Annus Truly Was Unfathomable...

The Phoenix spread its burning wings and repeatedly collided with the humanoid lightning, its Armament Haki-coated talons tearing through the air.

As the two traded blows, blue flames splashed onto the shipwrecks without spreading. On closer inspection, they had not even ignited the wood.

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

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

"You've completely made up for your shortcomings... You've indeed become much stronger. This Devil Fruit suits you better than I imagined," Annus commented.

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

This special flame, which possessed the property of "revival," granted its user an almost immortal life force and astonishingly powerful instant regeneration. Even if vital areas such as the brain or heart were destroyed, he would not be injured.

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

In the blink of an eye, Annus's Lightning Clone had repeatedly driven spear-like currents into Diumil's transformed body. Tens of millions of volts, enough to melt metal and bone, continuously inflicted grievous wounds upon Diumil, yet the reviving blue flames swiftly enveloped the injuries and regenerated his cells.

That terrifying ability to regenerate immediately after being wounded made Annus instinctively think of Ushi-oni Saturn at God Valley.

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

It was easy to imagine that anyone facing a Phoenix would fall into despair.

Unless the user's stamina, or mana bar, was exhausted, no one could theoretically defeat a Phoenix.

The only way Annus could think of was to deal explosive damage beyond its limit of endurance and kill it in a single instant.

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

But that requirement itself was extraordinarily harsh. It required the Phoenix's opponent to possess strength 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 strength, Annus mentally commanded the Lightning Clone to change tactics, attempting to use its speed advantage to fight while retreating.

Sensing Annus's intention, the blue flames around Diumil's Phoenix body gradually receded, and his speed suddenly surged!

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

The half-descended humanoid lightning scattered once more, then reformed in midair. A bead of sweat rolled down Diumil's forehead.

"Lord Annus, your Lightning Clone is too difficult to deal with. How about we stop here..."

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

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

"Practice a little longer. You don't seem very proficient with your power yet. How about trying another form?"

"This... all right..."

Since it was Annus's order, Diumil could only agree. He landed back on the shipwrecks of the ruined ship island, and twisting flames blocked their view. When Diumil appeared before Annus again, he was already in 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 become blue Regenerative Flame.

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

He was clearly more agile in human-beast form. The Impact Dial and Slash Dial hidden beneath his black bandages continuously 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 electric current and entered the humanoid lightning. Enhanced by it, the Lightning Clone's hardness and offensive power greatly increased.

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

Diumil's Armament Haki-enhanced Impact Dial and Slash Dial attacks received another boost from the flames, transforming into surging fiery impacts and flaming slashes!

These were no longer Regenerative Flames devoid of burning power, but ordinary flames! The surrounding shipwrecks were swiftly swallowed by fire, turning into charred wood that sank into the sea. The battlefield's space was compressed, and the black smoke changed from thin to dense, billowing into the heavens...

The humanoid lightning suddenly retreated and broke apart, shrinking into the shape of an arm. At the same time, Annus's body, which had dispersed 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, so it was just the right time to head back and eat something.

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

Lord Annus truly is 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 sample it lightly 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 something.

"Yes!"

Diumil jolted upright.

Several minutes later, Angel soldiers who had received Diumil's orders arrived at the burning ruined ship island with Water Dials. The rolling black smoke finally dispersed before reaching the residential districts of Water 7...

Yet in a corner no one noticed, there were still eyes that took note of the scene. Their gaze settled on Diumil's pair of black wings and the flames behind his head that had unconsciously emerged during the battle.

Time flew by.

Life in Water 7 was far quieter and more peaceful than on Hachinosu. The Peace Research Institute devoted all its efforts to advancing the construction of Annus's aerial vessels. Apart from carrying out covert patrols each day according to Diumil's orders, the Angel Legion mostly loafed around and had fun, or fought over chances to go out and purchase supplies.

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

Even a formidable figure like Rocks willingly remained in the shipyard, accompanying his wife Alice and son Teach as they enjoyed the happiness of surviving a great calamity.

Annus, meanwhile, found complete relaxation in his day-after-day, unceasing life, though this resulted in Lilith being immersed in happiness every single day.

The only one making any real progress was probably Kuma. He kept pestering Yale, hoping to learn Haki. In Kuma's own words, he wanted to obtain the strength to protect more people before a hell like God Valley arrived again.

In such peaceful daily life, one's sense of time always grew dull. Before they knew it, three months had already passed since the God Valley Incident.

The surviving ambitious figures of the Rocks Pirates gradually bared their fangs, each entering the public eye.