Within Zoran's sensory perception, an ever-increasing legion of Sea Kings was converging upon the sunken ruins of Marineford. They swam from all directions, drawn toward the absolute sovereign of the ocean and the commanding aura radiated by Bai Tza. Among the gathering masses were numerous land creatures who had also been violently transformed into this newly biological race. Without exception, they all yearned to embrace the divine presence of their new god.
Zoran could clearly see that Bai Tza was thoroughly enjoying herself.
Hovering gracefully in midair, he raised a hand and drew the refined elixir into thin, wispy ribbons of pitch-black energy. As the dark mist drifted close to him, it rapidly vanished, flowing seamlessly into his mouth. Unlike Po Kong's savage gorging and ravenous feasting, Zoran remained unhurried and perfectly composed, maintaining his absolute dignity even while "consuming" his spoils.
Beneath the rolling waves, Marshall D. Teach had fallen into utter despair. The Blackbeard Pirates, a crew he had spent years of meticulous planning and ruthless scheming to build, had completely disintegrated in a single fraction of a second. Even he himself had been reduced to nothing more than a mutated sea creature.
Staring at his former crewmen, who were now diligently swimming back and forth around the sunken Marineford base to labor, his heart turned to cold, dead ash.
Having evolved into this completely new race, they indeed no longer feared the curse of the sea. But the terrifying catch was that the members of this new species seemed physically and mentally incapable of resisting the most colossal aura in the deep, the one currently dancing alongside the Sea Kings. She was the master, the leader, and the absolute deity of their new race.
Under her grand mandate, his former crew had already begun "laying the bricks and mortar" to construct the core perimeter of what she called New Atlantis. In an inexplicable twist of fate, he had plummeted from a notorious, world-fearing Great Pirate to a literal underwater construction worker. The sheer drop in status was far too massive to comprehend.
Teach's mutated form floated limply just beneath the surface of the water. He couldn't stop himself from casting his gaze upward toward the empty air, staring at the being who had materialized out of nowhere, blocked his flagship, and cleanly robbed him of his Dark-Dark Fruit.
The entity appeared neither human nor god. Teach found it impossible to describe the exact sensation the being exuded. He only knew that his entire crew had been instantly decimated in a single move. Furthermore, the supreme ability he prided himself on, the power to steal the Devil Fruit abilities of others, was something this entity could do with far greater ease. After all, that was exactly how his Dark-Dark Fruit had just vanished.
A sense of helplessness and terror pooled in Teach's eyes.
Above the water, Zoran fully swallowed the distilled essence of the elixir. After a brief moment, he slowly shook his head and let out a soft sigh. "Mediocre."
When the Moon Demon described something as mediocre, coupled with that specific tone of voice, it meant the object was genuinely underwhelming. However, traveling across the surface of the sea and entering Teach's ears, it carried an entirely different weight.
Teach had read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia from cover to cover as a child, and he had bided his time within the Whitebeard Pirates for over a decade for the sole purpose of obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit. And that fruit had proven to be exactly as monstrous as he had envisioned, possessing the unique trait to completely nullify other Devil Fruit abilities and absorb their essence. Every single aspect of the Dark-Dark Fruit was a masterclass in absolute power. It was entirely because of this fruit that Teach had been able to assemble his crew and shake the foundations of the world.
Yet, such a formidable, legendary item, something he had coveted since childhood, had been casually plucked away by Zoran, tossed into a cauldron, and distilled into a tiny, insignificant pellet. And in the end, it only merited a dismissive, disdainful remark of "mediocre"?
Teach couldn't fathom it. Compared to the shocking reality of his own mutation into a sea creature, this realization shattered his mind far more deeply. Letting his body drift aimlessly with the rolling currents, he slowly stopped thinking altogether, utterly trapped in a state of existential crisis.
The history of this world was actively being rewritten by two demons from beyond the stars.
Under Bai Tza's command, the legions of Sea Kings that had swarmed the area were ordered to station themselves around the perimeter of New Atlantis. Looking down from Zoran's vantage point, the vibrant blue surface of the ocean was completely packed with an immense variety of massive, shifting shadows. They stretched all the way to the horizon, where the sea met the sky, blending into a vast, indistinguishable expanse.
"A magnificent sight indeed," Zoran chuckled warmly. Seeing Bai Tza assume total dominion over the planet so effortlessly brought a genuine sense of pleasure to his heart. At the very least, it meant there were no tedious complications, and he didn't have to exert any unnecessary effort.
Of course, the same couldn't be said for what came next.
Zoran tilted his head up slightly, his piercing gaze cutting across the boundless sky, locking directly onto the solitary satellite orbiting the world.
The Moon.
The Dark-Dark Fruit may have been mediocre, but this world still possessed other treasures worthy of his appreciation. In the previous world, the world of the Chainsaw Man, he had already taken absolute control over the entirety of the moon, draining its primordial core energy. In the world before that, Teyvat, the entire starry firmament was a false sky, and its moon was nothing more than an illusion.
But here, the moon was entirely real.
In a split second, Zoran's voice echoed like a gentle whisper directly in Bai Tza's ear: "Wait here for a moment. I shall return shortly."
Bai Tza blinked in surprise. Before she could fully process the words, she felt her elder brother's aura flare up briefly before rocketing straight into the heavens.
Countless thousands of miles of atmospheric distance vanished in the blink of an eye. In an instant, Zoran stood firm within the vacuum of space, looking down at the lunar surface before him.
Somewhat differently from other dimensions, the moon of this world was inhabited. Not only did it harbor life, but if one traced the historical timeline back to the ancient era, the shadows of a highly advanced prehistoric civilization had always loomed over this satellite. They had forged a civilization, carving out their own world upon the lunar crust. The winged humanoids recorded in ancient frescoes were the true natives of this race.
For Zoran, who had traveled through several different universes by now, witnessing this was a novel experience. Unfortunately, he did not share Bai Tza's obsession with territorial rule, nor did he possess any interest in governing. Furthermore, he could never remain in one place for long. He was a busy man.
Zoran gracefully extended his arm toward the glowing white sphere. A massive stream of Moon Demon Chi surged forward, linking directly with the lunar surface to siphon its primordial core energy, rapidly empowering his celestial authority.
Meanwhile, inside a certain subterranean ruin beneath the moon's surface...
A gathering of pint-sized, mechanical automata was crowding around a bare-chested figure. The man wielded a golden trishula and bore a ring of traditional tomoe drums seamlessly attached to his back.
It was Enel, the wielder of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Ever since his crushing defeat at the hands of Luffy, he had managed to ascend to the moon via his flying ark, embarking on what he deemed his "Fairy Vearth" space adventure. Utilizing the properties of his Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could generate immense currents of electricity. After accidentally discovering that his lightning could reactivate the ancient automata dormant within the ruins, he had successfully become the new king revered by these mechanical constructs.
Naturally, the sudden structural alterations occurring on the moon could not escape the eyes of its residents.
Enel let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Are they here again? Those pesky Space Pirates..."
When he had first set foot on the moon, he had crossed paths with a gang of Space Pirates who were actively plundering the ruins. Though he had thoroughly pulverized them, it seemed those galactic thieves simply refused to learn their lesson.
Crackling currents of brilliant blue lightning erupted across Enel's skin as he began walking slowly toward the source of the cosmic disturbance.
On the other side of the cosmos, shortly after Zoran departed from the Earth...
A powerful aura that had remained dormant for centuries finally began to awaken in a hidden corner of the world. Its piercing focus locked directly onto Bai Tza, the usurper who was actively reshaping the planet.
This world had always possessed a true master.
And now, that master had finally sensed the catastrophic distortion in the global balance, preparing to violently correct the trajectory of history and force everything back onto its proper path.
Imu, the King of the World, opened her eyes.
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