— — — — — —
"Hahaha~"
Renzo let out a mocking laugh as he slowly rose from the ground, leveling himself midair to face the newcomer eye-to-eye. His gaze was full of disdain.
"So you're the infamous Imu, huh?"
"You really think you've already got me beat?"
He scoffed. "How do you even say something that naïve with a straight face? You think I came all this way without knowing what I'm up against? Like I'm just some reckless idiot? Hehe, my name isn't Monkey D. Renzo is it?"
"Please. I've been waiting for you."
Yeah. That was Imu—appearing in the form of a young man, with eyes sharper than blades.
"Oh?" Imu raised an eyebrow, amused. "Confident, are we? Let's see how long that lasts."
In a flash, Imu tore through Renzo's domain projection like it was paper. His arm reached out across dozens of meters, instantly appearing in front of Renzo's face, ready to grab him.
But Renzo calmly caught his hand midair and twisted hard—only to realize, to his surprise, he couldn't crush it.
He definitely had the edge in raw strength… but not by much. Not enough to dominate.
"Huh?" Renzo narrowed his eyes.
Imu's own eyes flashed.
"Hundredfold Strength Enhancement!"
Boom—Renzo instantly felt the pressure. Imu's power skyrocketed. Before he could react, Imu reversed the grip and clamped down hard on his arm.
"Absolute Zero!"
Without hesitation, Renzo unleashed the full force of his ice powers. A wave of bone-chilling cold shot through Imu's arm.
Imu's expression finally changed. He pulled back instantly, even snapping his own arm off in the process.
Blood splattered.
But before Renzo could press the attack, Imu's severed arm began regenerating—fast. In just two heartbeats, a brand-new hand had grown back.
He stared at Renzo grimly.
"I underestimated you. That kind of freezing ability… it far surpasses the Ice-Ice Fruit."
"And you… you haven't eaten a Devil Fruit at all, have you?"
"There's more to you than meets the eye. I'll enjoy tearing your secrets out."
"Space Shatter!"
Imu suddenly swung his fist—shattering the space in front of him.
Cracks exploded through the air, spiderwebbing across the entire palace. A devastating shockwave of broken space surged toward Renzo.
"Dimensional Cut!"
Sensing real danger, Renzo didn't hesitate. He unleashed his own spatial ability, severing the space between them completely.
Then, with a flash, he appeared hundreds of meters away—outside the palace.
He immediately waved his hand and teleported Kuina, who was still rescuing slaves, far away—right into the Sabaody Archipelago.
Through mental link, he stated, "Imu's here. He's dangerous."
"Got it. Be careful!" Kuina's reply came through telepathy, tinged with worry.
She raised her left hand and spoke into her comm-bracelet: "Red Queen, can you monitor what's happening in Mary Geoise?"
"Absolutely."
"Give me a visual feed."
"Yes, ma'am!"
A holographic screen instantly appeared in front of her, projecting a live feed of Renzo's battle.
"Huh?"
Shakky, who had been nearby, caught a glimpse of the screen and frowned. "Kuina… is that Mary Geoise? Don't tell me you and Renzo—"
"Hm?"
Rayleigh, who had been casually drinking nearby, looked over, intrigued. He stood up and walked over behind Kuina. "That's definitely Mary Geoise on the screen. What were you two doing there? And… who the hell is that fighting Renzo?"
Even through the screen, Rayleigh could tell that this opponent wasn't normal.
He narrowed his eyes and activated Observation Haki, sweeping his senses toward Mary Geoise—and his expression instantly changed.
"That aura… the Celestial Dragons' King… Imu?!"
"What?" Kuina turned to look at him, startled. "You know him, Uncle Rayleigh? You've seen him before?"
Shakky also looked serious now. "It's really him?"
Rayleigh shook his head. "Never met him face to face. But I've sensed that aura before—once. After Roger became the Pirate King, there was… an encounter. I only caught a glimpse of his presence, but I'll never forget it."
"If Roger hadn't already been dying, and if he hadn't reached some kind of agreement with that man… we wouldn't have made it out alive."
"Hell, without that deal, the entire crew might've been wiped out back then."
He stared at the feed, frowning deeply.
"So tell me, Kuina—how the hell did you two end up fighting that monster?"
Rayleigh knew Renzo well—years ago, the kid had come to improve his Haki from him, even brought Zoro and Kuina along to train.
"Let me explain…" Kuina didn't hesitate.
She quickly ran through Renzo's plan for toppling the World Government and taking down the Celestial Dragons.
"…WHAT?!" x2
Both Shakky and Rayleigh turned pale.
"You guys are insane!" Shakky exclaimed, stunned. "You're seriously planning to wipe out the Celestial Dragons and the entire World Government?"
"And you're telling me Renzo already knew about Imu—and still chose to pick a fight?" Rayleigh's face twisted in disbelief. "Where does he even get that kind of confidence?"
"Chill," Kuina said, waving her hand casually. "If Renzo says it's under control, then it is. I trust him. Besides, isn't the fight pretty even right now? He hasn't even gotten serious yet."
With that, she stopped talking and just focused on the projection in front of her.
…Truthfully, though, she was worried too.
Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged glances. Both looked back at the screen, deeply concerned.
"No matter who wins—Renzo or Imu—the world is about to go up in flames."
---
Back at Mary Geoise
Imu was surprised.
Renzo had just shrugged off his spatial-shattering punch—an attack that fused the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit with his own space-manipulating abilities. A technique capable of fracturing space itself… and yet it hadn't even fazed Renzo.
"Now this is interesting," he thought.
His aura began to rise sharply, distorting the space around him as it intensified.
The pressure was so overwhelming that even those hundreds of kilometers away—Rayleigh, and the Marine top brass at Marineford—felt it instantly.
"…That pressure. Don't tell me… that's Imu's aura?" Sengoku's face darkened.
"Wow… scary stuff." Kizaru, for once, dropped his lazy tone, his brows furrowing.
"He's strong. Really strong. You think Renzo can really take him?" Aokiji asked, frowning.
Then suddenly—BOOM—a surge of power exploded out that matched Imu's terrifying presence… and then completely surpassed it.
The moment they felt it, Sengoku, Garp, and the others lit up.
"That's Renzo!"
"You take one too— Starfall!!"
Renzo's eyes shifted—turning into a pair of dazzling golden six-pointed stars.
(IMAGE)
These weren't the regular Rinnegan. They were a new evolution—born from combining the Rinnegan and the mighty Tenseigan—dubbed the Rinne-Tenseigan.
"There were no circles in it like the Rinnegan, and the black tomoe had turned into golden, star-shaped marks similar to the Tenseigan.
These new eyes were radiant, sharp, and… honestly, way cooler-looking.
Without hesitation, Renzo locked onto several massive meteors floating in low orbit—then dragged them toward the planet with brutal force.
Moments later, enormous fireballs streaked through the sky like divine punishment raining down from the heavens.
Even in the distant New World, Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks could see the meteors crashing toward Mary Geoise.
"Oi oi… what the hell's going on?" Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, laughing. "That direction… that's Mary Geoise, ain't it? Gurararara!"
"Looks like that brat Renzo really went and picked a fight with the World Government! You sure you don't need to go help your main body?"
He glanced at Uchiha Madara, standing calmly nearby.
"Heh…" Madara's clone smirked. "No need. It's just Imu. My main body's got this. And if he can't win… there's no point in me going back anyway."
"Gurararara! Confident, aren't you? Well, I'll be watching closely. If he really takes out the Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders, and that mysterious Imu… then I'll fulfill everything I promised—help take down Kaido, back his new United Government, hell… I'll even turn my crew into an adventure guild if that's what he wants!"
Whitebeard looked rejuvenated—strong, loud, and full of life. Gone was the fragile old man of the past.
All thanks to Renzo.
He'd healed Whitebeard's hidden injuries using Madara's clone, and even gifted him a weakened life-extending elixir that could extend life by fifty years.
That act had earned Whitebeard's trust and allegiance—something brute force alone could never achieve.
"Relax. The conclusion's not far off now," said Madara with a light chuckle.
...
Meanwhile, aboard the Red-Haired Pirates' ship—
"Whoa… this move's a bit over the top, isn't it?" Shanks whistled as he looked up at the falling meteors. There was admiration in his eyes—but also concern. "Still, I hope he pulls it off. Imu's no pushover."
He had seen Imu before. That's why he knew—better than most—just how terrifying the man truly was.
"Oh, he'll succeed," said a voice from beside him.
Mihawk took a swig from his flask, his eyes never leaving the meteors blazing through the sky. "That guy is on a whole different level from the rest of us. He's already surpassed the strongest swordsmen in history—and I've still got a lot I want to learn from him."
"Especially his swordsmanship. He's taken it beyond anything the world's ever seen."
"His clone, Aizen, showed me the true power of swordsmanship."
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