Swoosh!
The instant her voice fell, the female knight's human form was swallowed by inky darkness. Swinging the black blade in her hand, she carved a pitch-black streak across the air and slashed straight toward Red and the others.
It was broad daylight under a blazing sun, yet at this moment, all light seemed to be devoured by that razor-sharp black blade.
The sky dimmed inexplicably, growing heavy and oppressive.
Whoosh!!!
Behind the female knight, something like a pair of black wings unfurled. At a speed the naked eye could barely track, she lunged toward Red.
"Going straight for your ultimate without even talking things out—pretty fiery temperament you've got there,"
Red said calmly, grinning even as the sword edge bore down on him.
In the next instant, he thrust out an arm. His palm rapidly entered Pokémon-ization, transforming directly into the combat-specialized Mega Mewtwo X!
Under the mysterious power of the system, terrifying energy surged into Red's body, reinforcing him from head to toe.
BOOM!!!
A violent storm erupted, sweeping across the sky and forcing Jinbe and the others to raise their arms to shield themselves as nearby clouds were blasted apart.
Yet at that very moment, the black blade that seemed to have emerged from the void was suddenly clamped tight by a bizarre three-fingered hand, unable to move even an inch.
"Hm?!"
The pitch-black female knight lifted her head, a flicker of surprise flashing through her eyes.
Though she was a Celestial Dragon, she did not possess the usual condescending gaze common to her kind.
Or perhaps her arrogance had already reached such heights that she could not even be bothered to feel disdain for creatures beneath her.
Even so, when Red effortlessly blocked her strike, a ripple of shock still stirred within her.
Judging from Red's appearance, he was astonishingly young.
To possess such strength at this age—if allowed to continue growing, he would undoubtedly become the World Government's greatest enemy!
With that thought, resolve flashed in her eyes.
Though it might already be too late to say so, she had to cut this man down here and now!
"To think you could kill the Straw Hat Pirates who destroyed Emilagon Palace… you really do have some skill,"
she said coldly, lifting her head as she praised Red.
Red's lips curved upward.
"Likewise~"
"To unleash an attack of that level so casually—worthy of a noble Celestial Dragon, indeed~!"
"Hmph!"
The female knight snorted, her expression turning icy.
In the next moment, her other arm surged with powerful Armament Haki. Gripping the hilt with both hands, she burst forth with explosive force, wrenching the black blade free from Red's grasp.
By now, Red's body had fully entered Mega Mewtwo X form.
His sharp, focused eyes locked onto the woman before him.
Though it looked as if he had casually caught her attack, in truth, Red had just used all of his own strength combined with the Mega Mewtwo X template.
This woman was anything but ordinary.
At the very least, her swordsmanship alone rivaled that of the strongest Yonko commanders.
If she also possessed some special Devil Fruit ability and advanced Haki techniques…
Then this woman unquestionably had Marine Admiral-level combat power!
And not the barely-qualified kind, either.
Someone of this caliber— even within the God's Knights—was no small figure.
Sure enough.
After pulling back to create distance, the female knight flicked her black blade aside and barked orders to the other members of the God's Knights behind her:
"The enemy before us is a key member of the Straw Hat Pirates—currently the World Government's number one threat!"
"All units—hold nothing back. Attack together!"
"For the honor of the Celestial Dragons…"
"They must not leave this island alive!!!"
"Yes!"
The moment her command ended, the God's Knights who had been hovering midair in various formations all sharpened their expressions and responded in unison.
In the next instant, streams of knights charged straight toward Red.
Yet they did not stop for him at all, instead targeting Chopper and the others behind him.
A chaotic melee was about to erupt!
Seeing the God's Knights rushing toward his companions, Red made no move to interfere.
Compared to the battle between Luffy and Saint Garling—or the woman before him—
The combat strength of those knights was merely around the level of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
By now, even Brook, who had joined the crew later, had surpassed base level 50.
With their respective abilities combined…
There might be some difficulty dealing with the God's Knights.
But nothing they couldn't handle!
Clang!
Watching Red tacitly ignore her subordinates, the female knight raised her pitch-black blade upright before her once more.
"So you're just letting the other knights fight your companions… Looks like you have great confidence in their strength."
"Aren't you the same?~"
A subtle gleam flashed in Red's eyes as psychic power began to radiate continuously from his body.
Though Mega Mewtwo X excelled more at close-quarters combat—
Its attribute panel still read Psychic / Fighting!
As everyone knew, in attribute listings, the earlier an attribute appeared, the more it represented the Pokémon's innate talent.
So even in X form, Red's psychic power was nothing to scoff at!
Yet this time, Red did not immediately attack the female knight with psychic force.
He had a premonition…
The power he used to restrain Saint Saturn of the Five Elders might not be able to restrain this woman!
Compared to the Five Elders—whose bodies reeked of decay from lingering in their thrones—the God's Knights before him were clearly more vigorous, more ambitious, and far stronger!
Whoosh!
A strange glint flashed through both Red's and the female knight's eyes.
Then the pitch-black knight suddenly spoke:
"God's Knights Vice Commander—Alicia Mirabelagon!"
"Oh? Is this the part where we introduce ourselves?!"
Red's expression remained calm.
From his hands, a psychic blade glowing with divine light slowly took shape.
At the same time, from his other arm, a chain emanating sinister aura rapidly condensed—Venomous Chains.
Only then did Red raise his head and respond softly:
"Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates—Red!"
WHOOSH!!!
The instant his words ended, the two moved simultaneously.
Under the clear sky, two streaks collided like meteors.
In a heartbeat, a massive shockwave exploded outward from their clash, surging in all directions.
But this was only the beginning!!!
Bang! Clang! Boom!
A symphony of violent impacts erupted in the sky, resounding endlessly like a frenzied overture.
Red and Mirabelagon skipped all probing and plunged straight into a white-hot battle.
And yet—
Only the two of them knew the truth.
Neither had used their full strength yet!
Though they spoke as if unconcerned about their allies or subordinates, both secretly held back power, keeping part of their attention on the surrounding battles.
Just as Red dared not underestimate the God's Knights and their strange abilities—
Mirabelagon likewise did not dare underestimate the Straw Hat crew that had repeatedly dealt devastating blows to the World Government!
…
…
Meanwhile, in the nearby skies.
Jinbe and the others soon faced off against the knights.
"Ehehehe~"
"This little tanuki is sooo cute~"
"I'm going to turn him into a specimen and display him in my collection room!"
A female knight wielding a long rifle grinned.
Though most of her face was hidden beneath a thick hood, the smile she revealed was chilling.
The temperature plummeted as if winter had arrived.
In the next instant, the hands holding her sniper rifle turned pale blue.
Snowflakes drifted inexplicably around her body.
The hood above her head faded, transforming into layers of thin, flowing silk that spread along her sides.
In the blink of an eye, the hooded knight became a mature woman clad in pristine white satin, her face veiled in mystery.
If not for the massive sniper rifle—nearly as tall as she was—one might think she was an entirely different person.
Locking onto Chopper, she stepped forward using Moonwalk, stopping directly before him and lifting the rifle with one hand.
Frost surged from her palm, coating the barrel in brilliant blue ice crystals.
"I am Celeste Palace of the God's Knights—user of the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Snow Maiden!"
"Little one, freeze beneath my bullet and become eternal art!!!"
"Ehehehe~"
"Frost Gale!!!"
WHOOSH—!!!
Without warning, dazzling icy energy condensed at the muzzle and fired straight toward Chopper!
In an instant—
The sky plunged into a full-blown winter storm. A violent blizzard erupted, carrying the freezing power of the shot as it engulfed Chopper.
Caught completely off guard, Chopper froze in place before being swallowed by the icy tempest and blasted away, hurtling toward a forest lake in the distance.
"Hey! Watch it—don't use your abilities recklessly here! You'll cause friendly fire!"
At that moment, a Grim Reaper-styled knight beside Celeste Palace shook ice shards from his cloak and spoke in a muffled voice.
But in the next second, his gaze shifted to Brook—the skeleton standing nearby.
Though his face was concealed behind a goat-skull mask, an unnamed greed flared from him.
The next moment, his body swelled beneath the cloak.
Countless skeletal branches extended and fused.
In the blink of an eye, a colossal skeletal monster formed in midair—neither fully human nor beast.
Its body resembled the undead MetalGreymon from Digimon, except its head was a long-haired human skull.
BOOM!!!
In this form, the knight lost his ability to fly and crashed into the ground with tremendous force.
Raising its head, the undead giant fixed Brook with a ghostly stare and grinned:
"God's Knights—Saint Abyss, user of the Mythical Zoan · Human-Human Fruit, Model: Starving Skeleton!"
"You're Brook, the Straw Hat Pirates' Soul King with a bounty of 160 million Beli, right?!"
"How fascinating!"
"I can feel it—the power hidden in your bones far exceeds that bounty!"
"The Marines really are becoming more useless by the day~!"
After fully transforming, Saint Abyss became far more talkative.
Whether due to his Devil Fruit's influence—or the greedy ghost-fire dancing in his eyes—
He extended an invitation to Brook:
"How about a duel of bones?!"
"Let's see who's the strongest skeleton!"
Shhhk—
A bone scythe that had once been only human-sized suddenly expanded to an enormous scale.
Wherever it passed, life withered, as though the area had become the domain of death itself.
Brook, hovering in the air, showed no fear at all.
He didn't even worry about Chopper being blown away.
After all, everyone knew—
Both he and Chopper had Ice as their secondary attribute.
Frost was merely a weapon and tool to them.
How could masters of ice be harmed by a mere blizzard?
Whoosh!
Tap!
Accepting Saint Abyss's challenge, Brook descended from the sky, landing directly before him.
Gazing up at the skeletal giant—three times his own height—Brook's calm expression shifted into genuine amazement.
"Yohohoho~! That really is a huge skeleton!"
"But I'm sorry to say, Saint Abyss—I have no interest in being the strongest skeleton."
"If possible, I'd much rather have a normal human body."
"That's something someone like you—who possesses both flesh and bone—could never understand."
"It doesn't matter."
"Because the moment you chose me as your opponent…"
"Your life's symphony was destined to end here."
"Oh, and one more thing—"
"Among the Straw Hat Pirates…"
"I'm the weakest one!"
"I must say—"
"You've got excellent taste!!!"
(End of Chapter)