Attacks that bypass the physical and strike at the soul are the most feared kind, precisely because they tap into the ultimate mystery. Even in this era, people believe absolutely in the existence of the soul, yet it remains utterly unprovable.
What amplifies this fear is that in this vast, strange sea, every Devil Fruit tied to the spirit seems to be an anomaly, each shrouded in layers of dread and awe.
But there is a shared, infuriating truth about these fruits: their cruel activation conditions.
Take the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit). You have to die once before you can even touch its true power! Until then, it's nothing but a "landlubber's curse", a horrifyingly useless trap.
Then there's Big Mom's Soru Soru no Mi (Soul-Soul Fruit). Without the primal fuel of fear from the target, half of your monstrous abilities are useless. You're left to rely on your own brute strength as a "Natural Destroyer" and the backup of your three Homies.
So, if Rowen's chilling deduction was correct, Imu's ability was also tied to the soul. But what was the cost of its use?
And the terrifying whispers that Devil Fruits were merely seeds scattered by Imu, could that blasphemous claim truly be real?
These questions hung heavy in the air, and two days blurred into the frantic chaos of the New World, G-1 Branch, the Marine frontlines.
…
"The Holy Land's nonsense is none of my business," Tsuru growled, her eyes blazing with exhaustion and determination. Her hair was slightly disheveled, but her presence was as sharp and commanding as the edge of a blade. "But I absolutely will not let them keep digging any further!"
Known as one of the Navy's wisest strategists, Tsuru's voice cut through the noise with the unmistakable weight of command.
"Transmit my order, whatever the cost, drive them back!"
The officers before her, galvanized by her fury, snapped to attention.
"Yes, ma'am!" They roared in unison.
News of Rowen's sudden, shocking ascension to the Holy Land's top ruler had reverberated across the seas, shaking the entire world. But beneath the genuine shock, dark currents of opportunism were stirring. Countless forces, both overt and shadowy, were moving, probing, and scheming to take advantage of the chaos.
As the highest authority and the renowned "Thunder God" Soryu (Azure Dragon), Rowen was anchored to the Holy Land to stabilize the political earthquake, leaving him unable to reinforce the front.
Yet, his very rise had ignited a furious, white-hot fire in the heart of every Marine soldier. They trusted Rowen, they admired him, and now, they would sooner die than bring shame upon him or the name of Justice.
Just days ago, had Tsuru ordered them to repel that endless, crushing swarm of crustacean-type Sea Kings, no one would have guaranteed a victory. But now, the troops' hearts were burning.
"Pass down my command, fix bayonets!"
Vice Admiral Dalmatian, though not the base commander, roared until his voice cracked. His usually comic, spotted face was twisted in a mask of battle fury, saliva spraying as he barked like a wild dog unleashed.
"Even if every last one of us dies, not a single step back!"
"Not a single step back!"
"For Justice… kill!"
"Kill!!!"
The deafening, unified roar of tens of thousands shook the very heavens.
Outside the defensive line, massive red-shelled Sea Kings, colossal, prawn-like monsters, took the provocation and began their charge. In an instant, towering waves surged. The titanic beasts churned the sea into a storm, smashing against the Marine barricade, a structure built from both sunken battleships and human bodies.
"There is definitely something wrong with these Sea Kings," Tsuru said grimly from the prow of her battleship, watching the terrible, beautiful slaughter ahead. "They've lost all sense of order, they are just beasts acting on instinct, trying to breach our line."
She adjusted her glasses. "According to the scouts, these creatures only attack once they hit a certain population threshold. But now, since we struck first and provoked them, that number is much, much lower…"
Tsuru was not a reckless woman. As the Marine Chief of Staff, she saw the whole board. She had observed, found an exploitable opening, and decided to strike.
But still…
"Even so, this is a victory that will be built on a mountain of corpses."
She sighed softly, the weariness of command creeping into her heart. Her single order would cost tens of thousands of Marine lives. No matter how vast the Navy's forces were, the loss was painful beyond measure.
But there was no other choice.
Since the news of Rowen's ascension spread, reports of Kaido's crew disbanding, their Emperor gone, their flag meaningless, had begun to circulate. There hadn't been any major incidents yet, likely because the pirates were still too shocked to react. Once they gathered their senses, the first half of the Grand Line would descend into uncontrollable chaos.
Preparing ahead of time was the hallmark of a true strategist. The battle here had to end quickly; the Marines could not afford to keep their main force pinned down while the rest of the sea plunged into pirate anarchy.
Just then, Tsuru spotted a flicker.
A tiny black speck on the horizon. It crackled with faint blue lightning and was closing in with frightening speed.
"A new type of Sea King?"
Many Sea Kings could discharge electricity. Given their immense size, those bolts could be devastating. Worried, Tsuru raised her telescope to get a closer look.
"Wait a second… that's… a ship?"
She lowered the telescope, eyes widening in disbelief, recognition flashing in her mind.
"Not just any ship… it's the Qilin?!"
"Has Rear Admiral Koby lost his mind?!"
In front of them was a Sea King army so vast that even the Marine Grand Fleet, with hundreds of colossal war behemoths, would struggle to break through. And yet, that tiny ship, the Qilin, was charging straight into the teeth of the swarm?!
"Slow down, for heaven's sake!" Tsuru shouted, a tremor of pure anxiety in her voice, then her face fell.
"…It's too late."
Several dragon-shrimp-type–type Sea Kings at the rear had already noticed the tiny intruder, breaking their formation as they lunged straight toward it. At this distance, not even a god could save them.
Aboard the Qilin, as five or six enormous Sea Kings charged from the front, the entire crew went silent. A shipwright crawled up from below deck, raised a salute with his grease-stained hands, and shook his head toward Koby.
He didn't need to speak. Everyone knew what that silent gesture meant.
Koby suddenly burst into tears, a blazing, furious fire igniting in one of his hands.
"My master is going to tear me apart for this!" he sobbed.
"I don't know if Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon) will tear you apart," A commanding officer shouted back, drawing his sword, "But if you don't do something now, those monsters will tear us apart! Give the order, senior officer!"
That authority, the right to issue the final, terrible command, had been entrusted to him personally by Rowen. Koby had no choice but to bear the weight.
At those words, Koby choked back his tears. His gaze shifted forward, past the terrifying Sea King horde, toward the distant, red ribbon of the Red Line.
"How much longer?" he asked, his voice trembling but still burning with fierce hope.
"Four hours!"
"That's enough!"
Koby roared, and in that instant, searing, glorious orange flames erupted across his entire body, making him shine like a miniature sun. Heat waves shimmered, boiling the sea below and turning the world around him into a blazing, impossible inferno.
Staring straight at the Red Line, Koby bellowed his order…
"Qilin, full charge ahead!!"
On the deck, Lirisk, bound in a life jacket and guarded by two Marines, stared wide-eyed in horror.
"You madman! We should've abandoned ship the moment the brakes failed! I've never seen anyone lead troops like this!"
A cruel, terrible truth weighed on every sailor of the Qilin: to rush at full speed, they had pushed the ship's engines to their absolute limit… and they broke down. The worst kind of breakdown for any vessel: the brakes were gone. Trying to slow down now would cause the entire ship to explode!
Before Lirisk could continue yelling, there was a deafening BOOM! The Qilin's specially reinforced prow shattered the shell of a massive shrimp-like Sea King, ramming straight through it.
"Hsssss!"
Blood sprayed high, staining the ocean crimson. Driven mad by pain, the Sea King thrashed wildly, trying to shake free, but the Qilin's front-mounted clutch locked down tight, refusing to let go. (Why did the ship have a clutch? Because it was part of the Qilin's final, insane trump card.)
From afar, the golden, dragon-headed prow, its surface now splattered with gore, looked even more majestic and fearsome. The holy beast's visage seemed alive, jaws clamped onto its prey, refusing to release.
RUMBLE!
The ship's massive frame trembled violently. Soldiers were thrown to the deck, some unlucky ones tossed into the sea, vanishing behind them in seconds. The blazing inferno surrounding Koby evaporated the waves before they could touch him. In the haze of steam and fire, Koby shot forward like a rocket, soaring high into the sky.
Aiming straight at the Sea King skewered below, he shouted…
"Crimson Lotus… Explosive Flame Bullet!!"
A pillar of fire erupted the moment his flaming fist smashed into the Sea King's skull. The next instant… BOOM!... a roaring blast sent shockwaves through the air as flames burst out from under the creature's jaw, piercing its shell and spewing molten fire into the ocean.
The intense heat made the surrounding Dragon-Shrimp-type Sea Kings recoil in terror, frozen in place, too afraid to advance. Water and fire have always been mortal enemies, and these shrimp were certainly no exception.
But while they hesitated, the Qilin did not. With its prey no longer struggling, the ship surged forward through the gap, cutting across the sea like a divine blade.
The Qilin, with a massive Dragon Shrimp skewered on its prow, blazed forward through the waves. The fire from the Mera Mera no Mi enveloped both ship and beast, carving a flaming path across the ocean.
Under the stunned gaze of everyone on the battlefield, the massive Sea King horde was torn open, by fire, into a narrow passageway!
"Th-this is our chance!"
Vice Admiral Dalmatian snapped out of his shock and barked his orders: "Change formation! Push through that gap and surround them from both flanks! As expected of Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon)'s personal disciple, two words: no fear!"
Overjoyed, he raised his binoculars, only to pause, dumbstruck.
"Uh… is Rear Admiral Koby… crying?"
Indeed, Koby was crying.
Standing atop the Dragon Shrimp's skull, tears streamed down his face as he looked forward. The colossal weight of a Sea King couldn't stop the Qilin's advance.
Then what could?
He looked ahead, all that remained before them was the Red Line itself.
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395