As long as Brook grew a little stronger, stabilized the New World, and nurtured the Universal Government for a few more years, crushing the World Government would be inevitable.
Imu clearly understood that, too.
His eyes were dark, his voice colder than the storm.
"If I refuse, do you think you can actually defend the North Sea and the West Sea? The moment you dare leave the New World, I'll kill you."
To Imu, that concession had already been humiliating. Brook still wasn't satisfied, still pushing, still taking.
Greedy.
Annoyingly greedy.
Even without Uranus, even without the so called suppression of the New World, Imu believed he could still erase any country on the map whenever he pleased.
Brook met that threat with calm eyes.
Imu needed to see reality, not cling to the glory of eight hundred years ago.
Brook didn't want a life and death brawl right now, but that didn't mean he feared him. Strength was the only language that mattered.
The Hell Pirates hadn't torn apart the Navy just to gain a polite advantage in negotiations. They did it to stand here now, as the side holding the knife.
Brook lifted his sword and spoke fast, decisive.
"Linlin, you're with me. We deal with Imu."
He pointed through the storm, dividing the battlefield like a commander carving meat.
"Roger handles Garp. Rayleigh takes the wounded Kong. Redfield, Newgate, Shiki, Kaido, Oden, you six kill the Four Elders, quickly."
Brook launched forward the instant the order left his mouth.
Linlin laughed, ferocious and delighted, and charged beside him, shoulder to shoulder.
"Hahaha! That's more like it! Kill, kill, kill!"
Shiki was already moving, a wild grin splitting his face as he rushed at the Four Elders. Kaido and Oden surged with the same hunger. At last, they could clash with the highest power in the world.
Behind them, Kong and the gravely injured Sengoku were left on the remaining warship by Imu's side, forcing themselves to stay conscious and fight. Rayleigh had no choice but to peel away from Roger and Garp's battle and intercept the wounded marshal.
World and Ben Beckman immediately locked onto Sengoku, eyes sharp with ambition. They wanted that trophy.
Then a new target appeared.
A luxurious World Government warship cut across the sea, it was the royal vessel used by Imu and the Four Elders. A Divine Knight leapt from it and shot toward the battlefield, aiming straight for the dying Sengoku.
World's laughter boomed.
"Ahaha! Fujitora, Beckman, with me. We take that Divine Knight."
He flicked his gaze toward the wounded Buddha.
"And we'll leave Sengoku to Prince Satan."
Two Seraphim shifted with silent precision, guarding Satan as they rushed toward the warship.
High above on the flying Pluton, Hiruba was already lined up.
The Pluton annihilation cannon.
The electromagnetic laser cannon.
He didn't waste a word.
Two blasts fired, each one powerful enough to tear apart half an island.
The luxury warship vanished in an instant, swallowed by a rolling explosion. Sea and sky shook. Only a handful of CP0 agents managed to flee with a few of the World Government's old relics in their arms.
The rest were buried under the waves with their ship.
Hiruba didn't linger.
"Kirin Lion, move! If Imu notices us, we're dead."
The mount howled, wind surged, and the flying Pluton slipped away from the battlefield like a shadow.
Down below, Brook and Linlin finally collided with the King of the World.
Brook's Seven Star Demon Sword cut forward, the air splitting with an eerie pressure.
"Yohoho! Imu, show me something worth retreating for before the Four Elders drop."
His voice was bright, but his eyes were cold.
"Otherwise, you're going to watch your people fall one by one."
Linlin's grin was savage.
"Imu! This world belongs to Brook! You old fossil dies here!"
She came in fast, roaring, her Emperor Blade Napoleon blazing with Haki.
For a few exchanges, she held her ground.
Then Imu's destructive power struck.
Napoleon cracked.
Not metaphorically, not symbolically, it was beaten into pieces, as if the blade had been made of brittle glass. Even though it was infinitely close to a Supreme Grade blade, even with Armament coating, it could not endure that terrifying rule of destruction.
Prometheus and Zeus nearly shattered as well.
In the end, they could only possess Linlin directly, fusing their power into her body so she could barely keep pace with Imu's tempo.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Linlin, you contain him. I'll take point."
He swallowed the gathered ghost generals in one motion, merging them into his Hell Ghost Body. Underworld energy surged and thickened around him, layered with the Dark Dark Fruit's suppressive pull and the malice of the Seven Star Demon Sword.
It was enough.
Barely enough.
His awakening was far below Imu's, but Brook could stack powers. Two fruits. A cursed artifact. A ghost body forged through slaughter.
Quantity to fight quality.
Imu's gaze turned murderous.
"Brook. I fear your Hell Gate, not you."
His voice dropped, heavy as judgment.
"But since you insist on forcing my hand, I'll show you the true power of the God of Destruction."
The air trembled.
Imu's aura erupted, violent and absolute, like a throne collapsing into the sea. For the first time before the Hell Pirates, he released everything.
Not a partial transformation.
Not a restrained display.
A full Mythical Zoan awakening.
"Zoan type, Human Human Fruit. Mythical Beast model, God of Destruction."
Imu's body twisted and expanded as black flames crawled across him, red bloodlike light swirling in violent spirals. His expression warped and shifted, sometimes wrathful, sometimes eerily calm, sometimes grim, as if multiple wills were layered inside a single divine shell.
Divinity and destruction, tangled together.
He opened green eyes filled with cold contempt. Fangs bared as he stared at Brook and Linlin.
"I hate using this ugly form," Imu said, voice like grinding stone. "But you have offended the majesty of God."
He disappeared.
Then he was already on Brook.
Imu's intent was simple, brutal, and absolute.
Kill Brook first.
Do not allow him to open the Hell Gate.
Because that alien god beyond the gate was countless times more terrifying than anything Imu could become, and he refused to gamble his life on a real god.
Even if he would never admit it aloud, the truth was carved into his fear.
Imu was a false god wearing the shape of a Devil Fruit.
But eight hundred years above the world had taught him to believe he was the only god that mattered.
Brook felt that pressure and swallowed hard.
"Is this… the highest awakened state of a Mythical Zoan? A true god form?"
For a moment, Brook's mind flashed to his own paths.
The Underworld power. The Dark.
His Hell demon form, his death god form.
Were those only the earliest steps of what the Yomi Fruit could become?
Compared to Imu, the gap was cruel.
Imu's presence created a vacuum zone wherever he moved.
Brook's attacks and Linlin's power vanished before they could even reach him, erased as if the world itself rejected them.
Everything around Imu was swallowed by a single rule.
Destruction.
In that divine realm, only Imu's law existed.
All other energy was annihilated.
----------------
Imu's terrifying aura forced Brook and Linlin into a frantic retreat. They dodged again and again, barely staying ahead of those destructive waves that chewed through the air like invisible fangs.
Brook couldn't understand it.
If Imu had a form this overwhelming, why didn't he use it earlier?
Was it really because it looked ugly?
No.
Brook's mind raced. The last time the God of Hell attacked, Imu might not have reacted in time. Or even if he had transformed, it still would not have been enough to withstand that blow.
This form had to have limits. It was simply too ridiculous otherwise.
It reminded Brook of the way ultimate states always came with a price.
Luffy's Sun God Nika could not be held forever. Gear Third and Gear Fourth had clear backlash. Even after Luffy beat Kaido, it still took days before the Straw Hats were properly back on their feet.
Ultimate power always demanded time, stamina, or both.
Which meant Brook had only one choice.
Drag it out.
Survive until the God of Destruction state burned itself out.
And if he could force Imu to remain in the New World long enough, the curse of this sea, that hateful Mother Nature, might bite deeper into that God of Destruction Fruit and shorten the duration even further.
Brook's thoughts sharpened into a single plan.
Stall.
Endure.
Win later.
He snapped his head up and shouted.
"Imu! Fine! I admit it, you're the strongest in the world! I'll accept the conditions we discussed earlier. Stop, and we'll talk!"
His pride bent without breaking. Survival came first.
Strategic retreat.
A perfectly respectable tactic, even if it sounded like backing down.
Imu's eyes were cold, emotionless.
"Too late."
He chased Brook like a calamity given legs.
"Once this form is revealed, we eliminate all enemies and all threats."
Those destructive waves did not only target Brook and Linlin. They tore across the sky, ripping toward Redfield and Shiki as well.
Brook's pupils tightened.
Redfield was blown away into the thunder and lightning.
And to protect Satan, one Seraphim was struck head on, its body shattered into pieces in midair.
Brook's blood ran hot.
"Imu… you bastard…"
Then Linlin moved.
To protect herself and keep their line from collapsing, she blocked an attack that would have carved through Brook. Even her steel hard body was pierced through the abdomen.
Blood sprayed across Brook's face.
In that instant, the idea of stalling died.
If this continued, they would all be dead before Imu's form even ended.
Brook's eyes turned feral.
"You're forcing me to gamble my life with you!"
Imu's expression hardened, wary, but he could not stop what came next.
The Gate of Hell opened in an instant.
Faster than before.
So fast it felt like Brook had rehearsed it a thousand times in his bones.
Now it came down to one question.
Was the God of Hell still guarding the gate?
And if he was, who would he strike this time?
Imu did not flee.
He planted himself, drawing his defense tight, convinced his strongest God of Destruction form could endure a random attack.
The oppressive presence returned.
Instantly, everything slowed.
Even the Four Elders and the Five Hell Kings stopped fighting.
Through that gate, they felt a momentum dozens of times more terrifying than even Imu's awakened form.
A voice rumbled out, full of irritation.
"It's open again… you annoying ants."
The God of Hell was furious.
These two little creatures kept disturbing him.
And that one with the destructive aura was still alive? Not killed last time?
It had even grown stronger.
So he attacked harder.
Not one strike.
Two.
Two streams of dark energy, heavier and more terrifying than before, launched at the same time, meant to erase both nuisances in one motion.
And Brook realized something even worse.
The gate… felt steadier.
As if the God of Hell himself was stabilizing it, just long enough to unleash those stronger attacks and make sure they landed.
He wanted them dead.
Both of them.
The destructive imp.
And the underworld imp that kept opening the door.
Imu clenched his fists as the two attacks formed.
They were clearly different in size.
Was he being singled out?
There was no time to think.
Only time to block.
Brook's chest tightened.
This was not a gamble anymore.
This was mutual destruction.
The God of Hell was striking both of them.
The two attacks arrived with impossible speed, like they pierced space itself. There was no dodging them. No running.
They were already there.
They slammed through both men.
Two screams ripped across the battlefield.
Even Imu, even Brook, both of them screamed under that hellish power.
The horror of it was unquestionable.
Imu struggled, forcing himself upright for a heartbeat longer, and then his God of Destruction form collapsed completely. His body snapped back to human form, his face drained of all color.
The pain was not just physical.
It was in the soul.
Imu fell into the sea.
The Four Elders panicked and rushed to catch him.
He coughed, voice weak but commanding.
"Take Kong… take Sengoku… take them all. We're leaving."
The weakness after dropping that form, combined with the soul ripping pain, left him exposed. He wanted out of the New World immediately.
Brook was still screaming too.
This time, the hellish power had struck the soul directly. Brook and Imu both had only a single penetrating wound on the surface, but Brook's situation was worse.
He carried two souls.
The backlash tore through both.
The pain doubled.
Linlin staggered, blood at the corner of her mouth.
"We're leaving too!"
She was badly injured, and Redfield, after clawing his way out of the lightning, was in worse shape than he looked. Destructive energy still gnawed at his body, leaving his combat power at a fraction of what it had been.
The Four Elders and the Five Hell Kings stared each other down, escorting their leaders away under tense, guarded silence.
No one dared to chase.
This war was forced to end under the God of Hell's two strikes.
The World Government had lost several warships and hundreds of elite Marines, including vice admirals and rear admirals. Zephyr was captured. Kong was injured. Sengoku was gravely wounded and on the edge of death. Imu was seriously injured.
The Hell Pirates lost a Seraphim. Linlin and Redfield were heavily wounded. Brook's soul was damaged twice over, his condition critical.
A world class battle involving millions of elite soldiers, the opening act of what would be called the Age of Discovery, finally came to a close.
The Universal Government had risen for real.
It would now share the world with the World Government, each holding vast numbers of member kingdoms.
By default, the West Sea and the North Sea belonged to the Universal Government.
And the Age of Exploration, built on seastone warships, had arrived.
From now on, a seastone warship would be a treasure more precious than even an Adam wood vessel.
.....
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