S-Shark, who was currently fighting Ulti and Page One, also made a new move. As its hands touched the ground, the entire surface transformed into a massive bomb.
Compared to Mr. 5, who only flicked mucus, S-Shark's use and development of this fruit were obviously on a much higher level.
The World Government didn't graciously give ten-odd minutes for evacuation. With that much time, those with enough strength on the island would have already noticed something was wrong and escaped. In fact, not only people on the island, but even those outside noticed the anomaly.
If you want to prosper, pave the road first. After rounding up, this saying could also be applied to Arceus. He was originally laying out another path, using the Reverse World and the enormous sea currents as meridians to carry out his own transformation of the world.
Once Arceus's network was fully laid out and had undergone a period of tempering, his ability to interfere with this world would be further enhanced.
The anomaly caused by the activation of the Mother Flame was strong enough that Arceus caught notice of it.
"These people really are obsessed with that thing."
"Lord Sacred Beast, what did you say?"
"It's nothing. I was just thinking, maybe it's better to learn from them and just erase some things that will periodically become threats. After all, leaving that thing in their hands is quite a nuisance, and they do fix it quickly enough."
The latest news from Darkrai was that last time, he almost found the entrance, but the opponent managed to escape into a kind of forked passage and Darkrai accidentally lost track of his target.
Darkrai insisted that he had figured out the trick and wouldn't fail again next time. Moreover, Darkrai said he sensed an aura similar to the energy within himself.
Because Darkrai was a Pokémon born entirely from the power of the Dread Plate, he was more sensitive to the plates' auras. This meant that of the eighteen plates, only the last one remained unaccounted for.
With eighteen minus one, Arceus was just one step away, so his actions became even bolder.
"You go and keep doing your thing. I'll take care of the rest myself."
"Yes."
Shayna quietly departed, while Arceus's consciousness arrived at a quarrelsome scene.
"You two, haven't you argued enough for now?"
Arceus's consciousness appeared in the dimension of the Black and White Dragon, interrupting their argument.
"My Lord."
"My Lord."
Seeing Arceus appear suddenly, Zekrom and Reshiram also stopped their quarrel. Their bickering was actually meaningless; no matter how many centuries they argued, they'd never reach a conclusion.
After all, both argued from the premise that they were right, and neither would ever choose to back down.
"It's fine. If you want to keep arguing, do it later. First, go take care of that thing up there. Do it cleanly this time, I don't want to sense its aura anymore."
Mother Flame couldn't threaten him, but it could pose an uncontrollable threat to others. Aside from him, at most the other members of the Beasts Pirates could only protect themselves under this kind of attack. Looking out for anyone else would basically be impossible.
He had no intention of constantly watching out for this strange weapon. Directly destroying it was a much simpler solution.
Zekrom and Reshiram's consciousnesses already existed inside Yamato. With this consciousness, they could manifest their true bodies beside Yamato. This was a self-protection mechanism Arceus had left for her from the start, but it had never been triggered.
Yamato couldn't activate this switch herself, but Arceus could.
Yamato, who borrows the power of both dragons, was similar to a Jinchūriki, merely utilizing their strength.
But Arceus could directly dispatch their main bodies. There's a huge difference between borrowing the power of a Jinchūriki and the complete tailed beasts themselves, especially when two appear simultaneously; the difference in power is even more stark.
"Perfect. Since she's already gained partial recognition from both of you, the power within her has reached a new balance, enough for you to do this."
"As you command. But, my lord, may I make a small request?"
"Speak."
"After the mission is done, can the two of us have a fight?"
Whether it was Zekrom, Reshiram, or even Rayquaza, none of them had truly appeared in this world; they were all special existences within the small world created by Arceus.
Although they could still fight in that state, it always felt like something was missing.
It wasn't that they were eager to fight; it was just that they hadn't taken action for so long, and it felt like something was lacking.
"You think the same, don't you, Reshiram?"
As a dragon that revered ideals, Zekrom was more straightforward, so he directly voiced his wish: to have a fight with Reshiram, and then defeat the other; that was Zekrom's current ideal.
Reshiram, though not bringing it up directly, showed through his eyes that he actually had the exact same thought as Zekrom.
"As you wish, just don't involve innocent people, and make sure to deal with that thing cleanly."
"As you command."
"And pass along a message for me: tell her, this time, she did pretty well."
As Arceus's consciousness disappeared, the twin dragons exchanged a glance and then took action.
Dressrosa.
As energy began to gather in the clouds above, Yamato became even more certain what it was.
"These maniacs… There are so many people on this island, and they're actually willing to unleash this kind of attack even here?!"
During Marineford, there were enough targets on the island that even if allies were caught in the crossfire, they could achieve massive results. It was truly a case of injuring a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of their own.
But Dressrosa was different. There were so few people here that the effective casualties might not even reach one percent.
"Fuffuffuffu, that really is their style. As long as they can achieve their goal, any price is acceptable. Looks like they can't hold back anymore.
But this commotion really is huge."
Even Doflamingo had underestimated how intense the World Government's actions could be. They had actually deployed a weapon on the same scale as the one used in the Summit War.
After scanning the situation around him once more, he found it all quite reasonable. The chaos here was already no less than the chaos during the Summit War.
"My advice to all of you is to run while you still can. If that thing really comes down, we'll all die together."
As Doflamingo said this, the Mother Flame's attack was nearly ready, and Yamato's mind was calculating the impact it would cause.
At this moment, her concern wasn't about protecting the entire island, but about how to protect her own people. She was thinking about how to look after her subordinates and Ulti and the others.
Doing what you have the ability to do is fine; saving someone in passing or handing out some medicine, these were all within her power. What's rare to others isn't rare to her.
If you can't win, you have to run; this was something even Luffy from two years ago understood. To face this kind of attack head-on would be pure stupidity.
"Reshi—"
"Just watch. The Lord has already made arrangements."
"That's right. Leave the troublesome matters to us; just figure out how to deal with the aftermath."
Light particles scattered from within Yamato's body, and two figures—one black, one white—emerged from behind her. This time, they weren't mere projections, but physical forms: the two dragons representing the Lightning of Ideals and the Flame of Truth, appeared in the real world.
"When did Dad arrange for something like this?"
"The Lord has always been watching over you. He also said you did pretty well this time."
"You might be underestimating the Lord's power. Recently, the Lord has already started expanding his reach. The reason it hasn't been so obvious is just to give you all more space to grow.
Some things have already been decided, but the process can still be made more fulfilling."
Zekrom and Reshiram answered one after the other, and perhaps because Yamato was in White Mode, Reshiram spoke a bit more.
In just a few sentences, the black and white dragon had already appeared behind Yamato.
"You're smaller than I imagined."
Comparing their heights, Yamato made a comment that had little to do with the situation, which also meant she was no longer nervous.
Since Arceus had already made backup arrangements, he would surely be able to handle the current situation. This was the confidence in Arceus that had developed in her heart over the years.
"Size is just appearance; this is simply the form most convenient for interacting with humans."
"But you're right, being a bit bigger does make it easier to deal with that thing."
Zekrom and Reshiram had already taken to the sky, growing larger as they did so, until they were nearly the size of Giants. Only then did they fly up to confront Mother Flame's completed attack.
They were the avatars of the Tao Dragon who assisted the Heroes of Truth and Ideals in establishing the kingdom, but at the same time, they were also destroyers who scorched the world with lightning and fire.
Yamato was confident in the twin dragons. She was even using Rotom to inform the others, telling them not to worry, that the dragons would soon handle this thing. But it was different for the others.
Fujitora, who had just been following orders to evacuate, now stopped in his tracks.
"What's that?"
"The World Government's secret weapon. Don't keep watching, start retreating."
"This kind of attack… what about the people on the island?"
Without much hesitation, Fujitora immediately left the warship that was about to withdraw, and turned back toward Dressrosa.
*Summoning the God can also mean Summoning the Legendaries
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