As the attacks from Warcury and Saturn were about to land, Wayne swung his sword. A flying slash, condensed to its utmost power, sliced through the air like an explosive shockwave, landing directly on Saturn and Warcury.
Boom!
"Aah!!"
A deep, gash appeared on the shoulder of Saturn's ox-demon form, with blood gushing out like a fountain. The force of his charge was violently halted, and his massive body staggered, nearly toppling to the ground.
Warcury was sent hurtling back into human form, crashing like a meteor into the Red Line, creating a human-shaped crater.
Watching the live broadcast, Golden Lion Shiki's eyes widened.
"Divine Departure? Isn't that Roger's signature move?"
Suddenly, Shiki remembered that this kid had made a deal with Roger, so it wasn't surprising that he could use Roger's techniques. Still, he hadn't expected the kid to resemble Roger so much.
"Damn, how is this guy so strong!?" Ju Peter clenched his fists in astonishment.
With the Float-Float Fruit's power, an overwhelming mastery of Haki, exceptional martial arts, and superb swordsmanship, such strength should have made Wayne famous on the seas long ago. How had he remained so unnoticed?
"Is he strong? Let me see for myself!"
Garling, the Commander of the God Knights, appeared like a streak of golden lightning, instantly breaking the space between him and Wayne, thrusting his sword at Wayne's throat.
Seeing the man who bore a striking resemblance to the future Shanks' father, Wayne quickly realized that this person was most likely Shanks' Celestial Dragon father.
"Come on!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal against metal rang out as the two figures collided, weaving in and out of the air, exchanging blows and counterattacks with incredible speed.
Wayne could clearly feel how formidable this opponent was; he was one of the Celestial Dragons' top warriors, no doubt about it.
As Garling kept Wayne occupied, the other Elders, Nasjuro, Ju Peter, and Mars, quickly landed by Saturn and Warcury.
"How are your injuries?" Nasjuro's voice was hoarse, laced with a hint of hidden concern.
"No problem!" Saturn growled, his arm emitting thick black smoke, covering his wound.
The flesh around the wound squirmed and healed at an almost visible pace, the damage that would have killed a normal person completely mended in just a few breaths, leaving only faint traces.
This strange regenerative ability was the immortality granted to them by Im-sama.
With a dark expression, Saturn growled, "We can't delay any longer! We must erase him, no matter the cost!"
"Understood!" The other four Elders replied in unison, knowing that if this person escaped today, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Though they feared the truth of history being revealed to the world, they feared even more the emergence of another Rocks!
Five terrifying auras shot up into the sky once more, but this time, they didn't maintain their massive monster forms. Instead, they took on a hybrid form of beast and human, combining both strength and speed.
"Hmph! You want to gang up on me? Do you think I'm afraid of you?!"
Wayne's eyes hardened as he performed some Oscar-worthy acting, intentionally using his left arm as bait, luring Shanks' father into striking.
"Die!" Garling's eyes flashed, and he charged forward toward Wayne. Now's my chance!
"Divine Departure!"
Wayne unleashed his Conqueror's Haki through his sword in an explosive wave.
"Ugh!" Garling was caught off guard, his vision going black as he was sent flying backward like a golden stream, crashing into the Red Line below. The impact was so powerful that he was embedded deep into the rock.
"Damn!" Wayne looked down at his left arm, which now had a deep gash all the way to the bone. It hurt like hell, but he had to endure. He couldn't show any weakness.
"Hah… the annoying guy's out of the way…" Wayne glanced at the remaining Elders in their beast-human forms, forcing a smile.
"Now it's your turn!"
Wayne spread his arms wide as if about to embrace the entire world.
Float-Float Fruit, Awakening!!!
An invisible field began to expand from Wayne at an incredible pace, covering the entire battlefield of the Red Line.
The five approaching Elders froze in mid-air, unable to move.
"Can't move?!"
"Damn it! What's going on?!"
"It's the Fruit ability! He... he's awakened it!"
"Bastard! Let go of me!"
The Elders roared in frustration, but no matter how much they struggled, they could not escape Wayne's grip.
Wayne hovered in the center of the field, a god in control of everything. But his face grew pale as his muscles strained to suppress the incredible drain this battle was putting on him. His stamina was running low; he couldn't hold out much longer. He needed to finish this quickly!
"Lion's Menace: Earth Coiling Shattering Stars!"
Wayne's command sent the Float-Float Fruit's power into overdrive.
RUMBLE!!!
The Red Line seemed to come alive as the ground cracked open, countless rocks like iron shavings drawn to magnets, gathering, compressing, and enveloping the Elders suspended in the air!
"No!"
The Elders struggled, their voices filled with desperation.
But they could only watch helplessly as the endless rock blocks of the Red Line consumed them, the pressure mounting from all sides as intense pain coursed through their bodies.
In an instant, five massive red rock spheres, each over a hundred meters in diameter, floated in mid-air.
"Get lost!" Wayne swung his hand, sending the five giant spheres crashing toward the edge of the Red Line, with the ocean far below their destination.
Wayne wasn't sure if this would kill the Elders, but he knew that if he didn't act, their immortality would let them recover. At least this way, he could cause them some trouble.
Garling, just freed from the rock, watched as the five "meteorites" plummeted toward the sea.
"Damn it!" Garling roared, exploding into maximum speed, appearing above the giant spheres, his sword flashing.
Shing-shing-shing-shing!
Several golden flying slashes shot out, cutting the enormous rocks that encased the Elders into countless pieces.
Though the Elders were wounded by Garling's attack, they didn't blame him, if they had fallen into the sea, they would have drowned.
Seeing this, Wayne sighed, shaking his head.
"Damn, these old bastards are hard to kill."
Just as he finished speaking, Wayne staggered, unable to maintain flight, and slowly descended to the ground, gasping for breath.
Though he had Roger's physique, it was only at the A-grade, his weakest attribute, and the toll of awakening the Fruit's power had drained him. He had already reached his limit.
As Wayne struggled to catch his breath, the five Elders, now surrounded by black smoke, appeared in front of him. Garling, standing behind him, placed his sword to Wayne's neck.
"Sinner Wayne, are you ready to die?"