Invisible ripples surged over Gunko's body. In an instant, she felt a strange and terrible change occurring within her.
An intense feeling of loss washed over her!
Under the effect of Nami's five lucky gold coins, Gunko quickly realized something was terribly wrong.
"My Arrow-Arrow Fruit ability is gone!"
The arrowhead in Burgess's hand suddenly lost its power, falling limply to the ground. The sight drew his gaze.
"My Armament Haki is gone!"
"My sense of smell is gone!"
"My hearing is gone!"
"My immortal body is gone..." No, wait. A brilliant purple light erupted from Gunko's body. A five-pointed star formation, a pentagram, suddenly appeared beneath her feet.
The pentagram pulsed with an extremely powerful magical energy.
Gunko had been stunned by the apparent loss of her Arrow-Arrow Fruit, but she never imagined that the power of Nami's lucky coins would directly target the immortality bestowed upon her by Im.
This immediately alerted Im.
He had been watching the events unfold from the very beginning. Upon sensing that Dragon was steadily approaching Pluton's control core, his anxiety had grown. Now that the power he had left within Gunko was triggered, he decided to descend personally.
After all, Gunko was Im's living vessel.
"This is not good," Ryuuto thought, his voice low. He had arrived some time ago but had remained hidden. Now, sensing the disturbance around Gunko, a grim suspicion formed in his mind.
"What is happening?" Nami's eyes narrowed as she watched the scene. She saw Gunko being enveloped in waves of purple light, with immense energy pulsating around her. This was completely different from what she had expected.
Vivi also stared at the strange sight, confused.
Burgess, being a straightforward brawler, didn't understand the intricacies of the situation. Seeing Gunko frozen in place, he seized the opportunity, swinging his massive claws at her.
Black lightning crackled around his attack!
"Die!" Burgess roared, his Behemoth form crashing down with terrifying force.
As Burgess launched his attack, Ryuuto moved. Transforming into a bolt of lightning, he shot toward Nami and Vivi, grabbing them and instantly whisking them away to a safe distance.
"Captain!" the two women cried out in surprise as they looked up and met Ryuuto's eyes.
Boom!
Just as Ryuuto landed, Burgess's right claw slammed into the brilliant purple light erupting from Gunko.
"What incredible power!" Burgess growled, his right arm trembling violently. The aura emanating from Gunko was growing stronger by the second, relentlessly pushing against his massive hand and making it incredibly difficult to maintain his attack.
This standoff lasted for only three seconds!
Bang!
A deeper shade of purple light burst forth, unleashing a powerful shockwave. An aura belonging to Im exploded outwards, sending Burgess flying.
Burgess's massive figure was thrown uncontrollably backward. His coarse feet carved a long trench in the ground until he finally slammed into a wall and came to a stop.
When they looked at Gunko again, her appearance had changed dramatically. She now had a pair of demonic wings, wielded a trident, and had a sharp arrowhead for a tail.
This was the form Im took when possessing Gunko.
"What is that thing?" Hancock asked, now standing beside Ryuuto. She had already defeated Saint Satan and was about to help Nami when Ryuuto appeared. Beside her were the unconscious Jean Bart and Van Augur, who stood ready with his rifle.
"That is a demon," Ryuuto said, his voice grave.
"I sense a familiar aura," Van Augur added with a frown. He recognized an energy from Gunko that was similar to the one Jean Bart had when his own demonic form was awakened. It perfectly matched what Ryuuto had just said.
"Ryuuto!" Im's voice was hoarse and grating as he stared at Ryuuto with crimson eyes. After Ryuuto's assault on Mary Geoise, Im had permanently committed him to memory.
"Im. I didn't expect you to come yourself. It seems you're determined to claim Pluton," Ryuuto said, his voice low and his expression hardening. Though this wasn't Im's true body, it still possessed immense power.
"All of you, disappear!" Im ignored Ryuuto. With a sharp cry, a flame appeared in his right hand, and from within it, a magic book materialized.
The grimoire opened. After a puff of fiery smoke, a small knife and a pistol emerged from its pages.
The knife shot toward Ryuuto and the others. Its speed was impossibly fast, defying all logic as it appeared before Ryuuto in a mere instant. At the same time, Im was already taking aim with the pistol.
This was one of Im's abilities: the power to summon a mighty magic book that could produce anything he desired.
Clang!
Acting on pure instinct, Ryuuto drew the Kuiryu Zan from his waist and blocked. The golden, lightning-wreathed blade clashed heavily with the small knife, producing a sharp ring of steel.
Boom!
Im's bullet arrived an instant later.
"Thunder Shield!"
Ryuuto desperately tried to gather the atmospheric lightning to form a shield of golden thunder for protection. But the bullet seemed to operate on a higher plane of reality, a law unto itself. It transcended space, appearing before him before the Thunder Shield could even fully form.
He had no time to react.
Bang!
The bullet slammed into Ryuuto's body, causing an eruption of lightning plasma. Ryuuto had instinctively transformed into a semi-elemental state, absorbing the full force of Im's attack.
Lightning plasma splattered everywhere from the impact, but Ryuuto was unharmed.
Only someone like Ryuuto could have withstood such an assault. Anyone else would have been gravely injured by Im's combination attack. The knife and gun from the magic book may have looked ordinary, but they were infused with a higher power, something akin to a fundamental law of nature. Neither Devil Fruit abilities nor ordinary Haki could resist such a force.
But Ryuuto was different. His Annihilation Thunder was charged with a terrifying aura of destruction, a power that functioned like a law unto itself, allowing him to contend with Im on equal footing.
"Interesting," Im thought, a flicker of surprise in his mind. "Truly worthy of the man who dared to invade Mary Geoise alone. The last one to come to the Holy Land by himself was Rocks."
Seeing his attack fail didn't anger Im. At this moment, his only desire was to destroy Ryuuto.
In an instant, a purple glow appeared in Im's right hand, and a pentagram materialized in the air. Simultaneously, an identical pentagram appeared under Burgess's feet. This was Im's signature move: Black and White Reversal. Through these magic circles, he could transform anyone caught within into a demon that obeyed his every command. These newly created demons retained their original abilities while also gaining demonic traits, resulting in a massive power boost.
His target was Burgess. The massive Behemoth form looked impressively powerful.
Crackle...
"Thunder God's Purgatory!"
Ryuuto moved at the same time. With a flash of lightning, he appeared beside Burgess. "Haaah!" he roared, plunging the Kuiryu Zan into the ground.
Countless bolts of lightning erupted, arcs of electricity crackling with a terrifying aura. Knowing what Im intended, Ryuuto couldn't stand by. He would not watch Burgess be turned into Im's puppet. He also wanted to see if his Annihilation Thunder could stop Im's magic.
Writhing tendrils of lightning plasma spread across the ground like raging thunder dragons, lunging toward Burgess's position. At that moment, Burgess was being consumed by flames erupting from the pentagram, about to be dragged underground.
Feeling the intense heat, Burgess flailed his arms, trying to struggle free, but the force was bizarrely powerful. No matter how hard he fought, he only sank deeper.
"What is this power? It's so strange," Hancock whispered, her eyes wide with shock. It was the first time she had ever witnessed such a peculiar form of attack.
Van Augur's expression was just as grave.
Vivi and Nami fixed their gazes entirely on Ryuuto. This man was always capable of miracles. They believed, this time, it would be no different. They believed he could save Burgess.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the golden lightning plasma slammed into the pentagram on the ground. Instantly, the two differently colored energies collided violently. A powerful shockwave swept outwards, and the intertwined energies burst through the roof, shooting straight into the sky.
A terrifying pillar of purple and gold light appeared in everyone's vision.
In Wano, the members of the Beast Pirates who had been observing the situation could no longer hold back. They were now swooping toward Pluton on the backs of various bird Gifter subordinates. Leading the charge were several of the Tobi Roppo, including Black Maria, Page One, and Ulti.
Notably, Ulti, who had been severely injured by Yamato, still had bandages wrapped around her head. Judging by her ferocious expression, it was hard to say whether she was going to help Kaido or to settle her score with Yamato.
"Lord Kaido!"
"We're coming!"
The motley crew of pirates shouted from the backs of their strange bird mounts, their voices creating an impressive battle cry.
Meanwhile, Im floated in mid-air, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene before him. Under the force of Ryuuto's "Thunder God's Purgatory," the pentagram seemed to have been forcibly interrupted. Burgess's descent came to an abrupt halt.
At this point, Burgess was still half-submerged, with only his arms and upper chest visible. He himself was stunned.
"That pure aura of destruction within the lightning... This world always produces these damned heretics," Im's voice grew colder and more sinister. He hated heretics. He hated change. He hated all variables.
"You won't escape this time!" Im's eyes glowed with a red light as he glared at Ryuuto, his spell broken.
"Storm of Thunder Lances!"
Ryuuto had no time to care about Im's thoughts. Elated that his Annihilation Thunder was effective, he roared and ripped the Kuiryu Zan from the ground.
In an instant, the countless pools of lightning plasma on the ground transformed into a sky full of thunder lances that shot toward Im. The sight brought a wave of joy to Nami and the others.
As the storm of golden lances flew toward Im, Ryuuto transformed into a bolt of lightning and appeared above Burgess.
Im reacted swiftly. With a wave of his left hand, an ancient-looking shield materialized from the magic book.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky full of golden thunder lances slammed into the shield, one after another, creating a continuous series of explosions.
Feeling the overwhelming aura of destruction wash over him, Im's expression finally turned serious.
As for Ryuuto, he had already grabbed Burgess by the shoulders and was pulling him out. Under Ryuuto's immense strength, Burgess's body was steadily being freed from the pentagram.
"Captain!" All the words Burgess wanted to say were contained in that single cry. At this moment, his respect for Ryuuto had solidified into absolute loyalty. Ryuuto had not only given him a powerful Devil Fruit but had now saved him from certain doom.
Thump!
With a final heave, Ryuuto pulled Burgess free and brought him over to Nami and the others.
Back with Im, his pride and joy, the magic shield, began to groan and crack under the relentless bombardment of the thunder lances. A sense of unease crept over him.
Suddenly, the shadows around Im grew deeper and heavier...
Crack!
With a sharp snap, another thunder lance struck, and the shield before Im shattered. The lance, still carrying residual power, shot straight for Im's face. But Im was prepared.
Gulp!
A massive, bloody maw suddenly shot out from the shadows behind him and swallowed the golden thunder lance whole.
Boom!
The lance exploded within the shadow creature's throat, causing a flash of golden light. The shadow coughed, clearly pained by the attack.
Roar!
A terrifying pressure washed over the battlefield. The creature uncoiled from behind Im, its full form finally revealed.
It was a demon resembling a Western dragon, with two horns on its head and a pair of leathery wings. It hovered before Im, breathing fire.
The remaining thunder lances slammed into its body, setting off another series of explosions. However, the demon seemed to possess incredibly durable scales, as the lances had no effect on it whatsoever.