such an opponent in his life. Whenever he inflicted any damage, the opponent would immediately recover. Even his prized Magma-Magma Fruit was completely countered.

But instead of retreating, he charged forward, lowered his body, and delivered a sweeping kick to Sheng Ren's knee. His leg was also covered in Armament Haki, imbued with magma, and the air around it became scorching hot.

Sheng Ren leaped away, and as soon as his toes touched the ground, Akainu was already close behind, his elbow slamming into Sheng Ren's chest. If that hit, his sternum would be shattered.

Sheng Ren dodged to the side, his elbow brushing against Sheng Ren's ribs, the hot air from it making Sheng Ren's skin feel tight.

In that brief moment of stagnation, a fierce glint flashed in Akainu's eyes; he was most adept at seizing such fleeting opportunities.

He suddenly contracted his entire right arm, completely enveloped in Armament Haki, even his fingertips were shiny black, and all the magma condensed at the tip of his fist, shrinking into a tiny point, all the power gathered together—it was his close-range killing move, "Ghost Dog"!

In the original story, during the Marineford War, he used this move to knock off half of Whitebeard's head.

"Die!"

Akainu roared, his fist carrying a penetrating force capable of piercing steel, aimed straight at Morihito's heart.

Sheng Ren tilted his head half a foot to the side, and the tip of the ghost's fist grazed his chest before slamming into the reef behind him. The several-meter-high reef was instantly punched through, and the stones inside turned into molten stone.

Just as Akainu's old power was exhausted and his new power had not yet been generated, Shengren's right hand shot out like lightning, unleashing the full power of the Haki-Enchantment Fruit, and slammed solidly into Akainu's chest.

"puff--"

Akainu was thrown backward more than twenty meters as if he had been hit by a speeding giant ship, crashing heavily into a reef with a "crack" that shattered the reef into several pieces, burying him inside.

Within two seconds, a burst of lava exploded from the rubble, and Akainu staggered out. His clothes were completely burned off, leaving a charred black patch, and blood kept trickling from the corner of his mouth. Yet, he gritted his teeth and stood up straight, his crimson eyes fixed on Sheng Ren. The lava in his hands began to surge again, and his Armament Haki glowed once more.

"You scum who tarnishes justice...you must die here today!"

He roared and activated his full Armament Haki, even covering his face with a layer of black. He transformed into a black and red blur and lunged at Sheng Ren recklessly, intending to die together with him in order to capture this villain.

Sheng Ren didn't dodge. Instead, he took a step forward to meet the momentum and rushed directly into the lava wave. He stretched out his right hand and precisely grabbed Akainu's neck.

His hands seemed completely impervious to heat, his fingers clenched tightly, unaffected by the burning lava on Akainu's body, and the injuries inflicted by Armament Haki healed instantly.

The lava on Akainu's body instantly dissipated, and he reverted to human form. He was lifted into the air, his feet off the ground, his face turning purple, and he couldn't even breathe properly. His hands futilely gripped Shengren's arm, but he couldn't even leave a mark.

Akainu was essentially killed by the curse.

Sheng Ren watched him struggle in his hand, his tone indifferent: "Don't you understand? Your magma, your domineering aura, have no effect on me."

He released his grip and slammed Akainu to the ground with a thud, creating a crater half a meter deep.

Akainu tried to get up, but Shengren stepped on his chest, breaking two of the bones that had just been set.

Akainu coughed up a mouthful of blood, mixed with bits of flesh, but his eyes remained fixed on him, and he forced out through clenched teeth, "You wait... the Navy... won't let you get away with this... justice... will punish you sooner or later..."

Sheng Ren looked down at Akainu at his feet and smiled: "I'll be waiting."

Looking around, I found there was no vegetation, and I felt it was a pity. I should have brought some fruit back from Water Seven.

On the seven warships at sea, everyone froze, not daring to even breathe.

The Den Den Mushi on the deck was still buzzing incessantly, and Sengoku's roar came from inside, so loud it hurt your ears: "Sakazuki! Answer me! Answer me right now!"

No one dared to move, no one dared to speak.

They watched helplessly as the billion-dollar bounty criminal who bombed Mary Geoise trampled their idol, Admiral Akainu, underfoot.

Shengren moved his foot, bent down and picked up the Den Den Mushi that was still squeaking on the ground:

"Marshal of the Warring States Period, there's no need to send troops. I'll come find you myself!"

After saying that, he casually tossed the Den Den Mushi back onto the beach, ignoring Sengoku's hysterical roar on the other end.

Inside the seven warships on the sea, all the marines stood frozen in place, their eyes wide open, barely able to hold their guns. They had just witnessed this man trample Admiral Akainu underfoot, and now he dared to say he wanted to storm the Marine Headquarters in front of the Fleet Admiral. None of them dared to breathe loudly, let alone fire a shot.

Just then, pure white flames erupted from Sheng Ren's body.

The fire looked gentle, yet it couldn't be dispersed even by the sea breeze blowing in his face, slowly spreading along his arms, back, and entire body. In less than two seconds, his body began to grow taller, segment by segment, causing the sand beneath his feet to tremble.

In the blink of an eye, he grew to a thousand meters tall. Standing on this nameless island, his head pierced through the clouds, and the entire island beneath his feet looked like a small mound on the beach.

Then, a pair of enormous wings, formed entirely of pure white flames, unfurled from his back, stretching out to a width of 1,200 meters. With a gentle flap of his wings, towering waves arose, and the seven fully armed warships on the sea were tossed about by the waves, looking no different from toy boats thrown into the water by children.

This is his beast form from the Phoenix Fruit.

Its entire body was enveloped in a gentle white flame, and its eyes shone like two small suns hanging in the sky. When it looked down, everything on the sea surface shrank into insignificant little dots.

The entire deserted island was trembling.

He lowered his head, extended a claw almost the size of a warship, and gently scooped it up, grabbing the sprawled Akainu in his paw. Akainu was covered in wounds and couldn't even stand up; all he could do was stare with his scarlet eyes, gritting his teeth and uttering threats, but his voice was barely audible in the strong wind whipped up by his wings, barely a mosquito's buzz.

Sheng Ren ignored him completely, flapped his huge wings again, and soared into the air, heading straight for the clouds.

He had already identified the direction of Marineford, and his wings flapped at a steady, almost superhuman speed. The azure sea, the scattered islands, and the passing merchant and fishing boats all seemed to rush past like flowing water.

Ships passing by, whether merchant vessels or those flying pirate flags, were all stunned when they looked up at the colossal white firebird that blotted out the sky. One by one, they stopped their ships, stood on the decks, craned their necks to look up at the sky, stopped what they were doing, and opened their mouths wide enough to fit a fist, unable to utter a word.

With Akainu still clutched in his hand, Sheng Ren broke through the clouds and flew straight towards Marineford, the Marine Headquarters.