"Mm…"
"From what we've seen so far, the abilities in the pirate world—Devil Fruits—really are bizarre in every possible way!"
"And now, even the power of the Fleet Admiral is being exposed. Even I—though I am a thousand-year-old Shinigami…"
"…am still extremely interested!!!"
At the head seat.
The Captain-Commander stood with both hands resting on his wooden staff, his tone low as he gave an objective assessment.
Honestly,
as someone who had lived for a thousand years,
the Captain-Commander's breadth of knowledge went without saying—his horizons were already vast.
But…
when it came to Devil Fruits…
even now, after watching the videos for so long,
he still couldn't make sense of them.
To him, Devil Fruits were full of mystery—and irresistibly fascinating!
On top of that,
Sengoku's identity—his standing within the Marines—was essentially equivalent to the Captain-Commander's standing within the Shinigami faction.
So,
naturally,
the Captain-Commander couldn't help but put himself in Sengoku's position—
paying even closer attention to Sengoku, and eagerly anticipating what came next!!!
"By the way…"
"They're making such a huge show of it!"
"But if the final result ends up being 'holding back' again… wouldn't that be a little too anticlimactic?"
"That would mean the Marine upper ranks and the top-tier powerhouses lose face for a second time!!!"
Expressionless Byakuya Kuchiki.
His handsome, cold face tightened slightly—his brows knitting as he spoke with icy calm.
Given his temperament—head of the Kuchiki noble house, always strict with himself, always serious and meticulous about every duty and every matter within his responsibilities—
it was hard for him to imagine it.
That in the end, Sengoku would truly hold back… and let Luffy go.
To him,
that was unreasonable—and it simply shouldn't happen!
Once exposed, it would inevitably cause an uproar in the pirate world—shocking countless people and provoking massive dissatisfaction!!!
On the other side.
Inside Las Noches,
the Arrancar army—just like the Shinigami captains—were also discussing Sengoku's Devil Fruit power!
"Tch…"
"So it's body expansion and gigantification, huh?"
"Isn't that basically the same as my true form—Rage Beast's power… 'King of Hollows' or something?"
Yammy Llargo folded his arms across his chest.
His rough face stared at the screen as he spoke—both expectant and irritated.
The reason he was expectant,
was the same as everyone else:
Sengoku's status—he was the Fleet Admiral!
As for why he was irritated,
it was because Yammy was worried—
if Sengoku deliberately went easy later,
and his performance stayed too steady, too composed,
then the other Arrancar…
once they saw it, wouldn't they immediately use it as ammunition to mock him in a group?
Not far away,
Nnoitra Gilga gripped his scythe-like weapon.
His uncovered single eye gleamed with approval as he said excitedly:
"Heh… gold, just like mine? Once his power fully erupts, this Marine Fleet Admiral probably won't disappoint, will he?"
Unlike Yammy,
Nnoitra approved of gold.
He approved of the golden radiance Sengoku emitted due to the Great Buddha.
Only…
considering the likely final outcome—
that Sengoku might hold back, and the blows he unleashed wouldn't seriously injure Luffy—
that thought made Nnoitra feel it was cheapened.
If it were him, then as one of the Espada, in battle he would never show mercy to any enemy!
Let alone "holding back"!
If he didn't cut the opponent into pieces, that would already count as the Holy Weeping Mantis's compassion!!!
In the end, the discussion died down.
Under the gaze of the Sosuke Aizen trio, and the full Arrancar army,
everyone refocused their attention
back onto the ranking video.
The plot of the Paramount War continued to be exposed—
In the blink of an eye,
it wasn't long at all before Sengoku's entire body,
within a blinding burst of golden light,
transformed into a gigantic Buddha statue!
A golden Great Buddha—Buddha Sengoku!
This was the Fleet Admiral's true combat form!
A rare scene like this,
once exposed by the ranking video,
instantly caused another sensation.
Even the powerhouses of the pirate world
couldn't help but exclaim:
"Holy shit! That aura is insane!!!"
"A golden Great Buddha—solemn and majestic—this is genuinely shocking!!!"
"No wonder… the rumors say Sengoku's combat power is almost on par with Garp. The two of them are practically evenly matched!"
"Now it looks like that rumor wasn't wrong at all!!!"
Some were amazed and praising.
Some felt fear.
Most of the neutral viewers, meanwhile, felt their eyes light up—because their entire field of view was swallowed by gold.
Mainly because,
in the world's common understanding,
Logia-type Devil Fruits were the meta—T0.
The strongest fruits everyone dreamed of obtaining!!!
As for Mythical Zoans,
even though they were likewise powerful—and rare—
still…
at this point in time, the people who had eaten Mythical Zoans hadn't done enough, on the Grand Line, to cause earthshaking incidents that shook the world.
So,
for the time being,
it was hard to make the public change its mindset—
to realize that Mythical Zoans could actually be even stronger than Logias!!!
Right now,
with the Great Buddha form revealed,
viewers only felt it was novel—something they had never seen before.
And considering Sengoku's identity—formerly a Marine Admiral, only later promoted to Fleet Admiral—
that represented the fact that
Sengoku wasn't merely a strategist.
His raw power was formidable; his combat ability was absolutely not to be underestimated!
Therefore,
the oppression he brought
doubled in this instant—stunning the entire audience and making everyone look forward to what came next!!!
"Straw Hat brat…"
"As the biological son of the revolutionary Dragon, you are a criminal as well!"
"Next, I will personally take action—and execute you two brothers myself!!!"
With a furious roar,
that massive, thick palm swung up violently.
Just as the golden light was about to fade,
Sengoku launched the first strike.
And—
in that brief opening,
far away, while fighting Marco,
Kizaru relied on a laser flash—precision long-range fire—
and struck with a single shot.
Under the camera's capture,
the beam pierced straight through the key in Luffy's hand!
Just like that,
in under a minute,
Luffy—who the viewers had placed their confidence and hopes in—
turned wretched in the blink of an eye, forced into a passive position.
And worse still—
in that same moment,
a golden giant fist came smashing down.
From Luffy's body—
everyone could see with their own eyes—
it was only a few meters away!
Which meant…
barring an accident,
in a situation where he had no time to defend himself,
Luffy was about to be knocked flat—
one-shot by Sengoku—reduced to a complete joke!
And…
it would even cause the ranking plot to drag—
and for the subtitle prompt, after playing for so long, to make its first mistake—an outright blunder of a result!!!
(End of Chapter)
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