On the ground,
Kaido, Bullet, Hawk Eyes were about to rush to their aid when Imu had already risen from the mountain ruins.
His body was badly damaged; one arm was clearly unable to exert any strength, and half of his left black wing was broken off.
Even so, he still stood in front of the three of them.
The Black Blade was held horizontally in front of him, and black flames spread from its blade, like a black river running across the air.
"No one can save him." Imu's voice was mechanical and cold.
Enraged, Kaido unleashed a powerful blow with his staff in his dragon form.
Imu raised his knife to parry, and both men were knocked back.
Bullet and Hawk Eyes tried to flank them from both sides, Imu swung his sword, unleashing a massive black slash that completely cut off their path.
"We can't get through!" Bullet cursed.
The three were firmly pinned down in place by Imu, unable to advance or retreat.
Roy in the sky is getting closer and closer to the center of the magic circle.
His body ached from being gripped so tightly by the giant hand. His Telekinesis Domain had been compressed to the surface of his body, and black mist surged up from all directions, like countless needles piercing his skin.
Roy gritted his teeth, black and red Inazuma crackling from his body, trying to shake off the surrounding darkness.
It's useless.
The center of the magic circle is right above our heads.
In the darkness, an indescribable will surged forth like a tide, cold, vast, and far more profound than any power Imu had ever displayed before.
That will tried to invade his brain.
Roy resisted with all his might; the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit burned deep within his soul, like a last lamp illuminating his crumbling self-awareness.
But the power of the magic array was too strong.
Just when he was about to give up, the magic circle suddenly contracted, and the giant hand pulled him into the center of the magic circle.
The black mist completely enveloped him, leaving him with only endless darkness.
Roy's senses were severed in that instant.
On the ground, Luffy woke up.
He pushed away the blanket covering him and forced himself to sit up.
The fire in the medical area was still burning. He saw Chopper busy tending to the wounded not far away, while Robin was bandaging the wounds of a giant child.
"What happened?" Luffy's voice was a little hoarse.
" Roy has been sucked into that magic circle."
Nami stood beside him, her voice trembling.
"Everyone has tried, but they can't break that thing."
Luffy looked up at the sky.
The pentagram formation was still spinning, and the black mist was so thick it seemed to absorb even light.
The giant hand was gone, and Roy's figure had completely vanished.
Luffy slowly stood up.
" Luffy, your injury—" Nami tried to stop him.
Roy is still inside.
Luffy interrupted her, his voice unusually calm.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes lit up again, as if a flame had reignited in his pupils.
I want to help him.
Loki walked over from the side, carrying Iron Thunder on his shoulder, his vertical pupils beneath the bandages flashing with lightning.
Count me in.
Ace walked over as well, his fiery wings unfurling behind him. He didn't speak, but simply Luffy.
The four of them soared into the sky.
Luffy activated Gear Fifth at full power, and white steam billowed from his body.
Loki's Iron Thunder gathered Lightning, and Ace's flames illuminated the night sky.
Four figures streaked across the sky, heading straight for the bottom of the magic array.
" Gum-Gum - The Giant Pistol!"
Luffy struck first, his fist, crackling with Conqueror's Haki Inazuma, slamming into the bottom of the magic circle.
The surface of the magic circle trembled violently, and the flow of black mist became chaotic for a moment.
Loki's Iron Thunder followed closely behind, the shockwave and Lightning exploding simultaneously, causing tiny cracks to appear in the patterns at the bottom of the magic circle.
Ace's fiery giant fist and Jhin's dragonfire blade arrived simultaneously, along with Tesoro's lightning pillar rising from the ground. The magic circle was blasted from the bottom, causing it to tremble continuously and disrupting the flow of the black mist.
Inside the magic circle, Roy sensed this slight change.
His consciousness was almost swallowed up by the boundless darkness, but at a certain moment, he "heard" a brief fluctuation in the frequency of the magic circle's operation.
The mental pressure lessened slightly at that moment.
Roy suddenly opened his eyes.
The power of the Telekinesis-Telekinesis Fruit and the Soul-Soul Fruit granted him a mental perception that was unimaginable to ordinary people.
Luffy and his crew's attack gave Roy a brief respite, preventing Roy from completely losing consciousness in an instant.
now,
Roy's consciousness floated in the boundless darkness.
There is no direction, no light, and not even a concept of time here.
He tried to extend his mental Telekinesis, but it was swallowed by darkness as soon as it left his body, and he received no feedback whatsoever.
Only black fog.
Thick, cold, putrid black mist surged in from all directions, clinging to the skin, seeping into wounds, and attempting to penetrate the body through every pore.
The Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki coating on its body surface is still there, but it's already so thin it's like a bubble about to burst.
Roy closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the depths of his mind.
The space of consciousness was originally a vast blue sea.
That was the embodiment of Roy's spiritual world; his cultivation over the years had made this sea increasingly vast and calm.
But now, the sea is gone.
Instead, there was a gray-black wasteland, with cracked earth and dry air.
The sky was shrouded in a thick black curtain, like an overturned bowl trapping him beneath it.
On the wasteland, nineteen pairs of enormous eyes opened simultaneously.
Each pair was as tall as a building, standing upright in mid-air, with different colored pupils.
Some were as red as blood, some as pale as paper, some as black as ink, and some were the color of rotten bronze.
Each eye exudes a different aura.
Tyranny, desolation, emptiness, madness, despair, greed...
These emotions surged from his pupils as if they were tangible, pressing against Roy's mental defenses.
Roy stood in the middle of the wasteland, looking up to meet those eyes.
An immense spiritual will pressed down like a tsunami.
Roy's Conqueror's Haki erupted in full force within his consciousness space, black and red Inazuma spreading wildly across the wasteland, colliding with the mental pressure emanating from those eyes and producing a silent roar.
With each collision, his consciousness would blur for a moment.
Setting sail, searching for companions: Tesoro, Stella, Bullet, Hawk Eyes...
Faces flashed through Roy's mind: Kaido, the construction of Hachinosu, and the conquest of the New World.
Memories are like jigsaw puzzle pieces scattered by the tide, becoming blurred one by one.
Some images are fading, and some names are becoming distant memories.
"Who I am?"
This question surfaced from the depths of my heart, like a black seed, taking root and sprouting in my consciousness.
Roy shuddered.
"I am Roy."
These three words were like a nail, driven deep into the crumbling depths of my consciousness.
The Conqueror's Haki erupted once more, and black and red Inazuma re-condensed on the wasteland, even more solid than before.
The power of the Soul-Soul Fruit ignited a blue flame deep within his soul; the flame was small, yet enough to illuminate his very being.