Cosmic Pursuit! The Final Moment!

"Wow, that's really fast!"

After cleaving the Red Line in two with a single sword strike, Ian couldn't help but sigh and speak.

Just as he was about to be hit, Im teleported again, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

So, since you already know there's absolutely no chance of winning, can't you just accept your fate and die?

Wouldn't this be better for everyone?

As he sighed, Ian transformed into a golden flash once more, leaving a long golden trail in the sky that vanished into the horizon in an instant.

Im is on the run.

Escape with all your might!

They used all the energy gained from slaughtering all the Celestial Dragons for teleportation, without the slightest hesitation or reservation.

Run!

All we can do now is run away!

Each teleport can cover a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

After all, there's no one to guide you at the teleportation destination; relying solely on your own teleportation is already the limit.

Even so, Im's speed was astonishing; in less than a minute, he had already reached the other side of the world.

In Syrup Village, on the East Blue, it was nighttime, and the bright moon hung high in the sky.

That is--

Usopp, who was playing a One Piece Yugi with his friends, looked up in surprise.

A gigantic monster suddenly appeared in the sky!

Simply by floating in the sky, he obscured the moon's radiance, casting a massive shadow that left everyone speechless with astonishment.

"Huh?!"

The boy with the long nose couldn't stop grinning, his eyes practically popping out of their Usopp. "So big!!"

In the sky, inside the Sky King.

Im's back and forehead were covered in sweat.

I can't sense Ian's presence at all; they must have gotten rid of him by now, right?

For a moment just now, I really thought he was going to chop me to death with one sword!

Damn it!

How could it be that strong? It's simply incomprehensible!

Was that kid really human?

Is it really possible for humans to achieve that level of capability?

Even the Sky King, the pinnacle of Birka's technological prowess, was utterly powerless before him!

But there's absolutely no reason for that.

Devil Fruit are also creations of the Bikans's science and technology; in fact, they are mass-produced. No matter how amazing their abilities are, there should be a limit to how many fruits they can produce.

How could Devil Fruit possess power surpassing that of Ancient Weapon?

It's hard to understand; Im's more than 800 years of life experience cannot support his reasonable speculation.

However, at least we've escaped with our lives.

What should we do next?

Im fell into deep thought.

Although he escaped alive, since he couldn't defeat Ian, the world was effectively his.

Where can I go then?

The current Devil Fruit User is right next to Ian, and his ability has also fully Awakening.

That guy can have Immortal Surgery at any time; there's absolutely no way he can outlive Ian by relying on his lifespan.

Unable to defeat him in a fight, and unable to outlast him, Im felt a sense of despair.

There's simply no way to deal with that Ian guy.

The only solution is to find a place to hide.

But Ian would never let him go; he would find him even if he had to turn the ocean upside down.

If it were just me, it would be fine, but there's also the Sky King.

Such a massive creature as the Sky King could not possibly be hidden; it spans over ten kilometers in size, and even if thrown into the sea, it would rise to the surface.

And now there's no time to bury it back into the Red Line.

Should we discard it?

No!

The thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before Im immediately rejected it.

Without the Sky King, there would be even less strength for Ian to compete with.

The gap was already enormous; without the help of the Sky King, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree—laughable and overestimating their own abilities.

We have to escape with the Sky King.

Thinking of this, Im raised his head.

I looked up.

I looked up at the bright, clear moon.

Let's go there.

To the universe.

Im recalled a special document he had obtained eight hundred years ago when he was sorting through Birka's legacy.

It was a nautical chart, a nautical chart brought down from the moon.

However, it is certainly not depicting oceans on the moon.

There were no oceans on the moon long before the Bikans migrated there; there was only a wilderness.

It was a very special nautical chart, a nautical chart of the stars and the sea.

Yes, while people on the Blue Sea were still struggling with ocean voyages eight or nine hundred years ago, the Bikans had already begun exploring the surrounding starry sky.

They even compiled a detailed star map, providing a detailed description of the planets in the surrounding star systems.

Right!

Yes!

Since there is no place for me in this vast ocean, I might as well go to the more expansive starry sky.

Anyway, the Bikans also said that there are groups called Space Pirates in the starry sky.

Let's regroup and gather strength in the starry sky, and then seize the opportunity to return and take revenge on Ian!

Im thought to himself.

but.

"Um?"

Im turned around abruptly in horror.

Impossible!

Impossible! How could such a thing happen?

How did he even catch up with us?!

They should be thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers apart!

Sensing the approaching aura that was as fast as Inazuma, Im was filled with terror.

And how could it be so fast?

Escape!! Escape to space!!

Keep running until you can't see this guy anymore!

The teleportation was activated again, and the colossal Sky King vanished once more beneath the night sky.

"Did it run away again?"

Ian, who had traveled thousands of miles from the New World on the other side of the Red Line, sensed that the aura in the distance had suddenly disappeared and sighed helplessly.

What Im didn't expect was that Ian's Observation Haki had also evolved to a terrifying level.

While it may not be able to cover the entire planet in an instant, it is certainly possible to bring most of the world into the range of perception.

Although Im was fast, he never escaped Ian's perception range from the very beginning.

But despite his perception, Im's teleportation speed was simply too fast; even with Ian's best efforts to catch up, he couldn't keep up at all.

Fortunately, Im's guy suddenly stopped somewhere for some reason, which gave Ian the opportunity to close the distance.

Unfortunately, before they could even get close enough, Im had already made his escape again.

Moreover, the direction they fled in this time was quite unusual.

Ian looked up at the starry night sky.

"Does this guy want to leave this world?"

This teleportation should have sent them directly into space.

Does failing to become the King of the World mean becoming an astronaut?

Logically speaking, venturing into space so recklessly would be tantamount to courting death.

However, the universe in this world is quite different from the universe in the previous one.

The universe is not a vacuum; air exists within it.

Therefore, in the original work, Enel was able to Luffy the moon using the Ark, Dr. Tsukimi's robots were even more powerful, managing to land on the moon using only a few hydrogen balloons.

Even if Im were to fly into space, he would be perfectly fine.

This is really troublesome.

If this guy really gets out into space, how can we catch him?

But we can't just give up now, can we?

So, Ian, the rightful victor, sighed and transformed into a golden streak of fire, shooting straight into the depths of the sky.

Ian's speed is certainly not as fast as Im's unreasonable speed of teleporting hundreds of kilometers at a time, but he can still traverse thousands of kilometers in a few seconds.

In the blink of an eye, Ian had already traversed the atmosphere and entered outer space alone.

At this moment, the Blue Star was beneath his feet, and before him lay a vast and boundless starry sky.

There is indeed air in this vacuum of space, and even when Ian's physical body suddenly entered outer space, he did not feel any discomfort.

The dark, empty depths of space are dotted with countless brilliant stars, and with the moon reflecting the soft sunlight, it is truly a beautiful picture.

But Ian had no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery in the starry sky. He accelerated again and rushed straight into the dark starry sky.

Im was running away frantically, without any hesitation or pause, fleeing relentlessly towards the deeper reaches of space.

Wow, that was fast.

There's no way we can catch up.

Ian couldn't help but sigh as he watched Im rapidly widen the distance between them.

With such a speed difference, at least one more round of speed would be needed to catch up with Im.

But where can we find such time now?

So, are we just supposed to watch Im escape?

If that were the case, the consequences would be disastrous.

That guy Im has an unknown lifespan, considerable strength, and possesses the Ancient Weapon Sky King. Although he's all alone, developing in the starry sky wouldn't be difficult for him at all.

Ian will never forget those Space Pirates who appeared on the moon in the original work. Their names sound impressive, like Space Pirates, but they were actually pitifully weak. They were all knocked down by Enel's electric shock.

Im's strength is such that even in the vast and boundless starry sky, he would definitely be considered a powerful figure!

If he really makes a comeback, that would be disastrous.

But I can't catch up.

Ian was giving chase at full speed, but the distance between them was widening.

Soon, Im had reached the limit of Ian's Observation Haki.

"Sigh--"

With a sigh from Ian, Im's presence vanished completely, and Ian could no longer sense his existence.

That's all we can do.

We can only let Im disappear into the starry sky.

The speed difference is too great.

Ian hadn't felt regret in a long time.

He's not one to have regrets.

Everything should be carefully considered, and once a decision is made to do it, there will be no regrets.

But this time, Ian did have some regrets.

Too many points were allocated to direct combat ability. If more points could have been allocated to speed, how could Im possibly escape?

But forget it.

Let them go if they've run away.

Ian immediately put his regrets and worries behind him.

Even if Im gets away, so what?

Could he possibly become stronger than me?

What's the significance of those incantations about the Sun God?

All I need to do next is conquer the whole world, and then I can advance to an even higher level!

Moreover, unlike Aunt Linlin's loss of lifespan, people's power, once taken away, is not irreplaceable. Power can be regained through training!

This means that, going forward, he, who rules the entire world, can reap the rewards of conquering the world again and again, growing stronger indefinitely!

Ian didn't believe that Im could become stronger than him under these circumstances.

Besides, Im can travel to the stars, why can't I?

It's not like we don't have the Sky King; we already got them when we went to Birka in the clouds back then.

In that case, let's meet again under the stars.

Ian gazed at the boundless depths of space and made a vow in his heart, just like the protagonist of Shonen Manga.

In those few dozen seconds of thought, he had already flown tens of thousands of kilometers.

Then.

"Um!!"

Ian was suddenly taken aback.

His eyes quickly shifted from disbelief to blank stare, and finally, surprise.

"Are you so eager to see me again?"

At full speed, Ian pierced through the starry sky.

A few dozen seconds ago.

Somewhere in this starry sky.

The enormous Sky King leaped over.

The enormous object appeared out of nowhere, pushing aside the surrounding air and instantly causing a gust of wind.

The Sky King paused for only a moment before a black magic circle appeared beneath him, signaling his imminent teleportation.

but.

The black magic circle froze just as it was about to take shape, trembled slightly, and then suddenly shattered.

The Sky King remained amidst the raging winds.

"What!"

Inside the Sky King's chamber, Im, drenched in sweat, slammed his fists into the ground in front of him. "Of all times!"

The life force stolen from the Celestial Dragons has been completely exhausted!

That's true. Those scum are just descendants of his former family, their bloodline is already very diluted, and the energy they can provide to the Sky King is limited.

It's quite remarkable that Sky King was able to complete a full war against Pluton and Ian, who was even stronger than the Ancient Weapon, and even manage to travel all the way to the present.

But why now!

Why now of all times!

Im was panting heavily, too terrified by Ian's approach to notice that he hadn't even absorbed any life force, let alone his own stamina!

We can no longer escape using the Sky King's teleportation!

Im was terrified, and he instinctively looked back.

But nothing could be seen except for the Blue Star in the distance.

Has Ian given up?

He has no idea that his energy reserves are running low. Seeing that he can't catch up and that he's escaping into space, he'll probably choose to give up, right?

Im thought to himself.

My wildly beating heart gradually calmed down.

Instead, there was a sense of joy.

yes.

Ian has definitely given up!

He had no reason not to give up!

Im thought to himself.

"Ha ha ha ha!!"

He couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Ian! It's Mu--"

But the next second, his pupils popped out of their sockets, along with snot and teeth. "What?!"

It's here!

here we go again!

Ian's presence drew near like Inazuma!

"Move! Uranus!! Why aren't you moving!"

Im roared.

He recklessly urged the Sky King to power, causing blood to gush from his nose.

However, the black magic circle still failed to take shape.

Both the Sky King and Im himself have reached their limits.

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!!"

Black mist suddenly emerged from the surface of the Sky King, and the Sky King, which had transformed into the Zeon, instantly reverted to its Straw Hat ship form.

Then, in the dark starry sky, a figure suddenly appeared.

Im was bleeding from his eyes, nostrils, and mouth; his features were a complete mess.

Now we have no choice but to abandon the Sky King.

"I cannot die! I am the king of this world!!"

He shouted that the teleportation ability was about to be activated again.

but.

Im's pupils suddenly dilated, "Uh!"

The crimson blade pierced through him from behind.

"I finally won you over, and I'm so glad I didn't give up!"

Laughter came from behind me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."