Waves churned as dark clouds swept across the sky.
The once-clear weather was once again shrouded in darkness.
On the battlefield at Reverse Mountain's coast, four massive black lightning bolts pierced the heavens—though they resembled black smoke more than actual lightning.
"What is that?!"
On the sea, warships from both sides rocked violently in the turbulent waves. Marines clung to anything they could to steady themselves, staring in horror at Reverse Mountain.
Even the officers were drenched in cold sweat, overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of dread.
It felt as though the world itself was about to end!
"The same phenomenon occurred when Saint Nusjuro landed!"
Too far away and obscured by the terrain-altering battles of the Admirals, the specifics of the shore were unclear. But many sharp-witted officers deduced the truth from the anomalies.
The Five Elders had all descended!
At the center of the battlefield, thick black smoke billowed.
Saint Nusjuro stood at the core, flanked by four enormous magic circles from which the black smoke emerged.
Black sludge oozed from the circles, rapidly coalescing into massive, grotesque creatures—a worm, a boar, a spider, and a bird.
And Saint Nusjuro himself transformed into a skeletal horse!
But these were no ordinary beasts. They were mutated entities—Mythical Zoans.
[Sandworm] — Saint Peter!
[Fengxi] — Saint Warcury!
[Gyuki] — Saint Saturn!
[Itsumade] — Saint Mars!
[Horse Bone] — Saint Nusjuro!
The highest authority in the world—the Five Elders!
All in their Awakened Forms as Mythical Zoans!
"So that's Groudon?"
"First time seeing it. Just as savage as the rumors say!"
"We must eliminate him here!"
The Five Elders fixed their gaze on Gurd. The moment they failed to stop the broadcast, their objective had shifted.
Now, their goal was to kill Gurd.
With Gurd gone, the Hoenn Government would lose its shrewd leader and soon be swallowed whole by the World Government.
What they feared wasn't Gurd's overwhelming power—figures like Roger, Whitebeard, and Kaido had emerged in every era, and none could be stopped.
More than strength, they dreaded Gurd's extraordinary intellect. In eight hundred years, no one had ever achieved what he had.
"What a gathering of demons!"
Facing the Five Elders, Gurd felt his blood boil. This was a scenario he had only envisioned—now made real.
Aokiji was preoccupied with guarding against the two Admirals and couldn't assist. The others lacked the strength to intervene in this battle.
He was on his own.
A fight with almost no chance of victory!
"Here they come!"
The boar moved first, roaring at Gurd with its maw wide open. Black lightning and shockwaves engulfed him!
"ROAR!!!"
A Conqueror's Haki-infused bellow!
"So heavy!"
Gurd resisted the shockwave, his body sliding backward as his claws carved deep furrows into the ground.
The roar itself couldn't harm him, but it severely restricted his movement.
The other Elders seized the opportunity to attack.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Saturn spat multiple venomous orbs, their speed amplified to the extreme by the boar's shockwave.
Nusjuro dashed to Gurd's left, slashing with a massive Flying Slash!
The Sandworm burrowed underground.
Mars took to the skies, flapping his wings to unleash countless Wind Blades.
Facing attacks from all directions, the ground around Gurd trembled as pillars of rock rose from the earth, encasing him at the center.
"BOOM!!!"
A skull-shaped mushroom cloud erupted!!!
Clearly, the Five Elders had already figured out Gurd's abilities and refrained from using fire-based attacks.
Even Saturn's poison orbs exploded into toxic green flames—inhaling them would instantly cause poisoning.
As the mushroom cloud gradually dissipated, Gurd curled up like a hedgehog at the epicenter of the explosion, his red shell gleaming with a metallic sheen.
Absolute Defense Stance!
He withstood it!
The next moment, the ground split apart!
A Sandworm burst from beneath, its massive maw stretching to its limit as it clamped down on Gurd, swallowing him whole—or so it seemed.
But Gurd's equally colossal Groudon form, locked in his defensive stance, completely blocked the Sandworm's throat, while the spikes covering his body pierced countless holes into its mouth!
The Sandworm shrieked in pain, flinging Gurd toward the wild boar. The boar's four massive tusks had somehow transformed into razor-sharp blades, charging straight at Gurd!
"CLANG!!!"
Blades struck shell, sparks flying!
Meanwhile, high above, Mars swooped down with a flap of his wings, his needle-sharp beak tearing through the air like a javelin aimed at Gurd!
"CRACKLE!"
Dark lightning crackled and scattered!
"Cough!"
Inside the spherical shell, Gurd coughed up blood violently.
His hardened shell hadn't cracked, but the sheer force of the attacks still reverberated through his body.
Especially the true damage from Conqueror's Haki.
These five old monsters all wielded top-tier Mythical Zoan abilities—fully Awakened—and every one of them had mastered Conqueror's Haki.
Their combat specs were maxed out in every aspect, no less formidable than the Four Emperors.
Their only weakness was their pampered lifestyles dulling their battle instincts, falling short of Kaido or Whitebeard in his prime—but they were easily on par with Big Mom, who relied on raw talent.
Under the assault of all five, Gurd could barely find an opening to counterattack!
"ROOOAR!!!"
Gurd roared, the spikes on his body elongating as they impaled the Sandworm's skull. Then, his body spun at blinding speed, shredding the Sandworm while deflecting the boar's tusks and Mars's beak!
The next instant, his spinning form drilled straight into the earth!
"He's escaping!"
Watching the massive crater left behind, the Five Elders paled. They had descended to the surface in full force—if Gurd escaped now, they'd have no way to explain themselves to Imu!
None of them had expected Groudon to possess burrowing abilities!
"Not so fast!"
Nusjuro's veins bulged as he swung Demon Cutter toward the ground, a frigid slash splitting the earth in two and coating the fissure with frost!
The power of ice!
Yet, within the split earth, there was no sign of Gurd!
"He's still here!"
Observation Haki confirmed Gurd hadn't fled the battlefield—he remained underground, but the earth itself obscured his exact location.
"Saint Peter!"
Among them, only Saint Peter's Sandworm form could move freely underground. Saint Warcury's boar could dig too, but far less efficiently.
Saint Peter's head had already regenerated, and without hesitation, he plunged into the ground, chasing Gurd's scent.
The earth trembled violently, mounds of dirt rising intermittently—clearly, two titanic beasts were locked in a deadly struggle beneath the surface.
"CRACK!"
The sound of the ground splitting drew the attention of the Five Elders. In the next moment, Saint Peter's massive Sandworm body burst through the earth, soaring into the sky.
A pillar of rock, flowing with Magma, was embedded in the middle of his body. Amidst a blinding flash of light, Saint Peter was severed in two by a violent explosion.
At the same time, the earth around the battlefield slowly rose, forming small volcanoes one after another—followed by eruptions of Magma!
The Five Elders' expressions darkened.
Their opponent wasn't fleeing—instead, they were determined to fight to the bitter end!
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