Chapter 196: A Warm Heart, Kaito Shirogane Awakens
Bzzzt—
In the pure white sea of consciousness, the three powerful wills collided, shoving against one another, their spiritual forms flickering.
Roland had the advantage. He was a Titled Reincarnator who had crossed two power-ladders, and he possessed the power of both [Virtue: Morning Star of Hope] and a [God Hand]. His "causality" for victory was naturally dominant.
But right now, he was being shackled by that gritting, determined Marine (Coby) behind him. Coby should have been just another one of the 33,000 Yin-Spirits, but his presence was growing stronger. He completely rejected Roland's "Hope for Reincarnation," clinging to him, willing Kaito to win so he could fulfill his promise to a little girl.
In this pure clash of wills, such a thought could not be hidden.
Even Gojo Satoru looked on with surprise. "You, kid... you're really..."
Gojo was, at his core, an anomaly. He had accepted from his soul that he was born the strongest and had little empathy for ordinary people. After his awakening during the Star Plasma Vessel incident, he had asked Geto if he should just kill all the "monkeys" present. He was the true embodiment of "Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one."
He glanced at Coby, then lost interest, focusing on projecting his own consciousness.
In the intense struggle, Kaito Shirogane's spiritual form grew more solid. His greatest advantage was that he was the body's natural owner. The [Throne of the Heart] had always been his.
Just by touching it, he could feel the outside world: Garp's tyrannical aura, his island-shattering strength, and his surging anger.
The three spirits, giving no ground, were all crammed before the throne. Roland suddenly sighed. The human faces on the lower half of his spiritual body all opened their eyes.
Gojo sensed something was wrong. Before he could react, a black fog enveloped all three of them, and they vanished from the throne's physical location.
Coby's hands grasped at empty air. As he fell, he looked up and saw that the [Throne of the Heart] was no longer empty. A twisted figure had appeared, vaguely in the shape of a giant hand.
On the ruined island of Skuld, Garp turned his head. He saw the man he had punched into the ground rising, piece by piece.
Ugly tendrils of flesh grew, and his broken body quickly regenerated. Not only that, but the black fog that Garp had dispersed began to thicken once more, and a strong, white light radiated from the man's body.
"Vice Admiral Garp. What if you had to make a choice?"
"One: Forget the tragedy of Skuld Island and take all your Marines and leave."
"Two: Let the tragedy of Alabasta happen all over again."
"What will you choose?"
A calm smile played on the man's face, but it looked out of place. His short black hair was standing on end, an intense power rising from within, and his eyes were twitching, unstable.
Crack.
Garp turned his body. The ground around him was shattering, and seawater was flooding in, mixing with the blood from the "face-ground." The flesh-tumors had burst, and the islanders transformed by Roland were hatching, now fully-formed Spectral-Demon-like monsters.
Garp looked down, his 2.8-meter frame easily towering over Kaito/Roland.
"What will I choose?"
He laughed as if he'd heard a joke. "Hahaha! Of course, I choose to punch you sky-high!"
Garp would not be bound by a simple moral dilemma. If not for the word "Justice," very few things in this world could tie his hands.
He started to walk, his tyrannical aura flaring again, his Conqueror's Haki "melting" the air around him, lashing out like lightning. All the monsters were stunned by the blast.
Kaito—no, Roland—was now forcibly suppressing the two other anomalous souls. He was now unscrupulous, willing to do anything to achieve his goal. He didn't even care if he was "himself" anymore, as long as he gained control. Even if he merged with the other two and was no longer "Roland," he would swing that [Dragonslayer] and strike the [God of the Abyss].
It was the compensation Guts deserved. It was the compensation he deserved, after sacrificing everything, only to die!
Roland's heart was so resolute that the two anomalous souls—Kaito, who lacked empathy, and Gojo, who lacked self-awareness as a "human"—were both suppressed by the power of the [God Hand].
Roland watched Garp approach. He raised his hand, gathering ki. It was instantly amplified by the special left arm, condensing into a beam no thicker than a finger.
Dodon Ray!
Vmmm!
The beam shot out. Garp simply took one step to the side, letting the laser pass. To him, this attack was meaningless.
Roland's mouth twitched, trying to form a smile, but the wills of Gojo and Kaito fought him.
Garp's expression suddenly changed. He forcibly altered his own trajectory and threw a punch at Roland from a distance. The air shattered as his Haki-wrapped fist struck. The Dodon Ray was distorted, and the two forces collided in a massive explosion.
Garp had "seen" it. If he hadn't blocked that, the beam would have pierced the warship ten nautical miles away, killing everyone on board, and continued into the Gold Emperor's fleet.
Roland floated backward like a crane, his movements not as fluid as Kaito's, but better than the Yin-Spirits'. He had used Garp's kindness to his subordinates to bait his attack, using the force to retreat.
He pointed a finger at the island's center. As a Reincarnator who had crossed two ladders, he knew a [Cursed Spirit] seed was buried there. Garp's attack had unearthed it. This seed had absorbed the despair of the islanders, and Roland had just given it [Hope]—the possibility of becoming a supreme-grade Cursed Spirit.
Krrackle!
In the sky, Enel snapped his head to the side. He couldn't see the Cursed Spirit, but he could feel the lightning... boiling.
Someone else was driving the thunder?!
Roland retreated, watching the twisted Cursed Energy take the form of black lightning. Born of the islanders' terror of Enel, this new Special-Grade Cursed Spirit let out its first scream.
Unfortunately, most of the people in this world couldn't even perceive it. Even Garp only sensed an anomaly.
Krrackle! Garp moved like he was teleporting. The ground he'd just been on was scorched black by the Cursed Spirit.
Roland had his distraction. Now, he just had to retrieve his [Special Construct: El Dorado].
Krrackle! A blue-white lightning net enveloped him. Enel, holding his golden staff, floated in the air, his obsession incomprehensible as he blocked Roland's path.
"Yahahahaha! Demon! You think I'd let you leave?!"
Roland looked at Enel, confused. "The 'King' only told you to guard me until I died or escaped. The agreement is fulfilled. Why are you doing this?"
"Go, Enel. Chase your Endless Vearth."
Roland offered him the power of [Hope], a "possibility" that he would find it.
But Enel dissolved into lightning, dodging the white light. "Who do you think I am?"
"I am... God."
"And a God... must punish a demon!"
"Yahahahaha!"
The smile faded from Roland's face. One by one, they all rejected his Hope. They all blocked his path. The malice he had suppressed began to rise again.
Faces began to appear on the lower half of his (Kaito's) body. Roland's [God Hand] body had been shattered, and he couldn't truly open The Eclipse again, but the power of the Spectral Realm was still returning to his soul... only to be blocked by the [King's Left Arm].
A light flashed in Roland's left hand, and he gripped the black [Dragonslayer]. As the King's Left Arm held the Haki-draining sword, black lightning (Conqueror's) shot into the sky, its aura felt for dozens of miles.
Roland then... slashed his own host body.
Pff!
Blood sprayed. A black mist poured from the wound, and a powerful, dark will began to descend, suppressing the souls of both Kaito and Gojo.
Roland didn't know what was happening. He just knew he had to make that one swing, no matter the cost. Even if he had to sacrifice this world, even if he let the God of the Abyss descend... as long as he could make that one, final cut...
"Garp, Enel... welcome this world's despair."
Roland raised his right hand (Kaito's Sin hand). The [Morning Star] (Virtue) was dim. The suppressed [Great Sin] was revealed.
[The Morning Star grows dim, Hope is lost. The world turns to embrace the dead light of Despair.]
[Notice: Do you wish to use the Great Sin Sequence (Un-sublimated) to devour the Virtue Sequence (Sublimated II: Morning Star of Hope)?]
Kaito's pupils were now crimson. Roland didn't hesitate. He was about to confirm... but his right hand slowly lowered.
His lips began to curl. The signature, cruel smile returned.
"Hey, hey, Roland. Don't be so bossy... with my body."
Boom!
Black Conqueror's Haki shot to the heavens. In the sea of consciousness, Gojo Satoru fell from the [Throne of the Heart]. He stared, stunned, at the man on the throne... Coby. The ordinary-looking man in the Marine uniform was sitting there, gritting his teeth as he tore the consciousnesses of Roland and Kaito apart.
He must have torn me off just like that, too.
Coby's spiritual form was fading, dissolving into the throne.
In that instant, Kaito, through the Throne of the Heart, finally understood what Coby felt. He became Coby, living his entire life in a single second.
A normal family. A loving childhood. Wanting to warm others in return. Having some talent, but not enough to face the monsters of the sea. He gave up on HQ, returned to his home branch, and became a simple "Captain Coby."
He gave up his big dreams for a small one: to be a hero who made his home sea the safest in the world.
He failed sometimes, he succeeded sometimes. He'd get drunk and laugh about how he'd probably amount to nothing.
But one day, he charged onto that dangerous island. A little girl dragged his paralyzed body from the beach and saved him. And he, in turn, ignoring his own weakness, made a grand promise.
"Cindy! As Captain of G-51, I'm making you a temporary operative!"
"Operative Cindy! I am returning for reinforcements! We will liberate this island! You must protect yourself until I return... and, if you can... help others. Understand?!"
"Sir, yes, sir! Captain Coby, sir!"
The little girl's salute, her eyes shining with "admiration and hope." That feeling... it made Coby's heart warm. It made him stop fearing the Thunder God. It made him stop thinking about moving on.
He just wanted... to feel that warmth one more time.
Kaito Shirogane touched his own chest. For the first time, his heart beat with such a vivid, alive power.
"Ha. What a... naive pair."
Kaito felt the waves of Satsui no Hado crashing over him, his nerves screaming. But he just laughed, his smile cruel.
He raised his right hand, once again activating his bloodline trait: [Spirit Infusion].
"GGojo Satoru! You don't want this guy to win either, right? Come on, lend me your power! Let's... end this!"
In the sea of consciousness, Gojo felt the pull from the Throne. He knew Kaito wanted to use his power to suppress Roland. He smirked, batting away other spirits that were trying to answer the call.
"Yo. Don't regret it if I'm the one who takes over."
(End of Chapter)
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