Beyond the range of Imu's relentless assault, the four remaining Five Elders watched the group of rebels being driven back under the force of Imu's onslaught.
Among them were the ones who had killed Saturn Saint — Souta Kiryuu and Blackbeard Teach.
All they needed to do was wait for Lord Imu to wear these pirates down, drain their stamina, or seriously wound them. When that moment came, they were ready to act, to strike and eliminate every last criminal on this battlefield.
Under the shadow strikes of Imu's power, Kuzan (Aokiji) managed to break away from the fight. However, even he could not continue advancing toward Barrett under the dense onslaught of shadow spears and arrows.
Thinking of the disaster happening to the Navy fleet in the other war zone, Kuzan decisively withdrew from the glacial battlefield and Imu's shadow domain.
Imu did not obstruct the Navy Admiral's retreat. Kuzan was allowed to leave safely.
Bundy Wald, however, also attempted to escape through the same opening, trying to slip away in Kuzan's wake. But a barrage of shadow arrows tore through the air toward him, giving him no chance to break free.
He had no choice but to move closer to Barrett, forced to cooperate and defend together against the terrifying storm of shadow spears.
Seeing Kuzan escape, Barrett could do nothing to stop him. He could only watch as a powerful opponent fled the battlefield.
"What the hell is this power? Even my Armament Haki can't defend against it!"
Barrett — the monster with the Devil's Body — had always possessed complete confidence in his Armament Haki. Its strength was enough to withstand even the attacks of Conqueror's Haki infusion.
But now, his thick armor of Haki, and even the Conqueror's infusion he had recently grasped, were being pierced and worn down again and again as if they were nothing but thin metal sheets.
He was being forced to burn through his Haki several times faster than normal just to clash with Imu's storm of shadow weapons.
"Barrett! I'm at my limit! Cover me for a second!"
Gasping for breath, Wald rushed behind Barrett, using him as a shield to catch even a moment's rest.
"Damn it! I can't last much longer either! Move toward Souta Kiryuu!"
Barrett's entire body radiated heat, his skin scorching like Souta Kiryuu's. His Devil's physique was nearing overload from pushing beyond its limits.
"Damn it all! Imu is too strong! If I survive this, I'm never getting involved in Souta Kiryuu and Imu's war again!"
Wald cursed without restraint. He remembered Imu being nowhere near this terrifying before. How had things changed so drastically?
What he didn't know was this:
Imu had always held back, unwilling to reveal too much.
But Souta Kiryuu had ruined the Naval command in the New World, desecrated the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons, and even killed one of the Five Elders.
And worst of all — Souta Kiryuu had grasped a forbidden primordial power.
This, Imu could not tolerate.
Now, Imu was determined to erase Souta Kiryuu completely — the lowborn who dared touch taboos.
"A power even more terrifying than Conqueror's Haki infusion...!"
Barrett growled through gritted teeth.
He had to learn this power.
He had only just begun to grasp the basics of Conqueror's infusion from Souta Kiryuu, yet now both Imu and Souta were wielding something even higher.
It infuriated him.
Why was he always one step behind the strongest?
When he thought Conqueror's infusion was the peak, Roger and Rayleigh never taught it to him.
The moment he finally acquired that "ultimate power," Imu and Souta revealed a force far above it.
"Damn it! If Imu won't let us leave, then we head to Souta Kiryuu!"
Wald helped Barrett block attacks as they pushed forward toward Souta's battlefield.
Meanwhile, Kaido, fighting alone, had been driven into a fury. The endless waves of Imu's strikes left him in a miserable state he had never known.
Not even the young Whitebeard had forced him into this kind of retreat.
"Rocks... Roger... you were wrong!!
The strongest power isn't Haki — nor Conqueror's infusion!
It's the power Imu controls!!"
Kaido roared upward like a betrayed child.
He had spent half his life mastering Conqueror's infusion — yet it could not withstand this mysterious, overwhelming force.
But instead of retreating, Kaido stubbornly continued to clash with Imu's shadow spears and blades, refusing to step back even once.
This was the first time Kaido had seen such power.
And like any warrior who stood atop the sea, he still yearned to learn from the strong.
If he could grasp this power himself — he would drag Imu, the so-called King of the World, down from the throne.
Meanwhile, in the other battlefield, the Navy's main fleet had completely collapsed.
The Big Mom Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and Souta Kiryuu's faction were crushing them.
The wounded Hero Garp was being forced into a corner by Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin. Blood stained his beard and coat entirely.
Earlier, to maintain his act before the Five Elder Mars Saint, Garp had taken Linlin's combined Homies attack head-on with his real body.
Now it was proving to have been a disastrously foolish choice.
His aide Bogard was being hunted by King the Wildfire and Shiryu of the Rain. He had been gravely injured and could fall at any moment.
Peach Rabbit Gion was even worse — besieged by Enel and the Impel Down Three Monsters.
At one point, Catarina Devon disguised herself as an injured Marine soldier and stabbed Gion brutally in the side, gravely wounding her.
Enel wanted to finish Gion off, but Catarina stopped him — this was a gift for Lord Souta Kiryuu.
She could not be allowed to die here.
Jack the Drought led the Flying Six and the Beasts Pirates' expedition forces, along with Crackers and Snack of Big Mom's fleet, and together they had shattered the Navy's lines.
Under Garp's order, what remained of the Navy was fleeing in every direction.
The two Emperor crews pursued them mercilessly, pirate ships roaring across the waves, bloodlust surging like a storm.
"Ahahaha!! Kill every last Marine!!"
Charlotte Snack howled as he cut through fleeing soldiers, every sweep of his dual blades sending up a spray of blood.
But then — a freezing gust swept over him.
"Pirate... I am in a very bad mood right now."
A voice as cold as arctic ice sounded behind him.
Before Snack could react, a massive spear of ice pierced clean through his chest.
His expression froze in disbelief — and despair spread across his eyes.