Before Liltotto left, Beltz engaged her in a symbolic battle.
The result was, of course, a draw, and Beltz made his escape once again. To be honest, after devouring Ju Peter, Liltotto's strength had increased significantly. Beyond the power boost from consuming such a powerful individual, she now possessed the immortal body bestowed upon Ju Peter by Imu.
With an immortal body, one can completely ignore defense and focus entirely on offense. This was especially potent because a Quincy's Hirenkyaku and Blut Vene cannot be used simultaneously with Blut Arterie.
Blut Arterie increases output, while Blut Vene increases defense. Most of the time, Quincies use Blut Vene, as one must stay alive to deal damage. But with an immortal body, one can use Blut Arterie without any reservations.
In the world of Bleach, many transcendents—specifically the Schutzstaffel—are formidable not necessarily because their raw power vastly exceeds top-tier Shinigami, but because they are extremely difficult to kill! They have various means to recover, regenerate, gain immunity, or even resurrect. The margin for error is on a completely different level. I can fail countless times, but if you fail once, it's over. In such cases, the battle might look close, but the opponents are fundamentally not in the same league.
Having gained the power of immortality, Liltotto could now be considered a Schutzstaffel level Quincy—and a post-Auswählen one at that. It can only be said that when most characters from Bleach world come to the One Piece world, they are strengthened by the fact that "time utilization is more efficient" and they "acquire a brand new power system."
This included Beltz himself. Had he been in Bleach world, even with equivalent resources, he wouldn't have become this strong in four years. After all, time in Bleach world is far too "cheap."
Returning to the Grand Line, Beltz contemplated his future approach toward the World Government. If the Government truly cast aside all shame and converted the great pirates of the sea into their own combat assets, they would likely become even more powerful than the World Government of the original story. Under these circumstances, he absolutely could not allow Elbaf to become a vassal of the World Government!
The time to deal with Elbaf soon arrived. Barely a month after parting with Liltotto, Beltz received another transmission from her.
"Harald came to the Holy Land today. I saw Imu bestow the Depths Covenant upon him with my own eyes; he has become an official member of the Knights of God." Liltotto's voice was very soft. "Harald is now on his way back to Elbaf. I am on his ship as well, so I'll leave it at that." She hung up immediately before Beltz could ask anything.
Liltotto went too? Thinking about it, it made sense. Imu already knew someone was trying to prevent Elbaf from submitting. To ensure Harald's submission was foolproof, sending a massive combatant like Liltotto along was understandable.
Good. The more people they send, the more it shows how much Imu values this. The failure will only make him angrier.
Beltz rushed to Wano. He needed to bring Shiki along; dealing with this alone would be difficult. He had mentioned this to Shiki long ago, and Shiki had promised to help. Upon returning to Wano and meeting Shiki, the two set off directly for Elbaf.
They hadn't seen each other for quite some time. Their last meeting was before Beltz raided the Holy Land. Although Beltz had returned to Wano twice since then, he had only visited Onigashima briefly before heading back out to sea.
"You brat, you've got some nerve. Raiding the Holy Land... only a guy like you would do that." Upon seeing Beltz, Shiki couldn't help but click his tongue at his audacity.
"Someone was going to do it eventually; I just did it a bit early." Beltz wasn't arrogant about it; if Ginny hadn't been captured, he wouldn't have forced his way into the Holy Land yet. This era was still too early.
History is dynamic, but minor details are usually insufficient to change the overall trend. Despite everything Beltz had done, he didn't think he had changed the world too much—yet. Stealing Kaido's Devil Fruit just meant there would be one less Emperor in the future, but with Golden Lion filling the gap, the balance remained. Killing Fleet Admiral Kong was also minor, as the Navy's true importance lay with Garp and Sengoku.
But this raid on the Holy Land would directly change history! Its impact on the future was immense—it was enough to affect the "Great Trend." Doing this was the equivalent of "beating the grass to startle the snake." Normally, even if the World Government needed power because of the Great Kingdom, they wouldn't be this desperate. Now, they were casting away their pride and capturing pirates to serve as combat assets!
He had also seen in the news that the Navy was starting a "Great Conscription." As long as an individual had strength, they could join and be granted a rank based on power, ignoring seniority. If you have the strength of a Vice Admiral, you become a Vice Admiral. If you have the strength of an Admiral, you become an Admiral. This was exceptionally rare for a government body, which is usually not a meritocracy. One could see how the Three Admirals or Sengoku and Garp were still mid-rank in their 40s or 50s; it wasn't a lack of strength, but a need to grind for seniority.
With the World Government making these "exceptional appointments" and granting powerful Devil Fruits to top performers, they would inevitably attract many powerhouses. The ripple effect of Beltz's raid was massive. When the time came for a true war against the World Government, the difficulty would be much higher.
But what was done was done; there was no room for regret.
"Ji-ha-ha-ha! Going to sabotage the World Government's plans again? Once this is over, the World Government is going to go insane." Shiki felt a surge of pleasure just thinking about how frantic the Government would be.
Beltz reminded Shiki not to be careless. "This time, it's not just Harald we have to deal with. More powerful people might appear. You must be careful—never let anyone get close to you recklessly."
"Hmm?"
"In short, if you see a 'monster,' don't overthink it—just run." Beltz didn't say too much. Even his understanding of Imu was limited. Before he crossed over, he had only seen Imu "corrupt" Harald; he wasn't clear on the subsequent details. But knowing that much was enough. He couldn't allow a massive combat asset like Shiki to be demonized. Otherwise, Shiki wouldn't be an ally—he'd become a threat equal to Harald.
He didn't know how strong God Knight Harald was, but he tentatively viewed him as an opponent on the same level as a "Demonized Rocks." That kind of enemy required Garp and Roger to team up. He only wanted to handle one such enemy; he couldn't afford another.
While they were rushing toward Elbaf, another large ship was already nearing its destination. After finishing her communication with Beltz, Liltotto stepped out of her room. She immediately saw Harald standing on the deck, a look of slight confusion on his face.
He remembered what Beltz had told him. Despite only meeting once, Beltz had said then that the Empty Throne of the World Government was already occupied. Harald hadn't believed him then—after all, Beltz was a pirate, and who trusts a pirate?
But this time, he had truly seen Imu. He sat upon the vacant throne, and even the Five Elders, who held the highest authority, knelt before him. This left Harald confused; he didn't know if this choice was right or wrong. But he had already come this far; there was no turning back!
Harald took a deep breath. Even if the throne was occupied, the World Government was still the most important—no, arguably the only—way for Elbaf to integrate into the world! He had no other choice!
Hearing footsteps behind him, Harald turned to see Liltotto walking out. To Liltotto, this ship was gargantuan. With her petite stature, she was like an ant on this giant vessel. Everything around her was massive, and Harald stood before her like a mountain range.
"Lady Liltotto... why have you come out?" Harald was very respectful toward this small girl. Though he didn't fully understand her identity, she had appeared alongside the Five Elders multiple times—she was a Celestial Dragon with equal status!
Liltotto usually stayed in her original form, as transforming into Ju Peter consumed stamina. She was a lazy person and didn't like wasting energy. Since Harald already had the World Government's trust, there was no need for a disguise.
Chewing on a lollipop, Liltotto looked around casually. "Just out for some sea breeze. Besides, aren't we almost at Elbaf? It's my first time seeing the Land of Giants. And you are now a member of the Knights of God, which makes you a recognized Celestial Dragon. You don't need to be so formal."
With a light hop, she stood in mid-air. Harald was a good sixty or seventy meters tall; she positioned herself at the sixty-meter mark so she was roughly eye-level with him.
The massive silhouette of Elbaf had entered her sight. From here, she could see a gargantuan World Tree. The tree was so large it seemed capable of propping up the heavens, blotting out the sun. It was Liltotto's first time seeing such a massive country, and she was momentarily stunned. A country this big must have massive food. Liltotto had never tried Elbaf's local specialties and wondered if she'd get a chance.
While looking at Elbaf, Liltotto glanced at Harald. She felt a sliver of pity for this powerful giant. This big fool likely didn't realize even now that he was merely a pawn being used by the World Government. She looked back toward the sea. She wondered when Beltz and the others would arrive. If they couldn't make it in time, things might spiral out of control. She didn't know Beltz had a "super trump card" in his hand and felt that dealing with a "buffed" Harald wouldn't be easy, even for someone of Beltz's strength.
Harald looked at the floating Liltotto, feeling shocked inside. Is this... flight? Humans can fly? Or is it a Devil Fruit ability?
Soon, the ship reached Elbaf. Harald let Liltotto stand on his shoulder as he disembarked, officially entering Elbaf's territory.
"Elbaf is divided into three realms: The Heaven World, The Sun World, and The Underworld..." Harald introduced the land to Liltotto.
Following Imu's instructions, Liltotto said, "What we need to do now is arrange the Pentagram. This will be the bond between Elbaf and the World Government. Once completed, Elbaf will be eligible to join the World Government."
Standing on Harald's shoulder, she suddenly made her physical form fade. "My appearance cannot be known to anyone but you. I will reappear once you return to the royal palace."
Harald didn't know why Liltotto's appearance had to be hidden, but he was indifferent to it. He was only anxious to return to the palace, finish the task, and have Elbaf join the World Government. He was a wise ruler of Elbaf, and his return was met with a sincere and grand welcome from the people. Harald smiled and greeted them.
Shortly after they reached Elbaf, Beltz and Shiki arrived nearby. Since both could fly, they were much faster than the giant ship. Furthermore, Wano was located deep in the New World, so it wasn't particularly far from Elbaf. At their speed, catching up was no difficult task.
"Though I've been to Elbaf a few times, seeing such a massive country always makes one marvel..." Shiki said from the sky, sounding sentimental. "If one could make a country this big their own combat asset, they could truly dominate the world!"
Beltz nodded in agreement. "Especially since Giants have longer lifespans. That means their peak period lasts much longer. For this world, that fact is truly terrifying."