Both of them moved at the same instant. White Ghost's figure dissolved into the air as if it had never existed, while Redyat's body collapsed into a flowing mass of shadow that spread outward before snapping forward with winged momentum.
White Ghost's ability was strange, but it did not grant him superior speed in flight. In that regard, Redyat held the advantage.
In the next heartbeat, Redyat reappeared at the exact position White Ghost had occupied, his arm already transformed into a sharp, draconic claw of condensed darkness that tore through the air with a violent crack. The strike landed on nothing.
The explosion of force echoed across the sky.
White Ghost had already shifted away. His Observation Haki caught Redyat's intent the moment it formed, allowing him to evade before the attack could truly connect.
He had no intention of clashing head-on.
As he retreated, something unnatural peeled away from his body. A ghost emerged, then another, each rapidly shaping itself into his likeness. In the span of a breath, the sky filled with identical figures.
Hundreds. Then thousands.
They surrounded Redyat from every direction, circling in a chaotic dance that blurred perception itself.
Each clone carried the exact same aura.
There was no difference.
Even Observation Haki struggled to separate truth from illusion.
White Ghost did not hesitate.
"Exploding Ghost: Fireworks Feast."
The clones shifted, and the sky answered. Countless miniature ghosts burst into existence, each wearing a warped expression, some laughing, some crying, all of them wrong in a way that twisted the senses. They filled the heavens so densely that even sunlight struggled to break through.
Then they converged.
A massive sphere of writhing spirits formed and hurled itself toward Redyat like a collapsing storm.
The sky screamed.
The ghosts descended like torrential rain, engulfing Redyat completely. There was no concern for cost, no restraint in output. For White Ghost, these constructs required almost nothing. He could create them endlessly.
Laughter echoed. High-pitched. Childlike. Hollow.
Then came the explosion.
The detonation swallowed everything.
Redyat stood within it, his expression tightening as instinct screamed a warning. He did not fear the raw destructive force, but something about these ghosts felt wrong. Even with preparation, the damage seeped through in ways he had not anticipated.
His eyes sharpened.
The ghosts passed through his body.
They detonated from within.
For a moment, even Redyat felt a flicker of shock.
This was not something conventional defense could block. Armament Haki could reduce the damage, but it could not fully deny the intrusion. If the bombardment continued long enough, once his defenses weakened, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Even monsters could not survive an explosion within the heart.
So this was the true threat.
Quantity turning into lethality.
Redyat understood immediately that he could not allow the situation to continue.
Shadow surged.
From his body, darkness poured outward like a living tide, spreading across the battlefield with unnatural speed. In an instant, the world itself seemed to sink into black.
A domain was born.
Redyat's figure sank into the shadows and vanished completely. The endless detonations followed him into that darkness, yet inside that space, they caused nothing. No ripple. No distortion.
They could not touch him.
White Ghost's perception faltered.
Redyat's presence did not disappear. It multiplied.
His aura existed everywhere within the domain.
Even in daylight, Redyat had created an environment where he held absolute control. The cost was negligible for someone of his level.
The Shadow Domain closed in.
Vision vanished.
Direction lost meaning.
Within that darkness, Redyat moved freely.
Hunter and prey reversed in an instant.
White Ghost felt the shift, yet he did not retreat. The battle had already crossed the point of withdrawal. Now it demanded resolution.
A faint tearing sound split the silence.
Shadow spikes erupted.
They pierced through White Ghost's body without resistance, phasing through as though he were nothing more than smoke. The first wave struck, followed by another, then another, each faster than the last.
This was only a test.
White Ghost adjusted, beginning to move, evading the sharper follow-up strikes.
Redyat observed everything.
His attack had not been meaningless. For a brief moment, he felt resistance. His shadow power had interacted with White Ghost's form, however faintly.
At the same time, fragments of thought reached him.
Not complete.
Not perfect.
But enough.
The shadows could corrode the ghost body.
The effect was small, but it existed.
That alone was enough.
Victory no longer seemed distant.
Without warning, Redyat emerged.
He appeared directly behind White Ghost, his presence silent, his power fully condensed. Armament Haki and shadow force merged into a single, lethal strike.
"Shadow Kill."
The slash fell.
White Ghost had no time to respond.
The blade of darkness cut through him cleanly, splitting his body in two.
Too easy.
Redyat's expression tightened.
Something felt wrong.
There was no panic. No disruption. No change in White Ghost's mental state.
The severed body rejoined.
The halves reconnected as though nothing had happened.
White Ghost raised his hand.
"Ghost Dominion: Negative."
A pale ghost emerged, drifting forward with deceptive calm.
Redyat reacted instantly. A warning surged through his instincts, sharp and absolute. He did not allow the ghost to approach. His body dissolved into shadow again, disappearing from its path before reappearing behind White Ghost once more.
Another strike.
Another death.
Another resurrection.
The pattern repeated.
This was Shadow Leap, a technique born from linking the Shadow Domain with his internal shadow space, allowing instantaneous movement within its boundaries. It was a technique refined through observation and adaptation.
Under unequal information, White Ghost fell again and again.
Yet each time, he returned.
Below, the battlefield raged without pause.
The massive sphere of darkness suspended in the sky drew countless eyes. From it, the pale ghost drifted downward, slow and harmless in appearance.
People scattered at first, fearing an explosion.
But nothing happened.
The ghost hovered, aimless.
Confusion spread.
Then it moved.
Carried by the shockwaves of battle, it swept across the battlefield and brushed against a pirate mid-attack.
The effect was immediate.
His body collapsed.
His weapon slipped from his hand.
His voice trembled as despair overtook him.
"In my next life… I just want to drift… no dreams… no struggle…"
His will broke completely.
The Marine he had nearly killed did not hesitate. He struck, ending the fight instantly.
Around them, fear spread.
Everyone had seen it.
That ghost did not destroy the body.
It destroyed the will.
Above, Redyat sensed everything.
He did not need to see it to understand.
But his focus never wavered.
White Ghost stood before him, an enemy that refused to die.
Redyat attacked again.
And again.
Eight times.
Ten times.
More.
Each strike carried enough force to kill without question. Each blow connected. Each kill was real.
Yet White Ghost continued to return.
Redyat's thoughts sharpened.
Illusion?
No.
The Ghost-Ghost Fruit did not possess such an ability.
Then what?
He refused to slow down. If once was not enough, then ten times. If ten times failed, then a hundred.
Within the Shadow Domain, he held absolute advantage.
White Ghost attempted to move, to break free, but Redyat never allowed it. Each attempt ended before it began.
Time passed.
The count rose.
Thirty times.
More.
Then Redyat saw it.
Each time White Ghost died, something disappeared.
Not his body.
Not his presence.
A clone.
One ghost vanished with every death.
Understanding dawned.
This was not immortality.
This was substitution.
A ghost clone taking the fatal blow in his place.
Redyat's eyes gleamed in the darkness.
So that was the truth behind the so-called immortal White Ghost.