"What the hell is going on?!"
"This guy… it's like he has infinite lives! Why can't he be killed no matter what?!"
Above the castle district—
Emilagon spread her three pairs of pristine white wings, carving a trail of sacred light across the pitch-black night sky.
In an instant, the radiance on those angelic wings burst forth like the slashes of a master swordsman, streaking through the air as they charged straight toward Usopp!
Six lightning-fast slashes sealed off every possible escape route. As Usopp panicked, the holy strikes chopped directly toward his limbs.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion rang out in the night sky.
Before he could even react, Usopp was swallowed whole by holy light. The brilliance flared explosively, dazzling and blinding, illuminating the entire sky.
And at the same time, it allowed Emilagon to clearly see the horrific state of the castle district.
If what Tiger had done in Mary Geoise thirteen years ago was merely giving it a few superficial wounds, then what the Straw Hat Pirates were doing tonight was nothing short of publicly urinating on the World Government's face.
At this point, losing a few slaves or treasures no longer mattered.
Once this incident was exposed, the already-fragile authority of the World Government would completely collapse.
Yet during their earlier clash, Usopp had deliberately destroyed her personal Den Den Mushi in advance.
The distance between the castle district and Pangaea Castle was neither particularly far nor close.
But "close" still meant spanning most of the city!
If this were the Sabaody Archipelago, it would be like traveling from one end of the archipelago to the other—not something easily noticed by Pangaea Castle.
And Emilagon, who should have disengaged immediately and rushed to Pangaea Castle to report and request reinforcements, was repeatedly intercepted by Usopp in a suicidal manner. Time and again, the battlefield was dragged farther and farther away from Pangaea Castle.
At this moment, Emilagon felt utterly exhausted. Aside from repeatedly beating Usopp into critical condition in hopes that one of those attacks would finally kill him, she was completely at a loss!
"Ah…"
On the other side, Usopp let out a muffled cry of pain after being struck by the holy light. The groan lasted for several moments.
Yet a few seconds later, when the holy light and explosions finally dissipated…
Usopp reappeared before Emilagon—wearing dark green armor, completely unharmed.
"Again…!" Emilagon's pupils trembled, a trace of fear surfacing deep in her eyes.
Even though she had already witnessed this scene more than a dozen times—
Seeing such an absurd sight still made even Emilagon, an angel unleashing her holy power at full capacity, gasp violently and cry out in despair.
Unkillable!
Absolutely unkillable!
She had already used the strongest holy light of the Angel Fruit. That long-nosed man had endured more than a dozen of her full-power attacks.
One second he would be screaming in agony—
The next, he would resurrect as if nothing had happened.
For a moment, Emilagon couldn't help but wonder—
Was the one she was fighting… really human?!
She had already realized that unless she could kill him in a single blow, the loser of this battle would undoubtedly be her!
"Tch—so damn painful!!!"
As if to mock her thoughts, Usopp screamed miserably from within the Green Demon Armor, faint traces of blood seeping through the cracks.
However, hidden from Emilagon's view, a straw-like plant root suddenly emerged inside the armor and swiftly inserted itself into Usopp's mouth.
The other end of the plant root extended directly into an open storage compartment within Usopp's arm.
Inside that compartment were hundreds of bottles of Super Potion!
At this very moment, the plant root was plunged into one of the Super Potions, continuously siphoning the medicine and delivering it straight into Usopp's mouth.
In the blink of an eye, Usopp—who had just suffered shattered bones and grievous injuries—was fully restored under the mysterious power of the Pokémon world.
Another plant root followed.
This one extended into a separate body storage unit filled with PP recovery items.
With rule-defying regeneration, Usopp could recover from critical injuries hundreds—no, thousands—of times.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon energy replenished by the PP recovery items allowed the damaged Green Demon Armor to regrow and repair itself.
At this moment, Usopp—despite not being overwhelmingly strong—felt like an indestructible monster, chilling Emilagon to the bone.
But what truly terrified her…
Was yet to come.
Whoosh—
Just as Usopp finished recovering and prepared to intercept Emilagon again, ripples like water suddenly appeared in the night sky.
The next instant, Zoro—Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth—appeared in midair, positioning himself directly in front of Usopp.
"Zoro?!"
Seeing him, joy immediately spread across Usopp's face beneath the armor. His eyes reddened, tears nearly spilling out.
Zoro being here meant only one thing—
His mission… was complete.
Next would be the final battle.
And then, escape.
Thank goodness…
No more enduring torn flesh and severed limbs.
Even though Super Potion combined with the Green Demon Armor's special devices greatly reduced the pain of injury—
Usopp wasn't some kind of masochist.
If he could stay healthy, who would willingly suffer like that?!
Hearing Usopp's voice, Zoro smirked slightly in midair and replied in a deep voice:
"Yeah. Red told me to take over for you…"
"You can head down now and help the curly-brow save those poor people."
"You finally made it…"
Usopp nearly burst into tears.
He hurriedly warned Zoro:
"Be careful. She's the vice commander of the God's Knights—her strength is no joke."
"She has a Mythical Zoan Angel Fruit. She can unleash blinding holy light beams from her body that make you want to give up resisting, or fire holy slashes from her rapier."
"The holy light is extremely destructive—don't underestimate it!"
"If I didn't have a whole warehouse of Super Potions backing me up, I'd have been chopped to death seventeen or eighteen times already!"
"And on top of that, she has a strange flame ability."
"It's different from ordinary fire—less about physical burning, more like an attack on the soul!"
After handing over all the intelligence he had gathered, massive banana leaves suddenly extended from the back of Usopp's armor. With a powerful flap—
They lifted his body directly into the air.
"Anyway, I'll leave it to you!"
Trusting Zoro's strength completely, Usopp said no more. Waving his banana-leaf wings, he flew straight toward the area where the slaves were gathered.
Wait—what?!
You're just… leaving like that?!
Emilagon stared in disbelief as Usopp abandoned the battlefield without hesitation. Her mind went blank.
What did this mean?!
She had fought him for so long, ground him down endlessly—
And now he just decided to leave?!
"Holy Light! Judg—"
Instinctively thinking Usopp was finally retreating in defeat, Emilagon raised her golden holy sword with both hands, her resolute gaze locking onto the dark green figure.
Light as brilliant as the sun bloomed once more at the sword's edge.
But at that very moment—
"Hey~ even if my bounty isn't as high as Usopp's, treating me like I'm invisible…"
"Isn't that a little too disrespectful?!"
A deep crimson aura suddenly flooded the night sky.
In an instant, three pitch-black blades appeared within Emilagon's field of vision.
Though their sharpness alone didn't pose a lethal threat—
If she continued attacking Usopp recklessly…
She would inevitably be injured.
"Damn bastard!"
Already drained of stamina, Emilagon ultimately abandoned the likely futile attack. She leapt backward, flipping through the air as her holy sword collided head-on with Zoro's three blades.
CLANG!!!
The crisp clash of steel echoed across the sky above the castle district.
The next moment, boundless holy light erupted like thunder, piercing straight through Zoro's body and blasting him backward.
"Hah~!"
Seeing this, Emilagon finally let out a long sigh of relief.
She had feared another opponent as troublesome as Usopp.
But from that brief exchange, she could already tell—
This man's strength was roughly at the level of an elite Marine vice admiral.
Impressive on the seas, perhaps.
But before her, the vice commander of the God's Knights—
It was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
However…
Before Emilagon could even finish that relieved breath—
A completely unfamiliar light suddenly burst forth from the holy radiance she had released.
At the same time, an earth-shaking dragon's roar thundered into her ears.
"ROAR—!!!"
"Not bad for a vice commander. Compared to those three earlier guys, you're on a completely different level!"
A hoarse, beast-like voice replaced Zoro's earlier calm tone.
Emilagon's expression instantly changed.
"The three earlier guys?!"
He hadn't said it outright—
But her heart surged violently.
Those "three" couldn't possibly mean… her three subordinates?!
Emilagon pressed her lips together, her gaze sinking.
"No wonder I never heard anything from them…"
"So they were dealt with ahead of time!"
"I really underestimated you invaders!"
"Heh… well then—"
"Thanks for the compliment!"
Crack—
The dazzling white light suddenly shattered, scattering into countless motes across the void.
In the next instant, a three-bladed giant dragon appeared before Emilagon—its black wings spread wide, its body shrouded in a crimson mist!
It was Zoro, fully entered into Pokémon-ization!
Seeing this, Emilagon's eyes flashed—and all fear vanished completely.
"No wonder you have such confidence!"
"A Zoan-type user?! And this presence… is it also a Mythical Zoan?!"
She voiced her doubt.
At the same time, an inexplicable sense of exhilaration surged through her entire being.
Sacred light burst forth from her body, blasting straight toward Zoro.
Zoro, now in Pokémon-ized form, showed no intention of backing down.
Blood-red demonic energy surged skyward, infused with overwhelming Conqueror's Haki and the oppressive might of a dragon, charging head-on against Emilagon's holy light.
For a moment, it was as if two towering giants collided beneath the moonlight, locking arms in the purest test of strength!
Yes—this was it!
This was how a battle should be!!!
As she gazed at Zoro's overwhelming presence, Emilagon's first thought wasn't amazement at his power—
But relief.
At last…
She had found a normal opponent!
Not some long-nosed armored man who constantly rushed in for mutual destruction—
Nor a plant-using bastard who dodged endlessly and fired strange projectiles at her—
Compared to the unkillable Usopp, Emilagon would much rather face the fearsome Dragon Zoro!
At least…
This was a rhythm of battle she understood.
...
...
Meanwhile—
While the castle district erupted in chaos and bloodshed—
The interior of Pangaea Castle remained completely unaffected, tranquil and serene.
At least for now, the leaders of the Celestial Dragon families were still sleeping soundly, utterly undisturbed.
Deep within Pangaea Castle—
The Flower Room.
The calm space suddenly rippled.
The next moment, a pitch-black spatial wormhole opened.
A crimson figure stepped out immediately afterward.
"Red!"
"Red—!"
The instant Red appeared, several delighted voices rushed toward him.
"Luffy, you've worked hard."
Seeing his companions, Red smiled warmly in return.
He then opened a Hyperspace Hole and handed the Devil Fruits Nami and the others had collected from the laboratory level over to Usopp.
After everything was delivered, Nami finally let out a long breath.
This way, their adventure wouldn't end empty-handed.
...
...
"Red, hurry up and tell us—what's the next plan?!"
As soon as the handover was complete, Luffy bounced over excitedly.
Red raised the corner of his mouth and chuckled at the three of them.
"Guys, do you remember what I told you about Uranus?"
"Uranus?"
Nami froze, then quickly reacted.
"You mean that ancient weapon that uses technology similar to Merry's—one that can sink an entire island with a single strike?"
"That's right!"
Red nodded.
"The legendary ancient weapon Uranus is in the hands of the World Government's ruler—Imu!"
"And the Flower Room is the only place where Imu normally resides!"
"In other words…"
"The controller for the ancient weapon Uranus is very likely somewhere nearby!"
(End of Chapter)