As mentioned before, the existence of this clone, Hebi, as well as what he had been doing recently, was in itself Roy’s experiment.

The purpose was simple.

Within the murals on the Abyss, he had confirmed the method to break the Abyssal Sea Contract — the freedom of body and soul, meaning the Nika Fruit combined with Conqueror’s Haki could successfully kill holders of the Abyssal Sea Contract.

But the Abyssal Sea Contract had always been a mystery to Roy.

He remembered the record left by Davy Jones on the Abyss: The wish for freedom can cause the soul of the Abyssal Sea to dissipate.

For a long time, however, he had no way of confirming its exact meaning.

It wasn’t until the Fruit Creation Slot was unlocked that he faintly understood.

Wishes are precisely the essence of Devil Fruits.

All Devil Fruits in the world are creations of the Pillar of the World, and the Nika Fruit is no exception.

Therefore, although the Nika Fruit could grant the user a free body, the fruit itself was still a creation of the world — an unchangeable fact, and perhaps one of the reasons why Joy Boy and Davy Jones were defeated in the past.

Roy wasn’t quite sure how those two rebels had intended to break this restriction.

But he knew he had his own method.

The Fruit Encyclopedia.

“The Fruit Encyclopedia possesses abilities similar to the Pillar of the World.”

He was very certain of this.

That origin of the world — the mother tree of creation. The mighty power it possessed bore a considerable similarity to his Fruit Encyclopedia.

Both could manipulate the Source Energy of Lineage Factor. As long as there was enough Source Energy and enough wishes, then almost anything was possible.

This could be glimpsed from Roy’s current abilities.

Imu controlled the Pillar of the World, so He could sign contracts with His minions, impose restrictions on the world, and bestow abilities.

The same was true for Roy — whether it was the Abyssal Sea Contract or the Abyssal Magic Circle, Roy could actually replicate them.

Of course, he had taken a shortcut in this regard.

The Five Elders believed that Star Lord had signed contracts with the twelve members of The Zodiac. But in reality, The Zodiac had been just one person from the very beginning.

The Five Elders did not know this. So they had misunderstood completely, even imagining many things — The Zodiac’s Conqueror’s Haki of similar intensity, their respective fruit abilities — all of which had become, in their eyes, ironclad proof of the contracts.

However, although they guessed many things wrong, in a certain sense, their most crucial guess was indeed correct.

Imu and Star Lord were essentially existences of the same level.

Therefore—

“The Fruit of the Stars, created with the help of the Fruit Encyclopedia, is — to this world — a brand-new existence that transcends the Pillar of the World.”

“The immortal and imperishable essence of the Five Elders exists because they are the world. So a power from outside the world should rightfully be able to kill them.”

That was the experiment Roy planned to conduct.

And in fact—

VMMM!

As that fruit radiating starlight was swallowed by Hebi, power began to spread within his body.

In his mind, countless sword techniques emerged out of thin air — even including the beyond-Great-Swordsman level of kendo understanding possessed by Hawkeye and Shimotsuki Ryuma.

This was as it should be. After all, the cognition that the Sword God is the world’s strongest swordsman already existed in the world.

He felt his body begin to change.

Although the stitched corpse of the Buccaneer-Lunarian hybrid had turned to ash, the imperishable flames still burned on his back, and his body still possessed terrifying strength akin to the Buccaneer race — even stronger than before.

This was also as it should be. After all, the whole world had just witnessed that the Sword God has an incredible physique.

He tightened his grip on Shusui.

Clang!

Shusui responded to him.

He could sense it — holding this sword felt like holding a part of his own body.

This too was inevitable. After all, the whole world now knew that he was the one who had consumed the Shimotsuki Ryuma Fruit.

That was the wish. The miracle born when the thoughts and cognitions of the whole world converge together.

[Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Sword God]

[Lineage Factor Creation — Fruit of the Stars]

[Obtain the world’s strongest level of swordsmanship, and acquire the physique of the Buccaneer race and the racial traits of the Lunarian race, extremely massively enhancing physical strength, capable of flight and igniting imperishable flames.]

[The consumer can transform into the Sword God form.]

[Due to the legend of challenging the four seas with a sword, in the Sword God form, the ability user can use all sword technique schools ever created in the world, integrating and mastering them, and obtain an extremely massive attribute boost when holding a sword.]

[In the Sword God form, obtain the additional enhancement effect of the Jacket-Jacket Fruit, the additional enhancement effect of the Underworld-Underworld Fruit, and the additional enhancement effect of the Stitch-Stitch Fruit.]

[In the Sword God form, every slash can exert maximum power.]

[This fruit is not affected by the restraints of the world, and can be enhanced using Source Energy of Lineage Factor. The greater the amount of Source Energy, the larger the magnitude of enhancement.]

“There is no mistake.”

Hebi’s gaze was fixed on the Five Elders, who were showing signs of panic.

He became even more certain.

“The Fruit of the Stars, created through the Fruit Encyclopedia and the Source Energy of Lineage Factor, is the Wish for Freedom — which means… the method to kill the Five Elders and that God.”

And now, he was about to verify it.

“With the five portions of Source Energy of Lineage Factor teleported over, the enhancement magnitude of the Sword God Fruit is already massive… but it is still not secure enough.”

VMMM!

Silently, the Contract of the Stars mark on his body radiated brilliance.

[Contract of the Stars — Can stimulate the power of the contract to obtain an explosive strength enhancement in a short period of time.]

The aura on Hebi’s body soared once more.

The black blade in his hand swung down casually.

BOOM!

What little remained of Instein Island, along with the sea beneath it, was cleaved open in an instant.

The expressions of the Five Elders were nearly horrified.

But then they saw the look in Hebi’s eyes.

“This should be… enough.”

The silent soliloquy fell.

Hebi took aim at the five terrifying evil beasts before him.

He raised his sword.

And as he raised his sword, the Five Elders saw it.

Behind Hebi, countless illusory sword shadows with indiscernible faces seemed to emerge.

There were sword shadows like giant waves, overlapping endlessly — the Raging Billows Style of Shimotsuki Jirobō.

There were sword shadows like boulders, heavy and immovable — the Rock Heart Style of Shimotsuki Tengō.

There were sword shadows magnificent and grand, free and bold — the Dark King Style of Silvers Rayleigh.

There were sword shadows pitch-black as night, dominating the four seas — the Yoru Style of Hawkeye Mihawk.

Those were the sword techniques of the swordsmen from the four seas that Hebi had challenged.

[Myriad Sword Style: Total Annihilation]

Accompanied by Hebi’s strike, they all slashed out simultaneously.

BOOM!

The Five Elders felt the trembling of their souls.

And so, for the first time — they who had long been accustomed to fighting with immortal bodies followed their instincts and dodged.

But their reaction was a fraction of a second too slow.

Slash!

That magnificent slash swept directly past their massive bodies without hindrance.

The head of Fengxi was instantly severed. The Sandworm was chopped into sections. The wings of Itsumade were cut away, sending it plummeting. The withered body of Bakotsu was blasted backward.

Saturn, the furthest away, actually suffered the least — only two appendages severed.

VMMM!

Their bodies recovered once again.

But the difference was clear.

They could no longer maintain their phantom beast forms. Except for Saturn, who was the least injured, the remaining Four Elders had all fallen into the ruins, their bodies returned to human form.

“No… this… this is impossible!”

Blood traced the corners of their mouths, and their expressions held unprecedented panic.

Because they had already perceived it. Their souls — the power of the Abyssal Sea Contract connected to Lord Imu — had weakened.

Yes. Although they recovered by relying on the Source Energy of Lineage Factor they carried, a portion of their contract’s power was permanently lost.

They could feel the severe pain of their souls being torn apart — a pain they could not remember having felt in hundreds of years.

But the key was not the pain itself. It was what the pain represented.

A portion of the contract’s power being severed meant that with sufficient attacks and intensity, the contract within their souls could be completely erased.

That meant they—

“Will die!”

A bone-piercing chill instantly swallowed their hearts. This figure before them, carrying the power of another God, truly possessed the ability to kill them.

ROAR!

Lord Imu’s pained, low roar had already begun to emerge in their minds. That God clearly felt that a portion of His essence had been completely erased.

But—

VMMM!

The four Five Elders didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

VMMM! VMMM! VMMM! VMMM!

Their figures vanished from their spots in the next instant.

“Bastards!!”

Saturn’s eyes nearly split open in rage.

Yes — the remaining four Five Elders had made the most direct choice: severing the connection with the coordinate Saturn on the spot and returning to Mary Geoise.

But the problem was that Saturn, as the coordinate for this teleportation, had no way of leaving directly.

In other words, he was about to face the monster that had just displayed the power to slay gods — all by himself.

Saturn had never felt the threat of death so tangibly.

His eyes in the Gyūki form stared fixedly at Hebi, who stood with sword in hand.

He could hear Imu’s roaring — anger at the desertion of the other four, or perhaps fury at the power permanently lost.

But Saturn had no time to care.

ROAR—

He opened his mouth and let out a roar.

“Gyūki: Venom Torrent!”

Terrifying venom surged up in an instant, forming a massive torrent that rushed toward Hebi.

And in the same moment he unleashed the attack, Saturn did not hesitate for a single second.

He turned. He leaped. He fled into the distance.

His goal was clear.

Fight? Since realizing that Hebi had the ability to kill him, he hadn’t considered that for even a second.

He only wanted to create chaos and force Hebi back — even if it meant buying the tiniest fraction of time.

“This old man must survive… this old man has to survive…”

He growled, his figure soaring high, his gaze locked onto a ship in the distance.

“Just a moment — a very short amount of time is enough… this old man can use teleportation to leave. I just need…”

He didn’t even notice the completely unhurried movements of Hebi below, just anxiously thinking this.

He just needed a brief gap, and he could activate teleportation — escaping through the Abyssal Magic Circles in other parts of this world.

But the next moment—

“Hello.”

A voice sounded beside Saturn’s ear.

An instant later, he saw.

In the sky before him, a figure had emerged at some unknown point.

He was wrapped in air shaped like a bear paw, holding a Bible in his hand.

“Hello, Mr. Saturn.”

“According to Lord Hitsuji — although our paths have crossed many times in my life, speaking of which… this is actually the first time we are truly meeting face to face.”

☆☆☆

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