Unless the opponent's devouring ability stands on the same tier as the chat group, the group's rules cannot be affected by it.
Or, if the [Rule-class Item] bound to the opponent possesses such a function—otherwise…
This also led Brandon White to think of a method of combat. Especially when facing an enemy like this: toss in a useless Devil Fruit exchanged from the chat group, and then the opponent would be unable to negate the Devil Fruit's drawbacks, becoming restrained by seawater and seastone, thereby impairing their combat strength.
As for why not feed two Devil Fruits at once?
The other party was not human, after all; Brandon was not certain how his physiology worked. And more importantly, if the enemy's strength exceeded that of the demon within the Devil Fruit, then even eating several would be useless.
Pop.
While the Holy Lord stared blankly—looking at Brandon as if seeing a ghost, seemingly wondering how he'd even come up with such a fighting method—Brandon snapped his fingers. From the void, countless pieces of seastone appeared and wrapped around Morong.
"Is that… the end?"
Daigu looked, a little lost, at Morong sealed in seastone. He had never imagined a battle concluding in such a way.
Devil Fruits from the chat group really were terrifying—only the chat group could erase their drawbacks.
Against those enemies with large bodies and big mouths, wasn't this simply the best method of attack?
And the fruit Brandon had picked was the Mythical Zoan, Human–Human Fruit—that was just a human-type fruit, wasn't it? It didn't add any special ability at all and, for no reason, saddled him with a fear of seawater.
In the future, when he faced terrifying kaiju, couldn't he look for an opening to toss in a Devil Fruit and then attack with seastone?
Especially a kaiju like Gatanozoa, that lurked in the sea.
As the thought struck him, Daigu couldn't help but smile.
"It won't end so easily. Whether it's seawater or seastone, he can acclimate to it."
Brandon said evenly. Kaido had already proven this point to them.
Starting with low-purity seastone, one could acclimate step by step until, in the end, even the highest-purity seastone could be endured—at which point the weakness to seastone ceased to matter much.
"But acclimation takes time."
"What we need to do is kill him—during the time it takes him to adapt."
As he spoke, endless white light gathered and compressed in Brandon's hand. He raised his palm toward Morong, who was wrapped in seastone in the sky, and a beam of light—holy and scorching—lanced forth.
"Rumble!"
With a deafening roar, the white beam pierced the sky and the atmosphere and finally shot into outer space.
Only after a full ten seconds did the searing beam gradually fade—and that figure had already vanished.
Uncle Nine, Daigu, and the Holy Lord stared, stunned, at the terrifying spectacle.
So this was Brandon White's power?
Was it really only a few months since he'd gained these abilities? Wasn't this a bit too frightening?
And yet, given Brandon's authority, perhaps it wasn't so inconceivable.
After all, he was a man entrusted with the earth's Authority.
"This time… it should be over, right…"
Uncle Nine ventured hesitantly. If even this didn't settle the enemy, then he truly couldn't imagine how terrifying the other's strength must be.
The immortals and gods of their own world were only about so strong, weren't they?
The Holy Lord said nothing. His scarlet gaze remained fixed where the beam had faded in the sky.
After defeating Marquis Voban and Uchiha Madara, he had grown somewhat lax.
Especially after reclaiming his throne, with no one left to threaten him.
Yes—
His power was indeed formidable.
But across the myriad worlds, there were far too many even stronger than he.
At present, in the chat group, few could defeat him; those who could beat him couldn't kill him.
But what about the future?
Given how men like Uchiha Madara and Marquis Voban lusted after strength—if he kept drifting like this—how long until they surpassed him?
Brandon had no idea what they were thinking. He only looked up at the sky, faintly surprised.
The chat group had not announced mission complete. Which meant the opponent still lived.
Yet he could confirm the enemy's aura had disappeared…
Had he escaped? Borrowed the power of a [Rule-class Item] to go to another world?
Or had he died—only to possess resurrection?
As if to answer Brandon's doubts, boundless blood-qi and grievance between heaven and earth began to converge before them and, in the end, coalesced once more into Morong's figure.
He now looked at Brandon with a hint of dread, while also remaining on guard against the surrounding void—terrified of being bound in seastone again, his body turning weak and powerless, and then being blasted apart.
Just now, he had truly been killed by Brandon—but, luckily, by relying on a reward he had previously obtained from the [System], he was able to revive.
But only this once.
If it happened again, he would truly die.
"System, scan the opponent. Analyze his power."
Morong spoke inwardly to the System, even as he prepared to slip back to his original world. If the other's strength exceeded his imagination, he would definitely not remain here.
He still had many things left undone. He could not die here.
"System, what kind of existence is that presence in there? Can you probe it?"
"Ding. Beginning scan."
"Scanning…"
"Scan complete. Target identity: Child of Heaven's Dao, Child of Earth, Child of Nature!"
"Target strength: unknown. In any world where Earth exists, the target can receive Earth's full-power blessing."
"Ding."
"Detected: host is currently on Earth and harbors malice toward the target. Host will be comprehensively targeted by Earth's consciousness."
"Blood-qi, grievance, darkness… energies have been stripped. Paralysis, icebound, poison, burn buffs passively activated."
"System recommends that the host abandon enmity with the target."
What nonsense!
Morong felt his intelligence being insulted.
That the other was a "Child of the Planet" could be tolerated. After all, the demon race had such beings as well: a bloodline-throwback might earn the demon realm's favor, sky-high fortune, destined to be king of the demon realm. In the demon realm, anyone who opposed such a one would come to no good end.
But even so, that held only within the demon realm. Leave the demon realm, and death would find you all the same.
But this—this stated that across the myriad worlds, in any world where Earth existed, all of Earth's power would bless him?
Wasn't that a bit much?!
Was he the "Child of Every Earth," or what?
And what was that at the end supposed to mean!
That none of Earth's energies could be mobilized?
Blood-qi, grievance, darkness—even moonlight—were off-limits; and on top of that, he was passively debuffed?
Icebound? Paralysis? Poison? Burn?
Burn he could accept—but where did icebound, poison, and paralysis come from?
From breathing?
(End of this chapter)