Souta Kiryuu stood upon the frozen slope beneath the massive teleportation magic array overhead. Moments ago, Admiral Sakazuki—known as Akainu—had brutally melted the final CP0 agent in his path, only to be engulfed by a storm of shadow arrows.
His mind had already been tampered with, his combat instincts dulled, his awareness clouded. Both Observation Haki and Armament Haki had weakened by several layers. Now, he fought relying almost entirely on his overwhelming Magma Logia ability.
Yet, under the assault of these shadow-forged arrows, infused with an origin power beyond comprehension, even his elemental body was torn apart.
"Gu—Hah!!"
Akainu's magma flesh bristled with pitch-black arrows, each one writhing with eerie darkness. Blood surged from his mouth in heavy bursts.
The spectators watching the live broadcast—marines and civilians alike—were struck silent. The once-invincible Fleet Admiral, a pillar of the World Government, was being shredded before their eyes.
Too weak? It looked that way.
But they remembered.
The legendary Golden Lion Shiki had also been struck down instantly by the same figure.
It wasn't that Shiki or Akainu were weak.
It was that the so-called King of the World, Im, existed on a completely different plane.
"He hasn't even fully manifested on the battlefield," someone murmured, "yet he injured Shiki and Akainu, scared Bartholomew Kuma into fleeing, and even forced Souta Kiryuu to threaten Mary Geoise using Uranus just to stall him. How terrifying is this being? Far beyond Roger. Beyond Rocks. Beyond everything we've known."
On Sabaody Archipelago, Shakky pinched her cigarette between her fingers, her gaze somber. Even across a broadcast, Im's presence suffocated them.
"A creature who's lived for a thousand years or more," she said, "must possess powers that no one today understands. Souta mentioned something earlier—a familiar power... One stronger than Conqueror's Haki itself."
Silvers Rayleigh closed his eyes, grief weighing heavily on him. Ace was gone. The bloodline of Roger had vanished. Destiny was cruel.
Luffy, half-conscious, was yanked upright by Usopp.
"Luffy! Look! The monster that killed Ace is finally being cornered!"
Luffy's fists tightened. He wanted revenge more than anyone—but he knew. Against these monsters who ruled the New World, he was powerless.
Nami watched the battlefield, hands trembling.
Souta Kiryuu was still standing beneath that rain of shadow arrows.
And Im… had only shown half a body.
Souta's situation was beyond dangerous.
On the glacier battlefield itself, Souta's eyes lit with exhilaration as Saint Masu charged toward him, riding his monstrous divine bird form.
Souta laughed while launching volleys of shadow spears and arrows back at Im.
"Kuhahaha!! If I cut you down, that teleportation array ends, doesn't it?"
Masu's pupils tightened. The intent to save Saturn vanished from him instantly.
Souta was right.
Masu was the stabilizer for Im's teleportation array. If he fell—the link would collapse. Their advantage would flip. The Five Elders could die here.
Souta gave a crooked grin. One taunt and the Elder hesitated.
He wasn't unharmed by any means. Im and Masu were both targeting him. But stalling Masu—weakening his resolve—even a little—gave Blackbeard more time to complete his horrific ritual.
Masu's dive slowed. His attack softened. Defense took priority.
Only by protecting himself could Im's descent continue.
Meanwhile, Im's expanding attack began sweeping the battlefield. The Red Count and Nasujuro's duel was pulled into its radius. Souta's six avatars and Bundy Walde's assault against Saint Peter were ensnared as well.
Kaido and Saint Warcury's monstrous clash in the distance, and Kuzan's fight with Barrett, remained barely outside the spread. The naval and pirate fleets fighting far from the glacier were too distant to be reached.
But wiping out every major combatant on the glacier was already a victory.
Souta's airship remnants fled desperately—led by Nico Robin and Jewelry Bonney—toward the naval conflict offshore. Their plan was to break that fleet and free Big Mom to shift the balance again.
High above, the Red Hair Pirates watched from atop their massive crimson dragon. Shanks wanted to end the war—to stop this chaos before the world shattered completely.
But if he intervened now—if Im slaughtered Souta and Kaido unchecked—the New World would collapse into irreversible chaos.
So Shanks waited.
For one decisive moment.
Elsewhere, Bundy Walde shuddered as waves of shadow arrows descended.
"Tch—INSANE!!" he barked, launching his Hundredfold Speed to escape. "Forget this damn sand worm! All of you—break the magic array!!"
He fled, retreating toward Barrett and Kuzan instead. Better to face a devil he understood.
Souta's six avatars immediately shifted to assault Masu.
Saint Peter tried to intercept—to save Saturn—but it was too late.
Souta shattered Im's volley with sheer force. Masu fell back, shaken. Boa Hancock reached Souta's side, helping hold the line.
Meanwhile, in the eye of the ritual—Blackbeard moved.
Protected by Souta's interference, he had first claimed Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi.
Now, Saturn's Zoan Mythical Beast: Ox-Devil.
As the remnants of Saturn's corpse dissolved into black matter, a new monster rose.
Blackbeard's body twisted—six black spider legs burst from his back, horns curled from his skull, and his eyes glowed blood-red.
In his left hand, the abyss of the Yami Yami no Mi.
In his right, the catastrophic tremor of the Gura Gura no Mi.
The Beast of Souta Kiryuu's banner—Blackbeard—had fully awakened.
The true monster had arrived.