Pfft!
As the light shield cracked, the Sea King, far away in the New World, screamed in agony and coughed up mouthfuls of blood. She endured the pain of the virus ravaging her body, her eyes burning with fury and murderous intent.
"You bastard!!!"
Suddenly, the Sea King threw back her head and let out a deafening roar.
At the same time, the light shield around the ruined temple in the Celestial Palace surged outward. It expanded from covering only the temple ruins to enveloping the entire floating island.
Hum!
The expanding shield struck like an impregnable wall, hurling Imu away. An invisible force spread with it, making Ron and the shadows attacking him falter before they all plunged toward the sea.
"Is this... the power of Seastone?!"
Feeling the lightning vanish from his body, Ron fought through a weakness that made his bones ache. He stamped hard and held himself aloft.
Then he nodded to himself.
"Of course... If she couldn't counter Imu's Devil Fruit, he would have seized this power years ago. He'd never have needed to wait until today."
Return of the Gods, what was returned, and the path of return were all tricks to deceive the Celestial Dragons. Imu's true aim was to buy time and seize this world.
Seastone and Devil Fruits were natural opposites. If Imu had held the advantage, he would have done more than seal her away back then.
In other words, Imu had been unable to do anything to her for eight hundred years. He needed an opportunity to break through the barrier-like shield around the temple.
And that opportunity...
"She swapped souls with Shirahoshi. It freed her, but it also gave her a fatal weakness: her body! That glow we saw just now... was she injured?"
What was obvious to