The battle erupted on the boundary between paleness and color!
Brook's stirring melody of " Hymn of Life " acts like an invisible shield, barely offsetting the most fatal stagnation effect of the "silence" realm, but the oppressive feeling that freezes thoughts and slows blood flow still follows like a shadow.
[Cleansing Protocol Initiated.] The lead Overseer (tentatively referred to as the " Pale Commander ") issued a cold command. The two Overseers beside him ("Pale Blade Guards") simultaneously raised their hands, and the pale energy in their hands instantly condensed into several twisted chains that flickered between existence and Void, shooting towards the four who had rushed in like venomous snakes! These chains were not physical entities; wherever they passed, even the light and shadow flowing in the " Tapestry " background were forcibly "frozen," as if time had stopped flowing along those tracks.
"Hmph! Demonic Aura - Nine-Sword Style - Asura - Sky Piercer!" Zoro roared, his three swords unleashing an astonishing aura. He transformed into a three-headed, six-armed Asura phantom, advancing instead of retreating, charging towards the chains! The sword light did not strike the chains themselves, but precisely struck the spatial nodes "frozen" in the chain's trajectory!
Clang! Sizzle--!
A piercing sound, like shattering glass mixed with the friction of metal, rang out. The moment the pale chains made contact with Zoro's sword light, the time-freezing effect on them was forcibly broken, and the chains themselves became unstable before being shredded by the subsequent slashes!
"Well done, Zoro!" Sanji's figure spun rapidly in the air, " Diable Jambe: Fried Assorted Platter!" His legs transformed into a blazing whirlwind, not attacking the Watcher's main body, but kicking fiercely at the pale energy fragments that Zoro had shattered but had not yet completely dissipated! The blazing kick seemed to carry the laws of "cooking," "heating" and "detonating" those cold energy fragments, turning them into a pale firework that briefly obscured the view.
" Gum-Gum - Giant Thunder Axe!" Luffy leaped high into the air using the elasticity of rubber, his massive heel wreathed in black and red Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, like a real battle axe, carrying the power to crush everything, and slashed straight down at the spinning hourglass device! He wanted to solve the problem at its root!
[ Time Shift.] The Pale Commander spoke indifferently. He raised a hand, aiming it at Luffy's falling trajectory.
Luffy instantly felt a strange force acting on his body, and his downward slash suddenly accelerated, as if the spacetime in front of him was repelling him, while the spacetime behind him was pushing him! This caused his originally precise attack to lose its aim, and his huge foot scraped the edge of the hourglass device and slammed into the gray-white "canvas" below, stirring up a silent energy ripple, but it failed to destroy the core of the device.
"Damn it! Something feels weird!" Luffy muttered, his enormous body quickly returning to its original size.
"They're locally accelerating or slowing down the flow of time, disrupting our attack rhythm!" Allen keenly perceived the key. He stood still, not rushing to attack, but instead fully expanding his " Definition Domain." Warm white light spread out from him, like a drop of colored ink falling onto a pale canvas, striving to resist the erosion of the "Silence" rule, providing his companions with a relatively stable "safe zone." He could feel his will silently but fiercely colliding with the power of the rules emanating from the hourglass device.
"Then let them be too busy! Ultimate Kill - Green Star - Demonic Algae!" On the distant Thousand Sunny, Usopp shot out a Seed. The Seed struggled to grow in the pale field, eventually bursting into a patch of green energy algae radiating a faint vitality. Although it could not truly bind the Watchers, it successfully interfered with their energy perception.
At the same time, Nami wielded her Clima-Tact: "Thunder Weather - Lightning Spear!" Several slender yet highly concentrated bolts of Inazuma shot precisely at the two "Pale Blade Guards" like spears, forcing them to be distracted by defense and unable to fully cooperate with their commander.
" Cien Fleur: Spider Web!" Robin crossed his arms on the deck, and countless arms instantly sprouted from the Pale Commander's feet and arms, attempting to weave a web to restrict his movements. However, as soon as the arms grew, they were rapidly corroded and weathered away by an invisible force of " Time Acceleration."
"Their 'silent' domain is more effective against non-living energy and entities, but it requires a more direct force to counter their manipulation of pure Rules of Time!" Robin quickly analyzed and conveyed the information.
"Understood!" Sanji's eyes sharpened, and his figure vanished instantly, reappearing beside a "Pale Blade Guard." "Head meat! Shoulder meat! Back meat! Chest meat! Thigh meat! Diable Jambe - Sliced Platter!" His kicks were Inazuma fast, and each strike contained a powerful impact. It wasn't just a simple physical attack; it was an attempt to disrupt the opponent's ability to manipulate time with high-speed attacks. The Blade Guard was forced to constantly use small-scale Time Acceleration or deceleration to evade, appearing somewhat disheveled for a moment.
Another Blade Guard was tightly entangled by Zoro. " Three-Sword Style: Leopard, Harp, and Jewel!" Zoro's slashes were like a storm, carrying the will to cut through everything, forcing his opponent to focus on nothing else. The Blade Guard tried to imprison Zoro with the Time Chains, but Zoro's sword always managed to unleash even greater power at the crucial moment, forcibly cleaving open the stagnant space!
"Now, Allen!" Luffy charged towards the hourglass device again. This time, his arms expanded, transforming into King Kong Gun covered in jet-black Armament Haki. " Gum-Gum - King Kong Murder of Crows Cannon!" Countless enormous fists rained down on the device like a meteor shower!
Pale Commander commander was about to use Time Shift again, a glint flashed in Allen's eyes. "Here, the flow of time is constant!"
With his " Power of Definition," he forcibly delineated a small area along the attack path of the King Kong Gun, temporarily Resistance the Pale Commander's time manipulation!
"What?!" For the first time, the Pale Commander's mechanical voice showed a noticeable fluctuation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Luffy's barrage of heavy punches finally landed squarely on the hourglass device! The device vibrated violently, cracks appeared on its surface, and the "silent" ripples it emitted became unstable.
[Threat level upgraded! Prioritize eliminating the ' Definer '!] The Pale Commander abandoned his interference with Luffy and completely locked onto Allen. He clasped his hands together, and a time-freezing force field, far more powerful than before, grabbed Allen like an invisible giant hand! This time, the force of the time freeze was so strong that even the " Definition Domain " around Allen began to fluctuate violently, its light flickering as if it would be extinguished at any moment.
"Don't even think about it! Three-Sword Style - One Great Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds!" Zoro forced his opponent back and instantly turned to defend, unleashing three massive sword energies in a swastika shape as they slashed at the invisible, stagnant force field, attempting to cleave it apart!
" Hell Memories! Diable Jambe - Superior Meat Grinder!" Sanji abandoned his opponent, his entire body engulfed in blue flames, and kicked at the Pale Commander's true form with Transcendence speed, a diversionary tactic!
But the Pale Commander seemed determined to deal with Allen first. His attacks on Zoro and Sanji were only barely held back by a thin layer of Time Shield, with most of his power still pressing down on Allen!
Allen felt as if the spacetime around him had turned into steel, trying to completely seal him in this moment. His thoughts began to slow down, Definition Domain was on the verge of collapse.
At this critical moment—
"Yo ho ho ho~ Your music is so cold!"
Brook stood at the bow of the ship, channeling all his soul power (though he claimed he had none) into the strings, and played the loudest note!
"Solo piece by the Soul King: The Final Chapter of Life - Encore!"
This time, it was no longer just a simple melody; the powerful force of the music seemed to transform into a tangible torrent of notes, carrying an infinite longing and passion for life, and crashing fiercely into the stagnant force field that the Pale Commander was trying his best to maintain!
Buzz--!
Like ice being poured with molten lava, the invisible, stagnant force field hummed under the strain, and a momentary, slight loosening occurred!
It was that slight loosening!
A brilliant light shone in Allen's eyes!
I said--
His voice seemed to carry the power of the laws governing the primordial universe, piercing through the stillness:
"--Everything should have sound and color, and time and space should flow endlessly!"
" Definition and Expand!"
boom!
Centered on Allen, a warm white light erupted with unprecedented intensity, like Supernovas descending! Wherever the white light passed, the pale "silence" was forcibly dispelled, the covered " Tapestry " regained its brilliant colors, and the annihilated whispers were transformed once more into a magnificent symphony! The rotating hourglass device, under the impact of the colorful light, let out a mournful cry and shattered completely into countless pale fragments, which were then swallowed and purified by the surging Light of Life!
"No... it's impossible..." The Pale Commander stared at the completely malfunctioning device and the rapidly fading field, his mechanical voice filled with disbelief.
Without the support of the device, the other two "Pale Blade Guards" also lost a lot of power. They were instantly caught off guard by Zoro and Sanji, who slashed them away with a sword and kicked them to shatter their armor. They turned into two pale energy data streams and tried to escape, but were intercepted and captured by Nami's precise lightning and Usopp's specially made Seastone net (assuming they had equipment that could target energy bodies).
Upon seeing this, the Pale Commander initiated the self-destruct program without hesitation, and his form began to become illusory.
"Don't even think about escaping! Gum-Gum -Gum Fire Fist!" Luffy's fist, wreathed in flames, slammed out, but before it could hit, the Pale Commander had already vanished into Void, leaving only a wisp of spacetime fluctuation.
The battle is over.
The Thousand Sunny gently landed on the " Tapestry," which had regained its vibrant colors and was now whispering melodies. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at the life-giving light and shadow around them, which had become even more lively and vivid due to the conflict and purification that had just taken place.
Allen was slightly out of breath; the final burst of " Definition " had almost exhausted his strength, but his eyes shone even brighter. He felt that this " Tapestry of Life " conveyed a warm and affectionate gratitude to him and to them.
"We... did it!" Chopper jumped up happily.
"Hmm," Allen nodded, looking at the two captured pale data streams and the fragments of the hourglass device, "And we may have obtained some clues about the Temporal Overseer..."
New achievements come with new challenges. But they know that as long as they walk side by side, they can continue to open new chapters in this era of Xinghai.