The moment Jigen spoke, a will that broke free from the world's limits spread out from him.
It spread in complete calm, yet carried a breathtaking sense of power—power that broke limits, went beyond the ceiling, and shattered chains.
In this era, besides Shanks, there were others who had reached this level through their own strength.
With the fruit's awakening, everything around them seemed to break free from its bonds.
No—more accurately, everything within a hundred miles, whether physical or not, had already broken free. It was only because of Shanks' will that the area still held together.
"Shanks!"
"From the day you appeared, I understood the meaning of thousands of years of waiting. Compared to you, even the geniuses of the Otsutsuki clan look plain."
"The reversal art of tracing back to the source—at its heart, it's about finding the true nature of power, then carving out a path of your own.
That road isn't easy. In fact, it's nearly impossible—unless you can completely deny everything about your past self, and then carry through with the path you've chosen."
Jigen was no fool. His pride never meant he refused to think. On the contrary, whether schemes, plots, or tricks, Jigen believed those were things only the strong could use.
The weak couldn't even pull off a scheme.
And he himself was both shameless and clever.
Especially in this state, Jigen's mind was sharper than ever.
Every road he chose was one he had thought through carefully.
"To walk this path, you must be ready to die. But… from the very start I saw the root of this power. I saw the awakening ability of Devil Fruits."
Hearing this, Shanks frowned.
As expected, the people of this world weren't simple. Why did they all know so much about the power of Devil Fruits? And more than that…
Why did they all act like they understood Devil Fruits as well as he did?
In that moment, silence spoke louder than words. To Jigen, Shanks' frown looked more like recognition.
Even though Shanks said nothing, even though he never shared any of this, that was exactly why Jigen believed he had the resolve and the right to win Shanks over.
Because in this world, no one understood Shanks better than him.
Even without words, he knew.
From the time Devil Fruits first appeared, Jigen knew they weren't as simple as they seemed. When he ate the Float-Float Fruit, he could already awaken it.
And later, when news of awakening spread, it only proved the connection—the unspoken understanding—between him and Shanks.
It also showed Shanks' loneliness… and that he was the one most qualified to become Shanks' companion.
He would be Shanks' captain!!
"Surprising, isn't it? That I can know this much, Shanks."
"Yes… very surprising. In this, you know more than I do."
Shanks nodded, acknowledging Jigen's brilliance. But Jigen shook his head. He might know more, but he didn't think he was smarter than Shanks.
"That's true—but only because you never ate a Devil Fruit. You never needed it.
Power beyond the world's limits!
And the true power of the Float-Float Fruit is to let all things break free from bonds. That was the clearest force that pushed me to deny my old path, and after tracing back to the source, let me reach this level with ease.
Other Devil Fruit users might not understand their fruits so deeply, but they too, chasing strength, dig into their fruit's power.
Through countless brushes with death, they reach the height of tracing back to the source, touch the will of the world itself, and from there carve out their own path—reaching a level that breaks past the world's limits."
"The Devil Fruits are the sacred tree you planted for the new era. In the end, ability users will reach the level you've reached, maybe even surpass you."
Jigen's voice carried weight and respect. This was Shanks' spirit, the spirit that made Jigen admire him.
The Devil Fruits, they were the sacred tree Shanks had planted for the New World. They were seeds of power he left behind so that others could grow strong enough to defeat him, maybe even kill him.
Because the height Shanks stood at was simply too high.
To reach this level, even Jigen himself had exhausted his mind and even chosen a shortcut.
Still, no matter the method, at least he succeeded.
And after hearing Jigen's words, Shanks also understood—he understood the power of the Devil Fruits.
The man in front of him had actually reached this level by relying on a Devil Fruit.
"But Shanks, you're giving those people too much credit.
To reach the level of awakening where you touch the will of the world is not easy. Without awakening, you can't break past the limits and complete the second awakening."
"In this world, only I, Golden Lion, have reached this height, reached this level.
So…"
The aura around Jigen grew more terrifying, the sense of danger almost real. Yes, Shanks felt that danger as if it was something tangible.
"Shanks, be my vice-captain!"
"Golden Lion, I was thinking the same thing—but it's you who should be my crewmember!"
This time, Shanks was the first to strike, unable to hold back.
"Let me see what power beyond the limit, born from the second awakening, really looks like."
Shanks' eyes turned sharp. His Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his katana, and his Observation Haki was pushed to the maximum.
Yet at this moment, Observation Haki could no longer foresee any future—not even the enemy's movements.
In his vision, all Shanks could see was a faint golden mist behind Jigen. At the same time, Jigen's sight showed the terrifying red aura surrounding Shanks.
"Divine Departure!!"
"Unbound Great Sky Blade!"
The red power tore through the restraints of the world's will.
Shanks' katana seemed to become the only thing in this space. As the slash swung out, Shanks' figure fully revealed itself.
With swordsmanship as the key, he ripped apart the bonds of this world, unleashing all of his power.
Behind his small frame was a vast, twisted red will, gathered in the instant of his strike.
Power beyond the world—that was what this was, a force that could strike directly from outside the world's level.
It cut into the world's will itself, and the damage would bounce back through it. None beneath Shanks' level could block it.
This was "Divine Departure"!
Even gods would have to avoid it.
But Golden Lion Jigen was no god. He was a powerhouse on the same level as Shanks.
"Unbound Great Sky Blade" was also Jigen's key to breaking the world's limits. On that same transcendent level, Jigen's great blade appeared.
The blade was like a mist, and behind it came Jigen himself, carrying the golden will that gathered on his body.
"Boom!!"
The two weapons clashed, the sound of the tremor rang out, and from above Jigen pressed Shanks straight down.
That strike was fully charged and unleashed with all his strength.
That strike was meant to cut through Shanks's arrogance, his spirit, his pride!
In that instant, Shanks only felt an overwhelming force. His sword was pushed back…
Just that slight movement left a thin cut across Shanks's chest. The wound was shallow.
But in this exchange, Jigen didn't back down. Instead, he wounded Shanks—something that had never happened before. Never, not once, had anyone cut him head-on.
"Boom!!"
The next moment, the massive shockwave spread out. Cracks opened across the packed red earth, spreading wider and wider as huge chunks of stone floated into the air.
This wasn't just the aftershock of battle. It meant Shanks's willpower restraint had broken at that moment. It meant Jigen's strength was now in control.
Amid the flying debris, Shanks leapt back, katana already poised to defend.
In the same instant, Jigen appeared before Shanks, his massive blade slashing down again. The endless trail of sword light forced the hollow space blasted open by the Grail Stone to bulge outward.
Then, the terrifying second strike landed.
A terrifying force—no one had ever seen such power. Even Shanks had never faced such overwhelming might from another.
Jigen had taken another path, using the strength he drew out from the Float-Float Fruit, a wild and unrestrained force that broke free of all limits.
But…
"To crush me with sheer force—you picked the wrong man, Golden Lion!!"
Shanks roared in fury.
"Do you even know who it is standing in front of you?"
Compared to the fully grown Jigen, Shanks's build looked much thinner, and in his hands was only an ordinary katana.
But the dignity of a Four Emperor was not something that could be challenged so easily.
In that instant, all the red willpower in the heart of the New World vanished. The red force that had broken through the world's will above the New World sky disappeared completely.
What remained was a golden willpower, faint but powerful, piercing through the limits of the world's will and reaching beyond it.
That was Jigen's will.
A force that surpassed the world's will itself.
Yet even among powers at the same level, there were still differences in strength.
Jigen had truly understood this power—and mastered it.
But Shanks was different. From the very start, he had kicked the door wide open, shattering the world's limits head-on.
Because the world's will was so vast, he couldn't maintain that state forever. Only then did Shanks slowly learn how to use the "key" to unlock those limits instead.
Still, there was a gap between their powers.
If the ninja world's test had a maximum score of one hundred, then Golden Lion broke that limit and scored one hundred and twenty.
But Shanks… he was at the level of one hundred and fifty.
Both had gone beyond the limit of one hundred, but… they were not the same.
When the red will disappeared, the whole New World fell silent—for a full ten seconds.
Then, red sword light erupted from the center of the Red Line. The entire Red Line shook, a massive crack spreading from its center all the way to its edge.
And above the New World, the red will grew even more violent and awe-inspiring, shattering the world's will that had just begun to heal.
At that moment, the red will even started to take form. A dragon-shaped red phantom loomed above the world from beyond, gazing down with pride, majesty, and overwhelming strength.
At the same time, the will of the entire ninja world began rushing wildly toward the area where Shanks was. What was once calm had now become violent.
The surging world will instantly shattered the dragon-shaped shadow, and the sages outside the Red Line all turned to look at it.
A huge crack appeared on the Red Line. As the world will surged, seawater started flowing upward against all logic toward the Red Line, forming a raging river over that crack in an instant.
At the same time, Fukuda Kiyomu, who had been badly injured and unconscious, woke up. The world will descended and erased the will-inflicted wound Shanks had left on him.
Fukuda Kiyomu woke up and looked toward the Red Line.
His view was different from everyone else's—he saw the terrifying scene in the realm of wills.
The golden will was split apart by a flash of red blade light. On that crack on the Red Line, there was an unimaginably fierce red slash, now covered by rushing seawater.
The slash on the crack was buried, forced down by the crushing power of the world will.
But Fukuda Kiyomu knew that river, like the scar in the Earthly Sage Kingdom, would stay forever, even if Shanks died.
It was the scar Shanks left on this world.
"As expected… not even on the same level… Even with the world will on my side, even with my status, I'm no match for that guy."
At that moment, Fukuda Kiyomu understood the gap between them.
Someone who could make the world will try so hard to suppress him wasn't just scary—that word wasn't enough.
And of course, he wasn't the only one who could see this.
On the East Blue battlefield, the power hidden in Rikudou Sennin's clone was also revealed, and the world will instantly locked onto him.
Luckily, it only lasted for a moment.
"Why did that guy suddenly pull back his power? I almost collapsed there."
Rikudou Sennin frowned. Shanks had been holding the Red Line all this time, using his own will to block the world will for him.
But just now, Shanks pulled back his power, catching Rikudou Sennin off guard. Luckily, during this time, his real body had almost finished handling things deep within the world.
And he was ready to deal with the world will.
But the moment the world will noticed Rikudou Sennin, Master Genichi on the East Blue battlefield sensed him as well.
"So, he really is still alive!"
\[Crying!]
This is really hard to write. Battle scenes are so hard. How do you people in the One Piece world fight for days? I just want to ask.
And it's not just the fight scenes. The hard part is combining two worlds while keeping the power system solid.
Right now, it looks like the power scaling is broken, but actually, it's not. The whole system is still fairly complete.
Including how Devil Fruits work—the first awakening affects the level of world will, and the second awakening surpasses the world will entirely.
All this stuff needs to stay consistent. You can't just throw in some nonsense like "pushed to the extreme by rage" in this kind of story.
So, that's the situation.
If you take a moment to really look at the explanations of this novel's power system and everything, it's actually pretty interesting. [Rubbing hands.]
---
You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu