The Conqueror's Haki defense, capable of withstanding attacks that could shatter mountain peaks, was now as fragile as glass before the annihilating energy of the Black Sun.
Kong coughed up a violent spray of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. His Fleet Admiral's coat vaporized instantly, and horrific charred cracks spread across his powerful physique. Black flames clung to him, frantically incinerating his life force and Haki alike!
Furthermore, the immense shockwave released from that singular point caused his consciousness to slide instantly toward the dark abyss!
Now!
At the precise moment Kong's life fire was about to be completely extinguished—when his soul was balanced in the narrow space between life and death—Beltz's figure tore through the lingering destructive energy. He appeared precisely in front of him, pressing a hand directly against Kong's charred chest.
At this point, Kong had no conscious will left to resist. He was pulled directly into Hueco Mundo!
In that heartbeat, both of them vanished!
After Beltz disappeared, the entire island beneath them vanished completely after being swept by the silent black halo of light. The sea surrounding the former island was dyed pitch black; black flames burned eerily on the water's surface, spreading to form a sea of deathly fire.
Over a dozen Navy warships were caught within the radius of those black flames. They didn't even have time to send a distress signal or turn around before being swallowed alongside the seawater.
By the time the Navy's subsequent reinforcements arrived, the black flames still persisted.
Admiral Sengoku looked at the sea of black fire, his pupils dilated in shock. His emotions spiraled out of control: "Someone tell me! What happened here?!"
He had set out the moment he heard Shiki was making contact with Roger, but he had barely crossed the Red Line when he received the report from Headquarters. The report stated that Marine Headquarters had been attacked and Fleet Admiral Kong was in pursuit. As a "Resourceful General," Sengoku's heart sank immediately; he realized this looked like a trap.
A diversion to lure the tiger from the mountain!
Yet, as he thought this, part of him was unwilling to believe it. If it truly was a diversion, it meant Shiki was acting according to someone else's plan. The worst-case scenario... was that someone was collaborating with Shiki, or perhaps it was like the rebirth of Rocks!
One Shiki to draw their attention, while another infiltrated Marine Headquarters...
He immediately turned around to return from the open sea, but he never expected the battle to... have ended already?
In the black sea of fire before him, there was no longer a single trace of any presence.
The Fleet Admiral... was dead?
Cold sweat trickled down Sengoku's forehead as he clenched his fists. The black fire ahead acted like a wall of death, preventing the Navy fleet from entering. Further ahead, there wasn't even an island left, leaving an Ability User like him with no place to stand. All he could do was watch from the perimeter, waiting for the flames to die out before investigating the interior.
But now... was there even a point in investigating?
The man was gone!
Beltz had brought Kong to Hueco Mundo!
In the vast white desert, Beltz casually dropped Kong onto the cold sand. The Fleet Admiral was currently unconscious. Beltz looked at Kong without a shred of pity. He didn't kill him in Hueco Mundo; instead, he brought him back to the World of the Living.
In Hueco Mundo, everything is made of Reishi; if he died there, it was uncertain if a soul would even be produced. Only in the World of the Living would a layer of Kishi wrap around the Reishi.
Upon reaching the World of the Living, he arrived at a riverbank where no one was around. Then, he pointed a single finger at Kong.
Pfft!
A pillar of light shot from his fingertip, instantly piercing Kong's head! The unconscious Kong let out a muffled groan and lost his life. Beltz stood before him, quietly watching for the change.
Will there be a soul? If so, which world will it belong to?
A resident of the Soul Society!
The corners of Beltz's mouth curled upward. He watched as Kong's soul gradually detached from the flesh, manifesting as a Spirit Body. More importantly, the "burden" of maintaining Kong's existence in the Bleach world had completely vanished! This meant that because Kong had entered this world and died here, the world now recognized him as one of its own!
The moment Kong's Spirit Body appeared, Beltz went into full gear!
Psychological Cue!
When Kong was in the Pirate world, he was immensely strong. As a Fleet Admiral, ordinary hypnosis would be useless. However, because he lacked a physical body now, his strength had regressed. While Haki is related to a person's will—an Invisible Force born of spirit and killing intent—it is not entirely detached from the physical vessel. Lacking a body had a significant impact on someone from the Pirate world.
Coupled with the fact that he had just been heavily injured and defeated by Beltz, the hypnotic assault was effective even in his soul form. The moment he became a spirit was his point of maximum vulnerability. Beltz activated his hypnosis at maximum output, plunging instantly into the deep layers of Kong's mental ocean!
"Tell me your name." Beltz slowly crouched down, speaking softly in front of Kong.
Kong's Spirit Body looked dazed. Hearing Beltz's voice, he replied slowly: "Kong..."
"Who are you?"
"...Admiral... Navy."
Beltz continued: "What is the Navy?"
"Under the World Government... the army that executes justice."
Yes, exactly like that.
Beltz was leading Kong into compliance step-by-step. A question-and-answer session was, in itself, a test of obedience. Then, his voice transmitted into Kong's brain, into the deepest part of his heart.
"Does justice exist in the World Government?"
"...Of course, it exists," Kong said somewhat vacantly.
"But when you think of the Celestial Dragons, is it still justice?" Beltz asked. "Killing the innocent, turning people into slaves, stealing women, destroying a country every three years—is this the justice of the Navy?"
"No..." Kong uttered a 'no' and his face showed a look of struggle, but Beltz pressed on:
"The Navy is just, but the Celestial Dragons are not. Therefore, by following evil masters, the Navy becomes evil." Beltz whispered: "Now, you need a just master. Only by following a just master can you truly execute justice."
"A just... master?" Kong asked blankly.
"That's right. That is me." Beltz had successfully entered the core of Kong's psychological domain. Here, he could even alter a person's self-awareness. He planted a seed—a seed of loyalty to himself. With his external guidance, the seed rapidly took root and sprouted in the core of Kong's mind.
"Follow me, and I will bring peace to both worlds."
Beads of sweat appeared on Beltz's forehead. Hypnotizing someone as powerful as Kong was a significant drain, even with the Azure Dragon fruit's stamina. He was already exhausted from the battle.
"Remember, only by following me are you just. Once you deviate from me, you deviate from justice."
Beltz equated himself with justice. In truth, Marines were relatively easy to control compared to pirates. The Great Pirates were arrogant, unruly, and loved freedom; they couldn't stand anyone standing above them. Even with someone as ruthless as Rocks, his crew didn't truly submit; Shiki had even stated it didn't matter if Rocks died.
Marines were different. Most lacked Conqueror's Haki because they were used to obeying. They had already defaulted to the existence of the Celestial Dragons as their masters. Even those with Conqueror's Haki would follow the rules and frameworks of the World Government. Even if they felt dissatisfied, for the sake of their internal justice, they would endure the Celestial Dragons riding over everyone.
In this situation, simply changing their master and equating oneself with the justice they believed in made it quite easy to hypnotize them.
"Now... wake up."
After speaking, Beltz vanished in an instant. Once he was gone, the light slowly returned to Kong's dazed eyes. He looked around, feeling confused.
Wasn't I fighting that dragon-man? The final result was... I was swallowed by black flames? So... am I dead? Is this the world after death?
No, wait! He suddenly saw his own corpse! His body lay before him, charred black by the fire, with a piercing arrow wound in his forehead. He was clearly beyond saving.
So... I am dead? But if I'm dead, what is happening to me right now?
"What... is this place?" He couldn't help but look up at the sky, as if questioning the heavens.
"This is another beginning."
As the voice fell, the world around him warped and changed! The clear sky was swallowed by invisible gray fog, and the riverbank melted away! Kong suddenly found himself sitting within a magnificent, ancient hall of immeasurable size!
He sat on a high-backed stone chair comparable to a giant's throne. Before him was a massive long table extending to the end of his vision, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the swirling chaotic gray fog of the dome. On both sides of the table, dozens of equally massive stone chairs stood empty, with only gray mist flowing over them.
At the very end of the long table, at the highest point, a throne even more majestic and ancient—seemingly carved from a single block of grayish-white rock—stood tall. On the throne, a figure was shrouded in flowing gray fog and shifting light, their face obscured, their silhouette impossible to discern.
The moment Kong's gaze touched that figure, an indescribable sense of awe and submission, born from soul-level instinct, surged over him! It wasn't a suppression of power, but a feeling brought by a higher-level existence—the feeling of a mortal looking at the cosmos. No, it was older and greater than that. To put it truly, it was... the ultimate of the world? The root of the world?!
He wanted to stand up, but found he couldn't move a muscle!
"Who... who are you?"
A sense of submission bubbled up within him. Does God really exist in this world? The Celestial Dragons claimed to be gods, but everyone knew they were just a bunch of demons.
"You may call me Adam," the man on the throne said calmly. "Welcome to the Twilight Hermit Order."
"Twilight... Hermit Order?" Kong was stunned. "What is... that?"
He had never heard of such an organization. He was the Fleet Admiral; even if he wasn't the absolute strongest, no intelligence agency should have surpassed his knowledge.
Adam? Who is that? He didn't know of any powerhouse by that name on the sea. The Treasure Tree Adam? Impossible.
"A place to... see reality clearly, guide fate, and remodel the world." Adam's voice came from above the gray fog. It sounded light, yet gave off a strange feeling. "We exist at the intersection of twilight and dawn, witnessing the birth and silence of countless worlds. Occasionally... we reach out to pluck a string that is tuned too tight."
At that moment, Kong confirmed it. The voice sounded like an adult, yet like a child; like a man, yet like a woman; like a demon, yet like a saint. It wasn't so much a person speaking as it was a voice emerging automatically from within his own heart—the speaker was everyone in his memory.
"Remodel... the world?"
Somehow, Kong actually believed Adam's words. Despite the grandiosity, one couldn't doubt his ability to do it! That transcendent presence simply made doubt impossible.
"Fleet Admiral, do you wish to realize your own justice?" Adam's voice came again.
"...Justice... of course..." Kong said. "You summoned me here for a reason. Can you tell me what you want me to do?"
"Go and witness another world," Adam said. "Once you find the answer in that world, I believe you will know how to make the right choice."
"Another world?" Kong was shocked once more. Then, the massive hall filled with gray fog vanished! He found himself back by the river, staring at his own corpse!
His brain couldn't even fully process the meaning of Adam's words! What does 'another world' mean? Is this not my world anymore? That Adam... can actually send me to other worlds?!