"What secrets… are the Straw Hat Pirates hiding!?"
Deep within the innermost reaches of Pangaea Castle, a figure concealed in darkness suddenly spoke. The voice was like a great bell sinking into an ancient well, and also like the hoarse rasp of someone who had not spoken in a very long time.
That figure was none other than the one who currently held supreme authority, the true ruler of the World Government—Imu!
Red's guess had not been wrong.
He had seen everything that had happened in the Room of Flowers and throughout Pangaea Castle.
Ever since Saint Saturn had died for no reason in the antimatter world, and Mirabelagon Palace had lost its connection in the Pokémon Sea, Imu had been keeping a constant watch on every move the Straw Hat Pirates made.
He simply could not understand what method the Straw Hat Pirates had used to sever the connection between him and the Five Elders, nor how they had managed to grow to this level in such a short period of time.
No one knew the power of the Nika Fruit better than he did.
He was certain that those strange and bizarre abilities Luffy possessed were not derived from the Nika Fruit at all.
The same went for the other members of the Straw Hat crew.
Though their current strength was still too insignificant to truly enter Imu's eyes, the intelligence gathered by Cipher Pol had revealed something astonishing...
Every member of the Straw Hat Pirates, including the members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet in the Pokémon Sea, seemed to possess a uniquely mysterious power.
According to the analysis of the intelligence department, these powers, which strongly resembled Devil Fruit abilities, all seemed to share the same origin as the powers of the core Straw Hat crew!
Yet whenever they tried to investigate further, all they received was a suspicious look full of ill intent—and not a single useful clue.
After all, every person who had obtained a Pokémon template had met Red at least once, had received the acknowledgment of his Aura, and had also been influenced by the mental suggestion of his Psychic Power.
Trying to pry any secrets from their mouths was virtually impossible.
At present, the only people in the world who might possibly reveal information about the Pokémon world were the division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Thirteen Guardian Squads of the Alabasta Kingdom, and the Sea King Guard that Red had created for the Fish-Man race after subduing Fish-Man Island.
But all of those forces remained outside the World Government's line of sight.
As a result, the power of Pokémon was still an utter mystery to the World Government.
With such an incomplete intelligence foundation, Imu did not even dare entertain the thought of confronting the Straw Hat Pirates head-on.
Who knew whether the Straw Hat Pirates still had some special trick up their sleeves? If they really sealed him inside that strange space, then he would be completely finished!
Though he sat at the pinnacle of power, he possessed none of Luffy's or Whitebeard's freedom or pride. His style was excessively cautious, and he was petty-minded, never easily forgiving the mistakes of his subordinates...
Compared to the rest of the pirate world, Imu—who had ruled the world for eight hundred years—was almost abnormally normal.
So even as he watched the Five Elders being toyed with by Luffy like playthings, and saw the newly appointed commander of the God's Knights, Saint Shamrock, about to fall under the joint assault of Zoro and Sanji...
He still sat as steady as a mountain, with not the slightest intention of taking action.
…
…
"Ahhhhhh—!!!!"
Inside the pitch-black training ground, an incomparably miserable scream suddenly rang out, like a sharp blade tearing apart the silence of Pangaea Castle.
Elsewhere in the castle, the workers in other areas turned deathly pale when they heard the sound.
As ordinary staff, they did not know what exactly was happening among the upper echelons of Pangaea Castle.
But they had already investigated the situation outside the castle.
Corpses!
There were Celestial Dragon corpses everywhere!
The Straw Hat Pirates' invasion this time had not only been ruthless, but terrifyingly efficient.
In fact, within the inner city near Pangaea Castle, it was clear that the elite squads led by Hancock had barely even touched the Celestial Dragons' treasure vaults.
From beginning to end, they had only had two objectives...
Free the slaves, and... slaughter the Celestial Dragons!!!
Those Celestial Dragons who lived in the inner city were either clan heads or high-ranking figures among the Nineteen Celestial Dragon Families. Every one of them had some say before the Five Elders. They were nobles among nobles, the highest of the so-called world aristocracy!
And yet...
Within a single day, those great figures before whom the workers normally had to kneel in audience had all become mangled corpses lying cold upon the ground.
Just then, one of the workers who had heard the miserable screams from above said with a trembling voice:
"That voice... I think it was Saint Shamrock!"
The person beside him, dressed in a suit and tie, immediately pulled out an exquisite handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, then forced out an awkward laugh.
"H-How is that possible!?"
"That was Lord Saint Shamrock!!! And besides, didn't our colleagues in the Whitebeard Sea say that the Five Elders had already rushed back to Pangaea Castle?"
"The Straw Hat crew is probably being tortured under the Five Elders' whips right now!"
"Heh... right, right."
The first man in the suit quickly forced a laugh in agreement.
But when the two men glanced at each other, they both saw the fear in the other's eyes—the kind that could not be hidden.
As the Celestial Dragons' most loyal lackeys, how could they possibly mistake the voice of one of their masters?
But they did not dare admit it!
Just as they did not dare imagine what would happen to them if the Straw Hat Pirates truly emerged victorious from this battle.
Even these workers did not know of Imu's existence.
So in their world, the Five Elders were already the highest rulers of all.
But they were not fools.
Regarding the Five Elders' repeated failures in the Pokémon Sea, they simply kept their mouths shut and never discussed it.
But could the Five Elders really defeat the Straw Hats!?
At this moment, for these workers, every second that passed was a torment beyond endurance!!!
…
…
"Damn it!!! What... what did you do!?"
Inside the training ground, Saint Shamrock, who had just taken a slash from Zoro, clutched his head and writhed madly, as though his body no longer obeyed him.
The expression on his face was twisted beyond measure, his features all bunching together.
"Heh. Haven't you already experienced it once?"
"This is my God-Slaying sword path!"
Zoro gave a faint smile as he lowered his stance.
Under Sanji's powerful cover, he had successfully found another opening and used a move from his God-Slaying sword path once again.
And after two consecutive attempts, Zoro had become increasingly proficient in condensing that sword intent. Before long, this terrifying sword path would evolve from a trump card into one of his basic attacks, allowing all his enemies to experience that pain that struck straight at the soul.
"Damn you!!!"
The intense tearing sensation kept erupting from the depths of his soul. After howling in agony for a while, Saint Shamrock finally began to adjust to the bizarre pain and slowly stood up again.
"Why!?"
His expression was savage, yet he still could not help asking the lowly vermin he despised:
"Why can your swordsmanship still hurt me!?"
He had already realized that before, it was because Zoro had absorbed his dark power that his soul had been damaged.
But this time, he had clearly withdrawn his dark power and given Zoro no opportunity at all.
So why... why was the damage he suffered even more intense than before!?
"Heh heh." Zoro chuckled softly. Narukami in his hand was still flickering with faint arcs of electricity.
"Who said my swordsmanship can only be used with your power?"
Because there had been no dark element available, Zoro had supplied his own. Using Narukami to draw in thunder, he had unleashed Thunder · God-Slaying.
And the effect brought by the power of thunder was the tearing and paralysis of the soul!
That intense agony, combined with the sudden loss of sensation, was enough to make any creature who had never experienced it before feel fear from the bottom of their heart.
Even a powerhouse on Saint Shamrock's level was no exception.
"You... you..."
Watching Zoro step toward him one pace at a time, Saint Shamrock's expression abruptly stiffened.
He had to admit that in that instant, a fear he could not suppress arose within him—fear of Zoro and Sanji, or rather, fear of the Straw Hat Pirates.
No wonder his father had vanished so inexplicably at the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates.
At this moment, he had finally realized that these people were completely different from the inferior creatures he had imagined.
Their power and methods far exceeded his understanding.
Moreover, though Zoro's second God-Slaying strike had only brought him pain and fear, rather than directly weakening his combat strength like before...
Who knew what other means the enemy might still have!?
And with that "Man of Light" whom he could already no longer "see," Saint Shamrock could already foresee the outcome of this battle.
But...
What could he do!?
The Five Elders above had been fighting this whole time without making a single sound, which could only mean they had been completely tied down by Straw Hat Luffy!
Unless... Lord Imu personally took action!
"Damn it! How could I think something like that!?"
Saint Shamrock suddenly slapped himself across the face. The crisp sound echoed through the empty chamber.
He was the commander of the God's Knights. His primary duty was to protect Lord Imu's safety and the honor of the Celestial Dragons, yet now he had entertained such a disgraceful thought.
No matter how this battle ended, he had only one choice...
To keep fighting!
To protect the honor of the Celestial Dragons!!!
As a model member of the God's Knights, Saint Shamrock knew exactly what he was doing.
He raised the blade in his hand once more.
Relying on his overwhelming talent and personal strength, he had already begun to condense a trace of sword momentum.
This was not because his soul had recovered, but because during the battle just now, he had cultivated a brand-new sword path entirely from scratch.
However...
"Divine Light · Rotisserie Grind!!!"
Bang!!!
A few minutes later, Sanji's figure shot forward like a blazing beam of light and slammed violently into Saint Shamrock's body.
The rapid spinning kick, combined with the Pokémon move Rotating Kick, instantly sent Saint Shamrock's body into a violent twist and tear, as though he had been thrown into a meat grinder.
"Cough!!!"
Under the high-speed rotation, his already incomplete soul was pushed to the limit, and he spat out a great mouthful of blood—which was instantly scorched away and erased by the blistering heat radiating from Sanji's body.
In the end, Saint Shamrock's body was sent flying high into the air by Sanji's full-power strike.
And at that very moment, a faint dragon's roar suddenly emerged from the darkness.
In the next instant, Zoro's figure burst forth from the shadows. He radiated a vast and surging pressure, like a giant dragon flying at extreme speed, his body flowing as smoothly as water as he crashed fiercely toward Saint Shamrock.
"Three Sword Style Secret Technique: Azure Dragon Roar · Flowing Water!!!"
Bang!!!
Still dazed from Sanji's spinning kick, Saint Shamrock had no time to recover in midair. Sensing danger closing in, he could only hastily coat himself in Armament Haki and assume a defensive posture.
In that instant, the blades in Zoro's hands swept across his body with unmatched force, leaving two wounds across his arms that looked as though they had been raked by dragon fangs.
And that was also the first time since the start of the battle that Saint Shamrock had suffered obvious injuries on the surface of his body.
At the same time, it signified that his condition had sharply declined. Even Zoro's ordinary slashes could now break through his defenses.
Wounded and deteriorating, Saint Shamrock did not last much longer under the joint assault of Zoro and Sanji.
And because of the situation outside, neither of them showed the slightest mercy. Every strike they launched aimed straight for the kill.
In barely a quarter of an hour, the newly appointed commander of the God's Knights was thrown off balance after Sanji's sneak attack created an opening.
In the end, Zoro slit his throat with a single blade.
Within the chaotic darkness, this once-mighty warrior who had wrapped himself in the glory of the Celestial Dragons slowly lost the light in his eyes and fell completely into darkness.
"Hoo~ It's finally over!!!"
"Glug, glug~"
Sanji, who had originally intended to continue the sneak attack and had not expected Zoro to seize the opportunity so perfectly, suddenly stopped beside Saint Shamrock's corpse. Clenched between his teeth was a half-finished PP restorative.
That's right.
Although both he and Zoro had displayed strength far beyond their previous limits in this battle, in order to end it as quickly as possible, the two of them had still chosen the path of cheating.
From beginning to end, with the supply of Pokémon medicine, neither of their conditions had ever dropped below eighty percent.
Get injured? Drink medicine immediately.
Run low on energy? Drink medicine immediately.
True, they did not have any spatial storage items, but with the anti-drop combat belts Usopp had designed, carrying a dozen or so bottles of Pokémon medicine each was effortless.
Even without cheating, the enemy would not have been a match for Zoro and Sanji—but battles at this level could easily drag on for ten days or more...
They did not have that kind of time to waste in a war of attrition.
"Yeah, it's over!"
After flicking the blood from his blade, Zoro also walked over.
But as he looked at Saint Shamrock on the ground, he felt slightly displeased.
He had clearly been the one to develop an entirely new move to deal with the enemy, yet in the end, Sanji had been the one who made the greatest contribution in this battle.
Without Sanji's restraint, there was no way he could have killed the opponent so easily.
That damn perverted cook really can't be underestimated for even a second, Zoro thought inwardly.
Little did he know, Sanji standing beside him felt exactly the same way!
To think he could seize the opportunity in a single instant! That damn moss-head's control over the finer details of speed is getting more terrifying by the day!
Looks like this bastard has definitely imagined fighting me more than once.
I really can't relax for even a second around this damn moss-head!!!
(End of Chapter)