Elior descended from the sky and landed beside Ryokugyu's corpse. Without question, Elior had become the absolute focus of the battlefield. Everything he had done was simply too shocking. Countless gazes were drawn toward him. Even Sengoku and Akainu couldn't help but glance in his direction, though with such powerful opponents before them, they dared not lower their guard for more than a moment.
At this point, only a handful of fighters at the Navy were still capable of battle. A deep sense of sorrow welled up in Sengoku's heart. He had already resolved himself to death. Garp had fallen. Zephyr had fallen. Sengoku hadn't even been given time to grieve. Could he still leave this battlefield alive? Could the Navy still win?
Sengoku was lost. Everything had gone far beyond his expectations. Elior was simply too powerful. If not for Elior, the Navy would never have been pushed to this state. In fact, there was an extremely high probability that the Navy would have won this war. Garp and the others would not have died. But that was no longer possible.
Without a madman like Elior, a war of this scale would never have erupted. Perhaps the balance between the Yonko would have lasted many more years. Moreover, only someone with power as unfathomable as Elior's could command monsters like Big Mom and Kaido. Even Whitebeard, if he were alive, couldn't have done that. As for Rocks, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that even Rocks himself would be forced to kneel before Elior.
Sengoku's heart was heavy with despair. At this moment, his injuries were worsening by the second. Though Kaido was also battered, the longer the fight dragged on, the more exhilarated he became. Victory was already in sight.
Between the two sides, Kaido's killing intent burned far more fiercely. With Sengoku's strength, even if he couldn't break through Kaido's absurdly tough hide, inflicting internal damage was still possible. Kaido's body was like an iron fortress, but that didn't mean he felt no pain. Compared to twenty years ago, Kaido's defenses were even more terrifying. Yet Kaido was fighting with absolute ferocity. He wanted Sengoku dead. No, he had to kill him.
Elior had already slaughtered so many top-tier combatants. As one of the Yonko, Kaido could not fall behind. Killing the former Fleet Admiral was something he had to do. Otherwise, if word got out that he couldn't even kill a top-tier Marine, how could he still dominate the New World? Thus, Kaido fought with everything he had.
The same was true on the other side. Kaido was battling former Fleet Admiral Sengoku, while Big Mom was locked in combat with the current Fleet Admiral, Akainu. Monster versus monster.
As for Kizaru, he had been struggling for a long time. His opponent was World, whose strength had returned to its peak. Their combat power was evenly matched. The battle had already lasted nearly three hours, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage. Both had suffered injuries. A battle of equals could last days or even nights. Whitebeard and Roger once fought for three days and three nights.
In truth, Kizaru was deeply uneasy. This was not because of World, but because he feared Elior. If Elior turned his attention toward him, Kizaru had every reason to believe that his head would be torn off. Aside from Garp and Zephyr, everyone killed by Elior had been decapitated. Elior was like a madman obsessed with ripping off heads. He was utterly cruel. Just thinking about it made Kizaru's scalp go numb. Unless the World Government sent reinforcements immediately, the Navy had no hope of turning the tide. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Meanwhile, countless eyes were inevitably drawn back to Elior. At that moment, Bullet stared at him with confusion. Elior's right hand, which covered Ryokugyu's mouth, suddenly erupted with a deep, dark red glow. Then, before Bullet's eyes, a stream of green energy flowed out from Ryokugyu's corpse. It traveled along Elior's arm, entered his body, and completely vanished.
"Captain... what was that?" Bullet was utterly baffled. The intertwining dark red and emerald auras made him feel both uneasy and astonished. Elior was clearly doing something extraordinary. Otherwise, there was no reason for such a bizarre act. Bullet had seen something similar before when Black Viper died, but he still couldn't understand it. The concept of plundering Devil Fruit abilities was not merely unbelievable; it was utterly inconceivable.
"I've plundered Ryokugyu's ability," Elior said calmly. "His Devil Fruit is called the Woods-Woods Fruit, a Special Paramecia."
Elior had no intention of hiding his ability any longer. There was no need. Ryokugyu was already dead. The window to plunder a Devil Fruit ability was extremely short, perhaps thirty minutes or an hour. Once missed, the Devil Fruit would reincarnate somewhere in the world to be eaten by an unknown person. Transporting Ryokugyu's corpse was impossible, so Elior chose to plunder the ability immediately.
He wasn't worried about exposure. Even if everyone knew, who could stop him? Just like Blackbeard in the original era, he hunted Devil Fruit users, stole their powers, and strengthened his crew. And who dared stop him? Of course, Elior wouldn't indiscriminately plunder abilities. He only took truly powerful ones, like Black Viper's Wither-Wither Fruit and Ryokugyu's Woods-Woods Fruit.
"Plundering abilities?" Bullet was stunned, disbelief flooding his face.
"Yes. Stealing the powers of others is also one of my abilities," Elior said with a smile. "Don't worry, Bullet. I won't take yours."
His smile was gentle, almost warm. Harmless. Like a spring breeze. Yet everyone present knew that Elior was more vicious than any monster on this battlefield. Bullet shuddered involuntarily. Being Elior's enemy was the most terrifying fate imaginable. One only had to look at the dead Marine elites, the annihilated Revolutionary Army, and the destroyed Red-Haired Pirates. Corpses were everywhere.
At this moment, Elior straightened up. An overwhelming surge of vitality flooded through his body. It was the power of life itself. The force capable of reviving all things now lay dormant within him, ready to erupt at any moment. It was an incomparably terrifying power. No wonder Ryokugyu was known as the man who could revive all things.
In the original era, Ryokugyu claimed he hadn't eaten in three years. Just like Blackbeard never slept, both were monsters. Ryokugyu's ability to survive without food was undoubtedly due to the Woods-Woods Fruit. As Elior stood there, no one besides Bullet and Shiryu, who was watching from afar, understood what had truly happened.
"Bullet," Elior said calmly, gazing into the distance. "This war is about to end."
Bullet grinned savagely. "As you command."