The battlefield had descended into absolute chaos, and the New Era Alliance was being pushed to the brink.
The controlled Devil Fruit users had been stripped of their reason, yet the powers they now wielded were far more potent than they had ever been in life. Even more unsettling was their coordination; they fought with a seamless, intuitive synchronicity, as if they had been brothers-in-arms for decades. Their disparate abilities intertwined perfectly, creating devastating combinations that made the battlefield exponentially more lethal by the second.
The momentum had shifted dangerously. Most of the Alliance's rank-and-file were powerless to stop the onslaught of these frenzied ability users.
Even the heavy hitters were pinned down. Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were each locked in a grueling stalemate against two of the eight Celestial Dragon Ancestors. Meanwhile, Kaguya Otsutsuki found herself intercepted and occupied by the formidable Rocks.
Everyone was trapped in their own personal hell, unable to spare a moment to support their allies.
Had it not been for the likes of Roger, Shanks, and Rayleigh—alongside the powerhouses of the Shinobi Guild like Minato Namikaze—standing as the final line of defense, the battle would have likely ended in a total massacre long ago.
Despite their heroic efforts, they couldn't turn the tide. A heavy, suffocating gloom settled over the hearts of the Alliance.
Throughout the carnage, Lin Xuan remained motionless, a silent sentinel standing directly across from Imu. Though the situation was dire, his expression remained unnervingly calm, devoid of even a flicker of anxiety.
"You don't seem worried at all," Imu remarked, his voice filtered through the influence of the Devil Mother Tree, tinged with genuine curiosity.
Lin Xuan offered a thin, tranquil smile. "Why should I be? I have already prepared a countermeasure."
"A countermeasure?" Imu's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Suddenly—
ROAR!
The surface of the sea began to churn and boil violently. Massive silhouettes broke through the waves, one after another. Countless Sea Kings—behemoths of the deep—began to converge on the waters surrounding the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
The combatants froze, their eyes widening in sheer disbelief.
"Sea Kings? How are there so many of them?!"
"Heavens... what is happening? Why are they all gathering here?"
"Is this the end of the world? Are they here to slaughter us too?"
The sight of thousands of Sea Kings carpeting the ocean surface was a spectacle of terrifying grandeur. Those on the battlefield felt their skin crawl and their hearts hammer against their ribs.
Sea Kings were the undisputed sovereigns of the ocean. Colossal in scale, diverse in form, and ancient in lifespan, they possessed a savage destructive power coupled with human-like intelligence. They were the ultimate nightmare of every pirate; a single high-tier Sea King was more than capable of swallowing a small island whole.
But now, they weren't just encountering one or two. There were thousands, a dense, writhing mass of scaled muscle and teeth that stretched to the horizon, with even more shadows rising from the lightless depths.
It was a vision of the apocalypse. If these monsters decided to attack Mary Geoise now, the Holy Land would be ground into dust in an instant.
Amidst his clash with Whitebeard, Roger's eyes flickered with realization. He turned his gaze toward the Mermaid Princess, Shirahoshi. She was drenched in sweat, her face pale with the strain of focus, but her eyes held a resolute light.
"I see..." Roger thought, a grim smile touching his lips.
These Sea Kings had been summoned!
The Ancient Weapon, Poseidon—the Queen of all Sea Kings. Only she possessed the power to command such an overwhelming legion of the deep.
Roger's heart raced. He had chased the Poneglyphs and reached Laugh Tale. Before his execution, he had announced the existence of One Piece to trigger the Great Pirate Era, all to ensure that one day, someone would uncover the truth and finish what he couldn't. He knew the secrets of the world and the role the Ancient Weapons were meant to play.
Was the Mermaid Princess planning to—?
ROAR!
The Sea Kings let out a collective, deafening howl that shook the very air. They began to move, their massive bodies cutting through the water with terrifying speed.
To the surprise of everyone watching, they didn't aim for the heights of Mary Geoise. Instead, they slammed into the base of the Red Line.
BOOM!
Under the relentless battering of thousands of Sea Kings and the residual shockwaves from the ongoing battle above, the supposedly indestructible Red Line began to fracture. Great chunks of earth and stone fell away, plunging into the sea.
Finally, with a world-shaking crash, a massive section of the continent collapsed, revealing what lay hidden beneath the stone: colossal, pulsating vines that looked like the veins of the world.
The roots of the Devil Mother Tree.
The Sea Kings lunged forward with primal ferocity, their massive jaws tearing into the exposed roots. Despite the strength of the vines, they were being shredded and severed under the onslaught of the leviathans.
The roots beneath the sea began to lash out like giant serpents, thrashing wildly to repel the attackers.
Imu's gaze shifted to Shirahoshi, his composure finally shattering.
"Poseidon... she summoned them!"
His face twisted into a mask of cold fury as he glared at Lin Xuan. "You really have learned quite a bit, haven't you? To even know how to utilize that."
Watching the Sea Kings gnaw at his primary source of power, Imu's eyes flickered with a shadow of ancient memories.
The onlookers held their breath. Had Lin Xuan actually found the key to toppling the Devil Mother Tree?
But then, Imu began to laugh.
It was a dry, mocking sound, filled with a twisted sense of triumph. He stared down Lin Xuan, his voice dripping with condescension.
"Is this your grand plan? Truly? How pathetic. As I told you before... you are a step too late!"
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T/N:
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