"Fine then! I don't care what kind of things you are, just stay still and get burned to death!"
Zhurong's expression turned feral. His flaming body expanded with a violent whoosh, becoming as scorching as a miniature sun. The temperature inside the tree hollow spiked instantly, turning the space into a sweltering furnace.
"It's too hot! Everyone, stay sharp!" Duke Inuarashi shouted, his fur soaked in sweat as he panted heavily.
"Understood!" The Mink Tribe warriors replied, their voices weak and drained.
Due to their thick fur, the Minks were resilient to cold but extremely vulnerable to heat. Facing an environment reaching sixty degrees Celsius left them stifled and exhausted, struggling to maintain their fighting spirit.
"We have to retreat, otherwise the Whale Tree... I'm afraid it will catch fire!" Master Nekomamushi was also panting. He gripped his double-headed trident, which had become burning hot to the touch, his expression grim.
"But if we retreat, we won't be able to contain him anymore!" Inuarashi's face darkened.
If they could keep Aeridar pinned within the sacred land, they might still hold a shred of the initiative. But once they reached the open air, the sky would be the limit. The enemy would be free to come and go or strike as he pleased, and they would lose all control over the situation.
"I know, but..." Master Nekomamushi was equally torn.
On one hand, their sacred land was at risk of being reduced to ashes; on the other, the Road Poneglyph was about to be stolen. Neither choice was acceptable.
Fwoosh—
Zhurong, however, had no interest in their dilemma. He unleashed a torrent of fierce, white-hot flames downward. The tree hollow was instantly illuminated, transformed into a sea of fire that engulfed nearly half the chamber.
"Withdraw! Exit the sacred land!"
Inuarashi roared. Seeing the surging wall of fire and feeling the rolling heatwaves, he noticed the fur on the Mink warriors beginning to singe and curl. If they didn't leave now, many would be severely burned or killed.
Hearing the Duke's command, the Mink warriors knew they couldn't hold the line. They turned and fled toward the exit. The terrifying sea of fire chased closely behind them, threatening to swallow them whole.
"Get back!"
Seeing the flames closing in, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi stopped abruptly. They swung their weapons through the air, generating a powerful gale that used wind pressure to momentarily stall the spreading inferno.
With the flames briefly held back, the Mink warriors seized the opening to scramble out of the passage and into the open air.
"I'll burn you all!"
Infuriated that his flames had been blocked, Zhurong puffed out his chest and exhaled an even more violent blast of high-temperature fire.
WHOOSH—
The fire surged through the passage like a tide, erupting into the sky as a massive pillar of flame. Inuarashi and the others watched the soaring fire-pillar with lingering fear; they had nearly been charred to a crisp.
"Tch, they escaped."
Through his Observation Haki, Aeridar 'heard' that Inuarashi's group had successfully vacated the sacred land without a single casualty. Though many had been injured by his previous impact waves, these Minks were the elite of the Mokomo Dukedom; with their powerful physical constitutions, they weren't so easily taken down.
"Dammit!"
Hearing Aeridar's words, Zhurong's face contorted with rage. His expression grew even more sinister as he flew out of the sacred land, intent on hunting down and incinerating the fugitives.
Aeridar didn't call him back. Since Zhurong was a living manifestation of fire, he was essentially immune to all physical attacks, even those imbued with Armament Haki wouldn't bother him much. Given the Minks' current state, they could do nothing but take a beating; they couldn't leave a scratch on Zhurong.
Zhurong was the highest grade of "Animate" created by Aeridar using the powers of the Animate-Animate Fruit. Unlike ordinary animated objects, his inspiration came from Big Mom.
Big Mom used the Soul-Soul Fruit to grant souls to inanimate objects, creating Homies. Aside from common Homies like the Chess Barbarians, she had three "Special Homies": Zeus the Thundercloud, Prometheus the Sun, and Napoleon the Bicorne.
Aeridar had followed a similar path using his Animation Glove. While he had created a vast number of Animates to defend the Clifford Kingdom, their strength usually depended on the quality of the materials used. For example, the five Totem Beasts on Alvis Island, the Metal Black Dragon guarding the Gamas Kingdom's underground palace, the Silver Golem at the vault, and the Guardian Demon within, all were powerful Animates.
However, Zhurong, the Fire God, was different. Through his research into the two Devil Fruit Gloves, Aeridar discovered that while the gloves themselves couldn't "Awaken," he could reach an Awakened state by expending a massive amount of physical and mental energy.
Aeridar had once pushed himself to the limit to trigger the Awakening of the Animate-Animate Fruit. The cost was astronomical. Even with his monstrous stamina, he could only maintain that state for about three minutes before becoming utterly exhausted, and that was without even engaging in combat.
That sensation of being completely drained, as if his very life force had been hollowed out, was something Aeridar never wanted to experience again. After creating the "Awakened-level" Animate that was Zhurong, it had taken Aeridar half a month to fully recover.
Furthermore, Zhurong's nature was unique. Even if Aeridar took off the Animation Glove, Zhurong would not fall into a slumber; he remained free to act. Aeridar even suspected that Zhurong had become an independent, specialized lifeform. Even if the glove were destroyed and the power vanished, Zhurong would likely remain.
It was similar to the "Perennial Youth Operation" of the Op-Op Fruit, once the effect was established, it wouldn't disappear even if the user died.
Thump! Thump!
Aeridar landed, glancing at the smoldering tree hollow before turning toward the crimson Road Poneglyph. He tapped the stone lightly.
"You're mine now!"
Aeridar grabbed a corner of the massive monolith. With a thunderous rumble, the giant Poneglyph shifted and began to lift off the ground. He was actually lifting the massive thing with his bare hands.
The stone was even heavier than it looked, possessing a density comparable to a solid block of iron. Aeridar hoisted the Poneglyph above his head and took to the air, hovering as he carried the massive artifact.
To an onlooker, the sight of the relatively small Aeridar lifting such a titanic stone and flying with it was nothing short of terrifying.
Fortunately, the passage was wide enough. Aeridar flew toward the exit, holding the Poneglyph aloft. He couldn't wait to bring it back to his collection. Adding such a unique piece of history to his hoard filled him with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.