Sentomaru froze in place the moment he saw the decapitated body of Saint Jalmack. For a brief second, even the air around him felt heavy and suffocating. Blood slowly dripped onto the ground as Jalmack's severed head rolled a short distance away, stopping near the broken remains of the street.
A Celestial Dragon had been killed.
Not threatened.
Not injured.
Killed.
And it had happened right in front of him.
Sentomaru's eyes widened slightly as his mind struggled to process the scene before him. In the entire world, this was something almost unimaginable. Even the Four Emperors would think hundreds of times before committing such an act because everyone understood exactly what it meant to kill a Celestial Dragon. The consequences were not something ordinary people could survive.
Yet here stood Gojo, the man who had done exactly that.
Sentomaru did not completely hear everything Gojo had said earlier. His thoughts had already become chaotic the moment Jalmack's head separated from his body. But even then, he clearly understood one thing—Gojo did not feel even the slightest remorse for killing Saint Jalmack.
On the contrary, there had been relief in his voice. Almost amusement.
"I was just cleaning some trash. I did not hear you."
Those words continued ringing inside Sentomaru's ears again and again. The casualness with which Gojo had spoken made his heart feel colder. There was no panic on Gojo's face, no fear, no regret. It was as if killing a Celestial Dragon meant absolutely nothing to him.
A faint breeze passed through the street, carrying the metallic smell of blood. The surrounding people, who were hidden around the street, did not even dare to breathe loudly. Some were trembling while staring at the corpse of Saint Jalmack with pale faces. Others looked toward Gojo as if they were staring at a monster who had just broken one of the world's greatest taboos.
Sentomaru clenched his fists tightly.
At the same time, he could not even begin to imagine what kind of consequences would follow after this incident. A Celestial Dragon had died in front of him. The World Government would definitely go mad after learning this. Not to mention the Marines, Cipher Pol, and all the higher-ups. The entire sea might become chaotic because of this single moment.
Still, no matter what happened next, Sentomaru knew one thing for certain.
He had to capture Gojo.
No matter what.
That was the only thing he could do now. He had to bring Gojo before the judgment of the higher-ups. Otherwise, even he would not escape responsibility for what had happened here today.
Sentomaru slowly turned his head and looked carefully toward Gojo.
Gojo stood there calmly, his expression completely relaxed. There was not even the slightest trace of guilt or hesitation on his face. His posture looked casual, almost lazy, as if he had merely gone out for a walk and happened to encounter this situation on the way.
That calmness felt terrifying.
Sentomaru's expression darkened as anger slowly rose within him. Veins bulged slightly on his forehead while he stared directly at Gojo and said angrily,
"Do you even understand what you have done?"
His voice echoed heavily through the silent street.
"You killed a Celestial Dragon. A Celestial Dragon!"
Sentomaru took a step forward, his eyes locked onto Gojo.
"Do you even know what kind of consequences your family will face because of this? I can't even begin to imagine what is going to happen to the people related to you. Even those who merely talked to you might get dragged into this and killed after today."
His breathing became slightly heavier as he spoke further.
"You truly have no idea what you've done."
After hearing this, Gojo calmly said, "I very well know what I have done, and I also very well know what the consequences of this will be."
His voice remained steady and relaxed, completely different from the tense atmosphere around them.
"And believe me," Gojo continued, "I already have full countermeasures prepared for it. Nothing will happen to the people related to me, my friends, or anyone else connected to me. You don't need to worry about them."
The confidence in his words made Sentomaru's expression sink further. It was not blind arrogance. Gojo spoke as if he had already thought through every possible outcome before swinging his blade at Saint Jalmack.
For a brief second, silence spread between them. The cold wind passed through the ruined street while dust slowly drifted through the air.
Then suddenly—
Sentomaru moved.
He did not waste another second speaking with Gojo. The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly as he rushed forward with explosive speed. In almost an instant, he closed the distance between them and launched an open palm strike directly toward Gojo using his signature technique—Sumo Strike.
The force behind the attack caused the surrounding air to tremble faintly.
Gojo's eyes calmly followed the movement. He could clearly sense the invisible layer covering Sentomaru's palm. Although ordinary people could not see it, Gojo himself was a Haki user, so he immediately recognized what Sentomaru was using.
Armament Haki.
And not just ordinary hardening.
This was the advanced form—external emission.
A level where the Haki could be projected outward without direct physical contact.
Interesting.
Sentomaru's palm was now only a foot away from Gojo when the emitted Armament Haki collided against Gojo's Limitless. The invisible force slammed into the space surrounding Gojo, creating a powerful shockwave that spread outward. The nearby ground cracked apart while dust burst into the air.
Gojo himself was pushed backward, his shoes dragging across the ground for several meters, leaving long marks behind him. The loose rubble beneath his feet scattered noisily as he slid back.
However, Gojo quickly stabilized himself.
The moment his body stopped moving, he casually adjusted his posture and lightly patted his jacket as if dust had fallen onto it, even though there was not a single speck of dirt there.
His expression remained calm.
Completely untouched.
Sentomaru's eyes narrowed in shock.
His attack had been useless.
For a moment, he could hardly believe it, but then he immediately understood what had happened during the clash. At the instant he used his Armament Haki emission, the attack had indeed penetrated deep into Gojo's Limitless compared to normal attacks. It had pushed through far more than expected.
But even then… it still never actually reached Gojo himself.
There was still a small distance remaining between the attack and Gojo's real body.
And Gojo had intentionally retreated backward at that exact moment, allowing the force to push him away while avoiding the remaining impact entirely.
Sentomaru's expression became heavier.
This strange defensive ability of Gojo's was even more troublesome than he initially imagined.
Just as Gojo retreated backward, one of the Pacifistas from the side suddenly raised its palm toward him. A faint glow gathered inside its mechanical hand before a laser beam shot out with terrifying speed directly toward Gojo.
The laser tore through the air, leaving behind a burning trail and illuminating the street with a blinding light.
But Gojo's expression did not change at all.
At the very last moment, just as the laser was about to hit him, Gojo used Shave. The ground beneath his feet cracked lightly, and his figure instantly disappeared from the trajectory of the attack.
The laser continued forward and exploded in the distance, destroying a large section of the ground behind him. Smoke and flames rose into the air.
Meanwhile, Gojo had already appeared directly in front of the Pacifista.
His black blade was already swinging downward.
The sword was coated in invisible Armament Haki, making the air around the blade feel unnaturally heavy and sharp. The slash moved with terrifying speed as Gojo aimed to cleave the Pacifista completely in half.
However, the Pacifista also reacted the instant Gojo appeared before it. Its mechanical eyes tracked his movement, and its massive body shifted slightly to the side while simultaneously attempting to counterattack with another palm strike.
But that reaction was meaningless.
Gojo's sword was simply too fast.
Although the Pacifista narrowly avoided being split into two, the blade still cleanly sliced through its left arm—the same arm from which it had fired the laser earlier.
A shower of sparks burst into the air.
The severed mechanical arm flew away and crashed heavily onto the ground while exposed wires and broken metal crackled violently.
Yet the Pacifista showed no reaction to the damage.
No pain.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Its cold mechanical face remained expressionless.
On the contrary, the moment Gojo entered its mid-range after his slash, the Pacifista immediately opened its mouth. A bright light rapidly began gathering inside it as energy condensed at terrifying speed.
It was preparing another laser beam.
The intense glow illuminated Gojo's face from only a short distance away. Then, in the next instant—
BOOM!
A massive laser beam shot out directly from the Pacifista's mouth toward Gojo. The surrounding air trembled from the sheer heat of the attack.
However, the moment the laser reached Gojo, it suddenly stopped.
The beam distorted strangely in front of him, as if an invisible wall existed in the space around his body. The laser continuously pushed forward, pouring destructive energy into that invisible barrier, yet it could not advance even a single inch further.
Gojo's Limitless completely halted the attack before it could ever touch him.
The laser scattered around him while the ground nearby melted from the heat, but Gojo himself remained entirely unharmed, calmly standing there without even moving from his position.
The scene caused Sentomaru's expression to darken further.
While the Pacifista continued engaging Gojo in combat, Sentomaru quickly stepped back and took out his Den Den Mushi. Without wasting another second, he immediately dialed Kizaru.
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