Chapter 237: Wishes Always Have Impurities, Its Name Is 'The Abyss'!
"C-Citizens! Audience!"
Ace commentator Gatz's commentary had reached its end.
In truth — ever since that 'Heavenly Palace Wonderland' had materialized out of thin air before him, his commentary had ground to a halt.
And now, even as an ace commentator, he was completely at a loss for words.
He didn't know how to describe the scene before him.
"Th-this..."
Inside the Heavenly Palace Wonderland.
Zzt!
Zzt!
On the massive Jingu Bang swung by Saru, black-red Conqueror's Haki lightning continued to crackle and flicker.
And wherever that staff passed —
Nothing remained.
The surging cloud sea was torn apart.
The lingering celestial light was ripped to shreds.
Vast rift valleys spread endlessly across that cloud sea, seemingly without bound.
One sweep of the staff, and the heavens were cleared.
Whether it was Qilingorm's Swift Bird, Saint Pierre's blood mist, or the flickering Saint Fabian — clearly, none of them had truly withstood the staff.
On the contrary — everyone saw it.
Their figures had vanished in puffs of smoke beneath that staff.
And this time...
VMMM!
They didn't recover.
Instead —
Where the three had once stood, only clusters of pitch-black energy now twisted and writhed.
Within those clusters of darkness, a mark seemed to pulse continuously — the unmistakable mark of the 'Deep Sea Contract'.
And now...
"..."
Saru raised his hand and withdrew the golden staff.
His red-gold eyes settled on those three clusters of pitch-black energy.
Beneath the mask, Roy's eyebrows rose in quiet surprise.
His surprise, of course, wasn't simply that he had successfully killed those three God's Knights.
Or rather — after learning of the three God's Knights' existence from Viola, he had already prepared for this.
From the moment he stepped into this duel, one of his goals had been 'to kill God's Knights'.
This was the perfect opportunity — no clone was better suited to kill God's Knights than Saru.
After all, Roy understood this clearly.
Saru was a uniquely special clone among The Zodiac.
Special because of his ceiling.
Just like Roy's lifelong idol — battle itself was Saru's source of power.
Under normal circumstances, his strength didn't differ greatly from the other clones.
But in the special situation of Dressrosa, having been blessed by over two thousand victories —
The intensity of 'Fighting God Mode · Great Sage Equalling Heaven' that Saru could unleash had risen to an incredible level.
Relying on Conqueror's Infusion, he could easily wear down the God's Knights' 'Deep Sea Contract' to its lowest point.
Combined with 'Heavenly Palace Wonderland', he could ensure the God's Knights had no avenue of escape.
And most critically, Roy knew this clearly:
Nearly all God's Knights had a natural deficiency in mental fortitude and willpower.
They possessed fearsome strength and the immortality granted by the Deep Sea Contract, along with generally top-tier Devil Fruit abilities.
But just as Marco had once reflected — when faced with danger, they would choose to flee rather than stand their ground and fight to the death, growing stronger through battle like the true powerhouses of this sea.
And as fate would have it...
[Fighting God Domain · Heavenly Palace Wonderland — Inside the domain, once enemies produce fear or the desire to flee, the user's attacks bypass all defenses and deal a 'Lethal Effect' directly.]
Yes.
This very weakness of the God's Knights had perfectly triggered the 'Instant Death Effect' of Saru's Heavenly Palace Wonderland.
And so, the scene before him now.
"Indeed."
Roy thought to himself.
Although the mural had told him that 'Free Soul' combined with 'Free Body' could prevent 'Deep Sea Contract' holders from resurrecting —
Everything must be confirmed through practice.
And now, it was confirmed.
"Conqueror's Infusion breaking the Deep Sea Contract's protection, combined with the Drums of Liberation, can truly kill them."
The fact that the three God's Knights before him had not revived was proof enough.
But what surprised Saru even more were the three clusters of energy that had appeared in their wake.
Even from a distance, Saru could clearly sense something emanating from those three clusters — something that felt like a transmission.
"Roar!" "Ah!" "No!" "Kill!"
Greed. Sorrow. Despair. Anger. Pain. Slaughter.
What they transmitted felt like the gathering of every malice in the world.
"Come, Saru — with power like yours, why remain beneath the Star Lord?"
"Come, join my side... I will give you greater power!"
"You could become a Celestial Dragon — no, you deserve more than that. I will give you..."
Hoarse, overlapping voices seemed to echo in Saru's ears.
But that wasn't the key.
Inside Heavenly Palace Wonderland, Saru was immune to negative effects; even these bewitchments, clearly imbued with some special power, couldn't touch him.
And so he could still clearly read the characters flashing at the bottom of his vision in the Fruit Encyclopedia.
[Detected 'Source of Lineage Factor (Impurity — Wish · Evil)']
[Can analyze upon approach and contact; analysis will remove 'Impurity' from the object]
The text displayed in the Fruit Encyclopedia was what truly shook Saru.
Yes.
The three clusters of energy left behind after the God's Knights fell had actually triggered his Fruit Encyclopedia.
And the prompt itself was staggering.
"This thing — is it the same as the 'Energy' in the tree root? Both are Source Energy of Lineage Factor?"
As Vegapunk had concluded under Star Lord's guidance —
The power contained in the special 'Tree Root' Roy had been pursuing was the source of Lineage Factor — precisely what Vegapunk called 'Source Energy of Lineage Factor'.
According to Roy's hypothesis, this power, when fused with human desires, would produce extraordinary effects.
The so-called 'Devil Fruits' were also creations of this very power.
And now, the energy left behind by the God's Knights was also Source Energy of Lineage Factor.
The difference was —
"It has impurities. Wish — Evil?"
Saru murmured inwardly.
In that instant, many things surfaced in his mind at once.
The mural in The Abyss — Davy Jones' prayer to that great tree, which had given birth to 'Imu'.
"I am a sinner. The first cursed one."
Joy Boy's message inscribed on the Poneglyph, relayed by Vegapunk.
"The Abyss is the source of the sea — the shadow that binds the world, and everything within it."
And so, Saru began to grasp something crucial.
"If that great tree — that 'Pillar of Creation' — is the source of all Devil Fruits... a tree that bears the world's wishes..."
"Then the wishes that people make to it in their hearts take form as real things — even as 'Devil Fruits' born into the world."
"Then what of the impurities within those wishes?"
Yes.
Those who desire power inevitably kindle conflict.
Those who have lost loved ones carry sorrow in their hearts.
Those who desire wealth are touched, to some degree, by greed.
Those who desire youth all long for eternal life.
Just as there is always shadow beneath light —
As long as it is a wish made by a human, how could it be without impurities?
And so —
"Pure, wholesome wishes are gathered and realized — shaping this 'World' and its 'Devil Fruits'."
"Evil, impure wishes sink to the bottom of the world — becoming the world's shadow."
"That is..."
"The Abyss?"
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