At last, the unreadable expression on Rocks' face shifted.
The corner of his mouth curled upward.
Slowly.
Gradually.
It wasn't a smile.
It was contempt carved into bone—a mortal's purest mockery toward a god.
He slowly raised his head. His eyes, deep and cold as an abyss, pierced through layers of overwhelming pressure like two poisoned blades aimed straight at Saturn—now possessed by Im, whose face remained emotionless.
Then he spoke.
"…Your damn Celestial Dragons," Rocks said slowly, each word bitten off with brutal clarity, "I'm not interested."
The moment the words fell—
Rocks stepped forward.
BOOM!
Black-red flames exploded beneath his feet like magma erupting from hell, instantly wrapping around his entire body.
Conqueror's Haki crackled wildly across his form, tearing apart the thickened air with violent sparks.
He grinned, revealing rows of white teeth like a beast about to devour its prey.
"But…"
"I am very interested in dragging you down from that high throne of yours."
The declaration shook the world.
For the first time, the inhuman emptiness within Saturn's eyes—the calm belonging to Im—faded.
In its place rose divine fury cold enough to freeze time itself.
"You truly are exactly like Davy Jones."
"Equally foolish."
Davy Jones?
The name was unfamiliar.
Few present had ever heard it.
Whitebeard and Kaido both frowned.
But when Rocks heard it—
He froze.
For a moment, as if a rusted nerve buried deep within his bloodline had been touched.
A flicker of confusion appeared in his eyes—the instinctive reaction to hearing a name buried in the deepest memories of one's lineage.
But only for a second.
The confusion was replaced by explosive laughter.
"Haha… hahahahahahaha!"
Rocks threw his head back and laughed, madness and self-mockery mixing in the sound as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
He laughed so hard he bent forward.
The black-red lightning of his Conqueror's Haki trembled violently with the motion.
His entire body shook with it.
And his already overwhelming presence only grew more savage.
"I'm not even one ten-thousandth of my ancestor!"
The laughter abruptly stopped.
Rocks lowered his head sharply.
His eyes, burning with wild flames, locked onto Im.
His voice turned razor-sharp, dripping with mockery like a whip soaked in saltwater striking the hidden scars of Im's past.
"But I do know one thing."
"A promise must be kept."
"And those who break their promises…"
"…must face the harshest punishment!"
Those words carried a forbidden weight.
The distorted space surrounding Im froze for a moment.
Rocks leaned forward slightly.
The pressure radiating from him nearly became tangible.
His voice lowered—but every word exploded directly inside Im's mind.
"Am I right?"
"King of the world."
"Do you even dare leave your little garden?"
"Do you dare show your real face to the world?"
Suddenly he straightened.
His voice rose like thunder across the battlefield.
"You only dare show up by possessing some old fossil!"
"You… promise-breaking coward!"
The barrage of accusations contained enormous implications.
Whitebeard, standing beside him, frowned deeply.
Davy Jones? Promises? Garden?
Each word was familiar.
But together they hinted at a secret buried in the deepest layers of the world—one he had never heard of.
Whitebeard tightened his grip on Murakumogiri.
The blade gleamed with cold light.
"Rocks," he asked in a low voice, "what are you talking about?"
Rocks didn't even glance back.
His eyes remained locked on Im, every muscle in his body tense.
"Just some old history."
The answer was simple.
Direct.
And filled with absolute trust.
He didn't need to explain.
He knew Whitebeard only needed one reason to fight.
And that reason—
Was that Rocks still stood here.
Being exposed and humiliated like this by a mere "insect," Im's divine anger finally ignited.
He stopped speaking.
There was no need to talk to a dead man.
Buzz—
The space around Im twisted violently, folding in on itself like cloth wrung by a giant hand.
An indescribable power gathered.
It wasn't Haki.
Nor a Devil Fruit ability.
It was something more primal.
Pure destruction.
A pitch-black sphere of energy formed in the raised hand.
Inside it—
Countless stars seemed to be born and die.
The killing intent was decided.
The great battle was about to begin.
"Get ready!"
Rocks growled.
His knees bent slightly as he lowered his center of gravity.
His blade hummed softly like a predator thirsting for blood.
Black-red Conqueror's lightning coiled around the weapon.
"Gurararara…"
Whitebeard laughed boldly.
Both hands gripped Murakumogiri.
Armament Haki coated the blade so densely it seemed ready to drip.
Cracks appeared in the air itself around him.
"Wororororo!"
Kaido roared with laughter.
His muscles bulged as he shifted instantly into his hybrid form.
Purple lightning crackled around his kanabo, merging with black-red Conqueror's Haki in a violent storm.
Three completely different forces surged upward.
Yet each carried overwhelming dominance.
One was abyssal black that devoured everything.
One was pale white that shattered the heavens.
One was destructive violet that burned all things.
The three powers intertwined into a towering storm—
Forcing back the divine pressure bearing down on them.
God Valley itself trembled beneath the collision.
The island seemed to scream.
The moment teetered on the edge.
Im's attack was about to descend.
SHING—!!!
SHING—!!!
Two enormous slashes suddenly tore in from beyond the sky.
So fast that even Observation Haki struggled to track them.
One golden.
Razor sharp.
One pink.
Sweet—and deadly.
The two attacks crossed in the air, forming a massive "X" aimed directly at Saturn—Im's vessel.
No one had expected this.
Im's attack was interrupted.
A flicker of irritation passed through those inhuman eyes.
His left hand continued holding the condensed sphere of destruction.
With his right hand—
He casually waved.
There was no explosion.
No thunderous collision.
The golden and pink slashes vanished the instant they touched the warped space before him.
Erased.
Not even a trace remained.
Im's power was unfathomable.
Yet the immense impact still stirred a violent shockwave, blasting dust and debris into the sky.
A massive curtain of smoke rose.
For a moment—
The center of God Valley was swallowed by chaos.