In the audience.
"What a beautiful sight!"
"It feels divine!"
"Like a pillar of light from the sun… A miracle from a god!"
The crowd in the stands was utterly captivated by the scene in the center of the arena.
Many people even began making wishes to the dozen or so light pillars connecting heaven and earth, sincerely treating them as divine miracles.
"Fools."
Katakuri glanced coldly at the awestruck spectators.
These ordinary people had no idea what they were really witnessing.
Behind the magnificent appearance of those beams of light was a killing intent more terrifying than anything else.
As the strongest officer under Big Mom, Katakuri clearly sensed the terrifying energy condensed within each beam.
Even if Caelan didn't aim them precisely, just a slight loss of control would be enough to wipe out most of the audience in a heartbeat.
"Brother, let's leave first."
Smoothie's expression was serious.
Standing before a dozen golden beams of light, she felt genuine fear.
Just like her brother, her Observation Haki was screaming in alarm.
"No need. He is just issuing a warning. He doesn't intend to harm us."
Katakuri raised his hand, calmly rejecting her suggestion.
In the future he had foreseen, there was no scenario where Caelan slaughtered indiscriminately. Otherwise, he wouldn't remain this composed.
"A warning?" Smoothie murmured, then gave a bitter smile. "Using such a powerful move just to warn people… He is really willful."
Each of those beams carried more destructive power than her full-strength attacks.
If even one of them hit her, she doubted she would survive.
Katakuri stared at Caelan in the center of the arena.
He had just witnessed the ferocious exchange between Caelan and Dragon.
And now, these dozen beams of destructive light revealed his mastery over energy to be just as overwhelming.
He was perfect in every way. Unshakable. Incomparable. No one beneath the Yonko level was even qualified to touch him.
This was a Yonko. And beneath the Yonko, was an entirely different dimension.
"They're both Yonko… but why do I feel like he's even stronger than my mother?"
Smoothie whispered something nearly blasphemous.
The strength Caelan had shown just now seemed to surpass even her mother, Charlotte Linlin.
"Don't just feel it… accept it. It's the truth."
Katakuri looked calmly at the glowing battlefield.
Just from what they had seen, Caelan's overwhelming physical strength and those divine beams of light—Charlotte Linlin couldn't do that.
Even among the Yonko, there were clear differences in power. And Caelan was near the top.
Perhaps… the title of Yonko wasn't even enough to define him anymore.
Only the former Pirate King of an era, Rocks D. Xebec, might match him.
…
"Hey, Kizaru… is that your Yasakani no Magatama?"
Aokiji nudged Kizaru's arm, clearly curious.
The dozen golden light beams did resemble the Admiral's ability somewhat.
"No. It's way better than mine."
Kizaru adjusted his glasses, sounding a bit sulky.
His Yasakani no Magatama beams weren't nearly that thick. Compared to Caelan's, his looked like toothpicks while Caelan's were battering rams.
Even at full power, his technique couldn't produce even half of this.
If he had that kind of firepower, he would be Fleet Admiral. Akainu and Aokiji wouldn't have had to fight for the position. They'd just follow his orders.
"You might not believe it, but Caelan not only surpassed me in quantity, the quality of his light beams is also way beyond mine."
Kizaru said bitterly.
His Glint-Glint Fruit simply emitted ordinary light beams.
But Caelan's beams… they were radiant like the sun itself.
Could it be that there's a higher-level Light-type Devil Fruit?
A Sun Fruit?
But he'd never heard of Caelan eating any Devil Fruit at all.
Kizaru's narrow eyes were filled with confusion.
"This is such a headache…"
Aokiji sighed, resting his head on his arms.
They couldn't win before, and now the gap was even more hopeless.
If this keeps up, it's the end for the Marines.
"It's a bit troublesome, but at least this mission isn't to fight him."
Kizaru felt a little relieved.
If they were ordered to face Caelan head-on, they'd be obliterated.
Aokiji nodded, though he glanced toward the center of the arena in confusion.
"…Is he really just going to keep firing like that?"
The golden light beams still connected the sky and earth, unmoving and radiant, with no sign of stopping.
"That can't be, right?"
Kizaru said uncertainly.
His Yasakani no Magatama consumed an enormous amount of stamina and could only be maintained briefly.
Caelan's attack was clearly much more powerful.
If he could maintain that output indefinitely… he wouldn't be human.
…
But…
Ten full minutes passed, and the radiant pillars of light still continued.
The Colosseum, over a kilometer in diameter with more than 70,000 square meters of space, had been completely transformed.
The previously solid yellow terrain had melted entirely beneath the relentless light, turning into a boiling sea of lava.
The bright, molten magma rolled violently, casting a red glow on Dragon's face.
At this moment, his feet were coated in Armament Haki, keeping him from falling into the magma.
But while the lava could be blocked, the heat could not.
The temperature in the air had risen past 100 degrees. The space shimmered and warped under the extreme heat.
"…It's a little hot."
Sweat the size of beans rolled down Dragon's face. He had no doubt that if someone cracked an egg here, it'd be cooked instantly.
He couldn't help but glance at Caelan—the one responsible for this scene.
And there he was.
Floating silently above the molten lake, completely unfazed by the heat and chaos beneath him.
The dozen or so divine golden beams surrounded him like an eternal halo, bathing him in light like a deity.
"So this… this is the true deterrent you meant?"
Dragon's expression grew complicated. Only now did he understand what Caelan meant by deterrence.
Other than the Yonko and their strongest lieutenants, no one could survive even one of these beams.
If a hundred or a thousand people caused trouble, a ten-minute rain of this light would obliterate them all.
The idea that "the law doesn't punish the masses" would be meaningless.
They wouldn't survive to even break the law.
"How does it feel?"
Caelan asked with a smile.
The Execution of Light was a variation of Karna's Noble Phantasm: Brahmastra Kundala.
In essence, he was firing his Noble Phantasm dozens of times in succession, continuously.
Such a massive drain on magical energy was only possible now that his mana bar had been deleted.
Before, he would've gone with a one-punch mountain-shattering spectacle for deterrence.
After all, magic was a resource to conserve.
But now?
Now that he'd deleted the blue bar, he didn't care about costs.
"Very powerful. Anyone with common sense would be scared sh— I mean, terrified."
Dragon gave a thumbs-up in admiration.
Whatever reaction Caelan wanted from the crowd, he'd definitely gotten.
As for himself… he was honestly on the verge of wetting his pants.
He had always envied birds—those who could fly freely.
But now, if he had this kind of power, he would've taken the fight directly to the World Government years ago. No more hiding or scheming.
No wonder Caelan dared to openly challenge the World Government.
He had the power to back it up.
Still… could he stop now?
Dragon was starting to feel roasted.
"This technique… is it really always active? Don't you need energy to maintain it?"
He felt increasingly uncomfortable in the intense heat and hoped Caelan would stop soon.
A move like this should burn through stamina like crazy.
Even one or two beams would be exhausting to maintain. But right now, Caelan had over a dozen, and they hadn't stopped.
If he tried this, he'd have collapsed long ago.
And yet Caelan was still calm, as if it cost him nothing.
This was terrifying.
He just hoped Caelan wasn't bluffing. If he collapsed later from mana overdose, it would be miserable.
Dragon kept that thought to himself.
"Energy? That's one thing I'll never run out of."
Caelan admired his handiwork. The sea of lava beneath them was so vast that even Akainu would be stunned.
"How… how is that even possible?"
Dragon was utterly confused. He couldn't help but suspect Caelan was just flexing.
"My energy is endless."
Caelan calmly placed his hands in his pockets.
As soon as he said it, magical energy surged again.
Another round of golden beams rained from the sky, melting the magma even further.
(To be continued.)
***
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