Before the navy's main forces could arrive, Brook intended to use the advantage in top tier fighters to tighten the siege and smash Mary Geoise with a devastating assault.
Kaido and Kozuki Oden moved together to deal with the newly added Elder. They had to capture the user of the Word Spirit Fruit as quickly as possible, then free their hands and turn on the remaining Elders.
Roger and Rayleigh were also forced by Brook to stall the long haired Elder, Mars, making his Jealousy Fruit useless. Even if they only delayed him, it was enough. There was no chance those two could kill any Elder on their own.
Newgate faced the bald Elder, Warcury.
Redfield went straight for the blond Elder, Peter.
Shiki took the curly haired Elder, Saturn.
Originally, Brook had also assigned Linlin to fight an Elder. The plan was for her to join forces with a Hell King and quickly kill one Elder, speeding up their victory.
But Linlin was worried about Brook. She insisted on staying at his side and fighting Imu together.
Meanwhile, Shakky, Stussy, Wang Zhi, Mihawk, and the others had already stormed into the Holy Land itself, crushing waves of CP0 through CP9 agents across this so called kingdom of gods.
Fisher Tiger, the red fishman, was the first to break into the Celestial Dragons' lavish mansions and free the slaves inside.
"Hurry up!" Tiger roared after killing several CP agents. "The Universal Government is here. You're free!"
He was the first to release fishmen and mermaids. Seeing the brand of the Celestial Dragons' hoof on his people, one after another, made his teeth grind with hatred.
In another prison, Gild Tesoro, shackled at the wrists and ankles, never thought he would have a chance to escape in this life.
The moment he got free, he ran in one direction like a madman.
"Stella! Stella!"
Tesoro screamed the name of the girl carved into his heart. Was she still alive? Had she been, defiled by the Celestial Dragons?
Across Mary Geoise, explosive collars were removed one by one. But some slaves were still killed on the spot when their Celestial Dragon masters detonated the collars without hesitation.
Countless freed slaves joined the chaos, smashing the Celestial Dragons' mansions into ruins.
"The Celestial Dragons are scum, but there are scum among the slaves too."
Shakky kicked a freed slave to death as he rushed her. The man had likely been a pirate before, yet after only a short time as a Celestial Dragon slave, he was still greedy and bold.
He actually tried to sneak attack Shakky and steal the two Devil Fruits she had looted from a Celestial Dragon mansion.
"Hahaha, Shakky, move it!" Stussy laughed, holding a Celestial Dragon by the throat. She snapped his neck with one hand.
Even then, she still did not trigger the same fifty percent chance of awakening Conqueror's Haki the way Shakky had.
In the Hell Guild now, if you did not have that kind of aura, your status really was low.
"Watch those greedy ones," Shakky warned. "They'll try to steal the Devil Fruits."
After seeing Woonan, the golden pirate, kill a CP agent, Shakky also charged into another Celestial Dragon mansion with excitement.
"Relax," Stussy giggled. "Only what we give them belongs to them. If we don't give it, they can't take it."
As she spoke, she casually fired a flying finger gun. From a thousand meters away, it pierced straight through a pirate slave covered in gold.
She was starting to realize that releasing every slave in Mary Geoise was not automatically a good thing.
"Then go catch the Celestial Dragons first," Shakky said. "I don't know if killing them will still work."
With the rise of the Universal Government, the Hell Guild's cadres no longer feared the Celestial Dragons. That buff, killing a Celestial Dragon to awaken Conqueror's Haki, might have become useless long ago.
"We're the ones who should execute the Celestial Dragons," Stussy said coldly. "Those trash aren't qualified."
She turned into a shadow and vanished on the spot. Even if the chance of awakening Conqueror's Haki was slim, she would not give up.
Shakky chuckled as she watched her go. She had already awakened Conqueror's Haki, so she was not nearly as impatient.
She glanced at the two Devil Fruits in her hands. They both looked like Zoan type Snake Snake Fruits. She wondered what forms they held.
As she turned to leave, she noticed a woman on the ground, tortured to the edge of death, staring at Shakky with desperate longing.
"Ah, you're lucky," Shakky said lightly. "I'm a kind queen after all."
She thought of her gentle daughter, Kikyo, who loved helping weak girls and had the softest heart among Brook's children.
Shakky took out an ordinary blood crystal dandelion and fed it to the woman whose body was covered in whip marks. Then she unlocked the shackles.
"After you escape, hide your identity. We do have an old woman who can remove the Celestial Dragons' hoof mark, but you're too weak to join us."
Leaving only those words, Shakky walked away with the two Devil Fruits.
Behind her, Bra Carla, the user of the Pocket Fruit who often handled the Warehouse, followed immediately. She moved like a storm, desperately collecting Celestial Dragon treasures.
The injured woman, Stella, felt her wounds healing rapidly. Her limbs regained strength. She could move again.
Tears rose in her eyes as she stared at Shakky's back, gratitude burning in her chest. A thought formed clearly in her mind.
"I'll join you, benefactor. Not only to repay you, but to erase the shame on your back."
Stella slowly forced herself upright.
Then she heard a familiar voice calling her name, and she sprinted out, trembling with hope.
"Tezoro!"
Stella crashed into Tesoro's arms and sobbed. She never imagined she would reunite with him in this life.
"Thank God!" Tesoro held her tightly, his voice shaking with relief. "Stella, you're okay! Come on, run! The Universal Government is attacking. The Celestial Dragons are finished this time!"
Tesoro saw she was not badly hurt and immediately pulled her along, fleeing the nightmare that was Mary Geoise.
"It was the Queen," Stella said as they ran, gripping his hand tightly. "She's a powerful figure in the Universal Government. She saved me and gave me a medicine that healed my wounds fast. Otherwise, I'd be dead.
"Tezoro, I want to join the Universal Government and serve under her. Will you come with me?
"She also said there are people in their government who can remove the slavery mark. Let's go with them."
"Wherever you go, I'll go," Tesoro said.
He turned back and smiled at the woman he loved. The Celestial Dragons had forbidden him from smiling, but now, he wore the happiest smile of his life.
---------------
Seeing Mary Geoise swallowed by riot and flames, Imu's expression turned ugly. He even saw lowly pirates and slaves stepping into Pangaea Castle, into his city, into his space.
It was as disgusting as watching a sewer rat crawl onto your bed.
Imu's killing intent surged. With a casual wave, he released dozens of destructive rays. The "ants" approaching Pangaea Castle were erased in an instant, reduced to drifting light and shadow dust.
"Brook… one of us dies today!"
Imu did not even know what else to say. Rage swallowed him as he entered the full divine form of the God of Destruction. A terrifying divine Conqueror's Haki crushed down over all of Mary Geoise.
Countless fleeing slaves collapsed instantly. Weaker ones bled from every orifice and died on the spot.
Even Mihawk and Crocodile felt the pressure slam into their bones.
The ruler of the World Government could suppress anyone below admiral level with Haki alone, pinning them in place until it was hard to take even a single step.
Mihawk's golden eyes trembled. So this was the strongest man in the world. He still had a long road ahead.
Crocodile, meanwhile, felt a different kind of chill.
This divine power was beyond anything he could contend with. If he wanted to survive in this era, he needed a stronger weapon.
Were there blueprints for Uranus hidden in Mary Geoise? Or could he ask Brook sama for a Pluton replica ship?
"Imu, before we start, I should thank you," Brook said with a smile. "My cheap teacher. You guided me well. Now, let me show you my god form."
Dark energy erupted from Brook's body. It surged and reshaped into a fanged demon god over ten meters tall, with long white hair. A belt of black flames, thick with dark power, wrapped around him like a living chain.
Mythical Zoan, Hell God, Jin Form.
Brook's Conqueror's Haki burst out as well. He met Imu head on, and their auras collided fiercely.
"You actually carry the aura of that Hell Devil," Imu said, fists tightening as he stared at Brook's Hell God form. Fear flashed in his eyes. "Your power has grown to this level."
This high level dark energy was already catching up to his destructive power. If Brook kept developing it, he would surpass him sooner or later.
Imu's decision to ignite a world war was correct. If he had waited any longer, he would have had no way to stop Brook.
Right now, the balance was still close.
In overall power, Brook was stronger. But in direct combat, Imu was still slightly above Brook.
"Mama, did you forget me?" Linlin's voice thundered. "Are you looking down on me?"
Imu had ignored her, and Linlin was furious.
To support Brook, she had only given birth to seven children in her life. She gave up overeating, and trained hard, forcing her strength higher and higher.
Now she entered the awakened state of the Soul Soul Fruit.
Her hair became a blazing blue white flame. Her feet stood on a dark thundercloud that crackled with lightning. A storm fairy belt spun around her shoulders, bursting with constant wind.
This was her new Homie, Barbatos the Wind God, a top level Homie like Prometheus the Sun, Zeus the Thundercloud, and Napoleon the Emperor Blade.
Linlin gripped a massive Emperor Blade infused with wind, fire, and thunder. Her Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki erupted together as she stood proudly beside Brook's Hell God form.
At this level, she was not someone Imu could brush aside.
She had the power to threaten him.
If Imu could not kill Brook while maintaining the God of Destruction state, Beerus, then Linlin would become the final weight that crushed him.
After all, these god states, Beerus, Jin, Nika, they were time limited.
No matter how terrifying Imu was, he was still human. His stamina and energy had limits. He could not maintain the God of Destruction for long.
Even if Imu only weakened for a few minutes after leaving that state, unlike Straw Hat Luffy who stayed weak for days after Nika, those few minutes would still be enough for Linlin to threaten him with a fatal strike.
"The Iron Balloon body is a rare mutant physique among humans," Imu said coldly, "but you're still just a cat or dog that's slightly stronger than an ant."
Imu instantly launched a destructive slash wave toward Brook and Linlin. It was powerful enough to cut the sky itself, and the space along its path cracked apart.
"Hmph. Even kittens and puppies have teeth and claws," Linlin snarled. "And they can still tear out your throat."
Soul Soul Secret Technique, Wind Fire Thunder Slash!
Linlin struck first, testing the gap between her and Imu. Her blade released a roaring slash wrapped in wind, fire, and thunder.
"Linlin, you can't match him head on yet. Support your husband."
Hell God, Accumulated Demonic Energy, Underworld Wave!
Brook swung the Seven Star Demon Sword. A dark green spiral energy wave burst out, following behind Linlin's Wind Fire Thunder Slash as they both met Imu's destructive slash wave.
The collision was violent.
Destructive energy and dark energy smashed together, shattering space and collapsing it outward. The impact was even more terrifying than the Gura Gura no Mi unleashed by Newgate.
Across Mary Geoise, the Celestial Dragons' mansions cracked and collapsed. CP agents and warriors from the Universal Government fled in every direction.
Even Shakky, who had been looting everywhere, spread her vampire wings, grabbed Bra Carla, and fled.
A sea of gold and treasure vanished beneath the collapsing ruins.
Imu understood immediately. Long range exchanges were meaningless, especially here, in his old nest. If Mary Geoise was destroyed, only he would suffer the loss.
If he wanted to kill Brook, he had to do it up close.
And he believed Brook would not open the Gate of Hell yet. Their strength was too close for Brook to gamble that early.
Imu had his own plan anyway.
Who did not have a few hidden tricks and backup plans?
The God of Destruction, Beerus, raised fists filled with destructive energy and charged at Brook's Hell God form at terrifying speed.
At the same time, behind Pangaea Castle, inside the flower garden.
Protected by a group of guards, a mysterious black haired man, neither clearly male nor clearly female, danced like a ritual god. On the altar before him stood a scarecrow pierced by seven nail headed arrows.
"Aiai… cancer, cancer, cancer, cancer… aiai…"
Suddenly, the black haired man dropped to his knees, convulsing in pain, eyes rolling back as if his insides were tearing apart.
"I am the Flower Guardian Knight, the Flower God. I will draw the circle and curse Brook!"
Curse Secret Technique, Exchange Life for Misfortune!
Weak.
Confusion.
Interference.
Bad luck.
Acute appendicitis.
Stomach perforation.
Toothache.
As the Guardian Knight, Shin, continued his curse, his black hair turned gray, then white, right before their eyes. Deep wrinkles formed and sagged across his face.
His eyes lost their light.
Blood sprayed from his mouth, even more horrifying than some zombie's intestines being pierced.
To curse a peerless monster like Brook, each curse cost him life itself.
And with so many negative buffs being stacked, no one knew how many of them would actually land on Brook.
...
[TL: Check out my newly Released fanfic]
[TITLE: Starting in One Piece with Vector Manipulation]