"Can't beat time, huh? Getting old really is cruel."
Red Count Ryderfield wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, frustration glinting in his crimson eyes. Though his Age-Age Fruit had returned him to a youthful appearance, his stamina and regeneration were still far from what they'd once been.
The more he fought, the more he longed for his true youth to return.
And as he watched Souta Kiryuu and Im—two mythical beasts cloaked in terrifying auras—his desire for Souta's "Vampire Mythical Zoan" grew even stronger.
"He's so strong… stronger than Roger ever was!!"
Douglas Bullet, the Devil's Heir, locked his blazing eyes on Im, seeing before him what could only be his life's ultimate opponent. In an instant, his obsession with surpassing Roger and Shanks vanished—his new target was clear.
Only by defeating the King of the World himself could he truly stand at the pinnacle of strength.
"Cough—! So that's the so-called King of the World, huh? Damn this World Government…"
World Destroyer Bundy Wald spat out a mouthful of blood, face pale and trembling. The sheer, crushing power radiating from Im made his old dream of vengeance against the World Government seem laughably out of reach.
Back then, he'd been captured by mere CP agents. Now he realized that compared to monsters like this, he was still two—no, three—levels too weak.
"Im… with power like yours, why hide behind the shadows all these years? What are you so afraid of?"
Souta Kiryuu's wounds were healing rapidly, his Three Types of Haki flaring to their limits as he locked onto Im's every move.
At the same time, he studied—no, stole—Im's movements, secretly analyzing the way the King of the World manipulated Conqueror's Haki.
"You mortals… with your fleeting decades of life… what would you know of the boredom that comes with eternity?"
Im's elegant hand swept outward, summoning countless shadow spears, forming behind him like an arsenal fit for a god-king. Their black tips gleamed as they aimed straight at Souta and his allies.
"You talk about boredom like it's profound," Souta sneered. "If life's so dull, why not just die?"
Black dragon scales rippled across his skin as Conqueror's Haki surged from his body, thick and dark.
The three wounded men—Barrett, Wald, and the Red Count—had recovered thanks to Seraphim Kuma's aid. Now, all four fixed their eyes on the monstrous figure before them: the true ruler of the world.
"Perhaps you're right—it is dull," Im said with a faint, mirthless smile. "But watching insects like you struggle does make eternity a bit more entertaining."
He turned his gaze briefly toward the distant battle where the Seraphim fought. Their presence was preventing him from summoning the Gorosei back through the portals.
The screams and explosions echoing from the rest of Mariejois irritated him further.
"This is my divine kingdom," he hissed.
Im raised a hand—and in an instant, a storm of shadow spears and dark arrows filled the air, blotting out the sky as they rained down on Souta and the others.
"Fire Dragon God!!"
Souta roared, his body morphing into a half-dragon hybrid form—the blazing Fire Dragon Torch Form. His entire being ignited like a living sun, heat rippling from him in waves, his silver hair crackling with blue-white lightning.
With black-and-red lightning from his Conqueror's Haki coursing across his body, Souta looked less like a man and more like a miniature sun hurtling through the sky.
"Let lightning and flame shatter the darkness!!"
He charged straight into the black rain of arrows, melting a gaping path through the darkness like molten iron tearing through thin plastic, surging toward Im himself.
"You little upstart…" Im's eyes narrowed, his voice low and sharp. "You're even more like the Sun God than that fool ever was."
The image of the white-haired, white-clad Joy Boy flickered through Im's mind. Souta Kiryuu, blazing like a second sun, was a far more terrifying embodiment of the Sun God than Nika himself.
"But remember this—darkness is never weaker than the sun."
Im's slender arm rose, fingers spreading. From his palm erupted a wave of shadow energy that twisted into a massive demonic claw, stretching across the battlefield to seize the charging dragon-man.
"BOOM!!"
The colossal dark claw caught Souta's solar strike, gripping him in its monstrous palm. Hissing sparks filled the air as darkness and fire clashed—Im's shadow melting and hissing under the searing heat of Souta's flames.
The Red Count and the others seized the moment to attack. Using Conqueror's Haki infusion, Red Count blurred forward, evading the rain of black arrows and slashing toward Im's flank with a blood-red blade.
Barrett's massive fusion titan was shattered once again by the rain of shadow arrows, while Wald—moving at a hundredfold speed—barely managed to dodge through the gap Souta had carved.
But the thought of charging directly at the King of the World was unthinkable.
He wouldn't survive a single blow.
Then—
A deafening explosion tore through the far side of Mariejois.
From the smoke emerged a towering, silver-haired old man with a thick mohawk and muscles like steel cables, sprinting toward the throne hall. Lightning bolts rained down behind him.
"Steel Bone… Kong?!"
Bundy Wald's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Souta! I can't handle Im's attacks—I'll take care of that old man instead!"
Seeing an opportunity, Wald made the smart move, shifting to a safer target. Besides, that lightning brat—Enel—was already chasing Kong. Together, they could at least handle that threat.
"So that's the so-called 'God' of the World…"
Kong finally arrived at the battlefield. Seeing that Im was not only unharmed but actually overpowering Souta Kiryuu, he let out a long breath of relief.
This was his first time seeing Im in person. Even as the Supreme Commander of the Entire Military, he had always believed the highest authority rested with the Gorosei.
If Souta hadn't exposed Im's existence, Kong might never have learned who truly ruled the world.
The Red Count noticed him too—an old rival who refused to fade away.
"Heh… didn't think that fossil was still active."
The title echoed across the battlefield:
"World Government's Supreme Commander — Steel Bone Kong!"
Souta's eyes narrowed. The massive, silver-haired general with his hardened, armor-like muscles was an unexpected sight.
So this old warhound had been stationed in Mariejois all along.
In the "original" reports Souta had studied, Garp and Sengoku once resigned directly to Kong, whose office overlooked the deep sea filled with schools of fish.
According to Morgans' intel, Kong spent most of his time stationed beneath the Red Line, at the Royal Red Port, safeguarding the Holy Land.
Steel Bone Kong — former Fleet Admiral, now Supreme Commander of all World Government forces.
Despite his lofty title, "Commander of the Three Forces" was more of a myth. His true position—Supreme Commander—gave him authority even over CP agents.
His jurisdiction was vast: Marine Headquarters, CP divisions, the Warlords, the Science Division, the Giant Marine Corps, SWORD, SSG, the Naval Crime Bureau…
Even the Marines' photography and police departments, Enies Lobby's judges, the Giant Guard, Impel Down's wardens—every branch of the World Government's armed might answered to him.
"Boss God! Let me handle him!!"
As Bundy Wald charged at Steel Bone Kong, Enel descended from above, lightning crackling as he unleashed a storm of thunderbolts toward the old commander.
The battle for the Holy Land raged on, gods and monsters colliding in the ruins of Mariejois—
and in that chaos, the fate of the world trembled.
...
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