Suddenly, Blake seemed to sense something, scooped up Stella, and shot into the distance.
Immediately after, a Conqueror's Haki, covering all of Mary Geoise, erupted.
This surge of Conqueror's Haki was more terrifying than any before.
The foundations, already severely damaged by the battle, completely gave way, now vibrating with a strange frequency.
Cracked bricks no longer fell but floated silently in mid-air, as if gravity had been forcibly twisted by some will.
The clouds were torn open into an abyss.
It wasn't a thunderstorm, nor a gale, but the entire sky retreating.
The faint light that had just appeared suddenly dimmed, as if light itself was fleeing.
The pressure of the Haoshoku distorted the atmosphere, forming a circle of pitch-Blake vacuum, as if even light could not withstand the oppression.
Floating debris, upon touching this domain, instantly turned to dust, leaving no trace of ash.
The surrounding ruins began to disintegrate on their own.
Cracks appeared on the surface of the barely supporting load-bearing columns, which then crumbled into powder like ancient, weathered wood.
The golden dome in the distance twisted and deformed, like crumpled paper kneaded by an invisible hand.
It finally collapsed into a metallic sphere, crashing into the ground.
The Slave private army on the battlefield fell in droves.
Having seemingly adapted to the clash of powerful Haoshoku earlier, at this moment, they couldn't even maintain consciousness.
Even further away, the opportunists plundering treasures in the Celestial Dragons' estates also lost consciousness.
Stella's Other Space made a series of "cracking" sounds, then shattered with a bang.
Blake had already taken her away, leaving only the chair and coffee table behind, which fell to the ground and broke into pieces when the space shattered.
From Saturn's body, a thick plume of smoke rose into the sky, transforming into a blurry, pitch-Blake figure.
His form and face were indistinguishable, only two eyes glowing with an eerie light flickered in and out of the Blake smoke.
Upon seeing this, the God's Knights and Gorosei, who were in battle, all disengaged from the fight.
They came before Saturn, knelt on one knee towards the Blake smoke on Saturn's body, and respectfully said:
"Lord Imu!"
"Insects, you have disturbed Imu's rest."
Garling bowed his head even lower, his voice trembling slightly as he said:
"It is our dereliction of duty."
He offered no excuses, no justifications, but decisively admitted his mistake.
From Garling's performance, it was clear that his succession to Saturn as the new Gorosei was not mere luck.
Saturn not only secretly researched ancient robots.
Back at God Valley, when Imu asked, "Is Rocks dead?"
Saturn neither took action nor admitted fault.
He just sat on the cliff edge and chatted with Imu.
When your boss asks if your work is done, you just get it done, right?
But Saturn seemed completely unconcerned, as if he hadn't done anything wrong.
So, it was no injustice that he was later executed by Imu.
Now, looking at Garling's attitude towards Imu, it's no wonder he'll become a Gorosei later.
On the other side, Christopher and Dragon stood together, followed by Tiger and a group of Revolutionary Army cadres.
At this moment, everyone looked with grave expressions towards the direction from which the Blake smoke rose.
The distorted space wrapped around Christopher's blade had disappeared.
Dragon held his hand before his eyes, the storm that had been in his palm was dissipating:
"How is this possible?"
He showed a look of shock for the first time:
"Even Devil Fruit can be affected?! This level of Conqueror's Haki..."
Christopher's pupils contracted, but his body remained motionless:
"This oppressive feeling..."
He sneered:
"That direction..."
"So, such a monster was hidden deep within Mary Geoise!"
"The secrecy was truly thorough, even I didn't sense anything!"
Dragon's trench coat had been torn during the previous battle, but his eyes were sharp as knives:
"Is this... the World Government's true 'King' for the past eight hundred years?"
Christopher suddenly burst into wild laughter:
"It seems so!"
"Interesting! Too interesting!"
His long blade pointed diagonally at the ground, and Blake lightning formed by Haoshoku wrapped around it:
"Hey! Revolutionary Army! You're not scared, are you?"
Dragon actually felt a bit like retreating right now.
After all, his principle has always been—
Leave fate to the wind, leave Ginny to the Celestial Dragons, leave Kuma to Saturn, leave Sabo to Imu, leave old man to Blackbeard... while he himself sweats profusely at home.
Dragon's way of handling things actually had some similarities with Teach; neither would act rashly without a considerable degree of certainty.
But he was, after all, a top-tier powerhouse in the world now.
Having finally fought his way into the core area of Mary Geoise and witnessed the truth of the world.
If he didn't even have the courage to fight and just left with his people, when would he achieve his long-cherished wish of overthrowing the Celestial Dragons?
Regardless, now that things had come to this, he had to make a move and test them.
Even if he were to leave, it would have to be after probing the opponent's strength.
"Scared?"
With this thought, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Dragon's mouth:
"I was just thinking..."
His Haoshoku began to surge like a storm:
"Today, perhaps the World Government's greatest secret can be unveiled!"
The Conqueror's Haki of both men erupted simultaneously, confronting Imu's earth-shattering Haoshoku from afar.
Though suppressed, it never dissipated.
Christopher's eyes blazed with fighting spirit:
"Who cares what it is!"
The Blake lightning wrapped around Dragon's fist collided, crackling loudly:
"Since you dared to show your face..."
"Don't expect to leave unscathed!"
In the distance, Blake, holding Stella, appeared on a collapsed building, also gazing at the Blake smoke in the distance.
"Can Imu still possess Saturn? This looks even stronger than when she possessed Gunko."
Blake frowned.
He had always thought that Gunko was able to join the God's Knights and gain Celestial Dragons status because of her special physique, which could withstand Imu's possession.
After all, Blake had not seen the battle at God Valley before he transmigrated, and during the Egghead Island incident, Imu did not choose to possess the Gorosei.
Coupled with Gunko being an old acquaintance of Brook and seemingly having lost her past memories, Blake had always believed that she was not a native Celestial Dragon.
Instead, for some special reason, she was granted Celestial Dragons status and even became a member of the God's Knights.
"If it's just possession, maybe these two can still put up a fight?"
Blake thought to himself, growing more and more excited about the upcoming battle.
Although he couldn't get Imu to act personally, such a possession might still allow him to see something different.
Especially after Dragon and Christopher learned how to use the Haoshoku imprint, he wondered if it could inflict some damage on Imu.
If so, Blake's plan would be largely successful.