If their heart was destroyed, the immortal body granted by Imu would fail.
At that point, they would truly die.
And this fear was precisely the opening Beam and the others had been waiting for.
"Pfft~"
A shark fin suddenly emerged from the ground.
Beam's upper half burst out from beneath the stone slab, his entire body shooting straight towards Nusjuro like a cannonball.
As a Shark Devil, Beam could freely travel through the ground, but he hadn't demonstrated this ability since the battle began, specifically waiting for this opportunity.
And the effect was good... under the shock, Nusjuro's movement was a beat slow.
Squelch-
Beam's shark-like giant mouth bit down hard on Nusjuro's chest.
In his Bakotsu form, most of Nusjuro's body was skeletal, but the heart area was still covered by flesh and blood.
Beam's sharp teeth pierced through that layer of flesh and blood, the teeth wedging into the gaps between the bones, holding on with a death grip and refusing to let go.
"You're dead!"
Nusjuro was greatly shocked. He quickly spun the Shodai Kitetsu in his hand. A flash of the blade—
"Whoosh!!"
Beam's body was severed in half at the waist.
His upper and lower halves separated, blood and internal organs gushing from the cut.
But his teeth were still fiercely biting Nusjuro's chest.
Crack—
A chunk of flesh was forcibly torn off.
A fist-sized bloody hole was left in Nusjuro's chest, revealing an object with a metallic luster.
Steel heart.
Exactly like Garling's.
"Got it!"
Mid-air, Yu, who was fighting Mars, the Itsumade-form Elder, caught that glint of metal in his peripheral vision.
He fired backhandedly—
Aiming at that steel heart exposed in the air.
Bang!
The bullet flew straight towards Nusjuro's chest with a piercing screech.
Nusjuro was completely flustered.
Ignoring Beam's remains hanging on his chest, he clumsily raised the Shodai Kitetsu in his hand, trying to block the bullet.
But due to fear, his movements were messy.
Ding—
The bullet hit the blade of the Shodai Kitetsu.
But Nusjuro's hand didn't hold it steady.
That Supreme Grade Blade flew from his grasp, drawing a parabola in the air.
Clang.
It landed at the feet of a person.
Makoto looked down at the Shodai Kitetsu by his feet.
Then he looked up at Nusjuro.
The man stood there, trembling all over, his eyes fixed on the Shodai Kitetsu that had fallen beside Makoto.
He wanted to retrieve it.
But when his hand was halfway out, seeing those crimson red eyes of Makoto's, it froze in mid-air.
Makoto looked at the old man's cowardly demeanor, his expression shifting from disappointment to boredom.
"Too ugly."
Makoto suddenly raised his foot and kicked the steel heart hard.
Bang!
Nusjuro's face twisted in extreme pain.
His body flew backwards like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the collapsed palace ruins behind him and embedding itself in a pile of rubble.
"Too easy."
Makoto couldn't even be bothered to look at Nusjuro again.
His gaze passed over the Five Elders and landed on the half-sliced Pangea Castle.
The disappointment on Makoto's face grew thicker.
'These so-called Five Elders and God's Knights, claiming to be the World Government's highest combat power, and this is it?'
Their strength wasn't even that good to begin with, and their immortal bodies had a fatal weakness.
'I'm so disappointed, damn it. Are you worthy of my expectations?!'
He had thought this trip to the Holy Land would be a good playtime, but these people turned out to be even weaker than he imagined.
"Hey, Imu."
Makoto's voice rang out like the knell of hell in the ears of these World Government's people.
"Come out quickly. These useless subordinates of yours aren't fun at all."
Pangea Castle remained silent, with no response.
A few seconds later, Makoto smiled.
"Fine."
He extended one finger.
"I'll count to three, just three."
"Listen carefully."
"If I count the first number, and you come out—"
Makoto's lips curled slightly upward.
"You only need to lick my shoes, and I'll let you off."
The faces of the Five Elders turned pale in unison.
"If I count the second number, and you come out then—"
His gaze swept over the Four Gay Bros, those four idiots eagerly waiting, revealing an expression identical to Hanma Yujiro's.
"I'll have them f*ck you, f*ck you countless times."
The four heads of the Four Gay Bros simultaneously turned towards Pangea Castle, four pairs of eyes shining with the same light.
"If I count the third number..."
Makoto didn't continue.
He just smiled.
That smile was more hair-raising than any threat.
Everyone held their breath.
Makoto began to count.
Instantly, it felt like a heavy hammer struck the nerves of every person present.
"One."
Pangea Castle remained silent.
Sweat broke out on the foreheads of the Five Elders.
The surviving members of the God's Knights trembled all over.
Among the Marine soldiers behind Garp, some had already begun to retreat.
And among Makoto's subordinates—
Yu was expressionless, but his gaze became even sharper.
Beam cracked his wrists, making cracking sounds.
The Four Gay Bros, without exception, revealed dangerous smiles.
"Two."
Makoto counted to two.
Pangea Castle still showed no movement.
The Marine and World Government's personnel almost collapsed from tension.
And Makoto's subordinates—
Their expressions grew even more dangerous, even more bloodthirsty.
"Imu-sama..."
Among the Five Elders, someone whispered.
Makoto clicked his tongue and opened his mouth again.
The third number was about to leave his throat.
At that very moment—
Boom!!!
A wave of Conqueror's Haki, violent to the point of suffocation, erupted from deep within the ruins of Pangea Castle.
Not slowly spreading.
It's erupting.
Like a nuclear explosion, deep red, nearly black-colored aura gushed from the cracks in Pangea Castle, shooting straight into the sky.
The color of the sky changed.
The night sky, originally reddened by the firelight, was now dyed a dark red, nearly black color.
Everyone present, including Garp, felt a sense of oppression from the depths of their souls.
Garp's pupils contracted sharply.
He could feel it... this wasn't ordinary Conqueror's Haki.
And arriving before the Conqueror's Haki was fire.
Dark red, nearly black flames surged from the ruins of Pangea Castle.
Wherever the flames passed, black buildings seemed possessed by Devils, appearing with eyes and emitting piercing laughter.
The Conqueror's Haki receded, revealing the figure within.
Nerona Imu.
Founder of the World Government.
One of the original twenty.
The man known as the [King of the World].
Black skin, white hair, androgynous facial features, pale white long hair covering his left eye.
His body was wrapped in deep red, nearly black-colored aura, which moved around him like living things.
Garp's eyes widened.
After all these years of dealings with the Five Elders, this was the first time he knew… that above the Five Elders, there was an even higher existence.
This was also the first time he saw the true ruler of the World Government.
The Marine soldiers looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock and confusion.
The remaining four of the Five Elders bowed in unison.
"Imu-sama."
Imu didn't look at them.
His gaze was focused on only one person.
That person was sitting with his legs crossed on a chair brought from somewhere.
Yu stood behind him, arms crossed, expressionless.
Beam and the Four Gay Bros stood on either side, their bodies drenched in blood, but still having those creepy smiles.
And the person sitting in the chair—
Makoto.
His expression hadn't changed at all.
If anything, there was only a faint hint of amusement.
As if watching a clown.
And that was precisely how Imu appeared in his mind.
Imu walked towards Makoto step by step.
The deep red aura wrapped around his body trailed a long path behind him.
Hope shone in the eyes of the Five Elders.
The survivors of the God's Knights held their breath.
The Marine still didn't dare to act rashly.
Everyone was waiting—
Waiting for the showdown between the King of the World and this arrogant man.
Imu walked closer and closer.
Makoto remained sitting in the chair, motionless.
When Imu was less than two meters away, he finally spoke.
"F*ck him."