"You bastard! Who are you?! How do you have Hawk Eyes's sword?!" Luffy shouted through gritted teeth.
Imu did not answer him.
He raised the knife, held it horizontally at his side, and then swung it lightly.
A slash wrapped in black flames tore through the air.
That slash wasn't as sharp and bright as Hawk Eyes's Flying Slash; it was like a moving night, absorbing all the light.
The air seemed to be burning wherever it passed, and the surrounding ground was eroded, hissing as if it had been splashed with concentrated acid.
Luffy instinctively dodged the slash, not daring to take it head-on.
He sprang into the air, and the explosive power of his Gear Fifth gear allowed him to narrowly avoid the main body of the slash at the last second.
But the black flame storm generated by the slash still grazed his left arm, instantly charring his clothes and sending a sharp pain through his skin, as if he were being bitten by a thousand insects.
Luffy winced in pain, but quickly suppressed it.
"What a bizarre ability!"
"However, I can still hold on!"
Imu moved.
Even with Luffy's Observation Haki, he could only catch a blurry outline, like a reflection in water that had been disturbed.
Imu's figure then appeared above Luffy's head.
The long sword came crashing down on his head.
Luffy looked up at the sword, and instead of retreating, he charged forward.
His right fist was covered in Conqueror's Haki Inazuma, and black and red lightning exploded on the surface of his fist, like a shrunken sun.
Fist and knife clashed between the two.
Black and red Inazuma and black flames exploded simultaneously.
The shockwave spread in all directions, and the ground within a radius of 100 meters around the two people cracked simultaneously, like a piece of ice shattered by a stone.
Flames, smoke, gravel, black mist, Inazuma —everything mixed together, forming a mushroom cloud rising from the ground.
The entire battlefield was shaken.
In the short few minutes that Imu and Luffy were fighting, the Five Elders had already re-entered the battlefield.
The massive body of Saint Warcury charged wildly, smashing aside all the giants and flames blocking his path.
Saint Nusjuro followed behind, his Kitetsu I wrapped in black sword energy, each step as if he were probing the path with the tip of a blade.
They stormed into the west side of the village, where several members of the Holy Knights, who had been subdued by Gaban and his men, lay dead.
He swirled Haki in his hand, intending to crush the chains binding the members of the Holy Knights.
"Buzz--"
Zoro burst out from the side, his three swords creating a green whirlwind of blade energy as he slashed straight at Saint Nusjuro.
"You lot, don't even think about succeeding!"
Saint Nusjuro turned around, Kitetsu blocked Zoro's attack.
The moment the swords clashed, Zoro felt as if he had been hit on the web of his hand with a hammer, and half of his entire arm went numb.
These old guys are stronger than before.
Sanji charged in from another direction, his Diable Jambe leaving a long tail of black flames in the night sky.
Before he could even kick Saint Warcury, Dorry's greatsword had already swept across, blocking his entire path.
Damn it!
Sanji kicked the sword, using the recoil to bounce it away.
When he landed, his toes left a charred mark on the ground.
Dorry and Brogy acted like two moving walls, trapping Zoro and Sanji firmly on the outside.
Gaban fought his way through the chaos.
His twin axes flashed, the blades crackling with a dark purple-black Conqueror's Haki Inazuma, each strike seemingly capable of cleaving the air itself.
A Black Turn giant lunged forward, only to be kicked in the knee, causing his massive body to crash to his knees.
Gaban leaped up, stepping on his shoulder, and swung his axe back at the other giant's nape.
Don't panic!
Gaban's voice pierced through the clamor of the battlefield and reached Zoro and Sanji's ears.
"Leave these big guys to me! You two go and stop the Five Elders!"
Zoro and Sanji exchanged a glance.
"Be careful, old man."
Zoro left with those words and turned to pounce on Saint Nusjuro.
Sanji didn't turn around, but his right foot had already lit up, black flames mixed with black and red Inazuma, as he rushed rapidly towards the direction of Saint Warcury.
The other giants also joined forces, blocking the remaining three of the Five Elders.
Gaban stood between two controlled Black Turn Titans, his twin axes blocking their weapons. Purple-black Inazuma exploded from beneath his feet, cracking the ground into a spiderweb pattern.
"My lads—show your old man some respect!"
Luffy was launched from the mushroom cloud in the distance.
The Gear Fifth light emanating from him had weakened considerably, his clothes were tattered like rags, and he had several wounds on his chest and arms.
The deepest cut ran from his left shoulder to his right rib, the blood staining half of his white hair red.
Luffy wiped the blood and ash from his face, re-assuming an attack stance, his eyes fixed on Imu's figure emerging from the smoke and dust.
"Insect."
Imu's voice came from beneath the black robe, as indifferent as if he were commenting on a grain of sand by the roadside.
"You think you're worthy to fight me?"
Imu's arrogant attitude Luffy laugh even louder.
"It's because of guys like you that the world is so boring!"
Black and red Inazuma, Conqueror's Haki, exploded from his body, more ferocious, more intense, and more reckless than before.
"I'm going to beat you to a pulp and then bring all my friends back!"
Luffy charged forward again.
This time, he pushed his speed to the limit. With Gear Fifth jump and Conqueror's Haki Coating, his figure drew a broken white streak across the battlefield, like an out-of-control meteor.
" Gum-Gum - The Giant Pistol!"
With the enhancement of Gear Third Gear Fifth, the Giant Pistol expanded to an unprecedented size, the entire fist being larger than Kaido's dragon head.
Black and red Inazuma coiled around the fist like tree roots, and the air was compressed to its limit, producing a buzzing roar.
"Overestimating yourself!"
Imu watched as the fist, which could cover half the sky, came crashing down, his face beneath the black robe expressionless.
Imu raised a finger and pointed.
The fingertips are placed in the exact center of the fist.
Black ripples spread out from the point of contact, like a stone being thrown into a pool of black water.
Luffy's expression changed.
His fist stopped, suspended in mid-air, unable to press down even an inch further.
That seemingly slender finger acted like an invisible wall, blocking all of Luffy's power from entering.
Black ripples spread along his arm, and wherever they passed, the Haki flow became stagnant, like a frozen river.
"What...?" Luffy's pupils contracted.
Imu twirled his fingers and took a step to the side, Luffy to stumble forward like a thrown sack of potatoes, missing his target completely.
The Giant Pistol slammed into the ground, creating a crater tens of meters deep.
Black flames spewed from the deep pit, like the mouth of hell.
Before Luffy could even turn around, Imu had already appeared behind him.
It was just a simple kick, landing on Luffy's lower back.
Luffy's body arched into an arc, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He spun around in the air like a top being whipped, crashing into one giant tree after another.