Starfish World, Underworld—
Inside the 'Other-Dimensional Space', Imu personally witnessed the entire process of the King of the Dead's Citadel being forcefully subdued by the Titan army led by Eren Yeager.
Now, atop the city walls of Citadel, the flag of the World Government was flying high.
Throughout the streets and alleys, aside from the Colossal Titans, the other generations of Intelligent Titans were leading squads of Pure Titans on patrol, occasionally eliminating rioters bold enough to launch attacks against them.
However, this was only the initial occupation. A slew of problems still awaited Enma's resolution.
For instance, reinforcements from the various divisions of the King of the Dead's Army.
Previously, they had been stationed at other River Styx outlets.
Now that their stronghold had been toppled, they were naturally rushing back in a hurry.
There were also many demons and spirits within the Underworld who harbored deep hostility toward the World Government—some of whom possessed formidable power.
As for Imu, her attention was focused on three things.
First and foremost—the resurrection of the King of the Dead. This was the highest priority.
Enma had already confirmed the resurrection time by probing Sanast's soul.
On the thirteenth day after death!
Which meant—in ten days.
However, not even Sanast knew the location of the resurrection.
After all, the King of the Dead had never fallen in battle outside his domain before.
Even the timing of his resurrection was something Sanast had only heard in passing during some casual conversation.
Because the King of the Dead had never once considered the possibility that he might die in defeat, he had spoken of it with a complete lack of concern.
Still, Enma told Imu that a portion of her own power originates from the King of the Dead.
Which meant that the moment he reappeared, she would inevitably sense it through the unseen currents of fate.
When the King of the Dead is resurrected, Imu will undoubtedly clash with him to finally decide who holds dominion over the Starfish's Underworld!
Truth be told, Imu had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
Ever since learning of the King of the Dead's existence, he had been enduring it—enduring the fact that someone stronger than himself existed on Starfish.
For Imu, the idea of a force as vast and unfathomable as the Underworld existing beyond his control was simply intolerable. As a ruler who had long seen Starfish as his foundation and base of power, he could not allow another sovereign—no matter how distant or seemingly cooperative—to stand on equal footing within the same world. In the world of One Piece, it wasn't uncommon for two mighty figures to coexist in apparent balance. But Imu understood that such balance was always fragile, always temporary. Sooner or later, lines would blur, interests would clash, and the illusion of peace would shatter. To him, co-ruling was never an option—it was merely a delayed conflict. If the Underworld held power, then that power had to be under his command. Otherwise, it was a threat. One he couldn't afford to ignore.
That was exactly why, despite the possibility of peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation with the King of the Dead, he still chose to betray him—taking the risk to have him killed.
Which meant the King of the Dead had to die!!!
The second matter was the negotiation with Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo over in the Pure Land of the Shinobi World.
That too was critical—especially now, given the other side's overwhelming power.
Since direct confrontation would end in defeat, cooperation had to be the way forward.
Imu's bargaining chip was the fact that the Shinobi World was currently under the control of the World Government.
To put it bluntly—if he truly got ruthless, he could wipe out ninety percent of the Shinobi World's population.
That said, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo didn't seem like the impulsive type. In the manga, Imu had always seen him as steady and mature.
So he ordered Enma to dispatch a diplomatic delegation to the Pure Land.
To avoid any unnecessary incidents, he also had Senju Hashirama send a wood clone along.
Their task was to make one thing absolutely clear to Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo: the World Government and the King of the Dead were not the same entity.
It was the King of the Dead who had invaded the Pure Land.
But the one seeking cooperation—was the World Government!
...
Shinobi World.
"Ahhhhh! What the hell are you?!"
"You can't be human! Absolutely impossible!!"
Nahamah screamed in terror, trembling with panic.
Six days. They had been locked in fierce combat for six full days.
The westernmost peninsula of the Shinobi continent had been completely devastated.
As far as the eye could see, it was either a sea of molten lava or thick layers of ice. Towering volcanoes and glacial peaks dotted the landscape, rising and falling in succession.
And whenever the two sides clashed, torrents of steam exploded into the air, like clouds blooming from the ground.
This land would not sustain life again for at least a hundred years.
[BOOOOM————]
Sakazuki, wreathed in flames and shrouded in black smoke, remained utterly silent.
Amid the roaring sonic booms, he surged forward, appearing before Nahamah in an instant—then slammed a fist into the demon's face, a blow laced with overwhelming Haki and terrifying impact.
A visible shockwave exploded between his knuckles and Nahamah's skull.
Nahamah's head snapped back. Blood spurted from his mouth as his body shot through the air like a black missile.
His consciousness was starting to blur.
But what Nahamah couldn't accept—what he couldn't comprehend—was how this battle had ended up like this.
This human. This damnable human. This wretched human! Why… why could he endure the agony of demonic fire again and again?
The black flames had struck his body countless times. The man was covered in burns and lacerations, even his face and neck bore clear scorch marks.
And yet, he just clenched his jaw and endured it, his face cold as ever. Those fists of his—each one like the concentrated fury of a volcanic eruption—never stopped coming. Relentless. Precise. Impossible to dodge.
And that stamina! That endurance! Something beyond anything Nahamah had ever seen.
Six whole days and nights of non-stop life-or-death combat, with barely a breath between exchanges—and the pressure didn't seem to weigh on this terrifying man at all.
Monster. Monster! A total monster—how the hell is this thing human?!
He's more of a demon than me, for fuck's sake!
"I can't keep going like this... I might… I really might not be able to beat him."
As Sakazuki came hurtling at him again, like a meteor of molten lava, Nahamah found a thought stirring in his heart—a thought even he could barely believe.
He and Lilith had invaded and annihilated more than twenty human worlds over the centuries, and not once had they ever encountered a human who could push him to this point.
That's exactly why they had always regarded the notion—that no human could ever defeat a high-ranking demon—as absolute truth.
Because there truly weren't any.
Among those so-called human powerhouses and heroes in past worlds, many had borne lofty titles—Archmage, Sword Saint, even Holy Knight.
But in the end, without exception, every single one of them had been toyed with, tormented, and then killed.
Demonic fire that could burn through the laws of the world, and demonic ice that could freeze them—when combined, their power would multiply, perhaps by several times, even approaching tenfold.
In other words, only when Nahamah and Lilith fought side by side could they truly display the strength worthy of being called Lords of the First Layer of the Underworld.
And only when the two completely fused—when demonic fire and demonic ice became one—could they be considered a true supreme-class demon.
But the problem was, for that fusion to happen, one of them would have to be fully consumed by the other—no different from death.
So despite how Nahamah and Lilith had worked together for so many years with uncanny coordination, like siblings, even like lovers…
Deep down, both of them had always been waiting for an opportunity.
[Bang!]
Blasted into the lava by Sakazuki, Nahamah—wreathed in pitch-black flames—shot out like a bolt of darkness, sending up great waves of molten rock in his wake.
His target: the snow-covered mountain range in the distance, blanketed by a raging blizzard.
That was where Lilith and Kuzan were fighting!
Nahamah now deeply regretted letting Sakazuki and Kuzan separate them.
At the time, they had believed that with their power, even in one-on-one combat, they could each finish off their opponent.
But clearly, they had underestimated them—severely underestimated them.
His demonic fire could hurt Sakazuki, yes—but to truly defeat him, to kill him, clearly wasn't enough.
He needed Lilith's demonic ice.
Of course, the best-case scenario would be that Lilith was already dead, her body left behind… for him to 'happen' upon.
Then these damn humans would finally experience what true despair feels like—what ultimate terror really means!
As Nahamah flew forward, rage screamed in his heart.
[Boom!]
But just then, from the searing red lake of lava below, a massive volcano erupted skyward—rising directly in his path.
"Again with this trick?! Damn it! Creating volcanoes at will… is that really something a human can do?!"
Nahamah cursed furiously to himself.
It had destroyed countless volcanoes like this before. Now, with urgency driving it to reach Lilith as quickly as possible, Nahamah chose not to dodge or retreat—but to charge straight through.
But in the very next instant, the crimson pupils in Nahamah's black eyes suddenly contracted to pinpoints.
Because it saw Sakazuki's figure emerge from the mouth of the volcano—rising with the surging magma.
Then, Sakazuki slowly raised both arms, aiming directly at it.
"That move again…?"
A cold sneer spread across Nahamah's face.
After so many days of fighting, it had already seen the full extent of Sakazuki's techniques.
"If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"
Nahamah immediately resolved to seize this opportunity and unleash the full extent of its magic.
Even if it couldn't kill Sakazuki outright, it would crush him—cripple him so badly he'd never stand again.
With that thought, a surge of pitch-black magic burst from Nahamah's body, rapidly transforming into blazing black flames.
[BOOM!]
In the next moment, the flames surged skyward into a massive inferno that pierced the clouds, the surrounding air boiling violently in its wake.
Then, above Nahamah's head, the fire compressed rapidly—condensing into a colossal fireball nearly a kilometre in diameter.
It rose above him like a black sun.
This… was the true maximum-output of Nahamah's demonic power.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---