"What a weakling!"
Seeing Gaban swayed by his emotions, Gunko scoffed and unleashed three arrows from his fingers, instantly piercing Gaban's chest and embedding themselves there. With this force, Gaban's body plummeted towards the Underworld below. Chopper, who had followed, jumped down without hesitation and followed him!
"Father! Father!"
Seeing his father critically injured and dying, and then falling into the Underworld, Colon's emotions erupted in heart-wrenching pain, and his repeated cries of "Father" seemed to have triggered Gunko!
This intense emotional surge seemed to break through some kind of blockage within her body. A sharp pain shot through her brain, reminding Gunko of many images, including those of Brook and her together!
Gunko dropped the hostage he was holding and ran towards Brook without regard for anything else, as if he had something to say urgently, lest he forget it forever in the next moment!
Gunko's concerns were not unfounded. Imu, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation and was ready to descend at any moment, noticed that Gunko was showing signs of losing control. He could no longer wait, so he descended and took control of Gunko's body. Then he activated the team's voice chat and ordered Jiringomu and Saint Shepherd Sommers to obey his commands!
Just like when the gods descended in Egghead last time, Imu's arrival will enhance the immortality. Saint Shepherd Sommers, who had been unable to recover after being cut in half by Gaban, recovered instantly!
Looking at the giants who wanted to rescue the children, Imu remained unmoved, as if facing ants. He instantly released his Conqueror's Haki, and the powerful Conqueror's Haki spread throughout Elbaf, causing all the giants and children around him to faint!
Even Luffy and Zoro, who were healing Loki in the Underworld, sensed this evil yet somewhat familiar Conqueror's Haki!
Then Luffy sensed Chopper's presence again, getting closer and closer. He knew that Chopper had probably fallen from the Sun World, so he quickly called Zoro to run in the direction the presence was coming from!
" Jiringomu! Is this all the nightmare monsters you have?"
Imu controlled Gunko's body and transformed into a demon form once more, but he seemed quite dissatisfied with the progress Saint Shepherd Sommers and the other two had made in subduing Elbaf!
He even felt that the three men's actions were petty, using a few children to threaten an entire country? The force was too weak and the scope too small, dragging their feet. If it were him, he would use the survival of the entire Elbaf to force everyone in the country to submit!
That's what Imu thought, and that's what he did. He had Jiringomu bring in more Nightmare Monsters, then he gave these monsters a demonic buff, letting them wreak havoc on everything in the Sun World!
Then came the Black Turn Domination. He demonized the Giant Warrior Pirates that had just charged in, turning them into members of the Demon Legion. He then ordered Dorry and Brogy, who had been transformed into demons, to kill Elder Jarul, preparing to make the demon Dorry and Brogy kings and rule Elbaf!
Imu's methods were direct and ruthless, and the Sun World of Elbaf was quickly plunged into disaster as Demon Legion and nightmare monsters fought and destroyed everywhere!
Using the giants' fear, Jiringomu dragged them into dreams, making them dream of even more terrifying monsters. These monsters were quickly materialized into the real world by Jiringomu, and the Nightmare Legion expanded rapidly, making Elbaf increasingly vulnerable!
Meanwhile, Luffy also found Chopper and Gaban who had fallen. When he brought them back to Loki's place of imprisonment, he learned Gaban's identity from Hajrudin.
Luffy then realized that his and Zoro's defeat in the abandoned palace was not unjustified, after all, their opponent was one of the Pirate King Roger's Twin Wings!
"Uncle! Do you know Shanks?"
Luffy was eager to know if Gaban knew Shanks, but he heard from Chopper about the dire situation in the Sun World. Everyone agreed that the most important thing now was to return to the Sun World and defeat the enemies who had invaded Elbaf!
However, by this time, Gaban had already regained consciousness thanks to Chopper and Gerd's treatment. Gaban was seriously injured and knew that Elbaf's future would probably need to be saved by the Straw Hat Boy that Shanks recommended to him—a man Shanks had approved of!
So Gaban stopped Luffy. Although Luffy is strong now, he is still not strong enough to deal with the immortality of the Holy Knights. So he wants to teach the Straw Hat Boy how to make his Conqueror's Haki attack more powerful. Only in this way can he overcome immortality!
Luffy had also witnessed how troublesome immortality was, so unusually, he didn't insist on going his own way. Instead, he listened attentively to the teachings. The method Gaban described wasn't complicated, and Luffy quickly learned it. Not only did he learn it, but even Loki learned it!
Loki was also reminded of that day fourteen years ago when he had unconsciously used this method and severely injured the Holy Knights!
Now, after hearing Gaban's explanation, he finally understood how to break the immortality of those people. Back then, he had no way to deal with it, which resulted in the entire Holy Knights being teleported away, making him the scapegoat!
"Looks like there's more than one person here with Conqueror's Haki!"
Gaban looked at Zoro, but Sanji, who was sitting next to Zoro, thought the old man was talking about him and was excitedly basking in his own glory. Gaban ignored him and kept looking at the bewildered Zoro.
"Me... me?"
"Don't you know? It's overflowing..."
Zoro belatedly realized that Gaban was talking about him, but he had no idea that he Awakening Conqueror's Haki, because at this stage, Zoro was completely unable to control Conqueror's Haki!
Just like when Luffy first Awakening his Conqueror's Haki, he would only unconsciously release it when he was extremely excited, but he would usually release it in small amounts when he was out of control. That's how Zoro's Conqueror's Haki was exposed to Gaban and Luffy!
Compared to Luffy, who couldn't control his Conqueror's Haki Luffy he first Awakening it, Zoro is much better off. His Great Grade Sword Enma has the effect of gathering Haki, whether it's Armament Haki or Conqueror's Haki!
On Onigashima in Wano Country, he was able to use Enma's Conqueror's Coating technique right after Awakening his Conqueror's Haki!
Therefore, in Gaban's view, this swordsman with Conqueror's Haki could be considered a key member in the fight against the Holy Knights, so he gave him a few special pointers!
As for Aokiji on the other side, Gaban didn't even glance at him. Without Conqueror's Haki, there's nothing anyone can do against an immortal body!
With everything ready, Luffy was about to lead his men back to the Sun World, but Loki demanded that Luffy release him, as he also wanted to go to the Sun World to help Elbaf fight. However, Hajrudin refused, as he did not want to release a huge hidden danger who might defect to the World Government at any time!
Hajrudin's thoughts were the thoughts of most people in Elbaf. Loki's usual behavior was very arrogant and eccentric, and it was not surprising that he did anything. Many people disliked him!
Later, such a tragedy occurred in the palace. Loki was the only one who could stand up, and the only survivor Jarul, was stabbed in the head and lost his memory. You can guess what people would think!
Luffy had just arrived in Elbaf and didn't know the truth about the tragedy from years ago, but he had his own intuition and judgment, and he also wanted to see how strong Loki was, so he directly invited Loki to become his partner, hoping that Hajrudin would release Loki, right? Luffy's thought process is very simple!
Not only Loki disagreed, but Zoro and Sanji also had different opinions. One thought Loki was too big and the Thousand Sunny couldn't possibly fit Loki, while the other thought Loki was too big and there simply wasn't enough food for him!
Hajrudin did not agree to release Loki, even though he was Luffy's subordinate. Loki's problems were too serious, and for the safety of the entire Elbaf, he had to take the matter seriously!
Elbaf was already in chaos, and he was afraid of releasing another demon. In Hajrudin's mind, Loki had killed his father, murdered more than a hundred of the king's guards, and even the sword that pierced the head of the Grand Elder Jarul was Loki's doing!