The swordsman Elder was brimming with confidence. His Death God Tornado could slice even a Shinigami in half. Even the other Four Elders of the World Government dared not face that technique head-on.
"That move of yours is truly terrifying. Which is exactly why… I backed away so quickly," the scarred Elder muttered, his breathing rough as he stared at the raging maelstrom.
The black tornado towered dozens of meters high, its savage force colliding with the violet barrier like thunder exploding across the heavens. A wave of devastating energy surged outward. The air boiled, the ground split open, clouds reversed their course, and everything nearby was dragged skyward in chaos.
At the heart of the battlefield, broken walls and ruins painted the image of a true catastrophe.
Rumble!
When the storm finally subsided, the land lay in ruin. Sword scars crisscrossed the earth, gouges carved deep into stone, the ground fractured beyond recognition. On one shattered boulder, a horrifying crevice split it apart.
The dust dispersed. The tornado dissipated.
And there stood Rakuya.
Within a two-meter radius around him, not a single speck of destruction touched the ground.
Not a hair on his head was disturbed, even as the world around him had been torn to shreds.
The contrast was staggering perfectly untouched ground where he stood, surrounded by devastation scarred by swords and pressure.
The Elders stared, eyes wide in shock.
"Impossible!" the swordsman Elder was the first to cry out. His Death God Tornado was said to extinguish even gods. Yet here was Rakuya, unscathed.
"This can't be real!"
The scarred Elder's expression twisted with disbelief. His Pressure Shield, a technique that even Admirals and Fleet Admirals found nearly impossible to withstand, had not drawn a drop of blood. To emerge completely unharmed was inconceivable.
He had always believed that once unleashed, his technique must spill blood. And now this boy had shattered that belief effortlessly.
And worse he had done so while both Elders attacked together.
If only one of them had fought him… what chance would they have had?
Rakuya's calm smile clashed sharply with the suffocating tension of the Elders' expressions. Their faces grew darker by the moment, cold sweat silently soaking their backs.
Fear.
A profound fear of Rakuya.
He was exactly as Zephyr and Kong had warned.
Back then, when he had crushed a pirate ship with one hand, Zephyr and Kong had been impressed. But the Five Elders had dismissed it. After all, any Logia user could sink a ship if they felt like it.
They had written him off as a mere Devil Fruit brat.
But today proved them wrong. Terribly wrong.
"Troublesome… two of us unleashed killing blows together, and you stand there without a scratch," the scarred Elder muttered grimly.
"Brat, we admit we underestimated you. But do you really think you can walk away unscathed when the four of us join forces? Don't fool yourself our strength is not as simple as one plus one."
The tall, sharp-bearded Elder's voice was cold, his words heavy with threat.
Rakuya chuckled. "Five Elders, spare me the scare tactics. If I dared to come here, it's because I'm not afraid of all four of you together."
He stretched his hand forward, utterly fearless.
"Hmph!"
The Elder with the sandy-blond beard blurred into motion, executing Moonwalk from the Rokushiki techniques. His figure flickered and in less than a second appeared above Rakuya's head.
"Rankyaku!"
Suspended in the air, his right leg stomped furiously against the void, shattering the space beneath his feet. Then, channeling all the built-up power, he unleashed a devastating kick.
The air itself stilled. His leg descended like a volcanic eruption. Sound exploded as the strike came crashing down, heavy as a mountain.
Boom!
The Elder's heel tore the very space apart as it plummeted toward Rakuya.
But under the four Elders' watchful eyes, Rakuya's body dissolved into countless black crows, each bird bearing blood-red eyes.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
The crows flapped wildly, scattering into the skies.
The sandy-blond Elder's kick struck empty ground, smashing directly into the earth.
Boom!
Power erupted from his foot, blasting out like a storm. The ground collapsed beneath him, stones compressed dozens of meters into the earth, and the air whipped into a violent gale that turned the battlefield into a vision of hell.
…
"Hm!?"
All four Elders frowned simultaneously.
That kick hadn't struck a body, only a phantom. The black crows… there was something unsettling and uncanny about them.
"Where is he!?"
"Where did he go!?"
The Elders' faces hardened. Their nerves wound taut.
Cold sweat dampened the swordsman Elder's palms.
The tension was unbearable.
Then
From behind them, not far away, black mist coiled together. Rakuya's form emerged slowly, his eyes glowing scarlet.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
The four Elders spun, unease flashing in their gazes. When they saw those demonic crimson eyes, a chill ran down their spines.
"What are those eyes?"
"Such an eerie gaze… such an evil aura!"
They recoiled, instincts screaming in warning.
Rakuya's lips curled in a thin smile. The whirling Mangekyō spun rapidly, and before their eyes, the blood-red transformed into a pale, ominous violet.
The concentric rings of the Rinnegan gleamed with unfathomable power.
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