"Rimoshifu!"
Shamrock witnessed the first true 'reduction in numbers' of the Gods' Knights in so many years, his fury far outweighing his shock.
Shamrock, who was originally suppressed by Naruto's clone covered in the Nine-Tails' Chakra Cloak, suddenly erupted with overwhelming Haki, seizing the chance to kick the clone away.
Then, taking advantage of the distance he had created, he summoned his sword back to him.
The three-headed Cerberus, with one head now motionless and the other two battered and bruised, obeyed its master's call immediately, as if granted a pardon.
Naruto's clone over there swung his claws but missed.
The once-gigantic three-headed Cerberus had now shrunk back into Shamrock's weapon.
Of course, the blade was now visibly chipped and cracked.
"Damn it!"
Coating the sword in Armament Haki, Shamrock no longer cared that the enemy now outnumbered them.
From the moment Killingham fell, they were already at a disadvantage.
With his weapon in hand, Shamrock's fighting style underwent a drastic shift.
For a moment, he actually managed to even the odds again.
Shamrock with a sword was a completely different beast from Shamrock fighting bare-handed.
After all, his father, Figarland Garling, was a Master Swordsman who had once severely wounded Whitebeard during the 'God Valley Incident' with his swordsmanship.
Having been trained by his father from a young age, Shamrock was far more adept at armed combat.
Earlier, he had underestimated Naruto, allowing his three-headed Cerberus to stall a clone on its own.
But now, having witnessed his comrade's death, Shamrock swiftly adjusted his mindset.
This opponent in front of him wasn't just some arrogant fool.
He was a genuine threat to Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
Meanwhile-
The Naruto's clone that had just slain Killingham was once again enveloped in the Nine-Tails' Chakra Cloak, his wounds rapidly healing.
'This is quite convenient… it saves me the trouble of using Medical Ninjutsu myself.'
Inside Naruto, Kurama snorted at the thought but didn't comment.
Naruto had already exceeded his expectations.
Before today, he'd never imagined that any Jinchuriki other than Sage of Six Paths could reach such heights.
The clones created from the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique could endure a certain degree of injury, and as long as it wasn't fatal, they wouldn't disperse.
Aside from pain and fatigue, there was no need to worry about injuries transferring back to the original when the clones vanished.
Without a doubt, the correct way to use this Ninjutsu was as suicide bombers.
Over there, Naruto's clone, which had transformed into a Tailed Beast, and the fully armed Shamrock were locked in a stalemate, while on the other side, Gunko and the old man in fundoshi were struggling.
Neither of them was as strong as Shamrock in direct combat.
Gunji, in particular, was even weaker.
No matter in terms of Haki or combat skills, she is not as good as Sommers, the old man in fundoshi.
Though Sommers was also being pushed back by Naruto, he could still rely on his battle experience to keep weaving in and out of the fight.
Meanwhile, Gunko could only depend on the Gods' Knights' 'immortality' to forcibly regenerate her body.
And even that advantage had vanished after Naruto unleashed his Pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb.
'No… calling it a Pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb wasn't accurate anymore.'
'It's the Conqueror's Tailed Beast Bomb.'
'A Conqueror's Bomb!'
'Not a bad name.'
The Naruto's clone that had freed himself up to spectate nodded in satisfaction, confident in his naming skills.
Somewhere in the vast seas of the Shinobi World, the giant catfish, Gyumaru, suddenly shuddered before glancing around suspiciously.
'No fishing hooks in sight. Good… back to swimming.'
…
"Looks like we're not needed here."
The two clones exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly.
Then, one of them joined up with the clone that had been beating down the three-headed Cerberus earlier, and together, they charged deeper into Mary Geoise.
Along the way, they kept hurling Rasengans downward.
Not that they didn't want to spam [Conqueror's Bomb]-
But this technique consumed a significant amount of both Chakra and Haki. Since they still needed their resources for what lay ahead, there was no point wasting them on ordinary Celestial Dragons.
At first glance, Mary Geoise might sound like nothing more than a playground built by the Celestial Dragons for their own amusement-
Or perhaps one might assume it was, at most, the size of a city.
But in truth, Mary Geoise was as vast as a super-large island, and strictly speaking, it was more like its own country than just a city.
A 'nation above nations', towering over all other countries.
Its core was vastly different from its outer regions.
This included Pangaea Castle, the workplace of the Five Elders, the true rulers of the World Government, as well as the [Garden of Flowers], where the enigmatic Imu-sama resided, a figure scarcely known to the world.
Before Naruto, only one person had ever penetrated this deeply into Mary Geoise, survived an encounter with Imu, and boldly declared that he 'would return'.
That man was the captain of the Rocks Pirates… Rocks D. Xebec.
If the name sounded unfamiliar, then his crewmembers would surely ring a bell.
The legendary [Strongest Man in the World], Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
The Flying Pirate Admiral, Golden Lion Shiki, who had fallen to Naruto.
Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom.
Even Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, had once been a rookie on the Rocks Pirates.
This alone spoke volumes about the weight of that feat.
Over a decade ago, Fisher Tiger and Naruto's small-scale rebellion had only reached the outskirts of Mary Geoise, so they never managed to alert the true defensive forces of the Holy Land.
In fact, to the Five Elders, the few Celestial Dragons who died in the slave rebellion mattered far less than the damage done to the World Government's authority.
Because of this, they never launched a full-scale manhunt for Naruto.
The charges they pinned on him were 'attacking the Holy Land' and 'freeing slaves', while the fact that he killed a Celestial Dragon was known only to a handful of those directly involved.
Just as Naruto's clones transformed into a bomber, raining down terrifying surprises from the sky upon the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise, a massive figure suddenly leaped out from the shadows, slamming into one of the clones and sending it flying.
This figure looked like a gigantic boar with four massive tusks.
But in reality, he was one of the Five Elders, Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice.
That enormous boar shrouded in black flames wasn't just some ordinary ability, it was the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, Fengxi.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you truly have no fear."
The boar's mouth let out Warcury's low, aged voice. In response, the Nine-Tails' claws, wreathed in Haki, lashed out.
Two clones, with over a dozen massive claws between them, clenched their fists, and in an instant, the sky was filled with a barrage of punches.
Warcury, who had transformed into Fengxi, didn't even bother dodging.
The fists struck his hide, leaving dents but failing to deal any real damage.
Instead, a powerful recoil force transmitted back-
instantly knocking one of the clones, whose Chakra was nearly depleted, out of its Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Clearly, in terms of pure defensive power, this member of the Five Elders far surpassed anyone in the God's Knights.
Seeing that basic attacks weren't working, the clones exchanged glances and immediately shifted tactics.
At this rate, breaking through to the core of Mary Geoise with just clones seemed impossible. In that case, they might as well start right here.
The clone that had lost its Nine-Tails' Chakra Cloak rushed forward, unleashing a relentless barrage of Rasengans and punches, bombarding Warcury so fiercely that he barely had time to react.
Not that he cared.
After all, attacks of this level couldn't hurt him.
As long as they couldn't destroy the mark Imu had engraved on him, he could regenerate indefinitely.
And mere superficial wounds inflicted by Haki couldn't reach that mark.
If any of the other Five Elders had been sent here today, they might not have been able to handle this so effortlessly.
But fate had sent the one with the strongest defense… him!
"It's useless, criminal!"
Warcury scoffed disdainfully. Once he adjusted to the clone's attack speed, his four elongated tusks suddenly sharpened into blades, piercing straight through the clone's body without warning.
However, this clone only showed a smile that made his hair stand on end, and then dispersing into smoke.
Then, Warcury's gaze snapped to where the other clone, which is still covered in the Nine-Tails' Chakra Cloak, had been standing, previously obscured by the first.
There, a massive black-and-red sphere, far larger than any of the previous experimental Conqueror's Bomb, was now hovering above his head.
"No!"
Boom!!!
This sphere, which is infused with every last drop of the clone's Haki and Chakra, didn't even need to be thrown.
The sheer force of its detonation was enough to obliterate everything in sight.