Ren took out the Sea Stone Sword and swung it at one of the CPs. The body went limp, and in the next moment, Ren had cut them in half at the waist.
Another CP's hand was almost touching Robin. His ability could have killed her instantly, but Ren and Robin vanished from the spot, dodging Garling's slash.
The CPs glanced at each other, and all of them disappeared as well.
Of course, in Ren's Kenbunshoku Haki, there was no place for them to hide. Ren had to marvel at the strangeness of Devil Fruit abilities.
Garling's expression turned serious. He hadn't expected Ren to become so strong, able to kill one of them even under the CPs' coordinated attack.
This meant their strength was on completely different levels. He had an absurd thought: Ren was playing with them.
"Not stepping up? I can fight with my eyes closed," Ren said with a smile, looking at Garling. He truly didn't take the commander of the God's Knights seriously.
"Hmph." Garling stripped off his clothes, revealing a muscular physique. His muscles surged, his aura changed, and his speed increased. In the blink of an eye, he was beside Ren and slashed him away.
Boom—
The island shattered under the attack. Smoke rose from where Ren had landed, and the broken ground began twisting together, moving quickly toward the center.
Several Fire Fist attacks followed into the gap. The assault lasted nearly five minutes before stopping.
When the smoke cleared, a single platform remained in the center, and the surrounding ground had collapsed. Sand continuously flowed into the pit.
Slashes came at Ren one after another. He simply lifted his darkened Sea Stone sword and easily deflected all the attacks.
The twisted ground reached Ren and stopped. The Fire Fists circled behind him. Their combined attacks hadn't caused him a single scratch.
The battle caused a massive earthquake in Alabasta, destroying cities near the battlefield. The citizens had no idea what was happening.
The island continued to break apart. This huge landmass couldn't endure such a prolonged fight.
"Sorry, I don't have time to wait for the Navy. The next move will end this," Ren said seriously after blocking all attacks.
At that moment, Ren's presence changed, making everyone there shiver. Garling immediately turned and ran. He realized the absolute gap in power between him and Ren. The pride he showed before the Five Elders now looked completely foolish.
"One‑Sword Style — Secret: Burial of Life."
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
CP0's movements slowed as if frozen, not because they had slowed time, but because Ren moved so fast they couldn't even react before his blade was sheathed.
The Murasame curse marks crawled over CP0's bodies; they had no way to survive.
"What happened?" Robin asked, bewildered; she hadn't seen anything, and the scene showed no signs of damage.
"Run, no—" The CP agent couldn't finish; blood spilled from his mouth, and in his last moments he saw his lower body.
"Monster, that monster." Saint Garling had long since lost his earlier composure and fled in disarray; he had held a high post for years and would never have imagined dying here.
"Aren't we chasing?" someone asked.
"He's lost the will to fight. From here on he's not a threat, and besides, we didn't come here to fight." Ren took Robin and hurried toward the city.
Alabasta, Alubarna.
The army here had gone on full alert; the recent earthquake didn't look natural to the king, so to protect the people he ordered the troops to prepare for defense.
In the desert, two figures approached slowly, their footsteps whispering across the sand, a sound that made everyone's hearts tighten.
They all recognized the leader — one of the main figures who sparked the era's unrest, a Sea Overlord with a bounty of 4.8 billion, a man who had done things similar to Pirate King Roger, yet remained alive.
As Ren drew nearer, people began to fall to the ground, and with every step he took, more bodies collapsed.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" a man cried in panic, but the next moment he crashed to the sand.
By the time Ren arrived, not a single person remained standing, a phenomenon that naturally caused terror and had already reached the king.
Cobra came down here under the protection of several guards.
"They..." Looking at the fallen people, Cobra nearly fainted.
Ren spoke then: "They're only unconscious. What you do next will decide whether they live or die."
Cobra swallowed hard; he had never imagined a crisis of annihilation would happen in his generation.
"Where is the Poneglyph you protect? Take us there."
Cobra looked at Robin, the woman who had appeared in the news. She could study ancient texts. Could the existence they had guarded for generations really be given to them?
"If you won't, we'll find it ourselves. But these people… it's hard to say." Ren knew his weakness well. He cared more about the safety of his people.
"I'll take you there." At that moment, Cobra seemed to have aged many years.
With Cobra guiding them, the search took much less time. They soon arrived in front of the Poneglyph. Robin ignored everyone else and focused entirely on interpreting the history.
Cobra stood silently beside her, barely daring to breathe. Just then, Ren's Den Den Mushi rang.
Ren answered, "What is it, Jinbe?"
"Brother Ren, the Navy is heading to your location."
"I know. Let Kaido try to stop them. Just tell him—if he doesn't dare to fight in this battle, I'll lose all respect for him," Ren said after thinking for a moment.
"Why are you starting a war?" Cobra couldn't help but ask.
"Us? Let's just say we did. The goal is to overthrow that place," Ren said bluntly.
Cobra was stunned into silence. He had wanted to talk about human lives, but thinking back to the army collapsing earlier, he realized Ren didn't care. He was a cruel, ruthless pirate.
The historical interpretation was slow. On the seas, Kaido was already clashing with the Navy with his pirate crew and Ren's crew.
This time, with Garp and Sengoku present, Kaido was on the losing side.
But Kaido still had members of Ren's crew. There were many high-level fighters, so both sides were tangled together.
It would take time to decide the outcome. As long as Ren didn't appear, the Navy would undoubtedly win.
This battle confirmed Ren's domination over the New World. Though he hadn't reached the final island, the news from Morgans reported him as the Pirate King.
Because of this news, every pirate's eyes turned toward Ren.
Their purpose in setting sail had been to grow stronger, but above all, it was for fame and the Pirate King's treasure. At this moment, Ren had already claimed the fame, leaving only the treasure.
**********
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