As the dark purple flames continued to burn, a terrifying aura slowly began rising from the battlefield once again.
Luffy froze while biting into a giant piece of meat.
Only a few severed legs remained where Saint Saturn had originally stood.
The scattered chunks of flesh on the ground were engulfed by eerie purple-black flames before slowly disappearing.
Even the severed legs began burning.
The flames looked unnatural, almost demonic, like something dragged out from the depths of hell itself.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, Saint Saturn's body gradually reconstructed itself.
"What?!"
Luffy's eyes widened so much that he completely forgot about the meat in his hand.
"He's reviving?! That's insane!"
His jaw nearly dropped as he watched Saturn's body reassemble like puzzle pieces.
Ace stared at the scene in complete disbelief.
Although Rolan had already warned them that the Gorosei were immortal, actually witnessing it with his own eyes still felt absurd.
"This makes no sense..."
"How can somebody revive after being blown apart?"
Throughout history, there had been rumors of people living for centuries.
But nobody had ever heard of someone regenerating after their body had been reduced to pieces.
This wasn't normal.
It was monstrous.
Sabo's expression turned extremely ugly.
"So it really works like this..."
During his previous encounter with the Gorosei, he had already witnessed their terrifying strength, endless stamina, and overwhelming Haki.
But the worst part was their immortality.
No matter how many times they were killed, they simply regenerated again.
Even cockroaches weren't this hard to kill.
The existence of the Gorosei felt like an error left behind in the world itself.
Beside them, Vegapunk looked far calmer than everyone else.
"He revived again..."
The old scientist narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I wonder how many times he can use that stored power."
Meanwhile, the Special Agents erupted into excitement.
"Hahaha! As expected of Saint Saturn!"
"How could one of the Five Elders possibly lose?"
"They are the rulers of the entire world!"
"Long live Saint Saturn!"
In contrast, the pirates and Revolutionary Army members felt their hearts sink.
"This has to be a nightmare..."
"He got blown into pieces and still regenerated..."
"How are we supposed to fight something like this?"
"That's impossible..."
Saint Saturn was already one of the strongest monsters in the world.
Now he also possessed immortality.
The psychological pressure alone was enough to break people's fighting spirit.
Kuzan quietly watched Saint Saturn's reconstruction while rubbing his chin.
"So the rumors were true..."
Within moments, Saint Saturn fully regenerated.
Not a single wound remained on his body.
Even his aura had completely returned to its peak state.
It was as though he had never been injured at all.
However, when he looked toward Luffy, his expression darkened slightly.
Luffy had already exited Gear Fifth.
His Haki was nearly exhausted.
Saint Saturn's killing intent surged violently.
He had actually been torn apart in front of the entire battlefield.
That humiliation alone made his rage boil uncontrollably.
Without hesitation, terrifying Haki gathered around one of his massive legs.
"Die!"
His sharp spider-like limb shot toward Luffy like a spear.
Luffy immediately dodged sideways.
Saint Saturn showed no surprise.
The second front leg instantly swung down toward Luffy's new position.
Boom!
Luffy narrowly avoided it again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Saint Saturn launched a relentless barrage of attacks.
His enormous legs pierced through the battlefield nonstop, destroying the ground around them.
Dust and smoke exploded everywhere.
Luffy gritted his teeth while continuously using Observation Haki and Soru to evade.
The stamina consumption was overwhelming.
His breathing became heavier with every dodge.
"Luffy!"
Ace shouted anxiously.
He could clearly sense Luffy's aura weakening rapidly.
Unfortunately, he was currently tied down by the tall, bamboo-like Special Agent in front of him.
Although Ace was confident he could eventually defeat him, it would take time.
There was no way he could immediately rush over to support Luffy.
On the execution platform, Sabo also clenched his fists nervously.
Saint Saturn was already terrifying before.
Now his strength seemed even more oppressive than earlier.
Under such overwhelming attacks, Luffy was in serious danger.
At that moment, Saint Saturn's massive leg descended directly above Luffy's head once again.
This time, Luffy's stamina was nearly gone.
His body barely moved.
He could only watch the Haki-coated attack rapidly approaching.
"Damn it..."
"I still haven't become Pirate King..."
"I still haven't surpassed Rolan..."
"And I haven't even gone back to Amazon Lily..."
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, a massive shockwave exploded across the battlefield.
The expected pain never came.
Luffy slowly opened his eyes.
A familiar red-haired figure stood directly in front of him.
"Shanks...?!"
Luffy's eyes widened in shock.
The man standing there was the pirate who had changed his life.
The one who gave him the straw hat.
The one who led him onto the path of becoming a pirate.
Shanks blocked Saint Saturn's attack using Gryphon.
Black lightning exploded violently between them.
The shockwave blasted away all the surrounding smoke and dust.
Everyone on the battlefield saw the scene clearly.
Ace finally let out a long breath of relief.
"Thank god..."
Sabo also relaxed slightly.
"Luffy almost scared me to death."
Dragon silently withdrew the step he was about to take.
He glanced toward Shanks with a strange expression.
"At this point, you look more like Luffy's father than I do..."
Shanks turned slightly toward Luffy.
"Luffy, it's been a while."
Luffy looked at him excitedly.
"Shanks, you..."
Shanks interrupted him calmly.
"We'll talk later."
His eyes shifted back toward Saint Saturn.
"Recover your stamina first."
"Sabo is still waiting for you."
"I'll handle this old man."
Luffy clearly still had many questions, but after looking toward the execution platform, he finally clenched his fists and nodded.
"Got it!"
Then he quickly retreated.
Saint Saturn watched Luffy leave but did not pursue him.
Shanks' overwhelming aura had already locked onto him completely.
The Gorosei slowly returned to his human form and leaned lightly on his cane.
He stared at the red-haired Emperor in silence for several seconds.
"Shanks..."
"You truly exceeded my expectations."
"You were only an infant back then."
"And now you've become one of the Four Emperors."
Shanks casually spun Gryphon in his hand.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Saint Saturn sighed lightly.
"Return to the World Government."
"Just like Saint Jelin."
"As long as you come back, the position of Commander of the Holy Knights will belong to you."
Shanks immediately sneered.
"Holy Knights?"
"You mean becoming another dog for your so-called justice?"
Saint Saturn frowned deeply.
"Do not forget your bloodline."
Shanks cut him off instantly.
"I am who I choose to be."
His gaze sharpened coldly.
"And right now, I'm standing against you."
"My goal here is simple."
"I'm going to crush the World Government and expose the truth of this world."
Saint Saturn suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"How naive."
"As long as this world has greed and desire, there will always be strong and weak."
"The strong ruling over the weak is natural law."
"It has always been this way since ancient times."
Then his eyes became cold.
"The World Government is the heaven of this world."
"And we are its gods."
Shanks shook his head slowly.
"You're completely rotten."
Seeing Shanks refuse completely, Saint Saturn's expression darkened.
"Have you forgotten?"
"Saint Jelin died because of Rolan."
"And yet you're still choosing to stand on his side?"
Shanks laughed loudly.
"Ninety percent of the tragedies in this world were caused by the World Government."
"You people are the real filth of this sea."
Saint Saturn's face completely darkened.
At that point, he finally understood.
Shanks had fully chosen his side.
Without another word, Saint Saturn slowly pulled out a small Den Den Mushi.
"It's time."
"Come onto the stage."