Destroy Sin, Punish the Court! Madara: Kid! What took you so long?!
Imu tilted her head, and the Sea God Sword grazed her temple, severing three strands of Red-Hair.
Her pupils contracted for a moment.
Ban used that half-breath interval to complete the Hand Seals.
The scepter slammed into the void, and the black sphere at its tip exploded with a ring of dark golden ripples.
Yin–Yang Release - Binding Lock.
Wherever the ripples passed, the surging black mist around Imu was forcibly suppressed by three feet, and the Devil Fruits power that was gathering from all over the world was momentarily cut off by the ripples.
Imu sensed that his power growth had stalled.
She glanced down at the heavy black mist beneath her feet, then looked up at Ban.
True killing intent finally surfaced in her crimson almond-shaped eyes.
She no longer relied solely on weapons to restrain others.
She reached her left hand into the surrounding black mist, clenched her fingers, and suddenly pulled.
She pulled a cracking chain in front of her; the dark gold patterns on the chain flickered wildly, and cracks spread from the middle to both ends.
Ban's scepter was already at his feet.
Imu did not block it.
She turned her body to the side and took the blow with her left shoulder.
The scepter slammed into her shoulder blade, the dull thud of bones shattering resounding from within her body, sending her flying dozens of meters to the side.
But her left hand had already tightened.
The chain snapped with a crisp sound in her palm.
The fourth chain broke.
Ban's pupils contracted slightly for a moment.
He gave her no time to catch her breath, and the scepter followed up with a second strike.
Imu used his injured left arm to block the blow, but his body was knocked back again, and the aftershock of the scepter grazed his right shoulder, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound.
But the corners of her mouth curled up in a smile.
She sensed it.
The Origin power released after the fourth chain broke is flowing into her body, and the cracks in the fifth chain are widening.
Ban saw the fifth chain cracking.
His scepter paused for a moment, then changed direction, no longer chasing Imu, but smashing it towards the chain.
Imu's pupils finally contracted completely.
She lunged at Madara, and three weapons simultaneously pierced Madara's back, forcing him to retreat and defend.
Madara did not turn back to defend. He used two Truth-Seeking Orb to create a shield behind him, taking the three weapons head-on, and continued to smash the chains with his scepter.
The staff tip struck the middle of the chain, and the dark gold patterns shattered into fragments at the point of impact.
The chains trembled violently, and the spread of the cracks slowed down slightly.
But Ban knew this was only temporary.
Imu had retreated a hundred meters away, his right hand gathering momentum for the next attack, while the cracks on the fifth chain continued to widen slowly.
The black mist surrounding Imu surged wildly.
The Heaven's Punishment Sword and the Wrath Sword flew out simultaneously from the weapon array, intersecting, overlapping, and merging in mid-air.
The two giant swords merged into one, transforming into a colossal sword that blotted out the sky. The sword's blade was entirely black, with dark red Demonic Energy patterns surging across its surface.
Imu then waved his right hand, and a second giant sword materialized from the black mist.
The two giant swords crossed into a cross shape, their tips aimed at Madara Uchiha below.
Heavenly Wrath, Divine Punishment.
Ban raised his head.
The oppressive force was incredibly heavy, as if the entire sky was pressing down on him.
His shoulders slumped slightly for a moment. Then a smile spread across his face.
"Is this the strongest being in this world?!"
His voice changed from a low chuckle to a loud laugh.
"Hahahaha! Such a sense of threat—besides Hashirama, only Natsu has ever made me feel such a threat! I thought that after awakening these eyes, I would never be able to experience such exhilarating moments again. I never expected that you could still bring me such a surprise!"
Everyone below was looking up.
Killing Hall frowned; he didn't understand.
As that level of power pressed down, Madara was actually laughing.
Shanks loosened his grip on Gryphon's fingers for a moment, then tightened them again.
Ban gripped the scepter tightly with both hands.
The remaining nine Truth-Seeking Orb simultaneously lit up with a dark golden light, flying out from the circular array and merging into the scepter one by one.
With each addition of a single crystal, the dark gold patterns on the scepter brighten by one degree.
When all nine were melted, the staff shone like a miniature sun.
"Ten Thousand Ways Rule the Universe."
Nine dark golden halos exploded from the scepter.
Three beams of light met the twin swords that were falling in a cross shape from the sky head-on, while the three beams of light flanked from the sides, attempting to cut off Imu's control of the twin swords from the side.
The remaining three beams of light circled around Ban's body, rotating and waiting. The moment the beams collided with the giant sword, it was as if a hole had been torn open in the entire sky.
Dark golden light fragments and dark red Demonic Energy shards exploded in all directions, and the shockwave created a huge depression in the sea below, thousands of meters in diameter, with the seawater surging outwards into giant waves hundreds of meters high.
The spot didn't wait for the collision to end.
His figure transformed into a gray-white afterimage as he charged forward, his scepter slicing in from the side, aiming straight for Imu's ribs.
Imu's pupils contracted sharply.
She was still fully focused on manipulating the twin swords to collide with the light wheel, and unable to retract the giant sword in time, she could only use her arm to block it.
The scepter slammed into her arm, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible.
Her body was thrown sideways by the impact.
As she flew sideways, she forcefully Hand Seals with her injured left arm. Fragments of bone pierced out from the wound, but she forcefully suppressed them back with Demonic Energy.
The excruciating pain turned her lips white, but her fingers still managed to complete the final inscription.
The twin swords of Heavenly Wrath, Divine Punishment suddenly accelerated, cleaving through the three entangled beams of light. The blades grazed Ban's shoulder blade, severing a lock of white hair.
Ban's brow twitched. He withdrew his scepter, and the nine halos rearranged to form a second line of defense in front of him.
Ban's scepter and the twin swords of Heavenly Wrath, Divine Punishment clashed once more in the void.
Dark golden light fragments and dark red Demonic Energy shards exploded in all directions, and the shockwaves pushed the sea surface below into a second giant wave.
Ban tightened his grip on the scepter, the force of the rebound becoming even heavier than before. Imu's power was still rising.
Honebami Tōshirō slashed from the side.
Ban frowned, preparing to use his immortal body to take the blow head-on.
Before the blade could even reach him, a dark purple spear pierced down from the heavens, striking Honebami Tōshirō's sword precisely in the middle.
The spear, still brimming with momentum, pierced through the blade and hurtled straight for Imu's chest.
"Sage Art: Destroy Sin, Punish the Court"
Imu's pupils contracted sharply.
She had no time to dodge; the dark purple, sharp spear pierced her chest and emerged from her back.
Her body was pinned to the void, and a mouthful of blood gushed from her throat.
When Ban heard the voice, he was taken aback at first, then a faint sense of relief flashed in his eyes.
He turned his head and snorted coldly in a certain direction in the void.
"Kid, you're way too slow!"