'The power to dominate all creation?'
Allen frowned slightly, a thought flashing through his mind as if the answer was on the tip of his tongue.
The next second, he suddenly thought of the hypothesis regarding the origin of Devil Fruits.
'So that's how it is. So this is your ability.'
Allen seemed to have figured something out, and all the doubts and confusion in his heart were instantly cleared.
In Vegapunk's theoretical hypothesis, the so-called Devil Fruits were the physical manifestations of humanity's desire for the "possibility of evolution."
'If only I could control fire and lightning,' 'If only I could fly like a bird'—Devil Fruits were born from these intense fantasies and desires.
To sum it up in one sentence, Devil Fruit abilities were the manifestation of intense wishes.
But was this process an evolution of beautiful desires, or a contractual domination corrupted by greed...
Looking back at the ambiguous ability forms of the Five Elders, a new hypothesis formed in Allen's mind.
If his guess was correct, the Five Elders weren't Devil Fruit users at all.
The demonic forms like Gyuki, the Skeletal Horse, and Itsumade were all powers bestowed by Imu—or more accurately, guided by him.
By invading the body with demonic energy, he drew out the corrupted power hidden within a person's heart!
This was the power of Imu's 'Devil' Fruit—the power to dominate all creation with demonic energy!
Whether it was transforming into weapons or bestowing demonic power upon others, these were all manifestations of demonic energy dominating power.
And this inevitably led him to another question: could demonic energy dominate the abilities released by other Devil Fruit users?
If it could, then did the priority of Imu's demonic domination supersede that of the Dark-Dark Fruit?
Devil Fruit powers had a strict hierarchy, such as the Ice-Ice Fruit being superior to the Snow-Snow Fruit, and the Mag-Mag Fruit being superior to the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Even among mutually countering abilities, there was still a hierarchy.
Even a high-tier Logia like the Rumble-Rumble Fruit could only be mindlessly crushed in front of the so-called 'Gum-Gum' Fruit, which was actually Nika.
As for Imu's 'Devil' Fruit, just hearing the name made it easy to guess that its ability tier was absolutely at the very pinnacle.
Thinking of this, Allen's face involuntarily grew a bit more solemn.
Whether it was as he thought or not, he could only rely on personal experimentation to find out now.
Thus, Allen waved his hand and leveled his halberd, activating the Homies energy beads embedded in the blade. Blazing fire and violent lightning were frantically unleashed.
Boom!!!
Allen's eyes darkened. Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from his body, and his Conqueror's Haki transformed into dark red lightning that continuously exploded across the deck and walls.
The objects that had been demonized by Imu's ability field had their sinister smiles turn into expressions of anger and ferocity.
A cold glint flashed in Imu's eyes. Flapping the wings on his back, he swooped down and immediately issued an order to Sanji on the deck.
"Kill Vegapunk immediately!"
Hearing the command, Sanji's eyes glowed red. He stomped heavily on the ground, instantly bursting forward toward the cowering Vegapunk beneath the ship's superstructure!
However, this scene had already been foreseen a second in advance by Allen, who had his Observation Haki fully unleashed. He moved the moment Imu took action!
Swish!
Just as Sanji arrived in front of the terrified Vegapunk, Allen's figure flashed, appearing in front of Sanji a step ahead!
Under the Black Shift Domination, all the dragon scales on Sanji's body had turned a dull brown, and wisps of black flame wrapped around him like a demonic dragon.
The moment he saw Allen appear, Sanji immediately raised his right leg and delivered a fierce front kick wreathed in blazing black flames!
Bang!!
Allen casually raised his halberd to block. The moment they made contact, he twisted his wrist, tilting the halberd to deflect the impact, while simultaneously sweeping a kick at Sanji's planted left ankle.
Losing his balance, Sanji looked stunned. His vision tilted, and he suddenly found his entire body suspended horizontally in the air.
Allen reached out with a large hand, grabbed Sanji by the face, and slammed him fiercely into the ground!
Bang!!
The back of Sanji's head was smashed ruthlessly into the deck by Allen. The wooden planks shattered, sending countless splinters flying in all directions!
Sanji struggled, grabbing Allen's arm with both hands. He bent his legs, brought them together pointing upward, and then kicked out forcefully toward Allen's chest!
Allen tapped his foot and flipped into the air, holding Sanji's head down while suspended upside down.
"Wake up, you idiot!"
"Blackwater!!"
As Allen cursed, black mist rapidly surged from his palm. An eerie gravitational pull acted on Sanji without any delay.
Instantly.
Countless wisps of demonic energy resembling black flames continuously poured out of Sanji's body. Like startled snakes, they were frantically sucked into the bottomless black hole in Allen's palm by the dark gravity!
As the demonic energy was extracted, Sanji's demonic dragon-man body visibly reverted to its original state, and the pitch-black color in his pupils rapidly faded.
"..."
Freed from the Black Shift Domination, Sanji looked bewildered. Seeing Allen's large hand pressed against his face, he shuddered and immediately sprang up from the ground in fright.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing to me?!"
Sanji bared his teeth and yelled angrily, rolling his eyes and glaring fiercely.
Allen flipped and landed on the ground, but his gaze was fixed on the incoming Imu. He said impatiently,
"Get lost, you fairy. Hurry up and get Vegapunk out of here."
Bang!!
After speaking, Allen bent his knees and pushed off fiercely, his entire body shooting out toward the sea surface.
"..."
Sanji's entire face instantly turned pale, petrified on the spot.
"Hey, hey? Are you okay, Sanji?"
Vegapunk patted Sanji's shoulder, waved a hand in front of his eyes, and stroked his chin in confusion.
"Strange, didn't he regain his senses? Why does he seem even more traumatized?"
"Whatever, anyway, we need to get out of here quickly."
Then, regardless of the situation, Vegapunk hoisted Sanji up and quickly fled.
On the other side.
"Demon Hammer!!"
"Lightning Flame Halberd!!"
Clang—Boom!!
The morning star wreathed in demonic energy and the Lightning Flame Halberd clashed fiercely, erupting with a terrifying Haki impact that kicked up massive waves dozens of meters high on the sea surface!
Clang!!
Allen pressed down hard on his halberd, deflecting the giant morning star. Taking advantage of the momentum, he flipped in a full circle, leaned his upper body back until his entire body was like a taut bow, gripped the halberd with both hands, and swung it down in a full arc!
Imu hurriedly reached out his palm, bending his index and middle fingers together and pinching them with his thumb. The demonic energy surging from his palm rapidly transformed into countless bullets!
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
A dense barrage of demonic energy bullets shot out like a violent storm!
A fierce light gleamed in Allen's eyes. The great halberd tore through the air and smashed down with a howl, wreathed in the intense black lightning of Conqueror's Haki. It shattered the demonic energy bullets with overwhelming force and then struck Imu's body with undiminished might!
Squelch!!
A large spray of blood splattered into the air. Imu's eyes widened, bloodshot with a mix of anger and shock, as a gruesome, mangled slash was carved into his chest!
But his movements didn't halt due to the injury. He quickly changed his hand gesture, aiming his palm at Allen and unleashing a massive cluster of demonic energy!
"Demon Bomb!!"
Whoosh!
As the cluster of demonic energy churned, it condensed into a giant, rotund demonic bat. It bared two rows of sharp fangs in a sinister smile and lunged forward to bite!
When it reached Allen, the bat-shaped demonic energy suddenly exploded!
Boom!!!
Accompanied by a thunderous explosion, ferocious black flames soared into the sky, instantly swallowing Allen whole!
Imu raised the pitch-black morning star. Demonic energy coiled up the weapon, churning before slowly fading, revealing that the morning star had transformed back into a pitch-black cross greatsword.
In front of him, the black flames produced by the explosion rapidly shrank, as if a black hole inside was frantically devouring them!
The next second.
The black flames filling the air were completely devoured, revealing Allen's figure within. A few wisps of undissipated dark mist drifted from his hands.
Seeing this, Imu's face darkened. He stared coldly at Allen, as if hesitating over something.
Then, he turned his head to gaze into the distance.
A giant pink dragon was soaring through the clouds at extreme speed, and riding on its back was none other than Vegapunk!
'It seems the operation to assassinate Vegapunk has failed...'
Imu dropped his combat stance and turned back to Allen, his expression suddenly becoming calm.
Allen frowned slightly, the corners of his mouth curling up in a mocking sneer.
"What's the meaning of this? Don't tell me you're trying to run away."
Faced with Allen's provocation, Imu didn't get angry but instead smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting faintly.
"What you can kill is merely a vessel. If Mu had come for you, Mu would have descended in person today."
"Francis Allen, Mu shall remember this name. We will meet again, and very soon..."
As his voice faded, the demonic energy coiling around Imu's body gradually receded, and his entire form reverted to Rob Lucci's appearance.
Under Allen's watchful gaze, his body went limp, and he suddenly plummeted toward the sea.
Splash!
Lucci crashed into the sea, kicking up a splash of water.
Allen cast a faint glance, completely unmoved.
Imu's presence had completely vanished. Although it was a bit sudden, the other party had indeed completely left.
Moreover.
Allen turned his head to look toward the island.
He hadn't even taken the remaining two Five Elders with him. The fact that he left so decisively meant he seemed to have abandoned them.