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Luffy activated Gear Fourth: Snake Man form. The dark-red Haki patterns, the high-speed flowing air currents, and those incredibly focused, razor-sharp eyes during battle!
These features acted like a key, instantly unlocking a long-sealed, yet ever-vigilant forbidden box buried deep in the Five Elders' memories!
"That posture… that sensation…"
On Warcury's face—usually always carrying wildness and arrogance—for the first time appeared an unmistakable look of dread. Cold sweat even seeped uncontrollably from his temple:
"When an ability user's 'heart' and 'body' achieve a specific resonance with the fruit, crossing that boundary… the Devil Fruit's true power awakens, revealing its… 'divine' form!"
His voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.
This was not because of Luffy's current strength, but because of what that form represented—a possibility that had terrified them for hundreds of years!
Saint Saturn's face was terrifyingly dark. In truth, he had already harbored faint suspicions back when Luffy first displayed his rubber abilities…
But the continuous variables in God Valley, the barrage of revelations from the light curtain, and his own injuries had left him no time to dwell deeply or promptly share this extremely dangerous conjecture with the other four.
Now, it seemed his premonition had come true!
"We've hunted and recovered it for so many years…"
Saint Mars's voice was ice-cold. His pupils locked tightly on Luffy fighting desperately in the light curtain, then slowly shifted toward the distant, weakened Monkey D. Dragon lying among the pirate camp.
"Yet there are always accidents and deviations, as if the fruit itself possesses a 'will' and is deliberately evading and toying with us!"
His words unveiled a secret held by the highest echelons of the World Government for at least eight hundred years—an eternal pursuit and fear of one specific Devil Fruit.
"Zoan-type, Mythical Zoan…"
Saint Nusjuro gripped his sword Kitetsu tightly. The cursed blade let out a low hum, as though sensing its master's killing intent: "There has never been any 'Rubber Fruit.' Its true name is…"
"Zoan-type, Mythical Zoan: Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika!"
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter took over, his voice hoarse and grave. "'The Warrior of Liberation,' 'Sun God Nika'… the 'God of Freedom' whose name was erased, yet who continues to whisper through legends!"
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter stared at Luffy's fierce battle in the light curtain, his gaze filled with cold scrutiny and murderous intent: "However, this kid clearly hasn't fully mastered it.
This form is strange and significantly boosts his power, but it is not true awakening. If it were a fully awakened Nika… it shouldn't be only like this."
Though they judged that Luffy had not yet truly awakened, this was already enough to strike the most sensitive nerve of the Five Elders.
The fruit they regarded as the greatest threat had fallen into the hands of one from the D clan—and the user was none other than that Straw Hat kid who repeatedly created "accidents," possessed terrifying growth speed, and carried an alarming background (Garp's grandson, Dragon's son, Rayleigh's disciple)!
"Still, this has both advantages and disadvantages."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's voice regained its usual grim calculation. He glanced at the other four: "Though the appearance of this light curtain has disrupted many plans, it has also allowed us to see this massive hidden danger in advance.
This Straw Hat kid's level of danger has already surpassed that of ordinary members of the 'Worst Generation.' He must be strangled in the cradle. And the most crucial step!"
His gaze became like a poison-quenched blade, stabbing toward Dragon in the distance, protected by the Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates.
"Is to sever his bloodline and any possible inheritance! As long as we kill Monkey D. Dragon here, even if the Nika Fruit temporarily remains at large, it can no longer be eaten by this Straw Hat kid. The risk of awakening will be greatly reduced! Everything can still be salvaged!"
This proposal received silent but unanimous agreement from the other four Elders.
If their earlier killing intent toward Dragon had been based on his identity as Revolutionary Army leader and threat to the World Government, now that intent had suddenly escalated by several orders of magnitude!
It was now mixed with a deeper, ancient fear-driven need for "purification"!
Unknowingly, Dragon's priority as a must-kill target in the Five Elders' minds had skyrocketed dramatically—even temporarily surpassing the difficult-to-quickly-eliminate Rocks in certain aspects!
Rocks was a real, massive threat, but the legend of the Nika Fruit concerned a potential "divine" challenge that could shake the very foundations of the World Government!
Holy Land Mary Geoise, deep within Pangaea Castle, in the Hall of the Empty Throne.
A figure moved silently through the cold, empty corridors, finally stopping before an extremely hidden alloy door engraved with ancient patterns.
The door slid open, revealing a downward-extending passage filled with chilling mist.
Nerona Imu Saint—the true occupant of the Empty Throne, the shadowy ruler of the World Government—stepped in slowly.
At the end of the passage lay a massive secret freezer entirely constructed of unbreakable eternal ice.
In the center of the freezer was not treasure or weapons, but a special display platform.
On the platform lay a thick layer of never-melting eternal ice.
Imu approached and gently brushed away the surface frost with one hand.
Beneath the ice, revealed in all its glory, was an enormously oversized straw hat!
The style of the straw hat was identical to the one on Luffy's head—and the one once worn by Red-Haired Shanks!
Only magnified countless times, lying silently in eternal freeze, as though preserving a completely buried segment of history in slumber.
Imu's strange, red spiral-shaped pupils—swirling like vortices—calmly gazed at the ice-sealed giant hat.
Its vision seemed to transcend space, sharing clearly with the Five Elders far away in God Valley. It "saw" the straw hat boy in the light curtain fighting desperately, still locked in fierce combat—and the small straw hat of the same style on the boy's head.
A cold, mechanical voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation echoed lowly in the vast freezer. Each syllable carried an ancient chill:
"Joy… Boy…"
"Sun… God… Nika…"
The voice echoed, then fell into silence.
After a brief pause, Imu raised a hand. With the tip of a gloved finger, it gently flicked away a small new icicle that had formed on the edge of the giant hat.
The motion was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable, sovereign casualness.
At that moment, its will—like an invisible electromagnetic wave—pierced through space in an instant, descending directly into the depths of the Five Elders' minds in God Valley:
"You… kill that Monkey D. Dragon."
The voice was direct, the command concise and absolute.
"Anyone who dares interfere… kill without mercy."
The will of "God" had been issued!
God Valley.
The Five Elders—who had been quietly conferring—suddenly shuddered in unison! They all bowed their heads slightly at the same moment, expressions mixing awe, obedience, and grim determination.
They were listening to the supreme being personally deliver the decree.
This scene was so abrupt that Roger, Rocks, Garp, Sengoku, and everyone else who had been closely watching their movements froze in shock. Alarm bells rang wildly in their hearts!
Why would these arrogant Elders—who viewed all living beings as ants—suddenly perform such a synchronized… and so humble gesture?
To whom were they bowing? That was the question on everyone's mind.
"Lord Imu…"
Saint Nusjuro's lips moved faintly, murmuring in an extremely low voice. Then he raised his head. The hesitation and calculation in his eyes vanished completely, leaving only ice-cold resolve to execute.
He had originally intended to add a concern about the possibility of Garp turning against them.
As though sensing Saint Nusjuro's worry, Imu's will saw through everything. That cold voice rang again directly in his mind—and in the minds of all Five Elders—cutting off any retreat or excuse:
"A mere Marine… do you still need to consider his feelings?! Imu has said: anyone who interferes, kill without mercy."
Explicit, ruthless. Even if the interferer was the Marine hero Garp, a pillar of the Navy, in the face of "God's" will, he too could be erased!
Immediately after, Imu seemed to sense the Five Elders' instinctive wariness toward the fierce resistance they would soon face (from Roger, Rocks, and the other pirates, as well as a potentially rampaging Garp).
Its voice came once more—this time carrying absolute authority and assurance: "Proceed without hesitation. With Imu here… Imu will have your back. You… will not suffer the slightest harm."
This promise of "having your back" acted like the most powerful stimulant injected straight into the Five Elders!
In an instant, the slightly wilted aura they had carried from repeated setbacks and being surrounded by powerful enemies surged explosively!
Their gazes sharpened to an extreme, their vast killing intent and confidence roaring back!
No helping it—nothing beats the thrill of borrowing power from the mighty, of a fox pretending to be a tiger…
In truth, their earlier caution was not unjustified.
To kill Garp's son—his own flesh and blood—in front of Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, and the core Navy combat forces was tantamount to completely breaking ties with them.
And that wasn't even mentioning the watchful, terrifyingly powerful alliance of the Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates right beside them! The difficulty of this mission was hell-level.
But now, with "Lord Imu's" personal promise and "backup," everything had changed!
It meant they could act with zero reservations, no longer needing to weigh costs and consequences excessively!
Imu's existence and power were their greatest assurance!
The Five Elders exchanged another glance, understanding each other perfectly.
Their killing intent was now completely unmasked, locking onto the heavily injured Dragon in the distance like a tangible force!
And all these drastic changes stemmed from the Straw Hat boy on the light curtain—who had activated Gear Fourth: Snake Man and continued fighting relentlessly—and from his Devil Fruit, mistakenly called the "Rubber Fruit," whose true name was the Mythical Zoan: Nika!
The atmosphere in God Valley, due to the descent of Imu's will and the complete unleashing of the Five Elders' killing intent, instantly slid from tense standoff straight toward the brink of all-out bloody conflict!
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