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At the edge of the battlefield, the Revolutionary Army commanders crouched behind an earthen mound with only their heads visible, secretly observing the battle.
"So strong!"
"Of course!"
"That's the Supreme Commander of Hoenn—a monster with a bounty exceeding 5 billion Berry! One of the strongest beings in this world!"
The commanders chattered amongst themselves.
In this era, Kaido was widely recognized as the strongest creature alive, but Daichi, as a rising star, was also regarded as the strongest by countless people!
And Daichi's status as "strongest" wasn't only due to his formidable individual strength—he had also created the most powerful organization outside the World Government, possessing enough influence to control the entire New World.
Overall, Daichi was far more terrifying than Kaido. If you provoked the Beast Pirates, there was still a way out. But provoke Daichi, and there was nowhere to hide—whether in the underworld or the legitimate world.
The three Knights of God who had pushed them into a desperate struggle were successively defeated by Daichi within just a few minutes. They were completely out of his league.
Daichi stepped on Sommers' body, and dark lightning continuously emerged from his foot, destroying the Knight's regenerative ability and mobility.
His gaze shifted to Gunko.
Gunko's wrist was regenerating, which meant his Haki had been dispersed. After all, there was no continuous supply—the amount of Haki was finite.
It was only a matter of time before it ran out completely.
"Kikara!"
"Yes!"
Kikara quickly ran over, holding Seastone shackles!
"Oh no!"
Gunko's expression changed, and she tried to stop Kikara, but numerous rock pillars shot up around her, forming a cage that imprisoned her.
"Something like this!"
Her arrowhead bandages coiled into a massive fist, striking the rock pillar with tremendous force!
"BANG!"
The rock pillar dented but didn't shatter as expected!
"So hard!"
Gunko's pupils constricted in shock.
"That's a cage made of high-density underground ore—harder than steel. Don't think you can easily destroy it."
Daichi reminded her with a smile while gesturing for Kikara to shackle Sommers. Once the Seastone handcuffs were on, Sommers' abilities would become unusable.
However, it was uncertain whether the powers bestowed upon him would also become ineffective.
"Hmm?!"
Suddenly, a dark five-pointed magic circle appeared beneath Daichi's feet, pulling Sommers' body down into it.
"Trying to escape?!"
Daichi's gaze turned cold. He drew his greatsword and stabbed it into the magic circle. Conqueror's Haki infused the blade, and dark lightning spread outward from the point of impact!
"ZZZZZT!"
The magic circle twisted and expanded violently!
Daichi didn't even lift his head.
"Kikara, hurry!"
"Yes!"
Kikara immediately rushed forward with the Seastone shackles, attempting to bind Sommers. However, just as she was about to succeed, Sommers suddenly let out a mournful wail. Black smoke billowed from his entire body.
"No, Imu-sa—"
Daichi's expression changed drastically. He quickly pulled Kikara back and leaped away.
"BOOM!!!"
Dark Haki lightning exploded outward!
When everything settled, only a charred skeleton remained of Sommers' body—completely devoid of any signs of life.
"Imu!"
Daichi held Kikara protectively, his eyes cold.
Clearly, to prevent him from taking Sommers as a hostage, someone had destroyed the body remotely. And that person could only be Imu.
"Sommers!"
"A Knight of God is dead?!"
Seeing Sommers reduced to a skeleton, Gunko, Killingham, and the Revolutionary Army commanders all turned pale with shock.
The commanders were in utter disbelief.
Judging from Sommers' sudden death, it clearly wasn't Daichi who killed him—so who was it?!
"Imu-sama!"
Fear surged uncontrollably in the hearts of Gunko and Killingham.
Especially Killingham, who was now only a severed head. If the enemy came to capture him, he would likely suffer the same fate as Sommers.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, Gunko's body stiffened. Her aura underwent a drastic transformation, with black lightning crackling around her.
Killingham's expression changed to one of horror.
"Imu-sama?!"
It's Imu-sama!
On the western battlefield of the island, Shamrock, who had been battling Dragon, quickly pulled back. He looked in shock toward the black lightning emerging from the eastern part of the island.
Imu-sama had descended!
"Such an evil aura!"
Dragon, Akainu, and Fujitora—all three stopped fighting simultaneously and looked toward the Conqueror's Haki erupting in the eastern part of the island. Cold sweat trickled down their foreheads.
Even from this distance, they could feel that terrifying presence. This was definitely not an aura any normal human should possess!
On the eastern battlefield, in the sky above, giant demonic wings extended from Gunko's back. An arrow-like tail grew behind her, and a demonic trident materialized in her hand.
Not only her aura—her very appearance had undergone a tremendous transformation.
"A demon?"
Daichi gazed up at Gunko.
Undoubtedly, the woman's current form resembled that of a legendary demon. But Gunko's original ability was clearly to manipulate arrows.
And this aura was completely different!
"Could it be possession?"
Daichi pondered.
From the moment he had confronted the Five Elders, he had been trying to understand the source of the immortality Imu bestowed upon them.
Magic circles, immortality, flames...
Plus this demonic form!
The answer was becoming clearer!
Even if Imu's true ability wasn't demonic possession itself, it must be related to demons.
Imu hovered in the sky. Her tail quickly extended toward a part of the battlefield, then immediately retracted after finding something.
It was Killingham's head!
Under the enhancement of her Haki, Killingham quickly cleared away Daichi's lingering Haki, and his body rapidly regenerated.
"Such powerful Haki!"
Daichi felt the immense pressure.
The Haki displayed by the being before him was the strongest he had ever encountered—even more terrifying than Kaido's or Red-Haired Shanks'.
Imu stared directly at Daichi, speaking coldly.
"Mortal, Imu shall let you witness the dominion of a god!"
Endless black lightning spread outward, engulfing the entire island!
"Ugh!"
Kikara's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed directly into Daichi's arms.
Daichi was shocked once again.
"Hey, seriously?"
He could perceive that the entire island was enveloped by the opponent's Conqueror's Haki. Such a wide-range deterrence was absolutely unheard of!
Alright, alright—everyone's cheating now, huh!
Daichi extended his Observation Haki toward the seaside and quickly located Speed. "Speed, get everyone onto the ships!"
"Understood!"
Speed moved swiftly, transferring the unconscious subordinates onto the vessels.
On the battlefield, the Army commanders stared at the demonic Imu.
"What's wrong with that woman?"
"Such powerful Conqueror's Haki actually exists in this world!"
"I almost fainted just now!"
Even they had barely endured the intense mental shock. They had never witnessed such exaggerated power before.
As long as they weren't complete fools, they could tell the situation had changed drastically. The demonic woman in the sky definitely possessed terrifying power.
"What should we do?"
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded silently.
Fight the enemy!
Just moments ago, the enemy had been no match for Daichi, so they didn't need to help. But now, facing an unknown powerful foe, they couldn't let Daichi-san fight alone!
"Let's go, hip hop!"
The Army commanders gathered behind Daichi.
"Daichi-san, we're here to help you!"
"Hmm?!"
Daichi looked at the strangely dressed individuals. Besides East Army Commander Belo Betty, who was pleasing to the eye, the others together looked like a chaotic parade of demons.
Are you sure you're not here to cause trouble?
Wait... these people might actually be able to play some role.
Daichi pointed at Imu in the sky.
"You go first!"
"Eh?!"