Something was also wrong with Fukuda Kiyomu. The aura around him had started to become unstable.
However, no one outside could sense this change.
At that moment, Fukuda Kiyomu reached out his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and pointed at the Redvers. One of his pupils had already lost all light.
A flood of unpleasant memories came rushing back from the depths of his mind.
The power of the world's will kept rising inside Fukuda Kiyomu. In that instant, it felt like his soul had left his body and ascended above the ninja world.
It was the ninja world from thousands of years ago, still growing and full of life back then.
And right at that moment, starlight fell, and the vast will of the ninja world suddenly withdrew.
Looking down at the land, Fukuda Kiyomu saw the Divine Tree that had grown from it, saw the withered land, and also sensed the movement of the world's will.
That was when the world's will made some kind of change. The power of the sages greatly increased, and as the world's will pulled itself back, the leftover power was passed on to the sages.
Blurry memories flashed across Fukuda Kiyomu's eyes again and again.
The sages grew stronger and stronger from their original state, and their power reached its peak. Countless powerful sages rose during that time, and under the guidance of the world's will, they led humanity to attack the Land of the Ancestors and completely destroyed it.
It was during that war that the sages forced Kaguya to eat the chakra fruit.
That wasn't a battle between the sages and Kaguya—it was a war between this world and another world.
"Our will has already lasted for thousands of years."
Did the will of the Surface Immortal Kingdom already exist when the Divine Tree first invaded? Maybe it did, but it wasn't until now that the will of the Surface Immortal Kingdom fully awakened.
In that moment, Fukuda Kiyomu suddenly understood everything.
This was a clash of wills—not between his will and Shanks' will, but between the will of the world and the will inside the Divine Tree.
With Genichi's strength and skills, even using forbidden arts or sacrificing civilians wouldn't have been enough to create the Surface Immortal Kingdom out of nothing.
It had already existed for a long time. And as more and more Devil Fruit users appeared, the will of the Surface Immortal Kingdom gradually reawakened. That was the real reason Genichi could finally carry out the Surface Immortal Kingdom plan.
Of course, in this moment, Fukuda Kiyomu also realized that his own identity probably wasn't that simple.
Not everyone has the right to see so much of the past. The only explanation is that those were memories from himself from thousands of years ago.
Back then, he had already given his future self the power and the chance.
"No strength left behind, no extra memories... not even complete memories."
Fukuda Kiyomu muttered to himself, clenching his right fist. In that moment, it felt like something had shattered.
His eyes became clear once again.
"An incomplete reincarnation? Or... did your past self trust you that much? That your future self would only grow stronger and surpass who you used to be?"
"Well, it looks like the current me really has surpassed who I used to be."
Fukuda Kiyomu grinned.
This kind of confidence—that really was just like him. Leaving behind no strength at all... that was absolute trust in himself.
As an immortal, he knew exactly what was going on. While he hadn't had time to think through all the details yet…
"I now have the power to break the chains that have lasted a thousand years.
Shanks!"
"Let me show you what I can do!"
Fukuda Kiyomu vanished from where he stood. The wind stopped. Even the sounds of the clouds disappeared. The red desert fell into absolute silence.
"He's coming!"
Standing on the Redverse, Amado closed his eyes. Behind him, over a hundred chakra cores lit up.
At the same time, countless markings lit up on the Redverse's body. Twisted chakra surged out from it, becoming almost solid.
Wave after wave of chakra rippled out.
"Roar!!"
The Redverse raised its claw to the sky, and in that instant, a pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb formed in its grip.
No delay at all.
The pitch-black orb sucked in all the surrounding light. Its overwhelming force blasted the sand below into the air. The ground began to crack, and the shattered pieces lifted under the pressure.
Above the Redverse, Fukuda Kiyomu appeared, completely calm, without any visible pressure or aura.
But the Redverse could clearly feel the terrifying force of his will. That will had pierced the sky. It twisted reality itself and shattered the influence of the Dragon Vein.
"Is this all you've got?"
Fukuda Kiyomu's right hand suddenly swelled, white steam bursting out from the Haki-coated arm.
*Boom!!*
His massive fist clashed with the pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb. The ground cracked, and the shattered pieces were flung away by the violent energy shock.
An invisible force erupted between Redverse and Fukuda Kiyomu, tearing apart the red sky above.
The massive Redverse was sent flying backwards.
"Unbelievable!!"
Amado could now feel just how terrifying this enemy was.
That kind of power—he was already on Shanks' level.
"He's gone beyond all limits. That guy has surpassed the boundaries of the world itself!"
Amado steadied himself on the ship, drawing power from the chakra cores behind him.
"Susano'o Armor!"
A huge amount of chakra gathered at that moment.
A red Susano'o rose from the Redverse's body. It grabbed the ground with one hand, stopping its backward motion.
Amado was using the Redverse's body to perform this technique.
Well, technically it wasn't Ninjutsu, but it was close enough.
With the power of the Dragon Vein, there were many things he could pull off.
It's just that this Susano'o looked more like a monster.
Its head was a massive skull—identical to the one on the Redverse's sail.
It also carried a katana on its back, just like Shanks.
"This is the most I can do. Whether you survive or not is up to you now. I can't help much more."
Amado looked serious. He knew the Redverse could understand him.
The truth was, he didn't know exactly how strong the Redverse really was.
But from the looks of it, it wasn't all that powerful.
Being able to use even 80% of one's strength is already impressive.
Normally, that might be true. But right now, Amado really feels there's something wrong with the Red Force.
He even thinks this thing could be called a mini Shanks. The way it's getting stronger—it's so unusual that even Amado can tell something's off.
Only Shanks could have such a weird, dream-like ability to *power up his enemies*. No matter how you look at it, it makes no sense.
"Roar!!"
The Red Force let out a low growl in response.
The Divine Tree on the ship's body started growing like crazy, stretching like veins all over Susano'o's body, completely taking control of it.
It could feel the threat of death. But...
As Shanks' ship, how could it ever back down?
It didn't have much intelligence, barely any emotion, and couldn't even speak properly.
With its weak mind, the Red Force knew only one thing—it couldn't retreat. It would never back down.
Just like the samurai sword once in Madara's hand—it was just a regular blade, but it followed him for so long.
Because its master hadn't fallen yet, how could it fall first?
As the greatest ship to ever sail the New World, how could it fall now? It still had to carry the will of this new era forward!
*Clang!!*
The samurai sword at its waist was drawn by the Red Force. In that moment, the strange aura around it was suppressed.
It didn't stand for itself. It didn't carry its own burden.
From the very beginning, it carried this new age—along with the dreams, wills, and beliefs of countless pirates.
And the biggest difference between the Red Force and the Ten-Tails was this: it wouldn't run.
Even in the face of fear and death, it would never take a single step back.
*Ooooh…*
Wind swept past the Red Force's massive, hundred-meter-tall body like a wail of grief. The red hair on its skull fluttered in the wind, and that huge, smiling face lifted upward as sunlight poured down from the sky.
Floating in the distance, Fukuda Kiyomu blocked the sunlight, casting a shadow over half of the Red Force's face.
"Free… dom…"
A raspy voice forced its way out of the Red Force Susano'o's mouth.
The next moment, red flames burst from Susano'o's eyes, and its massive sword swung down in one clean motion.
The red slash cut a wide arc through the air. A beam of sword energy, over a hundred meters long, exploded from the blade and shot toward Fukuda Kiyomu at incredible speed.
The wind roared. The surrounding red sand was swept up into the sky by the slash. Under such terrifying power, even the sunlight coming from above looked twisted—warped by the sheer force of the attack.
Just the power of this single slash was several times stronger than the Tailed Beast Bomb from earlier.
The sages on the island stared at the overwhelming attack. Even under the protection of the phantom of the Immortal Nation, they still felt cold all over.
That monster… was way beyond what they could handle.
And the other monster… was no different.
*Boom!!*
Fukuda Kiyomu vanished—and the next moment, he was already right in front of Susano'o's face.
A massive fist recoiled, then exploded forward again. The deafening sound of the punch echoed across the empty red desert like a thunderclap.
No way to dodge. Absolutely no way to dodge!!
Half of Susano'o's face shattered, and the roots of the God Tree were also broken.
The shattering energy and the tree roots collapsed along with the massive Susano'o.
At that moment, Fukuda Kiyomu's shadow could no longer cover the face of the Redfuss.
That skull-like grin was fully exposed under the sunlight, still smiling even though half of its face was gone.
Wooo...
Wooo...
Woooo
The wind blew past Redfuss, sounding like a sad cry.
That cracked smiling face now looked a bit sorrowful.
Too slow—far too slow.
Too weak...
No match at all!!
Fukuda Kiyomu, known as the strongest sage in today's ninja world, a once-legendary figure who ruled an entire era—the difference in power was just too big.
But the next moment, a huge shadow loomed over Fukuda Kiyomu.
Redfuss's other hand had already reached behind him, and dark flames started spreading across its giant palm.
*Boom!!*
Just as Redfuss fell, it also struck Fukuda Kiyomu.
A dark figure dropped from the sky, slamming down beside Redfuss's head.
On the sandy ground, the roots of the God Tree were still burning.
Redfuss's hand had been broken off.
Ripples spread across the ground as red sand fell from the sky, bright like blood.
*Roar!!*
The blade came slashing again. Its reaction was incredibly fast—almost instinctive.
*Clang!!*
Fukuda Kiyomu's fist clashed with Redfuss's blade, and the sound of metal rang out as a massive force hit him.
Fukuda Kiyomu was sent flying backward.
The blade cut a red crack through the sky.
At the same time, Redfuss's other hand formed again, launching a black-tailed beast bomb straight at the flying Fukuda Kiyomu.
The beast bomb's power was overwhelming. The ground beneath it had already started to melt.
But just before it hit, Fukuda Kiyomu kicked it away.
With just one simple kick, he knocked it aside.
*Buzz!!!*
The beast bomb smashed into the sand, digging a massive trench before exploding in the distance.
And back on the battlefield, Fukuda Kiyomu had already re-engaged Redfuss.
This kind of fight looked boring—because Fukuda Kiyomu was just too strong.
But everyone on the island knew—if they tried to take on that monster, they'd be the ones to die.
A monster that strong could also fight with a sword, had lightning-fast reactions, and was full of battle experience.
Normal sages didn't stand a chance. To deal with something like that, they'd need at least ten sages.
But Fukuda Kiyomu was just way too powerful—he wasn't even in the same league anymore.
"Boom!!"
Again, the Red Force was hit and crashed down hard.
Fukuda Kiyomu stood on the sand, staring at the distant giant. The broken "smiling face" was still trying to pull itself back together.
"To be honest... as Shanks' ship and crew, having this much power really surprised me."
"But that's all there is to it."
"Struggling like a trapped beast won't change anything."
White steam rose from Fukuda Kiyomu's body. He was giving it everything he had against the Red Force.
Fighting both the ship and the crew of the Red-Haired Pirates at the same time—one against two—he lived up to the title of strongest sage.
"Free…"
"Free…dom…"
A hoarse voice came from under the cracked skull-shaped smile on the Red Force. Even though it was falling apart, it was still fighting back.
"Boom!!"
In the next moment, the Red Force's entire head shattered.
And standing on the ship, Amado's chest was pierced straight through.
"Freedom… always comes at a price, Red Force."
Amado fell.
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