Loki, Ace, Shanks, and Dragon each faced three clones of Imu, while Garp and Luffy each faced four, temporarily balancing the battle.
"The key to this war lies between you and me. The fact that you've created so many clones will only distract you from your goal. Once you defeat me, the war will be over. Why go through all this trouble?"
Vic held a knife in his right hand and a staff in his left, hovering opposite Imu. He had tried dozens of times, but to no avail. Imu's Haki was like a bottomless pit, defending his Power of Law from all directions, leaving him helpless.
"Useless? Everyone here is going to die today, it's just a matter of time. I want you to watch them die one by one. Isn't that playing dumb to fool others? This is my punishment for you!"
Imu isn't stupid; he won't believe everything Vic says. Things have come to this point, and both sides have played their cards pretty well. The outcome is clear, and he can't be fooled so easily!
Moreover, Vic had tricked Imu before, and she remembered it well. She was happy to do anything to make Vic unhappy, but she was just multitasking, which was nothing to her compared to the powerful mental strength of the God Realm expert!
Vic gave Imu a deep look, said nothing more, and charged at Imu again!
There's nothing more to say. He's used almost everything he can, but nothing has been able to inflict fatal damage on Imu. Imu's Haki is too strong. Now there's only one option: to wait!
They awaited the arrival of the mysterious, powerful figure who always wore a black robe to provide support. They wondered if, with the old man's help, the three God Realm experts could defeat Imu.
" Luffy! Watch out!"
Just then, Garp shouted, reminding Luffy!
Just as everyone was engrossed in the battle, another clone of Imu emerged from a black pillar of light. The clone had barely left the pentagram array when it headed straight for Luffy, moving with Inazuma speed!
At this moment, Luffy was already facing four clones of Imu, and was overwhelmed. Faced with the sudden attack of the fifth clone, he had no chance to react at all!
Just as the black trident was about to pierce Luffy's chest, a huge beam of light shot in from the horizon, instantly piercing through the Imu clone that had ambushed Luffy, accompanied by a roar that shook the heavens and the earth!
"Roar~"
The roar caused everyone to temporarily lose their hearing. Irregular cracks appeared on several mountain peaks that had not yet collapsed, and waves tens of meters high surged up in the sea, crashing towards Lodestar Island!
Only then did a winged creature appear on the horizon, rapidly approaching the island!
"It's Xiao Guai! It seems to have grown up!"
Nami's excited voice rang out. She watched the figure approaching quickly and started jumping up and down, almost losing control of the two lively rabbits, but she didn't care at all.
"This time it should be right, right?"
Usopp rubbed his nose, still somewhat uncertain. After all, they hadn't spent much time together, and Imu had summoned him once before, so he wasn't sure.
"It's it! It must be our Xiao Guai, I can feel it!"
Nami was absolutely certain that even without her helping Luffy earlier, she was absolutely certain that the mutual attraction between them was unmistakable.
Soon, the winged creature landed in the center of the valley, almost identical to the Western dragon that Imu had summoned earlier!
With its dark purple body, metallic scales, sharp teeth, and ferocious dragon head, it was almost indistinguishable from other dragons, except for its more lively eyes. It was as if Imu had been copied from this Western dragon!
The Western dragon, having landed, did not stop there. In a flash, it appeared beside one of Imu's clones, its sharp claws already piercing through the clone's chest!
Like the clone that was pierced by the beam of light before, this clone also turned into black mist and dissipated into the void!
"This is?"
Vic didn't recognize the Western dragon that had just arrived and killed two of Imu's clones, but he could tell at a glance that the Western dragon was as powerful as him, possessing the strength of the God Realm!
Vic's strength was manifested in the Laws, but the Western dragon focused on its body, with all its strength manifested in its physical form, much like Imu when he transformed before!
Vic guessed that this must be a perfect manifestation of the animal Laws, but he didn't know how he suddenly had such an ally. It seemed like Nami and the others knew him. Was this a case of "when one door closes, another opens"?
"You didn't know? Isn't this your secret weapon?"
Imu didn't care that her clones were destroyed. She could have as many clones as she wanted, as long as she could completely control them with her mind. Too many clones would be pointless; they would be no different from walking corpses.
Should I know?
Vic genuinely had no idea; if it weren't for the fact that the Western dragon Imu had materialized earlier, he would never have known that such a powerful Western dragon existed in this world.
At least its previous performance was stronger than Rocks, Whitebeard, and Roger. If the Western dragon could perform like that when it was in the form of a phantom, then in reality, that Western dragon would only be stronger. It's not surprising that it now has the strength of the God Realm.
"It seems your allies are hiding something from you. This is Uranus, one of the Three Ancient Weapons. Even such a powerful weapon is being kept from you. It seems you're not popular among your allies; they're wary of you!"
Since Imu was able to conjure up an identical Western dragon, it means she had seen it before, or at least read some records about it. It's not surprising that she could name it!
If the name is related to Ancient Weapon, then she must have seen them before. After all, these Ancient Weapon were used against her 800 years ago, so it would be strange if she didn't remember them.
Vic ignored Imu's attempts to sow discord. If it were the alliance of Kaido Big Mom, Law, and Kid hiding Uranus, he might have had such suspicions, but he trusted the Straw Hat Pirates completely and had no motive whatsoever!
The Ancient Weapon Uranus, Vic, thought of the spotted giant egg on the stone mountain of Laugh Tale. If the appearance of this Western dragon was inexplicable, the most reasonable explanation was that it hatched from that giant egg!
This giant egg was probably carried on the ship by the Roger Pirates and eventually brought to Laugh Tale, where it was placed on that rocky mountain to hatch!
When Luffy and his crew arrived at Laugh Tale, Uranus's hatching was in its final stages. He hatched right after Vic left, which is why he missed seeing him!