Sensing the boundless bloodlust and murderous aura rolling off Imu's body, Kaito frowned slightly.
"Fallen Angel?" Kaito said calmly. "Is this really the Seraph Devil Fruit? Why does it have two forms?"
Imu's voice flowed smoothly, as if she were speaking to herself while also answering Kaito.
"When you completely conquer the demon within you, another path appears in your mind," Imu said softly. "A path where a holy angel abandons heaven and descends into hell, slaughtering everything in its way."
"Three hundred years ago, after I fully mastered the divine angel form and pushed it to its limit, a vision appeared before me."
Her lips curved into a charming smile, one capable of enchanting all who saw it.
"That vision showed a benevolent angel falling into hell. From that moment on, I began my research. It took me fifty years to complete the initial transition from holy angel to fallen angel."
Imu's tone remained steady, almost nostalgic.
"I have refined and used this form for over two hundred years since then. It was only recently that I fully unearthed its true limits. After reaching that point, the Devil Fruit either becomes exhausted or reveals even greater potential."
Her gaze locked onto Kaito.
"The premise, of course, is defeating you. From now on, you may call me Fallen Angel Imu, or Holy Angel Imu. Ever since I overcame the demon within myself, I am no longer a purely artificial human."
Black and red flames surged violently around Imu. Her amber eyes turned crimson, sending a sharp chill down Kaito's spine.
"Tsk," Kaito clicked his tongue. "To develop a Devil Fruit to this extent, you really are an old monster who has lived far too long. Others would be lucky to awaken their powers even once."
He sneered.
"You reached this level not because you are smarter than anyone else, but simply because you lived longer."
Imu laughed lightly, unfazed.
"That does not matter. Survival is everything. When I defeat you, your so called new government will be erased by the World Government. You will be recorded in history as a sinful pirate, cursed by generations to come."
Her body flickered. Holding the scarlet spear, Imu spun it into a blooming spear flower. Six pairs of black wings spread wide as she shot forward like a streak of crimson light, charging straight at Kaito.
"Among all the strong people I have seen, your strength is near the top," Imu said coldly. "But this is as far as you go."
Kaito did not respond. Instead, he lightly tapped the Six Paths scepter in his hand.
Hum.
Invisible ripples spread outward. Black lightning erupted from Kaito's body, rapidly expanding until it formed a vast sea of thunder.
From within the lightning, three massive thunder beasts took shape, a thunder dragon, a thunder qilin, and a thunder phoenix. Each one carried lightning measured in tens of billions of volts. Space twisted violently wherever they moved, barely able to endure their existence.
Kaito smiled faintly.
"Even if you are non conductive, there is always a limit," he said calmly. "Rubber stops electricity too, until the voltage exceeds what it can handle."
Imu sneered.
"I already told you. This form is my ideal state for battle, and for killing. I am not conductive."
She raised her voice sharply.
"But since this is the first time this form has been revealed to the world, I will let you witness its true power. Death Dance!"
Gripping the scarlet spear, Imu's slender body spun rapidly through the air. Black and red flames erupted outward, transforming into deadly ripples that surged toward the three thunder beasts.
The moment they collided, the thunder beasts began devouring the flames. With each bite, their light dimmed slightly. At the same time, tiny black dots appeared behind them.
Those dots were compressed spatial black holes, shrunken countless times.
There was no deafening explosion. The collision was eerily silent, yet its danger far exceeded anything before it.
Within a radius of thousands of kilometers, the area became an absolute forbidden zone. Anything that entered was crushed into dust by the invisible aftermath. At this level, even an admiral would be nothing more than an ant.
Imu's rotation accelerated. The black and red death ripples intensified, finally erasing Kaito's three thunder beasts before they could close within a hundred meters. Their remnants were swallowed by the surrounding spatial distortions.
Whoosh.
With the thunder beasts gone, the flames around Imu's body flared outward, forming a blazing barrier. As she swung her spear, waves of flame slashes descended, forcibly carving a path through Kaito's sea of lightning.
Imu looked like a blood drenched demon, utterly relentless.
"So this is how you want it," Kaito said quietly. "Do not blame me."
He tapped the scepter again. The chaotic lightning around him began to stabilize and recover.
With a single thought, countless Lightning Style Tailed Beast Bombs formed before Kaito like a storm of glowing spheres.
"Go."
The densely packed Tailed Beast Bombs surged forward toward the charging Imu.
"Destruction, Demonic Light!" Imu shouted seductively.
Her six pairs of wings folded forward defensively. Black streamers poured from them.
Hum.
A massive black beam erupted from the wings, crashing directly into the incoming Lightning Style Tailed Beast Bombs.
Danger surged through Kaito's instincts.
His Rinnegan spun violently as the black and white three dimensional space manifested around him. Stepping across spatial nodes, Kaito vanished instantly.
When he reappeared, it was exactly where Imu had been moments before.
The instant he emerged, a colossal explosion erupted behind him.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Terrifying shockwaves swept outward, devastating everything within a kilometer.
The sky looked as if it had been wiped clean. Below, the pressure carved a gigantic crescent shaped trench across the sea, over a hundred meters wide, as though the ocean itself had been split apart.
As the turbulence slowly faded, Kaito raised his hand. A powerful gust of wind dispersed the smoke, revealing Imu's figure within.
Cracks ran across the black red armor, though it had not completely shattered. Her pale skin was marked with countless cuts, blue blood flowing freely.
The six black wings on her back drooped weakly. Feathers fell in large numbers, stained with blood, as if they might tear off completely.
Imu's scarlet eyes fixed on Kaito, cold and calm. The enchanting charm from before was gone.
"You are the first person who has made me want to kill this badly," Imu said softly.
Black and red flames surged once more, and the wounds on her body healed at a visible pace.
"Likewise," Kaito replied. "What a shame. That did not kill you. Looks like I have no choice but to use that move."
The air around Kaito began to roar as invisible pressure gathered.
"Eight Inner Gates," Kaito said calmly. "Open."
In an instant, Kaito's entire body turned blood red. The final gate had opened.
The Gate of Death.
____
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