Imu's difficulty far exceeded Arima's expectations, it reminded him of the time he fought Jigen.
'Could it be that I'll have to use the same method again?'
But Arima no longer wanted to run. Even if his opponent was troublesome beyond measure, he would fight to the end and find a way.
Maybe it was because the system had made things too easy for him up to now, every time he met an unbeatable foe, his first instinct had always been to rely on it.
This time, however, Arima resolved to rely on his own power.
Although neither side could seem to truly harm the other, Arima possessed a clear advantage, his Sage Jutsu had a restraining effect on Logia-type Devil Fruits.
And beyond that, he still held one last trump card. If used properly, it could end everything in a single strike.
'Looks like it's back to basics, find his weakness.'
As a shinobi, intelligence gathering during combat came as second nature to him.
"Sage Art: Fire Style – Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Arima's hands blurred through the seals. A surge of senjutsu chakra gathered at his mouth before erupting outward, forming a blazing sea of fire that engulfed everything ahead.
Imu, however, remained calm. He immediately used the Door-Door Fruit, vanishing into a pocket dimension.
But Arima had already anticipated it through his Observation Haki. Using Kamui, he redirected the inferno straight into Imu's hiding space.
Seeing the incoming flames, Imu's entire body transformed into magma to resist the searing heat.
Yet, due to the natural restraining effect of senjutsu chakra, his magma form still suffered burns within the inferno.
Imu used the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability, ejecting the burns from his body.
Arima's eyes lit up. The Sage Art's effect was even greater than expected, he had found the right angle of attack. Without hesitation, he formulated a plan.
He brought his hands together, forming seals, and created four wooden clones. Each clone used Kamui to take position in the four cardinal directions, encircling Imu.
"Barrier Technique: Four Crimson Flame Formation!"
All four clones slammed their palms to the ground, erecting a massive, transparent red barrier of fire, a rectangular cage that sealed Imu within its center.
Imu tried to escape using his Space-Space Fruit, only to find that the surrounding space had been locked down.
He then turned into a phoenix, ramming the barrier, only to be burned by its flames.
"If space is sealed, then I'll just cut it apart! Spatial Rift!"
Unleashing the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's destructive might, Imu began to split the space inside the barrier.
The Four Crimson Flame Formation shuddered violently. Once even the smallest crack appeared, he could break free.
"Looks like I'll need something stronger, Barrier Technique: Six Crimson Flame Formation!"
All four clones transformed into Six Paths forms, pouring every drop of chakra they had.
Four colossal pillars of black fire erupted upward, converging into a massive six-sided flame prism, reinforcing the earlier formation.
Sensing danger, Imu summoned a meteorite from the heavens, hoping the impact would shatter the barrier.
Seeing the asteroid-sized mass plummeting toward the Red Line, Arima shot upward, landing on its surface.
"Dark Cavern Path!"
Darkness radiated from his entire body, enveloping the meteorite in seconds. Within a few breaths, the massive rock was consumed completely, reduced to dust by the darkness.
Taking advantage of Arima's momentary distraction, Imu used the Op-Op Fruit's spatial replacement technique to swap himself with something outside the barrier.
But to his shock, nothing happened, he remained trapped.
Arima's voice echoed faintly, tinged with irony. "Didn't expect you to have that many tricks. You even guarded against the dark sphere, yet still fell for it."
"Heh, says the man with endless techniques himself," Imu sneered.
"But you rely too much on your own power. Even if you can see my moves with Observation Haki, you can't avoid what's coming next, you'll still be sealed!"
Arima looked at him quietly. "You talk too much."
Imu chuckled coldly. "If my time ability hadn't been stolen by you, do you think I'd be in this situation?"
"Is that so? What a shame."
The faint smirk on Arima's lips was infuriating.
"You don't believe me?"
"Why should I? Want me to fetch you a Slow-Slow Fruit so we can test it? Forget it. Just answer my questions honestly, and I'll give you a clean end."
Imu's gaze suddenly lifted toward the sky, an eerie smile curving on his face, it wasn't over yet.
Far in the distance, a blinding flash erupted. Every hair on Arima's body stood on end. Instinctively, he layered multiple Truth-Seeking Orbs as shields.
The beam struck like a divine judgment, shattering his defenses and blasting him out of the sky. The impact buried him hundreds of meters deep into the Red Line.
Lying at the bottom of the crater, Arima felt as though his entire body had been torn apart.
Even with healing potions, the injuries wouldn't mend, his Six Paths Sage Body couldn't be restored by ordinary means.
The Six Crimson Flame Formation had also been obliterated. Imu was free once more.
"Heh, Arima, even with Observation Haki, can you dodge the speed of light?" Imu landed beside the wounded Arima, looking down at him.
"Cough… That was… the Celestial King?" Arima spat out dark blood and looked up weakly.
Seeing Imu nod, he managed a faint smile. "The Celestial King's power… doesn't seem as terrifying as I imagined."
"You think that was its full strength? No! A true strike from the Celestial King could erase the entire sea!" Imu's tone was sharp; even he feared that power.
But Arima only shook his head. "You're too careless."
Alarm shot through Imu's body, he didn't even know why, but he instinctively tried to flee.
"Too late!"
Arima's vertical eye snapped open, revealing for the first time his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Space trembled. Imu froze mid-motion, his body nailed against the Wall of Time and Space, unable to move or speak, a living statue.
Seeing Imu finally subdued, Arima let out a long breath of relief.
He had been gravely injured earlier, but the moment Imu's attention had shifted to the Six Crimson Flame Formation, Arima had used his eye technique to reset his body to its state before the battle began. His injuries were healed instantly.
The "wounded Arima" Imu saw afterward was merely an illusion, Limited Tsukuyomi, cast by Arima's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Among all of Imu's many abilities, almost none countered genjutsu. Arima had never once displayed illusion techniques before, making this the perfect finishing move.
Placing his hand on Imu's chest, Arima said softly, "It's over."
Darkness surged forth, enveloping Imu completely. One by one, all of Imu's Devil Fruit powers were pulled from his body.
Then, the being once called Imu was swallowed whole by the abyss, erased from existence.
With that, every Devil Fruit ability in this world, save for the ones already held by Kushina and the others, was now gathered within Arima alone.
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