Ten thousand meters above Mary Geoise:
"As expected, even though Imu's Busoshoku Haki is indestructible, it's still strongest when it's attached to the body, right? The Busoshoku Haki that leaves the body is greatly weakened. This law is still valid and cannot be violated!"
Seeing Imu shatter his slash with a single punch, Nox's guess was confirmed.
"A decent ant!!"
At this moment, Imu no longer looked at Nox as he did Golden Lion before; there was a hint of seriousness.
But in his eyes, Nox was still an ant, just an ant slightly larger than Golden Lion, but essentially, still an ant!
In the next instant, Imu's body arched like a bow, bursting with immense power, instantly breaking the sound barrier and rushing towards Nox.
"Good timing!!!"
Compared to ranged slash attrition warfare, Nox also preferred close combat. Only sword strikes that hit flesh were his favorite!
As he spoke, Nox's wings behind him flapped fiercely, his speed also breaking the sound barrier as he flew over with his sword raised.
Imu didn't hesitate, simply throwing out a straightforward punch.
That unadorned fist contained the power of darkness that could devour everything and the indestructible Busoshoku Haki.
It was this kind of fist that terrified Golden Lion. Even a powerhouse like Golden Lion was nearly killed by Imu in just three punches!
"Slash!!"
Facing Imu's fist, Nox noticed there were no traces of Haoshoku Haki on Imu's fist. Therefore, he also didn't use any Haoshoku Haki, and without hesitation, he raised his Seven Star Sword and slashed forward.
When the fist and the sword collided, Nox felt an unparalleled powerful force from the Seven Star Sword. Imu's fist was like indestructible steel; even his Seven Star Sword couldn't break through the defense of the opponent's fist!
Furthermore, the Busoshoku Haki, which had solidified, forcibly penetrated the Seven Star Sword's obstruction and struck Nox's chest through the air.
"Crack!!!"
Even the Bloodlust Armor Nox wore and covered with Busoshoku Haki was shattered by Imu's punch through the air!
However, it was precisely because of the Bloodlust Armor's obstruction that Imu's Haki power was weakened. Although the remaining Haki power still shattered the Busoshoku Haki on his skin, it couldn't inflict too much damage on him.
It could be said that Nox's Bloodlust Armor was the outer defense, and coupled with his body's Busoshoku defense, he had two layers of defense. In terms of defense, he had stacked it to the extreme!
But even with such defense, it was still broken through by Imu's Busoshoku Haki!
Nox was sent flying several hundred meters away by Imu's punch!
"It really hurts. I don't know how long it's been since someone could hit me this hard!"
Nox felt the pain coming from his chest, and his whole body began to get excited!!
Although this pain lasted for a very short time, almost disappearing in just a few seconds, and the damaged Bloodlust Armor on his body also began to self-heal and recover.
But this long-lost feeling of boiling blood, he hadn't experienced it since he reached the top of the World. After all, from that time on, no one could make him feel the desire to fight. At that time, apart from Imu, no one was qualified to be his opponent!
"This kind of sword road power, even my darkness power cannot devour it?"
Imu directly ignored Nox's fighting spirit and instead focused his attention back on his fist.
Before, he had deliberately circulated his darkness devouring power with all his might, trying to devour the power of the sword road that had injured his soul.
But without surprise, he failed. Even though Nox didn't break through his Busoshoku Haki and darkness devouring defense, there was no doubt that Nox could still injure him.
"This kind of power should not exist in this World!!"
The thought that he, the World King, had been continuously injured twice by an ant, and that his darkness power couldn't even devour an ant's power, was simply unacceptable to him!
Everything that he couldn't control must disappear. This was his will as the World King!
"Die!!"
Imu immediately rushed forward the moment he sent Nox flying. He wanted to kill this ant in front of him!
"How exhilarating, let's fight!"
Seeing Imu charging forward, Nox's wings vibrated behind him, instantly changing from his backward flight posture to a full-speed charge.
In this normal human-beast form, Nox once again slashed at Imu's fist with all his might.
It must be said that Imu's fist was very hard, and the darkness devouring power on his fist could devour his blood power and Busoshoku Haki.
As a result, apart from the power of the Limitless Sword Soul which could slightly damage Imu's soul, he could barely inflict any damage on Imu!
In terms of pure power, Imu and Nox were evenly matched.
In terms of Devil Fruit abilities, Imu's darkness devouring power could be said to counter Nox's blood power, or rather, Imu's darkness devouring power countered the power of most Devil Fruits.
Most importantly, Imu's absolutely powerful Busoshoku Haki gave him absolute defensive power and absolutely powerful offensive power!!
As they collided with Imu's fist again, Nox was still sent flying several hundred meters by Imu's punch, just like last time.
However, Nox showed no sign of discouragement, instead becoming even more excited.
After being sent flying by Imu just now, Nox didn't even need Imu to chase after him. He immediately flew back with the Seven Star Sword and slashed down towards Imu!
In less than a minute, Nox and Imu had already exchanged blows dozens of times, each time ending with Nox being sent flying.
However, with continuous exchanges, Imu's power became stronger and stronger, or rather, his control over his own power became stronger and stronger, and his body's fighting instincts began to recover under Nox's stimulation!
The continuous clashes and collisions between Nox and Imu generated increasingly powerful aftershocks. Not only were Mary Geoise and the Red Line affected, but even the Seas and islands near the Red Line, such as Marineford and Sabaody Archipelago, were also affected!
Sabaody Archipelago:
"Ahhhhhh, what's happening? Is an unprecedented storm coming?"
The originally calm Sea suddenly experienced violent tremors, and layers upon layers of waves rolled up, as if they were going to engulf the entire Sabaody Archipelago.
Above the sky, fierce storms swept through, blowing off the roofs of many houses on the island, terrifying many people on the Sabaody Archipelago!
"Such incredibly powerful force. The explosion sounds from the Red Line before, and now the collision aftershocks and that familiar yet incredibly powerful Sword Intent, all of this indicates that the Pirate Alliance has attacked Mary Geoise!"
Rayleigh looked up in the direction of the Red Line and sighed with emotion.
"That Sword Intent... no, that's not Sword Intent. Sword Intent cannot be this strong. Could it be that Nox's sword road has surpassed the Grand Swordmaster realm and reached a new realm?"
Hawkeye, who was beside Rayleigh, focused on the sword road. He never believed that the sword road had a limit, so he always believed that there was a more powerful sword road above the Grand Swordmaster.
It was just that he had never been able to break through, and he had never seen anyone reach a realm above the Grand Swordmaster.
If there was anyone in this World whose sword road could surpass the Grand Swordmaster realm, then without a doubt, it would be Nox, the World's Greatest Swordsman.
This man became the World's strongest with the power of the sword road, and he had sat in this position for twenty years, during which no one could shake his position. He was a great mountain pressing down on all Swordsmen, a goal that all Swordsmen hoped to surpass!
Now, after feeling that faint yet powerful sword road power coming from high above, Hawkeye was very excited and wished he could go and see what kind of sword road it was!
"Your guess should be correct. That should be the power of the sword road surpassing the Grand Swordmaster. I didn't expect Nox to actually reach such a realm. In that case, maybe Nox can really defeat the World Government, become the World King, and then change this World!"
Rayleigh said with emotion.
Back then, their Roger Pirates reached the Raftel and learned about the history of the Void Century, and also knew that behind the World Government there was a World King, Imu, who had lived for eight hundred years.
But Roger was already terminally ill at that time, and the power of the Roger Pirates was too weak compared to the World Government to shake the World Government's rule. So their Roger Pirates left all the secrets on the Raftel, didn't bring them out, and didn't spread these secrets.
The purpose was to store everything there, waiting for the person who could change the World to retrieve them and then change this World.
Unexpectedly, the person with the ability to change the World turned out to be Nox. Although Roger didn't say it back then, he knew that Roger believed Nox had the ability to change the World.
Now it seems Roger was wrong!
Now Nox is challenging the World Government by uniting all the Pirate groups, challenging the World King. As long as Nox wins, then this World will belong to Nox!
"It seems Senior Rayleigh thinks so too, then it must be true. I want to see that new sword road!"
Saying that, Hawkeye immediately prepared to go to the Red Line.
"You should save your energy. The World Government and the Pirate Alliance are currently at war. If you appear on the battlefield, you will either choose to help the Pirate groups or choose to help the World Government. If you want to remain neutral, you will definitely be killed by both sides working together!"
"What's more, the Sea is turbulent now, and there are no ships that can reach the Red Line. You can't fly, so you can't get up there!"
As Hawkeye was about to leave, Rayleigh stopped him.
For some reason, Hawkeye learned that Rayleigh was living in seclusion here, so he came to challenge Rayleigh in sword road.
And Rayleigh also greatly approved of Hawkeye, so he didn't want Hawkeye to be in danger because of this.
"No, since the new sword road has appeared, I must witness it at least once, otherwise I will regret it for a lifetime!"
"Since neutrality is impossible, joining the Pirate Alliance is not out of the question. As for the ship, it's simple. My ship is specially made by the Limitless Pirates. These waves won't stop me!"
Hawkeye did not give up because of Rayleigh's persuasion and resolutely chose to go to Mary Geoise.
"Alas, never mind. Young people are just like this, full of drive. I'm old!"
Seeing Hawkeye so serious, Rayleigh didn't continue to stop him!
Ten thousand meters above Mary Geoise:
As he continuously collided with Imu, Nox could increasingly feel Imu's unfathomable power.
Each time Imu threw a punch, the power would be slightly stronger than the previous one, and the techniques used became more refined, unleashing greater power.
In collision after collision, Imu's incredibly powerful Haki penetrated the Seven Star Sword again and again, striking his body.
Meanwhile, Nox continuously self-healed from his injuries and constantly comprehended Imu's combat techniques and the application techniques of Busoshoku Haki.
It must be said that Imu's combat techniques were extremely profound, and his application of Busoshoku Haki completely refreshed Nox's understanding.
In this battle, Nox was like a sponge, constantly absorbing everything from Imu through his injuries and turning it into nourishment to strengthen himself.
He tried to feel the difference between Imu's Busoshoku Haki and his own Busoshoku Haki through his body, and then elevate his own Busoshoku Haki to Imu's realm.
This made Nox feel as if he had returned to the time before he first went out to sea, when he didn't know Busoshoku Haki.
At that time, facing Rear Admiral Jenos who was proficient in Busoshoku Haki, in order to learn Busoshoku Haki, he deliberately used his body to withstand Jenos's Busoshoku Haki, then felt the Busoshoku Haki with his body, and finally learned the application techniques of Busoshoku Haki in battle!
Now, he also wanted to learn this Busoshoku Haki application technique by letting Imu constantly devastate his body with Haki, then using his body's instinct to remember that Haki!
"Hahahahaha, again, again, not enough, not enough, completely not enough!!"
He swung his sword to slash Imu, was sent flying by Imu, flapped his wings to dissipate the force and charged again to slash Imu.
Then after being sent flying, he charged again to slash Imu!
Swinging his sword at Imu, then swinging his sword again to slash Imu!
Nox continuously cycled through this repetitive process. His fighting spirit grew stronger and stronger. This feeling of being able to fight with boiling blood and being suppressed by someone was simply too captivating for him!!
Swinging his sword, swinging his sword, and still fucking swinging his sword to slash people again.
He perfectly unleashed his swordsmanship. Even though he had cultivated the Limitless Sword Soul and sublimated many swordsmanship techniques.
Limitless Sword Technique, Sea Abyss Sword Technique, Bloodlust Sword Technique. Although he had fed the Sea Abyss and Bloodlust Sword Intent as nourishment to the Limitless Sword Soul, essentially his three sword techniques were still there, just specially fused.
Swordsmanship is essentially a killing technique. He had sublimated and created many extremely powerful sword techniques, but there was no one in this World qualified to be the whetstone for his new sword techniques, so many of Nox's sword techniques were practiced against the sky and the Sea.
Now that he had Imu as an opponent, many of his sword techniques had the opportunity to be used, and he didn't need to worry about his sword techniques being too powerful and accidentally killing the person he was testing them on.
He really wanted this cycle to continue indefinitely, at least long enough for him to learn Imu's Busoshoku Haki techniques!
But while Nox wanted to continue, Imu didn't.
As the World King, who considered himself a god, the fact that he hadn't been able to defeat this ant for so long, where would he put his divine face?