"Lin Nuo—!"
Just as Lin Nuo fell from midair, a bolt of black lightning streaked toward him!
Enduring the agonizing pain in his body and the weakness of total exhaustion, Rocks unleashed his final burst of speed and caught the unconscious Lin Nuo.
His body was ice-cold, and his breathing was faint.
But he was still alive!
"Urgh..."
Holding Lin Nuo in his arms, Rocks stared fixedly ahead.
There, Imu was entangled by the flaming chains Lin Nuo had unleashed in his final burst. Dark energy and blue flames clashed fiercely.
The chains flickered unsteadily, clearly unable to hold on much longer.
But this brief restraint, this hard-won opening!
"Kid!"
Rocks abruptly turned his head toward Kuma, who was hiding behind Garp with a pale face.
"Didn't Lin Nuo say you have some special ability?! Hurry! While you can, send him away!"
"Send him somewhere with no Marines and no World Government forces!"
Kuma trembled all over and instantly understood what Rocks meant.
He nodded forcefully, rushed out from behind Garp, and raised his palms with their pink paw pads toward the Lin Nuo in Rocks's arms, preparing to activate his ability.
However—
"Urgh!"
Kuma's little face instantly turned bright red. The paw pads on his palms glowed faintly, yet he was unable to use his Devil Fruit powers.
Even temporarily restrained, the residual Haki emanating from Imu still interfered with the use of Devil Fruit abilities!
"I can't... the Haki... is too strong..."
Kuma spoke with difficulty, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Hearing those words, the muscles in Rocks's face twitched.
He lowered his head to look at Lin Nuo, then raised it toward the demon that was about to break free of the chains.
"Is that so... I understand."
Rocks's voice sank.
He laid Lin Nuo on the ground beside him, then slowly straightened up and gripped the curved blade that had followed him through countless battles once more.
The blade hummed.
"Then, next..."
Rocks took a deep breath, gathering all his remaining Haki at the edge of his blade.
"This will be my final strike."
With his back to Kuma, he spoke resolutely. "I will attack without holding anything back and disrupt her Haki!"
"Kid, watch for your chance. You must send him away!"
Kuma looked at Rocks's back and nodded heavily.
The next instant, Rocks moved!
A black slash containing all his strength streaked forth like a meteor tearing through eternal night.
It slashed toward Imu, who was trying to break free from the final flaming chain.
"Abyssal Finale: God Burial!"
"Imu—!!"
Imu seemed to sense the threat contained within that strike as well.
Several thick spider-like limbs, wrapped in black-red lightning, met the black blade light head-on!
Boom!!!
An energy storm exploded, lightning and blade radiance intertwining madly.
The released Haki shockwaves swept outward like a tsunami!
Now!
At the center of the collision, the fierce clash between the two supreme Haki forces instead created a momentary local "vacuum."
The suppressive force Imu had cast over the entire battlefield wavered slightly.
Kuma had already been waiting, ready to act.
Using all the strength in his body, he fiercely struck through the air toward the unconscious Lin Nuo on the ground!
"Pressure: Ejection!"
Bang!
A transparent paw-shaped bubble instantly enveloped Lin Nuo and launched him at high speed in the direction opposite the battlefield.
However, just as the bubble had flown less than ten meters.
A powerful residual Haki shockwave came chasing after it and slammed violently into the bubble.
The bubble shook and warped violently.
Kuma jumped in fright.
Fortunately, the bubble only jerked violently, ripples spreading across its surface.
In the end, it stubbornly withstood the impact, accelerated even faster, transformed into a streak of light, and vanished completely into the distant horizon.
It worked!
"Ha... hahaha..."
Kuma gasped for breath, but a smile of relief appeared on his face.
At the very moment Lin Nuo was successfully sent away.
"Bang!"
A blood-soaked figure was blasted back from the center of the explosion and crashed heavily onto the ground. It was Rocks.
He coughed violently, trying to use his blade to support himself as he stood, but could only drop to one knee in vain.
His final strike had ultimately failed to break through Imu's defenses, instead driving him into the desperate state of being utterly spent.
"Hey, Rocks, you look pretty pathetic right now."
A steady voice rang out.
Whitebeard strode firmly to Rocks's side. Murakumogiri struck the ground heavily, and the power of vibrations spread faintly outward.
"I'll indulge you, my 'captain,' one last time. This is the last time."
"Gurararara...!"
Rocks spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and forced out a difficult smile.
"Newgate... you're still such a busybody..."
"How could I miss such a lively scene?"
From the other side.
Roger's figure flashed into view as well. Ace pointed diagonally at the ground, and that carefree, uninhibited smile still rested on his face.
Yet the depths of his eyes burned with the same resolute light.
"If future generations learn that I, Gol D. Roger, left the stage early in such an important battle, where would I put my pride?"
"Hmph! A bunch of pirates, yet you're all acting so righteous!"
Heavy footsteps sounded as Garp clenched his blackened fists and took his place in this hastily formed line as well.
Rocks, Whitebeard, Roger, Garp.
The tyrant of the old era who had sought to overthrow the world, the Whitebeard who would lead the seas in the future, the One Piece who would usher in a new era, and the hero of Marine Headquarters.
Four men with vastly different identities now stood shoulder to shoulder on the same front.
Facing the same terrifying enemy, one beyond all conventional understanding.
There were no unnecessary words.
Hummm—
Four incomparably powerful bursts of Conqueror's Haki erupted from their bodies once more.
This time, their auras were no longer scattered. They resonated with one another, converging together!
Even Imu's movements paused slightly beneath this unprecedented combined presence.
At the same time, a roar rang out in all four men's hearts.
No holding back, no retreat—this was their final combined strike, with everything on the line!
With their final roars and wills, the four figures launched their final charge at that demon!!
Before you continue