The Four Elders were stunned.
Never in their long lives had they witnessed such a terrifying level of Conqueror's Haki.
The Four Emperors, regarded as the greatest users of Conqueror's Haki, such as Luffy and Shanks, could at most knock Marine Vice Admirals unconscious.
But the Conqueror's Haki before them had completely surpassed all understanding.
The physical pressure generated by Luffy's Haki was real.
The atmosphere vibrated violently, and the entire City of Pangaea seemed trapped at the center of an earthquake.
None of them could even raise their heads to look directly at him.
York, the weakest among them as one of Vegapunk's satellites, was instantly knocked unconscious by the Haki, her consciousness plunging into darkness.
"This isn't his real body!"
The only person who remained calm was Imu.
He stared coldly at Angel Luffy.
"Even as nothing more than a clone, you dared to invade this place again... Don't even think about leaving here alive. Attack!"
As soon as those words fell, the Four Elders, who had been forced to the ground by Luffy's Conqueror's Haki, transformed simultaneously.
Their bodies rapidly swelled, taking on monstrous and terrifying forms.
Saint Marcus Mars transformed into a gigantic golden bird surrounded by clouds of fire—a Mythical Zoan, Model: Garuda.
Saint Topman Warcury had his nose extend forward like that of a monstrous black boar, taking on the appearance of a nightmare-like yokai.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn sprouted enormous demonic horns, assuming the monstrous form of a Gyūki.
And the last of them was blond.
The moment his opponent revealed his form and rose from his kneeling position—
Luffy moved.
His body seemed to scatter into countless white angelic feathers, vanishing from sight in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was already on the other side.
"What?!"
The blond Elder, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, turned pale with horror.
That wasn't merely speed.
It was as though he had instantly transferred his position.
Luffy's body resembled a phantom.
As he vanished from one location, another body had already condensed before his enemy.
The transition happened far too quickly.
For a brief moment, it looked as though two angelic Luffys had appeared simultaneously.
"I'll take care of one first."
Luffy's expression remained calm.
Among the four, Ju Peter was the only one whose abilities remained unknown.
He already knew the powers of the other three.
Therefore, he decided to eliminate the most uncertain opponent first.
At that moment, under Shepherd Ju Peter's shocked gaze, Luffy threw a punch without the slightest hesitation.
Under the absolute dominance of Luffy's Conqueror's Haki, everyone else's Haki was being heavily suppressed.
Predicting his attacks was impossible.
Everything depended solely on pure combat instinct.
Shepherd Ju Peter had held the position of Elder for decades.
It could be said that more than thirty years had passed since his last true life-and-death battle.
His combat instincts had long since dulled.
Faced with Luffy's frontal strike, he didn't even have time to react.
He only realized he was being attacked when the blow had already landed.
BOOOOM!!
The fist coated in Conqueror's Haki violently crushed his face.
Without even having the chance to raise a proper Haki defense, Ju Peter took the attack head-on.
His face instantly caved in.
His skull shattered on impact.
His entire body was blasted backward by the brutal force, blood exploding uncontrollably into the air.
Like a sack of sand, he was violently launched away, smashing through the corridor behind him and flying straight out of the City of Pangaea.
Luffy had truly done exactly what he said.
He took care of one first.
"Peter..."
Imu's eyes turned cold.
A jet-black tail instantly shot toward Luffy.
At the same time, the other three Elders attacked together.
The Gyūki spat a torrent of green poison.
The black boar released a strange sleep-inducing energy.
The golden bird opened its beak and fired a powerful beam.
The next instant—
Puff!
The black tail pierced through Angel Luffy's chest from behind.
The green poison spread across his arm.
The powerful corrosive substance seemed capable of paralyzing the nervous system.
It was an extremely dangerous neurotoxin.
The nightmare-inducing energy attempted to tear away his soul.
The strange beam fired by the golden bird struck Luffy directly in the head, causing a massive explosion.
BOOOOM!!
Smoke and dust filled the area.
"We got him!" Saturn declared coldly. "My ability is enough to paralyze his nervous system!"
"His soul is absurd..." Warcury said coldly. "I only managed to affect his consciousness temporarily. His Haki is far too strong!"
Marcus Mars, in his monstrous golden form, widened his eyes.
"He disappeared?!"
The smoke gradually dissipated.
But there was no trace of Luffy.
The three immediately turned toward Imu.
The black tail quickly retreated beneath his robes.
Without functional Observation Haki, they were unable to locate Luffy.
"At the throne..." Imu said calmly.
The next instant, he vanished.
The other three exchanged glances before immediately rushing toward the Empty Throne.
At the same time, Saturn contacted the Holy Knights.
---
City of Pangaea.
The Empty Throne.
In the blink of an eye, Imu appeared before the staircase.
He looked up.
Luffy was sitting leisurely on the Empty Throne, his legs crossed and his face resting on one hand.
Upon seeing him, Luffy slowly applauded.
"Very good. You found this place pretty quickly."
"That was only an illusionary clone."
Imu stared coldly at Luffy.
It had been a very long time since anyone dared to look directly at him like that.
He found it unpleasant.
"That's your true ability."
"Exactly."
Luffy smiled faintly.
The angelic clone was merely an echo.
Although it could use Haki and Devil Fruit abilities, its actual combat capability was inferior to that of the main body.
He had only used it to test the abilities of those people.
And the result was exactly what he expected.
"This Empty Throne really isn't comfortable to sit on."
Luffy rested his face on his hand while observing Imu.
"Eight hundred years ago, you stole the fruits of victory and became the king of the world. You never once appeared before the people. Is there really any fun in being that kind of king?"
He was genuinely curious about Imu.
"And now that you're sitting in my place? How does it feel?" Imu asked calmly.
"All I feel is loneliness."
Luffy smiled.
"So I'm here to free you from it."
Imu's expression remained cold.
As if he found those words ridiculous.
But after so many centuries, he had long since lost even the emotion required to laugh.
Luffy continued smiling.
"What is your true objective?"
Imu's eyes narrowed slightly, as though he didn't understand the meaning of that question.
Luffy continued:
"Even knowing the entire history, I still don't understand what you truly want. Ruling the world isn't a goal... it's merely a result."
Imu slowly raised his right hand toward the weapons embedded beneath the throne.
Luffy looked at the twenty weapons lined up there.
One of the swords instantly vanished and appeared in Imu's hand.
"This sword belonged to Lily. If she hadn't betrayed me in the end, everything would have been different."
The moment he finished speaking, the three Elders rushed into the hall and took their places behind Imu.
Shortly afterward, several Holy Knights also arrived, including the Supreme Commander, Figarland Garling.
Counting Imu, there were now ten people standing before Luffy.
"So the main combat forces have finally arrived?"
Luffy laughed.
Then he snapped his fingers.
Crack.
In the next instant, countless plants emerged outside the City of Pangaea.
The vines grew violently, covering the entire castle within seconds.
Roots pierced through windows and walls, rapidly filling every corner of the structure.
Even beneath the Empty Throne, gigantic branches began growing through the walls, floor, and ceiling.
Everyone's expressions changed immediately.
Imu looked around.
"We've been surrounded...? You sealed the castle?"
"No."
Luffy took several bullets from his pocket and casually tossed them into his palm.
Then he smiled.
"You're the ones who are surrounded. One-hundredfold acceleration."
The moment he finished speaking, one of the bullets fired instantly.
Accelerated one hundred times, the tiny projectile pierced through a Holy Knight's heart in an instant.
The man didn't even realize what had happened.
Only after his heart had been pierced did he slowly lower his head and stare blankly at his chest.
As blood flowed out, his consciousness slowly faded.
His body gradually collapsed forward.
Even the process of death seemed slowed down.
Seeing this, Figarland Garling's face darkened completely.
Without waiting for Imu's orders, he charged forward furiously.
With a single step, he shot toward Luffy on the throne.
The sword in his hand became like a white dragon cutting through the air.
"Wait!" Saturn immediately shouted.
But Garling ignored him.
Luffy raised two fingers.
The instant the sword was about to pierce his throat—
Ding!
He caught the tip of the blade effortlessly.
The sword could not advance even a single additional centimeter.
"Are you stupid?" Luffy asked with a mocking smile. "I'm a Mori Mori no Mi user. How exactly do you intend to hit my body without Armament Haki?"
Garling's pupils contracted violently.
Only then did he realize.
"Hahaha! Are you so old that you've developed amnesia?"
Luffy burst into laughter.
The next instant, a massive vine erupted from the ground, attempting to pierce Garling's neck.
His expression immediately changed.
Abandoning the sword, he rapidly retreated.
Luffy caught the blade in midair, rose from the Empty Throne, and pointed the sword toward Imu and the others.
"So... the game begins."
His tone was completely indifferent.
"In about thirty seconds, Pluton will erase the entire Holy Land with a single shot. Until then... fight as much as you want."
And at the exact moment he declared those words—
Above the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, in the dark night sky...
A gigantic white sun illuminated the entirety of the Holy Land.
Pluton's main cannon had begun charging!!
---
(End of Chapter)