Sage Art: Heaven's Absolute Annihilation!
The crimson-gold light around him grew stronger and stronger, bathing half the sky in a warm hue.
"Kunwu."
Natsu did not turn around.
But in the void behind him, a crimson-gold figure was coalescing.
It was a giant fox, its entire body a deep crimson gold, with nine tails slowly unfurling in the void, each tail tipped with a dark golden foxfire.
When it appeared, the natural forces within a radius of hundreds of thousands of meters around it converged wildly in its direction, like iron filings attracted by a magnet, and then flowed into Natsu's body from its surroundings.
Kunwu did not make a move.
But its very existence is an accelerator.
"The Kamui of the ten directions, the annihilation of the eight directions, the burning flames of incantation spread, and the commands extend to all directions!"
Natsu finished chanting, crimson-gold Senjutsu Chakra suddenly erupted.
The beam of light exploded from Natsu's body, like a rising sun, splitting the entire sky in two.
Half of it was dark red Demonic Energy, surging, twisting, and boiling;
The other half is crimson-gold Senjutsu Chakra, quiet, concentrated, and scorching.
The two forces clashed fiercely in the void, with explosive sounds constantly emanating from their point of intersection.
A flicker of fear crossed Imu's eyes.
She sensed it.
If that crimson-gold power were fully released, it would be enough to wipe out all the Origin power she had released from the third chain.
Without further hesitation, she clasped her hands together, and the black mist around her surged wildly, converging towards her palms.
"Ten Thousand Sins Forgiven!!"
As her voice fell, a terrifying pressure instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.
The black mist exploded from her body, like the lid of a bottomless abyss being lifted, and countless twisted, half-human, half-beast, dislocated limbs surged, roared, and howled in the mist.
Those silhouettes were no longer merely passively suspended on the chains, but actively expanding outwards, like a black tide swallowing the heavens and the earth.
Wherever the tide passed, the air was corroded, the light was swallowed up, and even the remaining Chakra in the void was crushed into dust by that power.
Natsu's crimson-gold light was pushed back by the black tide.
Ban's eyes changed.
Natsu was still gathering her strength.
The natural forces behind him were still gathering, and the crimson-gold light was even brighter than before, but it was still not enough.
He needs time.
But Imu's Ten Thousand Sins Forgiven has already taken hold.
Without hesitation, Ban appeared in front of Natsu in an instant.
The scepter, formed from the Jade of Truth-Seeking Orb, was raised high, and the black sphere at the top of the scepter suddenly contracted, compressed, and collapsed during the raising process.
The surrounding light, air, and Demonic Energy —everything—was converging towards the center of that sphere.
The space around the scepter collapsed inward, like a miniature black hole forming at the top of the scepter.
"The Vault-Breaking Voidfall!!"
The scepter fell.
The black sphere exploded the moment it fell, and a jet-black crack spread out from the top of the staff, lying between Ban and Imu.
The crack wasn't wide, but it swallowed everything.
The black tide of Ten Thousand Sins Forgiven, crashed into the crack and was abruptly cut off, swallowed up, and annihilated. The tide was too powerful; the crack trembled violently as it devoured the water, its edges constantly cracking and healing.
Ban's fingers trembled as he gripped the scepter, his long white hair whipped backward by the shockwaves from the clash of the two forces, and his grey-white immortal robe fluttered in the wind.
The two forces were locked in a stalemate at the crack.
Behind Natsu, crimson-gold light continued to gather.
His eyes were fixed on the direction of the crack, and his Senjutsu Chakra was still surging.
Kunwu's nine tails fully unfurled behind him, each one rapidly drawing in Natural Energy.
The scepter of the spotted figure trembled.
The edges of the crack are crumbling.
Then, both sides exploded simultaneously.
The scepter of Ban and the Ten Thousand Sins Forgiven of Imu collided at the apex of the rift.
The black crack trembled violently, its edges constantly cracking and then healing.
Imu's black tide was cut off by the crack, but she was still desperately pouring it in.
Ban's fingers, gripping the scepter, trembled, and his long white hair was whipped backward by the blast of air.
The two forces were locked in a stalemate at the crack, neither able to push forward any further.
Then Imu moved.
She stopped channeling power into the crack.
Her body suddenly turned, and her left hand reached out, her five fingers gripping the sixth chain tightly.
Her fingers were trembling, so much so that the chains were shaking slightly.
Her jaw clenched so tightly that it clicked, and a low growl escaped her throat.
At the same time, the black mist surrounding her surged desperately toward the seventh chain. The black mist was no longer surging calmly as before, but rushed in one direction like a flood bursting its banks.
She sensed it.
The threat behind her was taking shape, and once it landed, she wouldn't be able to stop it.
Ban's pupils contracted slightly.
He understood what Imu was doing.
She abandoned both direct confrontation and defense, focusing all her available power on the chains.
She had to tear the seventh chain before Natsu's attack landed.
But Natsu was already prepared.
The natural power within a radius of hundreds of thousands of meters completely converged into his body.
Kunwu's nine tails folded together, and the crimson-gold fox phantom merged into Natsu's body at that moment.
The amount of Senjutsu Chakra within him had reached the limit he could withstand.
A crimson-gold light enveloped him, turning him into a scorching sun, distorting and warping even the air itself.
"Immortal Sage Art: Heavenly Annihilation!!!"
Crimson flames exploded from his palm.
The flames were no ordinary fire, but blood-red Uzumaki infused with crimson-gold Senjutsu Chakra. Each Uzumaki spun rapidly, its edges churning with a scorching dark red aura, instantly sucking the air away wherever it passed.
A scorching heatwave swept across the entire battlefield, engulfing everything in its path, and hurtled towards Imu.
Ban's pupils suddenly contracted.
He didn't have time to think. The Truth-Seeking Orb rapidly arranged itself in front of him, transforming into a pitch-black round shield that enveloped his entire body.
Imu had no time to dodge.
Her fingers were still on the sixth chain, and the black mist was still surging toward the seventh.
She turned her head, her crimson eyes reflecting the approaching blood-red flames, and her pupils contracted sharply.
"No--!!!"
The flames of annihilation from the heavens completely engulfed her.
A crimson Uzumaki exploded in the void, engulfing Imu's figure along with the black mist surrounding her.
The flames surged, swirled, and compressed, enveloping her within them.
The demonic power drawn from the Devil Fruit User roared, disintegrated, and dissipated in the flames.
The crimson-gold Senjutsu Chakra acted like an invisible blade, peeling away the Demonic Energy from her body layer by layer.
The black mist contracted and condensed violently within the flames, then dissipated completely.
The flames died down.
There was nothing left in the void.
Imu's figure vanished.
Her presence vanished.