"Tch."
Imu let out a cold laugh, their gaze like ice erupting from an abyss.
Their slender yet steel-like fingers traced an ancient mark through the air, and the shadows around them began to stir.
Golden light flickered behind the great doors, illuminating a faint, disdainful smile on their face.
Imu looked Jin An over with contempt, as though examining a moth desperate to escape its cage:
"You are this world's hope now, aren't you?
"If I personally sever your faith this very moment and reduce you to ashes...
"How long do you think they can hold on?"
Jin An stood silently, Azure Dragon and Haki surging from him like spring water.
His breathing remained steady, yet ripples rose deep within his chest.
His pupils narrowed slightly as the cold gleam of his long blade intertwined with the morning sun, forming a silent battle hymn.
Imu raised their chin slightly, but their voice rumbled low like mountains collapsing:
"Our strength is not too far apart now. Killing you easily truly will not be simple, but...
"Over the years I have lived through, I too considered the worst possible outcome."
Before the words had faded, Jin An's Haki suddenly surged. Azure light flowed around him, and his overwhelming spirit swept away the surrounding dust like a tide.
The tip of his blade trembled faintly, its radiance cutting through the air like a sharp edge and carving several deep marks into the ground.
Firelight danced across the battlefield, and tree shadows swayed, making Jin An's profile appear ever colder and sterner.
Imu's eyes hardened, and a flicker of astonishment rose within them.
They had never imagined that this man, who had risen from "a Celestial Dragon slave's escape" to "king of the seas," could become capable of opposing them in such a