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Imu's body rapidly writhed, expanded, and giantized, transforming into a monster with the head of a Goat and the body of a man.
Behind this monster was the tail of a scorpion, wreathed in an eerie green flame. A pair of Demonic bat wings unfurled from its back, like a Demon incarnate.
And the most prominent feature was the pentagram symbol on the Goat monster's forehead.
"Goat-Goat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Baphomet."
Rowen looked at the true form of Imu's Mythical Zoan ability and smiled.
He wasn't the least bit surprised by Imu's power. The Legendary Demon from Earth—the incarnation of Satan!
Although Imu's ability had not yet been revealed in the original story, enough information had already been exposed.
The first time Imu made a move was when Sabo infiltrated the Holy Land of Mariejois. Just like the phantom-like shadows cast by the Five Elders, Imu's presence in the gloomy depths of Pangea Castle had manifested as a black shadow.
But Imu possessed a pair of massive, human-like hands—proof that the body was humanoid, yet belonging to a monster born of a Mythical Zoan.
The legendary Baphomet was said to be just such a creature: the head of a goat, the body of a man, and the hands of a human.
When Imu attacked, he used a sharp, pointed tail to pierce the body of Sabo and Vivi's father, Cobra. Baphomet had the tail of a scorpion.
These two major features matched perfectly.
Later, on Elbaf, Imu displayed the ability to control others, making them fall and become Demonic puppets for his use.
Dorry and Brogy both became Imu's Demonic puppets.
Baphomet was identified by one of Earth's largest religions as a symbol of fallen souls, promoting the transformation of Pagan Gods into hostile images.
This ability also matched perfectly.
The possessed Gunko, and Dorry and Brogy who were transformed into Demonic puppets, were all given Demonic bat wings. This was also one of the important features of Baphomet, known as Satan's Human incarnation.
And Baphomet was the object of worship for the Knights Templar in the Middle Ages on Earth—corresponding to Imu's God's Knights.
Another perfect match.
The Pentagram Circle that appeared during the teleportation of the Five Elders and the God's Knights, and when converting Dorry and Brogy into Demonic puppets, was also a key feature of Baphomet.
The pentagram symbol in the center of the Goat's head was one of its symbols.
Though the original story had not yet given Imu's specific ability, with so much information, plus the intelligence enhancement of the Human-Human Fruit, all the short video popular science knowledge Rowen had browsed on Earth could be perfectly recalled.
Combining the two, before coming here, Rowen had already guessed Imu's ability.
The Mythical Zoan of the Goat-Goat Fruit—the Lord of Demons—the incarnation of Satan.
One of the Strongest Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits—Goat-Goat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Baphomet!
Rowen smiled.
This was very much in the style of a Japanese manga. The image of the strongest boss was often a Goat.
For example, in the Pokémon world that Rowen was very fond of, the Creator God Arceus also existed in the form of a Goat.
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"You sure know a lot..."
Imu's inhuman voice, as if from another dimension, sounded.
In this world, the history of the Void Century had long been considered a taboo by the World Government. Anyone who touched upon it would be completely erased by a Buster Call.
Just like Ohara back then.
The truth about Imu's ability—the Goat-Goat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Baphomet—had been buried in the history of the Void Century, just as the World Government once erased all records of the Nika Fruit.
In fact, compared to the few remaining legends of the Sun God Nika in this era, the information about the Demon Baphomet had been erased even more thoroughly.
In this era, where history had been almost completely wiped clean, even if someone saw Imu's true form, they would only be able to say, "What is that monster?"
They would never be able to recognize Imu's true ability.
The only one who could so clearly state the true name of this ability was Sky Sovereign, who came from another world and possessed a great deal of information about this one.
Imu's inhuman eyes were now even more cold and emotionless, radiating an aura that could make one fall into depravity.
One of Baphomet's key abilities was to use the Pentagram Circle to corrupt heretics, turning them into Demonic puppets to be used by Imu.
Baphomet had a direct attack ability on spiritual power.
In the power system of One Piece, which was dominated by spiritual power, the strength of such an ability went without saying. It was definitely a top-tier Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
This was also the source of Imu's ability to grant the immortality of the Immortality Operation to others.
The ability to invert and convert heretics, combined with the ability of the Baphomet Fruit, and the power of the Immortality Operation—
—Created the power of immortality that the Five Elders, the God's Knights, and those converted into Demonic puppets possessed.
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"Fighting you... is meaningless right now,"
Rowen casually sat down on the ground.
Even with Rowen's Conqueror's Haki being so strong now, at most it could only interfere with the manifestation of Imu's anchor point in this space.
Because the manifestation of the anchor point in this space was fundamentally a Devil Fruit ability, the display of the Op-Op Fruit's Immortality Operation ability.
Strong Conqueror's Haki could naturally interfere directly. And the damage from Haki would be incredibly painful.
This was why, when Joy Boy's Conqueror's Haki stored within the ancient robot was unleashed, that overwhelming power could force Imu to his knees in agony.
At that moment, Imu hadn't detected the Conqueror's Haki that Joy Boy had sealed inside the robot, and hadn't even channeled his full power from the Immortality Operation's space into this world.
His Conqueror's Haki could not withstand the suddenly descending Joy Boy's Haki, and thus could not block the suddenly erupting Joy Boy's Haki.
In truth, Imu's Haki was no weaker than Joy Boy's. It was a Legendary-class Conqueror's Haki, already beyond the limits of an Emperor or Admiral.
On top of that, Imu's true body resided within the Immortality Operation's space, outside this very time and plane. Even with Rowen's current level of Haki, the most he could do was make Imu feel pain—never inflict lasting damage.
It was nothing but a waste of stamina and Haki.
This was why, when Rocks stormed into the Room of Flowers, he did nothing—and knew there was nothing he could do.
Rocks Conqueror's Haki was formidable at the time, but whether it had ever reached the Legendary level—or even the ceiling of an Emperor—remained uncertain.
The reason Rocks was able to escape the Room of Flowers was the same as Sabo's: His sudden intrusion had left Imu no time to project his power and Haki from the Immortality Operation's space into this world's anchor point.
Without Imu's power anchored in this space, Rocks's Haki was useless against him. Their clash could never yield results—only end in nothing.
To inflict real damage on Imu's true body, only one power could suffice—the most accursed of abilities: the Dark-Dark Fruit. Without it, even if Rowen surpassed Imu in strength, he would never be able to locate Imu's true body, let alone destroy it completely.
So Rowen simply sat down, looking at Imu with wild abandon, with no intention of attacking.
Rowen couldn't be bothered to waste stamina and Haki. This trip to the Room of Flowers was to confirm the deductions of his Human-Human Fruit ability—and to collect the latest intelligence.
Now, the harvest was sufficient.
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"The bloodline of Rocks and Blackbeard... is a bit interesting"
Rowen smiled.
After coming to the Room of Flowers and confirming this information, Rowen's Human-Human Fruit ability had analyzed another very interesting piece of information.
Blackbeard consciously waiting for the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability, plus being able to eat multiple Devil Fruit abilities without conflict.
In battle, his performance was always the same—he started out arrogant, and ended up getting beaten down.
Anyone who encountered Blackbeard, whether it was Blackbeard who had just obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, or the Emperor Blackbeard who had mastered both fruits to a terrifying degree and possessed incredibly strong Haki...
He would always start by getting beaten to a pulp, screaming in pain, in a pathetic state.
But after that pathetic display, his combat power and fighting style would change completely, as if he were a different person. Both his strength and his combat intelligence would increase dramatically.
And Blackbeard's Jolly Roger had three skulls.
According to Marco, Blackbeard also had a missing sister.
In the original story, during the Navy's siege on the Warlords after the Warlord system was abolished, Blackbeard broke into Amazon Lily and said he wanted to take Hancock's Love-Love Fruit ability for his own use.
Combined with Rocks breaking into the Room of Flowers and saying he would be back sooner or later.
Could this bloodline be a unique one—capable of binding three souls to a single body?
The light of wisdom from the Human-Human Fruit's enhancement gleamed in Rowen's eyes. If that were true, it could explain why Blackbeard was able to wield multiple Devil Fruits.
The essence of a Devil Fruit was the manifestation of human desires. But at the same time, one soul could only accommodate one manifested desire.
If someone ate two Devil Fruits, the desires within them would violently clash—tearing each other apart inside the user's body, until the user exploded and died.
But if multiple souls shared one body, each Devil Fruit could be "digested" by a different soul—the powers wouldn't clash, and the host could wield more than one fruit.
Combined with the fact that Blackbeard has never slept—and that his demeanor, even his power, shifts mid-battle—the trait fits perfectly. If that's true, Blackbeard likely houses three souls—and could consume three Devil Fruits.
Was Rocks still alive??
Interesting!
From the known information, the result deduced by the intelligence enhancement of his fruit, this was the most logical conclusion. Whether it was true or not, after leaving here, he would go to Blackbeard to confirm it.
Originally, although Rowen had wanted the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he hadn't been that concerned about it. After all, he had too many powerful Devil Fruit abilities.
But after coming to the Room of Flowers and confirming the truth of the Immortality Operation... to completely kill Imu—he had to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit.
After leaving here, the war to annihilate Blackbeard had to be put on the agenda.
The Dark-Dark Fruit—Rowen was determined to get!
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