"Lord Im!"
Watching Im, cleaved in two by Rosen's sword and plummeting from the sky, both the Five Elders and the God's Knights were utterly shocked. Especially the Five Elders, led by Saint Warcury. As some of the longest-standing Celestial Dragons, they knew all too well Im's power. A top-tier Devil Fruit, rivaling Joy Boy's three forms of Haki. Even without the Ancient Weapon, Im possessed power surpassing that of the Pirate King.
Moreover, Rosen's Arms-Arms Fruit had been sealed by Im using the Ancient Weapon, preventing him from creating any Zanpakutō. Yet, even under these circumstances, Im was still no match.
"How is this possible?"
"He actually defeated the King of the World!"
"Is he even stronger than the Creator of the World?"
Some members of the God's Knights couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
"Shut up! We are the descendants of the Creator, the Celestial Dragons standing at the pinnacle of all races! Lord Im is the King of the World! How could we possibly lose to a lowly race!"
Commander Figarland Garling, hearing his subordinate dare to doubt Lord Im's strength, immediately roared in anger.
"Hahaha, nothing is impossible! Your so-called invincibility is merely because Im hadn't met Rosen yet. The facts have already proven that neither the Five Elders nor the King of the World are anything but invincible before him."
Garp, seeing this, couldn't help but burst into laughter, dispelling the gloom brought on by the sealing of his Devil Fruit power by the Ancient Weapon. At this moment, he seemed to see the end of the Celestial Dragons' era.
"Garp." Figarland Garling stared coldly at the Vice Admiral. "Is that really so? You don't truly believe that the creator of the world, who holds the reins of power and stands at the pinnacle of the Celestial Dragons, can be so easily overthrown."
As if to prove his words, after Im was swallowed by the canyon that tore open Mary Geoise, less than two seconds later, a ferocious and terrifying black dragon, exuding a heavy aura, soared out from the depths of the canyon.
"Can it revive after being severed? Like the Five Elders, even if it's torn to pieces and shattered, it can recover. Immortal."
Watching Im, who had been cut in two just seconds ago and instantly restored to its original form, soaring back into the sky, the smiles on the faces of Sakazuki, Borsalino, and the other Marines faded slightly. Clearly, they also realized how terrifying, or rather, how troublesome, Im was. If the King of the World truly possessed immortality, even if his strength was inferior to Rosen's, he might very well have the last laugh.
After all, Rosen's Ultimate Susanoo was indeed terrifying, possessing the power to cleave Mary Geoise in two with a single sword strike, but its consumption of Haki was equally astonishing. Whether it was the Conqueror's Haki that constructed the Ultimate Susanoo's body, or the Armament Haki that formed its armor, the consumption every second was enormous. Given time, his Haki would inevitably be completely depleted. At that point, with his Arms-Arms Fruit abilities sealed and all three forms of Haki exhausted, Im could truly turn the tide.
"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Im flew to the same level as Rosen, her voice laced with arrogance. "But it's the truth. Even if you possess the power to challenge a god, you could never defeat one, for gods are immortal."
"Nothing in this world is immortal," Rosen stated, his voice cold. "If you can't kill it, it simply means your power isn't strong enough. Since you survived being split in two, next time I'll reduce you to dust."
Rosen wasn't surprised that Im possessed immortality. After all, the Five Elders themselves possessed immortality, and it was Im who bestowed this power upon them. If even the Five Elders could be immortal, there was no reason Im couldn't.
"You have no chance. That sword strike just now was your last chance to touch me. A miracle like that won't happen again."
Im finished speaking. Everyone noticed the light at the summit of the Red Line instantly dim. Looking up, they saw that the sky above the Red Line had been shrouded in an enormous shadow, completely blocking the sun. Because of the distance, they couldn't see the shadow in its entirety, only its outline, which they could roughly discern as the shape of a dragon. However, it wasn't a blue dragon, but a giant dragon strikingly similar to Im's transformed form.
"As a return gift for that sword strike you just delivered, let me show you. The power of a national treasure." Im raised her dragon claw and gently swung it down.
Boom!
The sky, ten thousand meters high, first burst forth with a dazzling purple light, then the purple light spread out like a storm, like a giant purple curtain, completely covering the sky above the Red Line.
"What is this? Everyone, retreat immediately." Figarland Garling stared at the universe enveloped in purple light, his pupils behind his sunglasses contracting sharply. He then roared at the members of the God's Knights. He wouldn't care about the lives of ordinary Celestial Dragons, but the God's Knights were different. Everyone selected to become a knight was a top-tier member of their respective Celestial Dragon family. They were also the foundation upon which the Celestial Dragons could wield world power. The death of even one of them pained Figarland Garling greatly.
The two sides, who had been locked in fierce combat, immediately withdrew, distancing themselves from each other. Both the World Government and the Marines temporarily abandoned their fighting intentions, turning instead to guard against the anomaly in the sky.
"A national treasure?" Gion stood on the top floor of a building, looking at the purple light covering the dome, her heart growing increasingly heavy.
"That's what took away our Devil Fruit abilities!" Kake looked up at the sky, his face heavy with worry.
"If we still had our Devil Fruit abilities, we wouldn't care at all." Sakazuki stared intently at the purple light in the sky. After all, Logia-type Devil Fruit users possess the ability to transform into elements. They are immune to all attacks except Haki.
"That's not necessarily true." Borsalino shook his head, disagreeing with this statement. The others immediately looked at him. "Before we set off, I had a phone call with Vegapunk. According to him, Devil Fruits are meaningless in the face of the Celestial Dragons' true power. If that's true, it means that even if we still possess our Devil Fruit abilities, we can't ignore such an attack simply by using elemental transformation."
Borsalino glanced at everyone, then uttered a startling statement.
"What?" Everyone was taken aback, but immediately accepted the explanation. If the Celestial Dragons were truly easy to deal with, they would have been overthrown and couldn't have ruled the world for 800 years.
"No wonder the Celestial Dragons almost never eat Devil Fruits and always wear bubble headbands. I suppose so. It's all related to the national treasure." Sengoku pondered, recalling what Ikki had said before. If Im used his true power, the world would be swallowed by the sea. Such a thing must have happened in the past, otherwise Ikki wouldn't have chosen to be an enemy of the Marines. Once the world is swallowed by the sea, aside from those with the ability to freeze the ocean like Kuzan, almost all other races—aside from fish-men, mermaids, and sea kings—will be doomed.
"Ara ara ara! So that's how it is. That's why the Celestial Dragons built Mary Geoise on the Red Line and have been relentlessly hunting down the Lunaria race for the past 800 years." Kuzan suddenly understood.
"This is bad. Marine Headquarters. And the World." Hearing Kuzan and Sengoku say this, everyone else immediately thought of the Marine Headquarters and the various countries of the world. The purple light that engulfed the sky was clearly Im using the power of his national treasure. So, regardless of whether they, atop the Red Line, could withstand it, the world would be the first to suffer.
"The Five Elders. You promised me. As long as I choose to stand with the World Government, you won't use this power." On the other side, although blind, Issho couldn't see the changes in the sky, but his Observation Haki allowed him to sense them, which enraged him.
However, the Five Elders completely ignored Issho's fury and questioning. At this point, whether Issho remained on the World Government's side or turned against them was no longer important. They knew very well that Rosen's attack had enraged Im. The Creator would not stop until Rosen was completely buried. Even if the world was swallowed by the sea, it wouldn't matter. After all, something like this had already happened once 800 years ago.
Boom!
Under the shocked, horrified, and worried gazes, a series of earth-shattering thunderous roars echoed across the Red Line, as if countless celestial dragons were roaring at the world. Then...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh
Beams of purple light poured down from the purple curtain that filled the sky, resembling Borsalino's laser beams, but a hundred times larger. In the blink of an eye... a torrential downpour of purple light, blotting out the sun and annihilating everything, descended from the ten-thousand-meter-high sky, crashing down upon Rosen and Mary Geoise.
Clang!
Seeing this, Rosen's eyes narrowed slightly. He remained silent, but his fingers, gripping the Conqueror's Haki Lightning Sword, tightened slightly. The sword, composed of Conqueror's Haki lightning, shone with a blazing crimson light. Then... Ultimate Susanoo, wielding the sword in one hand, swept upwards, traversing the void.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Hundreds upon hundreds of crimson lightning bolts, like giant pythons, stretched across the void, unleashing a vast and overwhelming Conqueror's Haki pressure capable of cleaving the heavens. The massive beams of light that had been pouring down like a torrential rain were all enveloped by the vast net of crimson lightning, freezing in mid-air for a moment, like a scene from a movie rewinding. All the laser rain retreated visibly upwards, shattering as it went. It was as if it had never happened.
"Cleared it all with a single sword strike!" This scene was incredibly familiar to both the Marines and the World Government. They had witnessed a similar spectacle once before, when Kaido wreaked havoc at Marine Headquarters. Back then, Rosen, wielding Tensa Zangetsu, cleared away the torrential rain unleashed by Kaido with a single strike. Now it was even more terrifying. Rosen, controlling his ultimate Susanoo, unleashed a sword strike imbued with Conqueror's Haki, sweeping across the void and quelling the world-destroying laser rain that Im had unleashed.
After doing all this, Rosen, standing atop the Ultimate Susanoo's brow, glanced indifferently at Im. He said nothing, but the meaning was clear. The Celestial Dragons' national treasure. That's it?
"Rosen." Having witnessed Rosen clear away the laser rain with a single sword strike, a hint of shock flashed deep in Im's eyes, but she calmly asked Rosen. "Do you know the Celestial Dragons' crest, the brand imprinted on their slaves? Why is it called the Sky-Soaring Dragon's Hoof?"
Before Rosen could speak, or perhaps Im didn't intend for him to answer, the moment her words fell, the purple light that had been covering the Red Earth Peak began to shrink frantically towards its center. In the blink of an eye, the sky-covering light curtain condensed into a purple sphere, as brilliant as the sun, embedded in the sky, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction. From below, the sphere was surrounded by streaks of purple light, which, combined with the sphere itself, bore a striking resemblance to the Sky-Soaring Dragon's Hoof.
"This is the Sky-Soaring Dragon's Hoof. The divine power that shattered a great kingdom 800 years ago!"
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