Luffy pointed at his temple with a confused look on his face. "Gorosei? What's that? Never heard of it before."
In truth, plenty of people had explained the World Government's structure to him before, including the Five Elders who stood at the top of the government's public authority.
But with Luffy's personality, unless it involved food or musicians, most information went in one ear and out the other.
He also remembered people mostly by appearance.
Since he had never properly seen the Gorosei before, it was only natural that he had no impression of them.
Saint Saturn lowered his head and stared at Luffy. A violent killing intent instantly surged through his body.
At that moment, Luffy felt like he was being targeted by a monster crawling out of hell itself.
A freezing sensation spread from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
It felt as though he had fallen into an endless frozen abyss.
Saint Saturn slowly walked toward him.
Seeing this, Sabo immediately shouted, "Luffy, run!"
He had already fought against this monstrous spider before.
He knew this thing's strength was no weaker than any Yonko.
But now, compared to before, Saint Saturn's aura had become even more terrifying.
After only a month, the old monster's strength had clearly risen to another level.
It might have already surpassed the Yonko entirely.
With Luffy's current strength, defeating him would be nearly impossible.
Ace also shouted anxiously, "Luffy, get back!"
Although Saint Saturn's movements looked slow, his speed was horrifying.
In the blink of an eye, he had already appeared before Luffy.
His expression darkened as he raised one massive spider leg.
"Die."
The sharp leg, wrapped in overwhelming Haoshoku Haki, pierced toward Luffy's head like a spear of destruction.
Boom!
The spider leg slammed into the ground like a meteor.
Red and black lightning exploded violently across the square.
The sheer force drove the leg deep underground like a gigantic blade.
Cracks instantly spread throughout the plaza.
Bottomless ravines formed around the impact point, creating a massive spiderweb pattern across the ground.
Smoke erupted everywhere, swallowing both Saint Saturn and Luffy whole.
"Luffy!"
Garp stepped forward immediately.
Sengoku quickly grabbed him. "Garp! Don't act recklessly! It's not time yet!"
"Let go of me! My grandson's in danger!"
Garp violently shook off Sengoku's hand.
"Forget the damn plan!"
Sengoku's patience finally snapped.
"Garp! Are you trying to ruin everything?!"
As Garp's longtime partner, Sengoku understood his personality too well.
Whether before battle or during missions, Garp never listened to orders.
He always caused trouble.
And right now, they were at the most critical moment of the entire war.
He absolutely could not allow Garp to destroy everything out of impulse.
Garp clenched his fists tightly.
"If I hesitate now, Luffy's going to end up just like Ace!"
Smack!
Sengoku slapped him across the face.
"You idiot! Use your Observation Haki already! Or is that thing only useful for eating shit?!"
Hearing this, Garp immediately released his Observation Haki.
The next second, his eyes widened.
Luffy's presence was completely unharmed.
As the smoke slowly dispersed, the battlefield became visible once more.
Saint Saturn's spider leg remained embedded deep in the ground.
Several meters away, Luffy stood there perfectly fine.
"Oi! Why'd you suddenly attack me?!"
Luffy angrily waved his arms.
Saint Saturn ignored him entirely, his expression becoming colder.
"An insect dared to dodge."
The instant he attacked, Luffy had vanished from his original position and appeared several meters away.
Even Saint Saturn was slightly surprised internally.
He had not expected this insignificant insect to evade his attack.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Luffy became visibly irritated when Saint Saturn continued ignoring him.
Saint Saturn finally spoke.
"Hmph. A mere insect isn't worthy of understanding anything."
"Just die."
The moment those words fell, Luffy stopped caring about the reason entirely.
Haoshoku Haki instantly wrapped around his right fist.
Red and black lightning crackled wildly around his arm.
Soru!
Luffy vanished instantly.
He appeared directly in front of Saint Saturn and threw a punch toward his face.
The fist carried immense force and terrifying pressure.
Boom!
A massive shockwave exploded outward.
The surrounding air trembled violently.
But the expected scene never happened.
Saint Saturn did not move an inch.
At the spot where Luffy's punch landed, only a faint trace of white smoke rose.
Nothing else.
No injuries.
No damage.
Instead, Luffy collapsed onto the ground while clutching his twisted hand.
"Ahhh! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
He rolled around the ground in pain.
Sabo's expression changed immediately.
"Luffy!"
Ace also looked at him anxiously.
On the Red Hair Pirates' side, Yasopp carefully sensed the battlefield with his Observation Haki.
"Boss, this looks bad for Luffy."
Shanks narrowed his eyes while staring toward the battlefield.
"Don't underestimate him."
"That kid has more power than this."
"If he truly gets serious, he might even surpass me."
Yasopp looked stunned.
"Luffy's already that strong?!"
Beside them, Benn Beckman knocked away a Vice Admiral with his rifle before calmly speaking.
"Luffy still hasn't used his real power."
Lucky Roux grinned.
"He's definitely not losing."
Saint Saturn looked down at Luffy with disdain.
"Insect, your attack was neither painful nor itchy."
"Were you scratching this god's body?"
His voice overflowed with contempt.
His Haoshoku Haki had already reached an absurd level long ago.
And after Imu granted additional power to the Gorosei ten days earlier, their strength had transformed completely.
Defending against ordinary Haoshoku-coated attacks was nothing to him anymore.
Luffy blew on his swollen hand while glaring at Saint Saturn.
"So strong…"
As his voice fell, he slowly stood up.
Then he began tapping his chest.
Thump.
Thump thump.
Thump.
Thump thump thump.
A strange drumming sound echoed throughout the battlefield.
It sounded completely different from ordinary drums.
The rhythm carried an indescribable force.
It directly penetrated everyone's bodies and resonated with their hearts.
Every heartbeat began synchronizing with the sound.
Vitality surged through their veins.
At the same time, an indescribable sense of freedom spread throughout their bodies.
Brown Square fell silent.
Everyone stopped fighting.
The sound spread across the world through the Visual Den Den Mushi broadcast.
Countless people froze where they stood while listening to the rhythm.
Even nations engaged in war unconsciously stopped fighting.
At this moment, everyone felt their spirits becoming lighter.
It was as though they had cast away invisible chains.
A feeling of liberation spread throughout the world.
"What is this sound?"
"It feels incredible…"
"These must be the Drums of Liberation!"
"It's like my whole body came alive!"
"Amazing…"
New World, Elbaf.
The giants stared at the massive screen while listening to the heartbeat-like drums.
Shock filled the entire village.
"Amazing… these are definitely the legendary Drums of Liberation, right?"
A young giant lay on the ground while staring excitedly at the screen.
A middle aged giant slowly nodded.
"It should be…"
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward an old white-haired giant nearby.
The giant held an enormous tobacco pipe.
Below his right knee was a massive mechanical wooden leg.
He took a deep puff before exhaling slowly.
"Although I've lived for over three hundred years, I've never personally heard Nika's drums before."
"But according to historical records, the Drums of Liberation can inspire joy and awaken people's spirits."
"So this should be them."
The middle aged giant stared at Luffy's figure on the screen.
"So Rolan-sama was telling the truth."
"Luffy really is Sun God Nika."
Sun God Nika held extraordinary meaning within Elbaf.
The giants had protected the legend for generations.
Now that Nika had truly appeared, no one in the world was more excited than them.
A female giant holding a massive battle axe hesitated before speaking.
"Chief… should we head to Crusimia now?"
Before she could continue, the old giant interrupted her.
"Not yet."
"Since Rolan has already prepared everything, we only need to carry out our responsibilities."
The female giant frowned slightly.
"But Nika is our god. Rolan is just…"
The old giant immediately raised his hand.
"No."
"Luffy being Nika is true."
"But he is not the one from the prophecy."
The female giant's eyes widened.
"You mean…"
The old giant slowly nodded.
"Yes."
At the same time, inside the Room of Flowers within the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, a pair of mesmerizing eyes slowly opened.