Whitebeard's attack had just landed when Rocks's figure appeared high in the air, long blade swinging.
Crackle.
Dark-red lightning danced wildly along the blade in his hand. The hum of the sword rose from low to high, like a beast growling deep in its throat.
Hum, hum, hum.
Rocks swung several times in succession. Sword energy rained down one after another like a storm, covering the place where Imu had just crashed into the ground.
Every slash blasted a deep crater into the earth. Dust layered upon dust, like ink splashed repeatedly across a gray canvas.
Rumble, rumble.
Explosions continued without end.
Whoosh!
From within the rolling smoke, two black mist arrows instantly pierced the haze like snakes shooting from the abyss, flying straight toward Whitebeard and Rocks above.
Immediately after, Imu's figure also burst from the smoke, following closely behind one of the black mist arrows. His target was Whitebeard.
Whitebeard's gaze sank, but his reaction was extremely fast.
He swung his right hand violently.
Crack.
The air barrier shattered once more, dark-red lightning flashing in the cracks.
An invisible shock wave had already rushed toward the black mist arrow, and the two forces clashed in midair.
At the same time, Imu's figure had already passed the collision point, his black mist blade aiming straight for Whitebeard's face.
Whitebeard did not hesitate. He gripped his naginata with both hands and cleaved down fiercely.
Boom!
The two weapons collided, erupting with a violent aftershock.
Whitebeard gritted his teeth. The muscles in both arms bulged as he held back Imu's blade with all his strength.
On the other side, after suppressing the black mist arrow flying toward him, Rocks did not pause at all. He turned his body and charged toward Imu from the side.
Imu glanced sideways. The dark-red eyes within the circular black mist behind him stirred wildly.
He freed one hand, grasped into empty space, and instantly formed another black mist blade. He immediately raised it to block.
Clang!
Rocks's savage slash slammed into the hastily condensed blade, the impact making Imu's body jolt inward.
"Haa!"
Rocks and Whitebeard shouted almost at the same time, both increasing their output.
Whitebeard's naginata pressed downward, while Rocks's blade pushed in from the side.
Under the dual pressure, Imu's body began to curl. His arms bent slightly, and his back arched.
But there was no panic on Imu's face. Instead, the sinister smile in his eyes grew even richer, as if everything remained within his control.
"Mu's world is not yet complete... you should be erased from history entirely."
As those words fell, a gigantic black shadow separated from the side of Imu's body.
"What?!" Whitebeard above and Rocks at the side frowned at the same time. Neither understood what Imu intended to do, but the aura radiating from that shadow sent an indescribable chill up both their backs.
"As the price for gaining greater power..." Imu's voice continued to drift down, "Mu will take a portion of your lifespans."
The shadow began to change. Two pitch-black tendrils extended from it, their tips sharp as needles.
"In return..." The corner of Imu's mouth slowly rose. "You two will look at each other with hatred."
"Hey, Rocks!" Whitebeard frowned and hurriedly warned him. "Be careful! This seems to be what Ron was talking about. Don't let him stab you!"
"I remember, Newgate!" Rocks answered in a low voice, eyes fixed on the two slowly writhing tendrils.
"Do not struggle in vain," Imu said with calm certainty. "It is useless."
Whoosh!
Click, click, click.
With a series of eerie sounds, the two tendrils suddenly accelerated like black arrows fired from a bow, stabbing toward Whitebeard and Rocks.
"No choice."
Whitebeard spoke heavily. He instantly withdrew his strength, but the moment he did, Imu's attack rebounded. A powerful impact directly blasted him away.
Whitebeard's body flipped half a turn in the air, a thread of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Rocks's situation was the same.
Click, click, click.
The black tendrils adjusted direction in midair and chased Whitebeard and Rocks even faster.
At that moment, Imu's pupils suddenly contracted.
His Observation Haki caught an extremely dangerous aura approaching from below at a speed beyond common sense.
He turned his head sharply.
The golden nine-tailed fox demon had disappeared.
In its place was a figure wrapped in blue steam, like a blue flame rising from the earth, charging straight toward him at an unbelievable speed.
Imu's gaze focused sharply. The two black tendrils also paused at the same time.
"Mu has never seen..."
"Daytime Tiger!"
Ron had already jumped to the same height as Imu. He brought both hands together, and air compressed to the limit erupted from between his palms, forming a huge gray-white tiger head. Its jaws opened like a beast descending from the void as it pounced straight at Imu.
Boom!
The moment the gray-white tiger head struck Imu, the huge black shadow separated from the side of his body vanished. The tendrils also collapsed, turning into streams of black smoke that dissipated into the air.
Daytime Tiger carried Imu's body like a giant beast biting down on prey, sending him flying backward.
Wherever it passed, the ground was plowed into a huge trench, smoke rolling to both sides like a flood.
Rumble!
In the end, Imu crashed into the earth, and a column of smoke so tall its end could not be seen rose into the sky.
Whoosh!
At the original location, the golden nine-tailed fox demon rose from the ground. Several golden chakra arms quickly extended, grabbing Whitebeard and Rocks as they landed. Without pausing, it turned and ran.
"Hey, Ron! I'm not on yet!" Kaido's voice came from ahead. He was standing on a piece of ground about to be swallowed by seawater, waving both arms frantically for fear he would be left behind.
The golden fox demon extended another chakra arm and grabbed Kaido.
Tap, tap, tap.
Before long, the golden nine-tailed fox demon had stepped onto the sea.
Its figure grew smaller and farther away, finally turning into a golden speck between sea and sky before disappearing from sight.
Crash, crash.
On the island, broken rocks kept sliding down, producing crackling sounds.
The ground still trembled faintly, like the aftershocks of a recent earthquake.
Imu's figure slowly stood up from the center of the crater.
Splat.
A mouthful of blood spilled from his mouth and dripped down his chin onto the scorched ground.
He stood there with his head lowered, staring at that pool of blood for a long time.
"Mu actually..."