The Battle Begins
The scorched earth was still smoking, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and sulfur.
The once sacred Mary Geoise is now nothing but scorched ruins and crumbling earth.
The black Pentagram Array had long since dissipated, yet the oppressive feeling that enveloped the heavens and earth grew ever heavier.
A suffocating aura, more terrifying than death itself, was slowly rising from the depths of the earth.
On that devastated Battlefield, Saint Garling stood at the very center, his Crescent-Moon Hairstyle now disheveled and flying wildly in the fierce wind.
Behind him stood Saint Shanks and Saint Shamrock—
The two stood side by side, their expressions as cold as ice.
Further back, nine members of the Holy Knights stood in neat formation, clad in ancient armor, with golden holy symbols gleaming on their chests.
In the far shadows, the Five Elders of the Mythical Zoan had fully transformed into their beast forms.
--Saint Nusjuro, in his half-human, half-skeletal horse form, wielding the First Generation Kitetsu, exuding a chilling aura;
--Maz Saint Mars, in the Itsumade, a hybrid of Bird-Snake, with blood-stained wings and poisonous flames and black mist flowing between her feathers;
--Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, the king of Sandworms, whose mountain-like entrenched forms, had serpentine eyes that gleamed with golden light;
--Vocuri Saint Warcury, a giant Fengxi covered in black armor, pounded the ground with its four hooves, causing the mountains and rivers to rumble.
Their roars tore through the sky, the sea of clouds was shattered into vortexes, and lightning danced in the air.
The whole world seemed to tremble under this force.
High in the sky, the wind pressure was like a blade. Garp's expression was serious, his muscles were tense, and his domineering Haki was as heavy as a mountain.
He didn't say much, but slowly raised his fist, and the dark Armament Haki flashed with Thunderclap arcs of electricity between his arms.
Ace, Luffy, Sabo stood side by side, their auras surging, flames, Dragon Breath, and wind pressure intertwining, their fighting spirit burning like a raging inferno.
At that moment, Roy did not move.
His gaze was not fixed on the divine army before him, an army capable of destroying the heavens and the earth.
Instead, they looked past them and further into the distance, at the Scorched Earth that had been crushed into the ground by the entire island and was now slowly rising.
"Click--!"
A strange cracking sound came from underground, as if thousands of fissures were spreading at the same time, the cracks meandering and crawling, like blood vessels pulsating in the earth.
Then, the earth suddenly cracked open!
The pitch-black energy burst forth, pouring down like liquid night, devouring light, corroding the air, and even dyeing the sky a somber reddish-black.
Within the churning black flames, an ancient and indescribable power slowly awakened.
"Call--"
The wind suddenly stopped, and only the thunderous roar of a heartbeat remained in the world.
A colossal, dark shadow, obscuring the sky, rose from the abyss.
It was an existence that defied description.
Behind it stretched out a pair of enormous black wings, like those of a bat, with eerie runes shimmering on the wing membranes;
A long, pointed tail coiled in the air, its tip adorned with arrowhead-shaped bone spikes that gleamed with a dark red light.
His face was shrouded in shadow, revealing only his deep red, vertical pupils—cold, ancient, and looking down upon all living beings.
--Imu.
That name, erased by history and forgotten by the world, has finally resurfaced from hell.
Roy raised his head, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Oh~ It's been a long time since I've seen you like this."
Black wings unfurled in the gale, the resulting air currents Sky Splitter like blades.
Beneath those wings that blotted out the sky, shadows swallowed half the heavens.
Imu's ancient and hollow voice echoed slowly, carrying a coldness that was both pitying and arrogant:
"Roy, I don't want to be your enemy... Why did you have to go to such lengths?"
Roy looked up, his expression calm and composed. "Imu —stop pretending."
"I am all too familiar with your 'skills'."
"Whether it was thirty-eight years ago, or eight hundred years ago..."
"--What?!"
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this!
Even Shanks's usually calm face showed an expression of disbelief and shock for a moment.
Saint Garling roared, his voice echoing throughout the heavens and earth. "Nonsense! Roy!! What are you dreaming about--!"
However, Roy's eyes remained unmoved.
He didn't even bother to look at the roaring "god puppets".
His gaze was fixed firmly on the black-winged demon's eyes.
"Elbaf... Rocks..."
He murmured the name that had long been buried by time, his voice carrying a chilling laugh.
"This time, I won't let you resort to those tactics again—to let the whole era repeat itself."
Upon hearing those words, Imu's pupils contracted slightly.
Black energy surged in her chest, and the air suddenly froze.
After a moment of silence, her voice suddenly turned cold.
"... Roy, you've finally come to this."
Then, she suddenly flapped her wings—
"-- Annihilate them completely!"
That command was like a divine judgment upon all things.
"Roar--!"
The four Mythical Zoan roared simultaneously, shaking the heavens and earth, and the shockwaves transformed into towering waves that swept across all directions!
They charged forward in unison with the nine Holy Knights, their speed so great that the air seemed to groan!
The earth beneath their feet was torn into pieces, rolling in like a raging tsunami of lava!
Just as the murderous aura swept across the sky, a blinding, fiery red light suddenly shone forth!
"Boom--!"
A deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth, followed by two thunderous howls that echoed through the sky.
"--Meteor Volcano!!"
" --Dawn Flame Sparrow!!"
The sound was like a thunderclap, descending from the sky with boundless power!
Countless giant fists of lava and fireballs of blue flame poured out from the clouds, Heaven Breaker like Meteor Fall, turning the entire sky into a sea of flames interwoven with crimson gold and azure!
"Boom! Boom! Boom--!"
The flames from the explosion swept across the land like a raging torrent, the ground trembled, the earth cracked and churned from the heat, and the heatwave was like the breath of hell, scorching and distorting the air!
"Foolish mortals--!"
A roar came from below, and there stood Saint Warcury, who had completely transformed into a gigantic warthog phantom beast, its body covered in thick black armor, its eyes turning into blood-red fireballs!
With a sudden leap, his massive body soared hundreds of meters into the air.
"Roar--!"
He used his mountain-like back to meet the barrage of Fire Fists and fireballs head-on!
"Boom--!"
A series of explosions lit up the sky, flames and lava bursting against his back, the golden-red light turning his thick armor Red-Hair.
But he still gritted his teeth and roared, using his tough body to block the first wave of heavenly fire.
However, before the flames had dissipated, a new aura pressed down from the horizon—
"Zzz--!"
Thunder Sky Splitter, golden light pierced the clouds!
High in the sky, four powerful auras suddenly appeared!
Lightning, golden light, lava, and shockwaves intertwined to create a dazzling torrent that illuminated the entire Battlefield!
Four figures appeared side by side on the horizon.
Sakazuki, Borsalino, Enel, Zephyr!
Sakazuki gave a deep, cold snort, as magma flowed down his shoulders, dripping into the void like molten iron.
"Looks like... we've arrived just in time."
Kizaru stood with his hands in his pockets, a lazy, crooked smile on his face, but his tone lacked its usual nonchalant air:
"Wow, after this match, I'm retiring!"
Enel's feet crackled with lightning, and he brandished his staff, his expression arrogant. "Heh... finally I can electrocute a few of those 'self-proclaimed gods'."