"Dammit! How is it still chasing me?!"
Vivi leaped back, barely catching her breath, but the arrow abruptly swerved on the ground and shot toward her again.
It quickly became clear to everyone that Junko's attacks could lock onto their targets.
Seeing this, the others decided to intervene.
A flurry of attacks, all coated in Armament Haki, was unleashed in an instant. The air crackled with black lightning as a series of violent collisions rang out.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As the shockwaves dissipated, Junko's arrows were finally all blocked.
Junko watched them with a cold, indifferent gaze.
"Not bad," Saint Garling remarked, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips. "You have some skill."
"Your opponent is me!" Kaido could no longer wait. Roaring, he swung his kanabo, Hassaikai, and stomped his foot on the ground, transforming into a blur as he charged Saint Garling. In an instant, a storm of black and red lightning erupted!
"Just in time. Let's see how much you've grown!"
Garling didn't hesitate, meeting the charge with his own sword as countless streams of black and red lightning surged forward.
The sky instantly turned dark and grim.
The collision of their attacks created a powerful shockwave that swept through the third room of the structure.
At the same time, Saint Saturn slammed the butt of his cane on the ground. An immense wave of Conqueror's Haki, crackling with black and red lightning, washed over Hancock and the others in an attempt to crush them with sheer willpower.
But an attack of this level was utterly useless against the likes of Hancock and Nami.
The great war had begun!
Saint Kirin Gom was already preparing his Devil Fruit ability, a sinister look on his face. As the user of the Zoan-type Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Qilin, he possessed the power to hypnotize others and manifest their dreams into reality. His target was Ryuuto.
Saint Saturn had also completed his transformation, now standing as a towering Ushi-Oni. A terrifying red beam of light shot from his eyes, aimed straight for Hancock, Burgess, and the others.
But just then, a figure radiating intense heat rushed in at incredible speed. He swung his right fist, aiming directly for Saturn's head.
While Nami and Vivi were busy dodging Saturn's beams...
"Rage Fist!"
Jean Bart's right fist had turned to obsidian, a flowing energy波动 covering its surface. Wreathed in countless bolts of black lightning, it descended straight onto Saint Saturn.
"You think an attack like this can harm me?" Saturn thought to himself, his eyes filled with disdain.
As Jean Bart's punch landed, Saturn didn't even bother to dodge, taking the blow head-on. In his mind, thanks to Imu's power, he was an immortal and indestructible being. An attack of this caliber was nothing.
BANG!
A powerful shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
Blood sprayed from Saint Saturn's face as his entire body was knocked back a step. But he quickly steadied himself.
"Pathetic ant. Do you really think an attack of this level can shake a god?" he sneered.
Not only that, but the wound on his face began to heal at a visible rate. A mocking expression spread across his face as he taunted Jean Bart.
"What is this?"
"Why is he regenerating? It's like that attack did nothing to him at all!" Nami and Vivi cried out in disbelief.
"Fate's Judgment!"
A thin layer of sweat beaded on Van Augur's brow, his expression incredibly grim. With a low shout, he fired a bullet transformed into obsidian, which slammed directly into Saint Saturn's chest.
SPLAT!
The bullet, enhanced by flowing Armament Haki, blasted clean through Saturn's torso.
A splash of blood flew through the air. In an instant, a gruesome, bowl-sized hole was left in Saturn's chest.
But it was obvious...
A wound like that healed in the span of a single breath.
"Still haven't given up? You can try a hundred times, and it will still be impossible!"
"Ants have only one path: death!"
Saturn's smile widened as he continued to mock Jean Bart and Van Augur. It was at times like these that he was reminded of just how mesmerizing Lord Imu's power truly was.
Elsewhere, Hancock had become a breathtakingly beautiful blur, launching a kick at Saint Shepherd Ju Peter. The old man's perpetually smiling face was getting on her nerves.
"Perfume Femur!"
With a sharp cry, Hancock's impossibly long leg, imbued with a ferocious torrent of Conqueror's Haki and the power of her Love-Love Fruit, descended upon Saint Ju Peter. The kick was incredibly powerful; even a Warlord of the Sea would have been unable to block it.
Unfortunately, her opponent was Saint Ju Peter.
This perverted old man was the user of the Paramecia-type Thorn-Thorn Fruit. The thorns he created were devastating, and their damage increased in proportion to the target's love for him. This was reflected in his personal motto:
"Love is pain!"
Facing Hancock's attack, Ju Peter didn't dare to be careless. He drew the sword from his waist, and an equally powerful surge of black and red Haki erupted to meet Hancock's kick head-on.
The two clashed wildly, their impacts generating powerful shockwaves. This was the terrifying power of the God's Knights—every single one of them was a master of Conqueror's Haki.
Meanwhile, Yamato was trading blows with Chox, her club clashing against his again and again. For a moment, the two seemed evenly matched.
A frown creased Chox's brow. As a man of immense pride, this was unacceptable. He gripped his sword and roared, "Come forth! Cerberus!"
Chox's sword had eaten the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Model: Cerberus.
At his command, the sword instantly transformed into a three-headed hellhound wreathed in black flame-like clouds. A powerful aura soared into the sky—this was the mark of a Mythical Zoan that had reached its Awakening.
This sword, once belonging to Rocks, possessed incredible power. Even Yamato could feel a distinct sense of danger emanating from it.
In an instant, the scales of victory began to tip in Chox's favor.
ROAR!
The razor-sharp tip of the blade extended from the hellhound's mouth, lunging at Yamato with terrifying force, seemingly piercing the very air.
Yamato knew she couldn't afford to be careless.
BANG!
In a flash, she transformed into her Okuchi-no-Makami form, a sash of white energy appearing around her. Stomping hard on the ground, she moved at high speed, the monstrous Cerberus relentlessly pursuing her from behind.
On another front, the battle between Kaido and Saint Garling was the most destructive. They had already blasted their way out of the third room and were now facing each other on the deck of the ship.
Garling and Kaido watched each other warily.
"Is this the reward for selling your soul to Imu?" Kaido's face was a mask of contempt. In his eyes, a so-called powerhouse like Garling, who would obey Imu's every command in exchange for immortality, was no different than a dog without freedom.
"You could never understand Lord Imu's greatness!" Garling had no desire to waste words. To someone who had never witnessed a god, no amount of explanation would suffice.
"Is that so?" Kaido's expression turned to one of ridicule. "I still remember what Captain Rocks used to say. That so-called 'god' on high is nothing more than a pathetic wretch who has lost his freedom! One day, the will of freedom will rise up and defeat him! I believe in the captain's words with all my heart!"
"As for you, Garling... prepare to die! You dare come to Wano? Your immortality won't work on me! I've been looking for you for a long time!"
"Ragnarok!"
With a sneer, Kaido slammed his tail on the deck, unleashing a massive surge of power. He then swung Hassaikai and charged straight for Saint Garling.
A sea of Conqueror's Haki crackled in the air.
Garling's eyes narrowed at the sight. In the decades since he had last seen him, Kaido's strength had grown to such an incredible degree. And he had to admit, Kaido was right about one thing.
Under Rocks's tutelage, they had all learned how to find the weakness of an immortal body. Because of that, his greatest advantage was now completely nullified against Kaido.
BOOM!
In response, Garling swung his sword, and countless black and red lightning bolts erupted from the blade. He leaped into the air, clashing with Kaido once more.
Their battle now, decades later, felt as if it had transcended time, reminding him of the God Valley incident.
Only this time, Rocks was gone.
In his place stood Kaido.
In his place stood a group of people who had inherited Rocks's will!
CRASH!
A violent impact echoed across the deck, sending a terrifying shockwave outward.
Fortunately, no one else was on the deck at that moment. But on the island of Wano below, Baby 5, Tenguyama Hitetsu, and Tama witnessed the spectacle from afar, their eyes wide with astonishment.
"The person who just flew through the sky... to think he's that strong. He's actually fighting Kaido on even terms!" Tenguyama Hitetsu thought to himself.
"This world is changing too quickly... So many terrifyingly strong people have appeared in just a few days. The fate of Wano has never truly been in the hands of its people."
In that moment, a flood of thoughts overwhelmed Tenguyama Hitetsu.
In yet another battle, the three All-Stars, led by King, had charged at Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.
"Karyudon!"
King unleashed a torrent of fire that took the form of an imperial dragon, locking onto Nusjuro and lunging forward.
"Coiling Power: QUEEN!"
Queen coiled his entire body into a ball, crackling with black lightning as he shot toward Nusjuro like a cannonball.
Jack's approach was more straightforward. Wielding two sickle-like weapons, he stomped on the ground and leaped into the air, bringing them down on Nusjuro in a vicious chop.
Nusjuro's style was quite different from Saturn's. Dressed in a priest's robe and armed with the Shodai Kitetsu, he was calm and silent. As the attacks of the three All-Stars bore down on him, his eyes narrowed, and a powerful wave of energy erupted from his body.
BOOM!
He drew the Shodai Kitetsu from his waist, and his body transformed into a six-to-seven-meter-tall Bakotsu, a skeletal centaur with a cloud of black flames billowing from its upper body. A bone-chilling cold immediately filled the air.
"Slash!"
CRACK! CRACK!
With a sharp command, Nusjuro charged forward. The skeletal horse's hooves made a cracking sound on the ground as he swung the Shodai Kitetsu, unleashing a white slash that carried the freezing properties of ice.
BANG!
The slash collided head-on with the attacks of the three All-Stars.
The two opposing forces met in mid-air. On one side was Nusjuro's freezing slash; on the other was King's flame dragon, Queen's lightning-infused charge, and Jack's sickle strikes. The clash split the sky in two, neither side giving an inch, creating a series of terrifying shockwaves that rippled across the grassy battlefield.
"Damn, this old geezer is strong!" Jack's expression grew heavy. He never imagined that the skinny old man could single-handedly block the combined attack of all three of them.
This was the power of a Five Elder!
As for Vivi, Nami, and Burgess, they had chosen Junko as their opponent and were now locked in battle with her.
Of course, their combined strength was far from enough. Under the power of Junko's Arrow-Arrow Fruit, the three were in a sorry state. Vivi's Drunken Fist attacks were forcibly redirected by Junko's arrows, flying off in random directions and rendering her offense completely useless.
Such was the terrifying power of a conceptual Devil Fruit. As long as Junko willed it, her arrows were nearly unstoppable.
Burgess's attacks were also completely blocked by Junko's ribbon-like arrows. Arrows were everywhere, and in a moment of carelessness, a wound was pierced clean through his chest. He was now kneeling on the ground, clutching his chest and coughing up blood. A single hit had left him severely injured.
"Stay away from me!" Nami shouted as she darted between the grassy field and a stone house, an arrow chasing her relentlessly as if it had eyes of its own.
"Lucky Charm!"
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Nami's mind. She slapped her hand on the stone house and shouted, and an invisible light instantly enveloped the structure.
CRASH!
Then, the unexpected happened.
The arrow that had been aimed at Nami veered off course and plunged directly into the stone house.
Nami had used the power of her Luck-Luck Fruit to transfer her misfortune—the arrow's lock-on—to the house.
BOOM!
As the arrow struck, the stone house exploded, sending countless rocks flying in all directions.
It had to be said—the only way to beat a conceptual fruit was with another conceptual fruit