While engaged in intense, high-speed combat with the Skeletal Horse, Saint Nusjuro, Ray also kept a crucial portion of his attention focused on Saturn's burning pentagram summoning array on the ground below.
Simultaneously, he deliberately and subtly shifted his aerial battlefield with Nusjuro closer and closer to Saturn's position.
As Ray drew nearer to Saturn, the color of his Tessaiga gradually began to change from its usual silver-gold to a deep black.
Nusjuro, exchanging lightning-fast blows with Ray, naturally noticed the eerie transformation in his enemy's weapon thanks to his extensive combat experience.
However, confident in his own immortality, he merely filed it away mentally without considering the terrifying possibilities of what that black blade could do.
After ten rapid exchanges of Haki-infused blows, both warriors entered a charged clash moment.
KRA-KOOM!
Two massive sword energy attacks collided instantly, sending both Nusjuro and Ray flying backward in opposite directions due to the violent shockwave.
The direction Ray was flung just happened to be precisely where Saturn's teleportation array was located.
Coincidentally, the summoning ritual completed at that very moment.
Three massive, dark crimson bolts of lightning shot straight into the sky from the burning pentagram array.
But at the exact same time, Tessaiga—now fully in its pitch-black, starry sky form—materialized in Ray's hand as he flew toward the newly arriving "gods."
At this moment, Ray snorted coldly under his mask.
'The fools have finally taken the bait.'
"MEIDŌ ZANGETSUHA!"
SWOOSH!
A colossal, pitch-black moon, 200 meters in diameter, shot rapidly from Ray's blade directly toward the center of the teleportation array.
The three Elder figures who had just emerged from the portal immediately felt the overwhelmingly terrifying suction force of the black moon.
It wasn't an attack that damaged the body, it was a tear in space itself.
If sucked in, they would be utterly doomed—what use was their demonic immortality if they weren't even in this world anymore, but trapped in the Netherworld forever?
The three newcomers had no time to curse Saturn for the ambush; they immediately activated their Awakened Zoan abilities in pure panic.
Saturn never expected Ray to be so treacherous.
'So that's why he let himself be sent flying by Nusjuro?! All just to get closer to us?!'
And this 200-meter-wide black moon's pulling force was fucking ridiculously strong.
No time for complaints—quickly transform and burrow!
All four Elders on the verge of being sucked into the Meidō transformed into their giant mythic beast forms simultaneously.
Four colossal beasts, each nearly a hundred meters tall, appeared amidst the dark lightning.
The Giant Vulture (Itsumade): Saint Marcus Mars.
The Frenzied Giant Boar (Hōki): Saint Topman Warcury.
The Burrowing Sand Worm (Juuki): Saint Shepherd Ju Peter.
The Spider-Ox (Gyūki): Saint Jaygarcia Saturn.
Among them, the giant bird Itsumade frantically flapped its massive wings, creating hurricane-force winds to resist the black moon's suction and fly away.
The massive Sand Worm desperately drilled straight down into the bedrock, using the earth as an anchor.
Gyūki anchored himself firmly using his eight sharp spider legs.
Even as the ground his legs pierced into kept getting torn into the sky by the black hole, he constantly managed to secure himself by stabbing his sharp claws deeper into the still-stable earth further ahead.
Having long legs truly saved his life.
Only the giant boar, Hōki, made a fatal error.
Among the four giant beasts, he had no burrowing ability and no wings.
He had absolutely no means to counter the spatial suction.
Heavy weight? That was exactly what the Meidō loved swallowing most.
Conqueror's Haki roar?
No matter how fiercely the giant boar roared and flared his Haki, it couldn't affect the spatial tear of the black moon in the slightest.
Indestructible defense? Utterly useless against a portal that bypasses durability entirely.
"OINKKKK—!!"
Thus, the giant indestructible wild boar howled despairingly as its massive body was dragged helplessly off the ground and swallowed into the dark moon.
Two seconds later, the black hole snapped shut and vanished, leaving a perfectly smooth, spherical crater in the ground.
The Itsumade (Mars), the Sand Worm (Ju Peter), and the Gyūki (Saturn)—the three who narrowly escaped death—returned to their human forms.
Cold sweat poured profusely from their aristocratic foreheads!
That was fucking terrifying for old folks who hadn't faced death in 800 years.
'So... Warcury... is gone, just like that?!'
The one hailed as having the world's strongest, most absolute defense... did nothing at all and just got sucked into a black hole on arrival?!
"SATUUUUUUUUURN!!!!"
Mars and Ju Peter screamed frantically at Saturn.
"Are you a spy sent by Ray?!"
"Imu-sama will be furious with you!"
Saturn was rendered speechless by their furious accusations.
He felt deeply wronged too!
"Ray was knocked here by Nusjuro's attack!" Saturn yelled defensively, pointing a cane. "That attack might have been meant for him instead!"
The moment Saturn offered this rebuttal, Nusjuro galloped back to the group and overheard it.
Furious enough that his bald head seemed to literally steam, his skeletal horse hooves incessantly stomped the ground, leaving multiple craters every second.
"Saturn! You bearded bastard, have you no shame?! How many times have I been sliced apart just to restrain this guy?!"
"Does it make sense that I could knock him away so easily?! Are you even listening to yourself?!"
While the four remaining Elders exchanged frantic complaints and blame, they weren't standing still—they had already completed their encirclement of Ray, trapping him in the center.
But Ray paid no mind to the four surrounding him.
He dismissed the Meidō form and rested Tessaiga on his shoulder.
He was actually fairly satisfied with the battle's outcome, having perfectly accomplished his primary objective.
From the very beginning of his fights with Nusjuro and Saturn, his goal had been to lure them into summoning the other Five Elders.
Among the Five Elders, only one needed to be guaranteed to be sucked into the black hole of the Meidō Zangetsuha.
That was the Warrior God of Justice, Saint Topman Warcury, the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit user of the Hōki.
This was the enemy Ray was most concerned about.
His defensive capabilities were simply too absurd.
In Ray's memory of the original storyline, even when Yonko Luffy in Gear Five struck Warcury's boar head with attacks imbued with advanced Armament and Conqueror's Haki... not only was the boar completely unharmed, but Luffy's hand was left throbbing in immense pain.
Later, this single indestructible boar even chased down a Yonko and the two legendary leaders of the Giant Warrior Pirates—those three powerful figures didn't even dare look back while fleeing.
Based on these feats, this giant boar was undoubtedly the strongest tank among the Five Elders.
Ray himself wasn't entirely confident he could easily breach Warcury's defense with pure physical slashes without wasting massive amounts of stamina.
Thus, by concealing his true spatial abilities, Ray step-by-step manipulated Saturn into summoning the other Elders into a cluster.
At the critical moment, the Meidō Zangetsuha descended, eliminating their strongest, most annoying tank in one completely unblockable move.
Now, mission accomplished.
Without their ultimate tank to hide behind, every remaining member of the enemy lineup could potentially be killed (or stalled indefinitely) by Ray's raw power.
And even now, Ray continued to hold back his full Demonic transformation.
...
The four remaining Elders stared intently at Ray in their midst, all wearing exceptionally grave expressions.
'This man's strength was overwhelming.'
'Not only was he powerful, but he was also cunning, treacherous, and ruthless.'
'Who knew if he might pull another underhanded, instant-kill trick during the next phase of battle?'
In nearly 800 years, this was the very first time an Elder had "died" (or been permanently removed from the battlefield).
So even though they appeared to have the numerical capability to defeat Ray, they still hesitated.
None of the four wanted to be the first to strike—the one who moved first would face the highest risk of being targeted by that black hole next.
In contrast, Ray wasn't in a hurry either; he too was contemplating how to take down two more to truly cripple the World Government.
These four old men were definitely guarding against his Meidō now.
As immortals, this spatial banishment technique of his was their absolute greatest fear.
Naturally, the four Elders wanted to avoid his instant-kill move at all costs.
Whether it was the Wind Scar, Meido, or Bakuryuha, none of the four dared to take these attacks head-on anymore.
After all, once pinned down or staggered by such assaults, what awaited them was the dark world of the black hole.
If the four of them fought together with perfect, reckless coordination, they could definitely take down Ray at the cost of two or three of their lives.
But they were too old—it was only natural to fear true death after 800 years of comfort.
Sacrificing oneself comes with an excessively high mortality rate and an extremely low survival rate.
After waiting nearly a minute, the four individuals still had Ray surrounded in the center, without making any offensive moves.
Ray sneered inwardly. 'Since you cowards don't dare make a move... I'll be the one to break the silence.'
"WIND SCAR!"
BOOM!
A terrifying golden light shot directly toward Saint Ju Peter's direction.
The Demonic Power slash shattered the tense silence.
Ju Peter, remaining in his Human form, hurriedly reinforced his body with Haki, forcibly enduring the devastating damage from the Wind Scar as he was pushed back while coughing blood.
Seeing Ray committed to an attack, the other three seized the opening to launch their assaults at his exposed back and sides.
Nusjuro's freezing slash arrived from the left.
Saturn's invisible explosive Malevolent Eye activated from the front.
Mars transformed into the monstrous bird Itsumade, swooping from the sky and spewing a massive beam of high-temperature flames from its beak.
Their intention was to stop Ray from continuing his assault on Ju Peter while simultaneously severely injuring him.
Thus, when these three launched their attacks, they went all out, each strike heavily imbued with black Conqueror's Haki lightning.
At this moment, Ray had two choices: First: Use a skill to block the attacks from one direction to reduce the damage he would receive, prolonging the fight.
Second: Take the hits head-on and eliminate Ju Peter in one go while he was staggered.
And his choice... was the second one.
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