Don's head snapped backward.
The black arrow failed to pierce through his skull; it halted for just a split second.
Then Don grabbed the arrow with one hand.
It felt half-ethereal, yet somehow still solid.
The arrow's ribbon suddenly tightened. Don clearly felt the tug pulling from the direction of the Sabaody Archipelago.
And with a single powerful yank
At the arrow's other end, far away on Sabaody, Ganzui was violently pulled up into the air, her body dragged helplessly toward Don.
A sonic boom erupted a heartbeat later.
The other members of the God's Knight Order stared in disbelief.
As for Ganzui—Don's pull had already dragged her all the way to him.
Swish!
A flash of a blade.
Ganzui's body was sliced clean in half at the waist.
White flames ignited along the wound, spreading across both halves of her body.
Her severed upper and lower halves plummeted toward the sea.
But her ability remained active.
Still gripping the arrow, Don understood immediately:
That one strike didn't kill her.
An immortal-type ability, huh?
Her body continued burning. The lower half was quickly reduced to ash, but the upper half regenerated rapidly—faster than the flames could consume her.
Don's blade flicked slightly—then he sensed the arrow in his hand shudder.
The black arrow suddenly extended sharply and stabbed his forehead again.
"Can't you people see? This is pointless."
This time, Don released the arrow, speaking in an utterly calm tone.
[1% HP remaining]
[Undying triggered!]
Swish!
The moment the effect activated, Don appeared right in front of Kizaru.
Seeing Don before him, Kizaru's pupils shrank violently—he instantly turned into light.
Bang!
Don's kick still landed squarely on Kizaru's chest.
A deafening blast followed.
Kizaru's body shot away at a speed rivaling his own light-form, smashing directly toward Sabaody's Area 1.
A small mushroom cloud rose.
The devastated Area 1 fell completely silent.
The other God Knights in that area were caught in the shockwave and forced to regenerate immediately.
Too fast.
Kizaru was sent flying back too fast
and that impact…!
Golden light flickered as Kizaru re-formed midair.
Clutching his chest, he winced in pain.
"What happened?" Akainu demanded.
"…I'm injured. Probably cracked a few ribs."
For the first time in this battle, Kizaru had taken real damage.
And that previous strike—what was that?
That hadn't been a fruit ability.
If it were, his Observation Haki would have sensed the tell-tale shift.
No, that had been pure, overwhelming speed.
If Don had this speed and power earlier…
They would've already lost.
The thought made Kizaru's chest ache even more.
"Borsalino!"
The regenerating God Knights turned toward him
but before they could finish speaking, their heads all jerked simultaneously.
Their necks even cracked audibly from how fast they snapped around.
Kizaru and Akainu also turned.
A second sun was rising.
But unlike before
even from this distance it filled their entire vision, scorching their eyes with its blinding radiance.
And the heat…
unimaginable.
[Elapsed Time: 29 minutes 03 seconds]
Don hovered there, burning like the sun itself.
Ganzui's earlier words echoed in his mind.
No—those weren't her words.
Someone else was speaking through her.
"Become a Celestial Dragon… and everything you've done will be forgiven."
Don's answer was this unrestrained explosion of power.
Ganzui had been burned to ash by sheer proximity.
Yet she wasn't dead.
Her black arrow and ribbon drifted like rootless shadow in the air, searching for an opening.
Don ignored it.
In this state, nothing she did could harm him.
Inside the Chamber of Flowers —
"He refused?" Imu whispered.
Her body vanished, dissolving into a massive dark shadow that spilled over the entire chamber—
then expanded outward.
"He intends to attack Mary Geoise?"
Morgans stared at the broadcast, his bird-eyes wide with shock.
This guy… he wouldn't actually
But looking at the still-growing sun…
"With that kind of power… maybe he really can."
Morgans muttered subconsciously.
"President! The World Government demands that you stop broadcasting immediately!"
His secretary rushed in, speaking rapidly, clearly under tremendous pressure.
"Ignore them."
Morgans flapped his wings emphatically.
What was about to happen could reshape the entire world.
There was no way he would miss it.
World Government or not
his headquarters was well hidden anyway.
Around the world, countless people noticed Don's shift.
Everyone watched, waiting to see what would happen next.
All eyes were on that blazing sun.
Don did not wait long.
The massive sun surged forward
straight toward Mary Geoise.
Space warped around it, light bending into darkness before exploding into blinding brilliance.
Don stared toward the Holy Land.
A strange aura rose from Mary Geoise.
It wasn't sensed through Observation Haki
but through instinct, through spirit itself.
"…Hm?"
Don narrowed his eyes.
His power entering Mary Geoise simply… vanished.
Disappeared completely.
Even he couldn't detect how.
Fine then.
The sun abruptly spun, dragging everything nearby—air, seawater, earth from the Red Line—into its rotation.
But the advance stalled.
Don's infinite power output was being neutralized by that rising force from Mary Geoise.
Someone could match him in this state?
[Elapsed Time: 10 minutes 01 seconds]
After the long deadlock, Don exhaled.
The sun trembled
Then shifted direction, angling downward.
And it crashed directly into the Red Line.
Light and heat exploded outward in a massive, earth-shattering blast.
END OF CHAPTER
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