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"SMACK!"
The crisp, sharp sound of a slap reached everyone's ears, and the entire battlefield suddenly fell silent.
"Imu-sama... was slapped ?!"
Killingham and Shamrock, who had rushed to the main battlefield, looked up at Daichi atop the stone pillar. Fear engulfed their hearts.
They never dared to dream that Daichi would treat Imu this way.
This slap didn't cause much physical harm, but...
That was Imu-sama!
Imu felt the stinging pain on her cheek, her eyes filled with disbelief. She even forgot to struggle for a moment.
"How dare you strike Imu—"
"SMACK!!!"
Another slap!
"Ugh!"
Imu groaned in pain as her other cheek took a heavy blow.
Although she was in a possessed state, her senses were fully synchronized. The pain of being repeatedly slapped by this man was more unbearable than being killed.
Such immense humiliation—it was the first time in 800 years!
"Jiehehehehe~ Jiehahahaha~~"
Daichi grinned sinisterly, pressing Imu down tightly. His right hand raised again. At this moment, their positions seemed to have reversed—he was the truly evil demon.
"Secret Technique: Consecutive Slaps!"
"No!!!"
Imu instinctively shrieked, completely forgetting to use her abilities to resist. Only her most primitive feminine instinct remained.
But no one could stop the slaps from falling!
"Smack! Smack! Smack!!!"
A barrage of continuous slaps!
Daichi's eyes glowed red, like a malevolent ghost.
Since he couldn't kill his opponent, he would attack her spirit. For these high and mighty Celestial Dragons, being so openly humiliated might be more unbearable than death itself.
"SMACK!"
The final blow!
Imu panted heavily, sweat continuously dripping to the ground. Her cheeks emitted a hot red glow from the continuous beating.
They looked cooked—even smoking!
Imu struggled to raise her head, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Imu... Imu... will kill you!"
"Hmm?"
Daichi raised his hand with ill intent once more.
Imu's pupils dilated. The next moment, her eyes suddenly rolled back, and her body slumped limply onto Daichi's leg, losing consciousness.
In the Holy Land, within the Room of Flowers, Imu knelt panting in the sea of blooms. Her mind was highly strained. The physical pain had subsided, but the feeling of being beaten still echoed in her consciousness—probably never to be forgotten.
He... he actually did that!
That man was unforgivable!
"Imu must kill you personally!!!"
Back on the battlefield at Lulusia Kingdom, Daichi lifted the unconscious form.
"Huh, she ran away already?"
Daichi examined the woman, finding that she had lost consciousness and that chilling aura had also dissipated. This should be Gunko now.
"Damn, I wasn't done yet!"
Daichi scanned his surroundings with dissatisfaction.
Although Imu had retreated, the monsters hadn't reverted to their previous forms, indicating that Imu's contract buffs were still active.
His opponent had only temporarily withdrawn.
Daichi, holding Gunko, leaped down from the pillar. Under the pursuit of the monsters, he sprinted with all his might toward the coast.
His objective had been achieved.
Time to leave!
"Click!"
During his escape, Daichi picked up the Seastone shackles that had fallen to the ground and immediately cuffed Gunko.
While Imu was in a state of mental trauma, he had to act quickly. If Sommers' death was to be replayed with Gunko, then all his efforts would be in vain.
Judging from the strength of Sommers and Gunko, apart from a few individuals, the members of the Knights of God primarily relied on their abilities and Imu's bestowed power—they weren't inherently very strong.
This meant they could be replaced and replenished at any time.
Once Imu recovered, she would likely kill Gunko remotely, so he had to find every possible way to sever Gunko's connection with Imu.
Seastone could restrict Devil Fruit abilities, so it should be effective against demonic contracts too.
"He kidnapped Gunko!"
Shamrock and Killingham realized Daichi's intention and immediately gave chase, but they couldn't close the distance.
Daichi's overall sustained speed was average, but his burst speed was extremely fast. In just a few blinks, he had already reached the coastline.
Like a flash of lightning!
The Groudon had already activated its power wheels.
As soon as Daichi jumped onto the deck, the power wheels immediately spun at high speed, propelling the Groudon into the sea.
"Kikara, lock this woman in the Seastone cell, then bind her entire body with Seastone chains!"
"Understood!"
Inside the Groudon's cabin was a cell built entirely of pure Seastone—a completely enclosed room specifically designed to imprison ability users.
Daichi returned to the edge of the deck, looking back toward the island. Large numbers of monsters had rushed to the shore, roaring at him in fury.
Shamrock and Killingham were also on the shore.
But the distance had already widened, and facing the barrier of the sea, the two were powerless. They could only watch the Groudon depart.
On another part of the island, the Revolutionary Army's ship was also leaving, with the demonized giant Morley being dragged behind it. Ivankov was probably on board as well.
After Ivankov and Morley were sent flying by him, the Army commanders had launched a rescue. He didn't know if the two could return to their original forms.
Imu's sudden appearance had been a surprise not only to him—the Revolutionary Army was equally shocked. With their comrades turned into demons, retreating was now the most important priority.
A shout came from the crow's nest. "Daichi-sama, Akainu's battleship is catching up, and those two Celestial Dragons are on the battleship too!"
"Speed up and shake them off!"
Daichi commanded loudly.
Having managed to capture such an important figure, he naturally wanted to take her back for study, to see if he could uncover Imu's secrets.
The Groudon accelerated, heading toward the Florian Triangle. There, an eternal dense fog lingered. Once they sailed into it, they could easily shake off the pursuing battleship.
But the pursuers weren't just battleships!
"Daichi-sama, something is approaching rapidly!"
"That's... Admiral Fujitora!"
"So fast—Fujitora is about to catch up to us!"
Fujitora?!
Daichi quickly ran to the stern and immediately saw Admiral Fujitora standing on a floating rock, flying rapidly toward them.
The distance between them was only a hundred meters.
Daichi frowned.
This guy was on the island too?
Something was off!
Fujitora, Akainu, and Shamrock!
How powerful must Dragon be to hold off these three? Also, according to what he'd sensed, the western battlefield had been a two-on-two.
Wait—could it be that Fujitora had turned against them?
Daichi could clearly feel no hostility from Fujitora. The admiral wasn't even on guard, having placed his cane sword at his feet.
This posture wasn't for fighting.
"No wonder Akainu came personally!"
Daichi quickly understood.
Most likely, Fujitora couldn't bear to see the Celestial Dragons slaughtering innocent lives. In a fit of rage, he'd fought against them, which led to Akainu personally intervening.
The result was that reconciliation had failed, and the fighting had intensified instead.
Now Fujitora had nowhere to go. He probably wanted to defect—either to him personally, or to the Hoenn Government—to continue working toward his dream.
Good news!
"No attacking! Let him come over!"
"Huh?"
His subordinates didn't understand, but they still obediently complied while aiming their well-prepared cannons at Akainu's battleship instead.
The cannonballs were loaded—how could they not fire them?!
"Fire!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Splashes erupted across the water!