Seeing the two of them, Cain frowned slightly as the descriptions of Killingham's ability surfaced in his mind one by one.
Things summoned from dreams did not possess true energy.
That was the key premise.
And Haki, a power that could be consumed and replenished, was fundamentally a form of energy.
In that case, it made sense that the fakes they had encountered earlier had no Haki.
Cain already understood that Haki was an extension of personal will.
If these manipulated beings possessed top-tier Conqueror's Haki, then their wills would inevitably be powerful enough to break free of control.
That was also the fundamental reason why the Divine Departure from earlier had been so weak.
Without autonomous will to support it, no matter how closely the move was imitated, it was ultimately only an empty puppet.
…
Standing high above, Killingham completely ignored Cain below and spoke toward Somers in the distance.
"Didn't that clear away a lot of trouble? Next, we just need to capture that girl directly."
As he spoke, he withdrew his control over "Roger" not far away.
Clearly, he was preparing to take action personally.
"Even if you say that, I still can't accept you using hypnosis on me. And these fakes you summoned are annoying just to look at."
Somers' voice was full of impatience.
His gaze swept over Cain, then finally fixed on Uta beside him, completely dismissing Cain.
Then again, Uta was Shanks' daughter.
In terms of identity alone, she was just barely qualified to enter the eyes of these so-called "gods."
"Cain…"
Meeting that direct gaze, Uta instantly understood that their target was her.
She did not know why they were after her, nor did she know what she was about to face, but she still placed her hand over Cain's and said, "I'll fight with you."
Cain nodded.
Although he had known he would eventually run into the God's Knights, he had not expected it to happen this early.
But it did not matter.
He was already prepared to attack at any moment.
He had promised Shanks that he would protect Uta no matter what. He had also promised Uta that he would stay with her forever.
The word "escape" had never existed in his and Uta's world.
Whether they faced the God's Knights or an even stronger enemy, he would only choose to confront them head-on.
Just then, a sharp pain spread through his palm.
It was not the tearing agony of flesh being ripped apart. It felt more like countless tiny needles, and they were not piercing his body, but his mind.
Then, for no reason, blood began seeping from Cain's hand. It dripped through his fingers and fell to the ground, spreading into a small dark-red stain.
Cain's heart tightened.
Following his Observation Haki, he looked over and discovered that Uta's body was covered in transparent thorns.
Those thorns were completely invisible to the naked eye. Only Observation Haki could capture them clearly.
Cain instantly remembered the information about this thing.
This was Somers' ability—Thorns of Love.
Using emotion as a bond, the deeper the connection, the more intense the pain it brought.
It had no visible form and struck directly at the mind. In serious cases, it was even enough to kill.
'So this attack had been laid out from the very beginning?'
Cain recalled the thorns Katakuri had blocked earlier and immediately understood.
Just as he was about to raise his hand and erase them with Haki, Somers had already curled his finger.
"Come here, little girl."
The moment his words fell, the transparent thorns wrapped around Uta suddenly tightened.
A tremendous pulling force surged out, dragging Uta violently toward Somers.
And then—
Somers only felt his vision blur.
A figure wrapped in scorching heat instantly broke through the distance between them.
A massive face that combined humanoid features with draconic ferocity suddenly closed in, bringing with it an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"You dare touch her?"
Cain's voice was low and hoarse.
It carried no unnecessary emotion, yet it held unquestionable intimidation.
In the next instant, an attack wrapped in Conqueror's Haki coating crashed down. The air twisted under the blow, and violent energy stirred up a fierce gale.
"EIGHTY GODS VACUUM STRIKE!"
"Gah—!"
Somers had no time to react. His body flew backward like a rag struck by a heavy hammer.
Even with the contract enhancement unique to the God's Knights protecting him, the attack still blasted a hideous hole through his chest.
Blood mixed with shredded clothing sprayed out, drawing a long crimson line through the air.
At this moment, Cain was no longer in his human-dragon form.
The pink scales that had originally covered his body had all faded away, replaced by blood-red scales.
His body was visibly taller than it had been in his human-dragon form.
His muscular lines displayed the explosive power unique to dragons. Although his facial features still retained a humanoid outline, the degree of dragonization was far greater than before.
A fierce, brutal aura rushed out from him.
This was Cain's dragonman form.
He bent down, lifted Uta into his arms, and placed her on his shoulder.
The movement was completely different from the violence of his attack just now, without the slightest roughness.
"Are you okay, Uta?" he asked quietly.
Then he released a vast surge of Haki.
That Haki acted like an invisible blade, precisely targeting the transparent thorns and erasing them from Uta's body inch by inch.
"Mm. Don't worry about me for now. The others…"
Uta's voice was steady.
She had not panicked from being dragged earlier and was instead worried about the others on the battlefield.
Cain nodded and said nothing more.
He leaped high into the air, not even sparing Killingham a glance.
His eyes swept across the entire battlefield, quickly checking on Sabo, Luffy, and the others, worried that they had fallen into the same kind of trap.
Sure enough, Hancock and Koala were both wrapped in overlapping transparent thorns as well.
That was not surprising.
Hancock and Luffy, Koala and Sabo—they were companions who had traveled together, and there were deep bonds between them.
They could be considered two pairs who cared deeply for one another.
Thorns of Love used emotion as its trigger. With such close connections, it was naturally able to take effect precisely and plunge them into pain.
But when Cain's gaze landed on Jinbe, he paused.
Although the battlefield had placed him on the same side as Katakuri, and the two were fighting back-to-back against the surrounding fakes, the transparent thorns wrapped around Jinbe were no looser than the ones on Hancock and Koala.
Cain silently complained to himself.
Jinbe had thick brows, large eyes, and such an upright, honest face.
No matter how one looked at him, he was a calm and reliable companion.
Could it be that Somers actually thought there was some special bond between him and Katakuri?
Looking at the people still fighting ahead, and at Uta, who had always wanted to join the battle, Cain suddenly thought of Killingham's ability.
Uta's ability and Killingham's ability created entirely different kinds of "dreams."
Killingham's ability essentially caused people to fall asleep.
Uta's ability pulled other people's minds into her Uta World. From a basic conceptual standpoint, it could also be considered a kind of dream.
In other words, Uta's Uta World might be able to restrain Killingham's dream summons.
"Uta, now is the time to sing out loud."
Cain's voice was low and certain.
He believed in Uta's ability.
And he believed in Uta!
…
At another corner of the battlefield, Somers, who had been sent flying, crashed heavily to the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust.
He struggled to support his upper body. The wound in his chest was healing extremely slowly, and the pain made him curse furiously.
He looked toward "Roger," whom Killingham had summoned earlier to block Cain.
That puppet still stood frozen in place, completely unresponsive.
The reason was simple.
Killingham had not given it any new commands.
As for Killingham himself, he had fallen asleep!
"WAKE UP ALREADY!"
Somers' furious roar shook the air, filled with uncontrollable anger.
Killingham was startled awake by the shout. After seeing the situation before him clearly, he quickly apologized to Somers.
"Sorry, sorry. I messed up again."
Somers was just about to keep roaring when his peripheral vision caught sight of a familiar figure not far away.
It was someone who looked like "Rayleigh," walking toward him step by step. His movements were slow, yet they carried an inexplicable pressure.
Somers immediately turned toward Killingham and shouted.
"HEY, KILLINGHAM! WHY ISN'T THE 'RAYLEIGH' OVER HERE FIGHTING? WHY IS HE WALKING TOWARD ME? SEEING THAT FACE PISSES ME OFF!"
"RAYLEIGH? NO, THAT ONE I SUMMONED ISN'T EVEN ON THIS SIDE!"
Killingham froze, then hurriedly shouted in that direction, his voice carrying a trace of confusion.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! AAAAAAH!"
Before Somers' shocked and furious cry could even fall, a violent pain suddenly came from his arm.
Or rather, his entire wrist had been cut off directly, causing him to scream miserably.
"MY HAND! MY HAND!"
Somers screamed as his eyes locked onto the "Rayleigh" in front of him.
"Good thing I made it in time. I really didn't expect this.... After all these years, I'd run into you people again."
Hearing that voice, Somers' body instantly went stiff.
The pain on his face was replaced by disbelief. He spoke instinctively with a trembling voice.
"T-This guy is the real Silvers Rayleigh!"
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