"Too late to retreat now."
Vladimir stood at the chest of the spectral war god, his gaze calm as he looked down upon everyone present.
"You have here more than three figures at Emperor-level, nearly ten with the combat power of an Admiral, and countless other great pirates. With such a lineup, you could easily destroy the Marine Headquarters itself. Yet, to raise your hands against us, against Phantom… is nothing but seeking your own destruction."
Nearly all the top-tier forces of the New World had gathered here.
However, they were not cooperating sincerely or acting as a true alliance; there were even temporary truces between the Marines and pirates.
If they had truly worked together as one, Vladimir might have actually needed to exert some effort.
But the world was never that simple. Everyone was guarded and suspicious of one another. Trying to unite them against him was simply wishful thinking.
"Stand down, Doflamingo."
As he spoke, Vladimir extended his right hand.
"Manifest Illusion!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the world transformed instantly.
The Sabaody Archipelago vanished, replaced entirely by a realm of demons and monsters.
The surroundings turned dark, sinister, and terrifying. From beneath the ground, hordes of abyssal monsters crawled out. Giant, ferocious birds ruled the skies above.
Fire and magma burned across the land, the heavens were shrouded in gloom, and reality itself twisted into something bizarre and surreal. Countless demonic creatures roamed everywhere…
"What… what is this?!" Some cried out, their spirits trembling in fear.
"Hahaha…"
Vladimir chuckled softly. "Everything you fear has been made manifest. Every illusion you see is now reality. Do not struggle. Before absolute power, any resistance you offer is utterly meaningless."
As his voice echoed, the world around them shifted once again.
All the illusions began to twist and distort, dissolving into streams of pure energy that surged upward, gathering high in the sky.
Thousands of meters above, a massive dark vortex formed in the clouds.
The heavy, oppressive mass of clouds was so thick that simply looking at it filled the heart with dread.
"In this world, the peak levels of power have generally been categorized as Admiral-level and Emperor-level… and above that, the so-called 'Super Emperor' tier."
Vladimir's voice boomed forth, majestic and binding, like the decree of an emperor, clearly heard by every single person.
"Perhaps there was no clear definition before today. But today, I shall name this level of power: Sovereign-level. And this… is a strike befitting a Sovereign. Try to endure it if you can!"
RUMBLE!!
Within the heavy clouds above, lightning flashed and thunder roared continuously.
Suddenly, an enormous golden palm tore through the dark clouds and slowly descended.
It looked like the arm of an ancient giant — immense and colossal.
Each of its outstretched fingers was hundreds of meters long, thick and sturdy enough to rival the mightiest fortress walls in the world.
"Wh… what?!"
Countless people looked up, staring blankly at the giant hand filling the sky.
They forgot to run. Or rather, running was pointless. It was simply too large; there was nowhere fast enough to escape its range.
When this palm landed, it would surely shatter the entire Sabaody Archipelago into pieces.
At this moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Everyone could only watch helplessly as the hand that blotted out the sky pressed down upon them.
It felt like the might of nature itself. Compared to this, humanity was insignificant — small as insects, trembling in the face of overwhelming force.
BOOM!
Finally, the great hand landed.
The first things to feel its weight were the giant Yarukiman Mangrove trees of Sabaody.
These ancient forests, thousands of years old, were bent and snapped under the Sovereign's strike, unable to offer even the slightest resistance.
CRACK! CRASH! BOOM!
As the great trees splintered and crumbled, the entire archipelago — which existed atop their roots — began to slowly collapse and shatter apart.
Seventy-nine Districts… in this moment, they truly became seventy-nine separate fragments.
"This… this is Sovereign-level power… standing above the Four Emperors?"
Whitebeard stood frozen, gripping his massive naginata tightly.
Power of such terror was beyond him. He could summon earthquakes, tsunamis, and even tear the sky asunder.
But he could never achieve what had just happened — to crush all opposition with overwhelming, majestic might, where every obstacle was as futile as a mayfly trying to stop a wheel.
THUD!
At last, the hand that veiled the sky pressed fully down upon the island.
In an instant, two-thirds of the Sabaody Archipelago was forced deep beneath the ocean.
It was as if an indescribable force had erased the greater part of the island, leaving only a small, crescent-shaped fragment of land remaining above the waves.
Survivors were few and far between.
Even Kaido was smashed beneath the surface of the sea by this single strike, his life or death unknown.
Vladimir hovered in the air as Susanoo dissolved and faded away. He looked down at the ruined land and shook his head slightly.
"This was Manifest Illusion used with my full power… the destructive might was far greater than I anticipated… though now, all the fruits have fallen into the sea. I will have to trouble you."
As soon as he spoke, the resonant cry of a dragon echoed through the air.
A flash of white light streaked across the sky, revealing the majestic form of the Sea Dragon.
He let out a long, echoing roar, then dove sharply into the ocean to retrieve the Devil Fruits from the depths below.
"You foolish dragon…!"
Far below, the Empress stood with her mouth agape, utterly stunned by the sight of the hand that blotted out the sky.
"What kind of power is this? Is this something from ancient myths?"
Her mind raced back to the records written in the ancient books of Amazon Lily.
They spoke of mysterious and unfathomable eras, of terrible monsters like the Gorgon, and battles of legend where scenes exactly like this would unfold.
If Emperor-level power could still be seen as something attainable by humans, then Sovereign-level — existing above it — was no different from wielding the power of a living god.
There was no difference at all.
The Empress took a deep breath and looked up at Vladimir floating in the heavens, her heart filled with complex thoughts and emotions.
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