Annus Truly Was Unfathomable...

The Phoenix flapped its burning wings, clashing repeatedly with the humanoid lightning as Armament Haki-coated talons tore through the air.

As the two exchanged attacks, blue flames splashed across the wreckage without spreading. On closer inspection, they had not even ignited the wood.

Instead, the residual force of the Lightning Clone's attacks sparked a raging fire.

The sea continued to tremble. The wreckage shook and burned amid Diumil's battle with the Lightning Clone, and black smoke gradually rose into the sky.

"It has completely made up for your weaknesses... You really have grown much stronger. This Devil Fruit suits you even better than I imagined," Annus assessed.

Compared to the enhancement it granted its user's body, the Phoenix Fruit's true focus lay in its unique Regenerative Flame.

This special flame, endowed with the attribute of "resurrection," gave its user an almost immortal vitality and astonishing instantaneous regeneration. Even if vital areas such as the brain and heart were destroyed, the user would remain unharmed.

That trait was fully displayed in Diumil's battle against the Lightning Clone.

In less than the blink of an eye, Annus's Lightning Clone had repeatedly driven spear-shaped currents into Diumil's transformed body. Tens of millions of volts, enough to melt metal and bone, constantly inflicted grievous wounds upon Diumil, yet the "resurrecting blue flames" swiftly wrapped around the injuries and regenerated his cells.

That terrifying ability to regenerate the instant he was injured made Annus instinctively think of Ushi-oni Saturn at God Valley.

This style of fighting, using mana to replenish health, created a monster that healed while fighting and remained at full health forever.

It was easy to imagine that every opponent facing the Phoenix would fall into despair.

Unless the user's stamina—his mana—was exhausted, theoretically, no one could defeat the Phoenix.

The only way Annus could think of was to unleash damage beyond its limit of endurance and kill it in an instant.

As long as both the mana bar and health bar were emptied at once, even the strongest regenerative power would be useless.

But that requirement itself was exceptionally harsh. It demanded that the Phoenix's opponent possess power several orders of magnitude greater than the Phoenix's.

Given Diumil's current strength, there were only a handful of beings on these seas capable of doing that!

To better test Diumil's combat ability, Annus mentally controlled the Lightning Clone to change tactics, trying to exploit its speed advantage by fighting while retreating.

Noticing Annus's intentions, the blue flames covering Diumil's Phoenix body gradually receded, and his speed suddenly surged!

He caught up to the Lightning Clone in an instant, then seized it with Armament Haki-coated talons and hurled it into the sea!

The half-descended humanoid lightning scattered again before reforming in midair. A bead of sweat rolled down Diumil's forehead.

"Lord Annus, your Lightning Clone is too troublesome. How about we stop here..."

Though its defense was maxed out, compared to Mythical Zoans of the same level, the Phoenix's abilities lacked offensive power and relied more heavily on the user's own Haki strength and attack methods.

That was probably this fruit's only "flaw," if it could even be called a flaw.

"Practice a little more. You still don't seem very proficient with your abilities. Why not try another form?"

"Th-this... all right..."

Since it was Annus's order, Diumil could only agree. He landed back on the wreckage of Scrap Island, and distorted flames blocked the view. When he appeared before Annus again, he had taken on his human-beast form.

Unlike Marco from the original timeline, Diumil's arms had not turned into wings in his human-beast form. The Phoenix's wings covered his original black wings, while his feet had become avian talons.

What slightly surprised Annus was that the life flame behind Diumil's head had also turned into blue Regenerative Flame.

Diumil himself clearly had not noticed this change. After making a brief adjustment, he continued attacking Annus's Lightning Clone.

He was obviously more agile in his human-beast form. The Impact Dial and Slash Dial hidden beneath his black bandages continually compressed the Lightning Clone's room to evade under the enhancement of Armament Haki, allowing him to seize the initiative for a time.

With a thought from Annus, Armament Haki flowed along the current into the humanoid lightning. The Lightning Clone received its enhancement, greatly increasing its hardness and attack power.

Diumil, who had held the initiative, fell into a disadvantage once more. In his urgency, the blue Regenerative Flame behind his head swayed, changing color from blue to red!

The attacks from Diumil's Armament Haki-enhanced Impact Dial and Slash Dial were further empowered by flames, transforming into surging fiery impacts and flaming slashes!

They were no longer the Regenerative Flame that lacked any burning effect, but ordinary flames! The surrounding wreckage was quickly swallowed by fire, turning into charred wood that sank to the bottom of the sea. The battlefield's space was compressed, and the black smoke changed from thin to dense, billowing into the sky...

The humanoid lightning suddenly retreated and dispersed, shrinking into the shape of an arm. At the same time, Annus's body, which had scattered into lightning, gradually returned to human form.

"Enough. We'll stop here for today. If we keep going, I'm afraid we'll burn all these wrecked ships," Annus said with a satisfied smile. He was a little hungry and happened to be heading back for something to eat.

Diumil also returned to normal, wiped away his sweat, and looked at his palm.

Lord Annus truly was unfathomable... He actually saw through the changes inside my body after I ate the Devil Fruit and deliberately guided me to control them...

Not only that, he was worried that I would overuse this power and took the initiative to stop me! He was clearly hinting that I should only dabble in it and not become overly obsessed...

"What are you thinking about? I'm heading back first, Diumil. Have someone clean this place up."

Annus rubbed his stomach and glanced back at Diumil, who was lost in thought about who knew what.

"Yes!"

Diumil snapped to attention.

A few minutes later, the angel soldiers who had received Diumil's orders arrived at the burning Scrap Island with Water Dials. The thick black smoke finally dispersed when it reached the residential districts of Water 7...

Yet, in an unnoticed corner, someone still had eyes on the scene. Their gaze settled on Diumil's pair of black wings and the flames behind his head that had instinctively emerged during battle.

Time flew.

Life in Water 7 was far quieter and more peaceful than on Hachinosu. The Peace Research Institute was fully advancing the construction of Annus's aviation vessels. Aside from conducting covert patrols each day according to Diumil's orders, the Angel Legion mostly loafed around and amused themselves, or fought over the chance to go out and purchase supplies.

If Diumil had not strictly forbidden the Angel Legion from leaving the shipyard at will, the angel soldiers would probably have already explored every corner of Water 7.

Even a formidable figure like Rocks was willingly staying in the shipyard, accompanying his wife Alice and his son Teach as they enjoyed the blissful days of survival after disaster.

Annus, meanwhile, found himself thoroughly relaxing through the uninterrupted day-after-day routine, though it left Lilith immersed in happiness every single day.

The only one who was somewhat more motivated was probably Kuma. He kept pestering Yale, hoping to learn Haki. In Kuma's own words, he wanted to gain the power to protect more people before a hell like God Valley came again.

In such peaceful daily life, people's sense of time always became dulled. Before they knew it, three months had passed since the God Valley Incident.

The surviving ambitious figures of the Rocks Pirates bared their fangs one after another, gradually revealing themselves to the public eye.