The instant Arima clashed with Imu, an unbelievable scene unfolded across the battlefield of Marineford, every Devil Fruit user collapsed into unconsciousness.
Even Whitebeard and Sengoku were no exception.
At the same time, the Beasts Pirates, locked in combat with the Red-Haired Pirates, suffered the same fate.
Kaido and his many subordinates who possessed Devil Fruit powers all fell unconscious together.
The Revolutionary Army was no luckier, Dragon, the four commanders, and even Kuma succumbed to the same effect.
At that moment, all across the Grand Line, every single Devil Fruit user fell into a deep slumber.
Far away on Skypiea, Tsunade noticed this strange phenomenon. She, too, felt a wave of dizziness at first, but quickly recovered.
It wasn't just her, Kushina, Yuna, and Natsuka also felt a brief sense of vertigo.
As for Robin and Sugar, their situation was far worse, both of them collapsed, completely unconscious.
The timing of their strange symptoms perfectly coincided with the moment Arima had left.
The coincidence made Tsunade deeply suspicious that something must have happened in Mary Geoise.
"It must be something wrong with the Devil Fruits! Arima-nii… please, be safe." Tsunade looked toward the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, silently praying in her heart.
This sudden phenomenon brought the fierce battle at Marineford to an abrupt halt.
Garp, being a pure martial artist, remained unaffected.
With Sengoku, the three Admirals, and Tsuru all unconscious, he naturally took command of the remaining forces.
Blackbeard had intended to take advantage of Whitebeard's collapse to finish him off, but Vista and the others joined forces to block his attack.
Garp had planned to continue the offensive.
After all, most of the Marines were physical fighters, with the Devil Fruit users down, the giant troops had become the most terrifying weapon on the field.
However, someone's sudden arrival made Garp abandon that plan altogether.
"Vice Admiral Garp, let's end this here."
Everyone on the battlefield turned toward the voice, only to see one of the Four Emperors, Arima, appear high above Marineford.
Garp froze when he heard that voice.
Looking down at the transponder snail still awaiting his orders, he hesitated for a long moment, and then sighed, lowering it.
Deep down, he'd never wanted to see Ace executed.
But as a Marine, obedience to orders was his duty. Now that Arima had appeared, Garp finally had a reason to step back.
"Arima, what are you doing here?" Garp asked.
"You already know, don't you? I came to help Luffy save his brother," said Arima's wood clone with a faint smile.
"You know what's happening to everyone, don't you?"
Arima turned his gaze toward Mary Geoise.
"The answer lies over there."
Garp's expression darkened as he looked toward the Red Line, unsure what to say.
"This war ends now. Return Ace to the Whitebeard Pirates and let them withdraw.
And Vice Admiral Garp… start preparing to build a new world government."
Before Garp could reply, Arima raised his voice across the battlefield.
"This war is over."
The crowd below erupted in unrest.
Some even shouted insults, questioning who Arima thought he was.
Many had already gone mad with bloodlust, they no longer feared death, much less a single man, even one of the Four Emperors.
Garp could see many Marines glaring up in outrage.
Arima looked down calmly, his hands coming together in a seal.
"Sage Art: Wood Release, Armed True Several Thousand Hands!"
A colossal Buddha statue, nearly a thousand meters tall, rose from the sea behind him, with countless arms unfurling like a divine storm.
Even the giants looked like ants before it, the ordinary soldiers didn't even compare.
Silence fell instantly. No one dared to make a sound.
Sabo, who had been tending to Luffy, didn't seem too shocked by the sight. To him, wasn't this exactly what a god looked like?
"You guys really don't know what fear is…" he muttered under his breath.
Arima's display of power was like a bucket of cold water poured over the burning madness of the battlefield. One by one, both sides began to retreat.
Ace was safely returned to the Moby Dick, alongside Sabo and Luffy.
Garp stared up at the towering Buddha, whispering, "Maybe this is for the best… the war is finally over."
While Arima's wood clone restored order at Marineford, his true body was facing the far greater challenge, Imu himself.
Imu's speed rivaled even Arima's with his enhanced Kamui. His bizarre mix of abilities made it nearly impossible to predict or counter his attacks.
'He's not hurting me, but if this keeps dragging on, it's going nowhere…' Arima thought as he parried another wave of attacks, his mind racing for a way to break the stalemate.
Imu hadn't expected Arima's power to be this overwhelming. No matter what tricks he used, he couldn't land a single decisive blow.
'If only I still had that fruit's power…' he muttered in frustration.
"Dark Vortex!"
Seizing the moment when Im was distracted, Arima activated the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
A vast region around him was instantly devoured by darkness.
He stood at its center like a living black hole, everything the darkness touched was pulled in and obliterated.
Imu, caught off guard, was briefly swallowed by the darkness, but quickly escaped using the Space-Space Fruit.
"Oh my, that was close!" Imu said with exaggerated relief.
"Really? Six Paths: Universal Pull!"
Arima thrust out his hand, unleashing gravitational force to drag Im toward him.
"Gravity, Repel!"
Imu countered instantly, using the Gravity Fruit to nullify the pull.
"Six Paths: Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The Truth-Seeking Orbs behind Arima spun rapidly, forming a massive storm that tore through the air toward Imu.
"Flames of Rebirth!"
Im's entire body burst into blue fire. His flames were even more refined than Marco's Mythical Zoan, the Phoenix. Remaining in human form, he stood untouched amid the raging storm.
Realizing chakra-based attacks were useless, Arima shifted to another power, Haki.
"Six Paths: Armored Susanoo!"
He stood atop the forehead of a towering blue-armored giant.
Now, with Armament Haki infused throughout, the armor shimmered with mysterious black patterns, and even its wings were streaked with darkness.
At his mental command, the Susanoo raised its massive chakra blade and swung down toward Im.
"Pressure Impact!"
Countless small bubbles formed in front of Im, merging into a dense barrier that met the descending blade.
Arima instantly recognized it, the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit.
As soon as the blade struck the bubble wall, it was violently repelled, the rebound so strong it nearly tore the weapon from Susanoo's hand.
"The Paw-Paw Fruit really is handy," Arima murmured, already coveting its potential.
"This descendant of the Otsutsuki clan… just what are you?" Imu muttered, astonished by the sheer number of abilities Arima wielded beyond Devil Fruits.
Both sides had unleashed their strongest techniques, and Arima's trump cards were running low.
"Six Paths: Planetary Devastation!"
A small black sphere appeared in his palm and shot toward Imu, generating an immense gravitational pull.
Imu had long heard of this technique and had prepared accordingly.
"Cage!"
Countless black threads appeared around the orb, weaving together into a tight net that formed a cage-like structure.
The web contracted rapidly, enclosing the sphere completely.
"Spatial Transfer!"
Using the String-String Fruit to bind the black sphere, Imu delayed its power, then used the Paw-Paw Fruit to send it flying out into space.
"Whew… good thing I planned for that. That was close!" Imu exhaled dramatically.
"You really are troublesome," Arima said helplessly.
"Likewise," Imu replied with a faint smile.
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