However, that brief moment of relief had already given Makoto enough time to devise a clearer countermeasure.
Without hesitation, he plunged his hand into his own chest and crushed his heart, which had only just begun showing signs of life again.
The agonizing pain and blood spraying from his chest left Sakiko and Asuna deathly pale.
Neither girl could understand why Makoto had suddenly done something so horrifying.
But in the next instant, a new heart rapidly formed inside his chest under the effects of his Reverse Cursed Technique.
It replaced his original heart and immediately resumed functioning in perfect condition.
Makoto's eyes lit up.
'It actually worked!'
Asuna's successful activation of her Talent had made Makoto realize that the Death Note was using the Shinigami's power in the form of a curse.
Or perhaps, after entering another world, this particular Death Note in Spink's possession could only function through such a mechanism.
As a Player attempting to use the Death Note's power across different worlds, Spink still had to account for Adaptability.
That restriction would only disappear if he activated Fate Burn.
Furthermore, with Asuna helping him resist the curse, the pressure exerted by the Death Note had become manageable.
That made Makoto's solution remarkably simple.
'If the curse is already bound to this particular heart, why don't I just replace it?'
In the original Death Note, there was a rule stating that if a predetermined cause of death couldn't be fulfilled, the victim would automatically die from a heart attack instead.
This led Makoto to suspect that the Death Note had to follow certain real-world conditions and physical laws.
It wasn't an irresistible power that could simply erase someone's soul.
What Makoto had just done was destroy the conditions necessary for the Death Note's prescribed death to occur, forcing it to trigger its automatic fallback mechanism.
Of course, he didn't relax simply because his gamble had succeeded.
The fact that he hadn't died would undoubtedly be reflected in the Death Note somehow.
Alternatively, after triggering its fallback once, the Death Note might continue attempting to induce cardiac paralysis, forcing Makoto into a prolonged struggle.
Therefore, what he needed to do next was perfectly clear.
He had to kill every last one of those Players without hesitation!
...
During the brief period Makoto had spent resisting the Death Note's curse, his shadow clones had already completed their respective tasks.
Hayes, whose strength relied primarily on his physical body, had been completely shredded.
Although he had managed to endure Makoto's endless Spatial Slashes for three whole seconds, he ultimately exhausted every recovery ability and survival trump card he possessed before dying.
Kawa hadn't even survived a full second.
However, Makoto once again failed to receive a successful kill notification.
Clearly, the Kawa he had killed was another clone or something similar.
Meanwhile, Chen Yue had survived the shadow clone's Domain Expansion by maintaining her elemental transformation.
Furthermore, when Makoto had originally created that shadow clone, he hadn't yet mastered Armament Haki.
As a result, Chen Yue emerged from the Domain Expansion almost completely unharmed.
Of course, maintaining her elemental form throughout the entire ordeal had consumed a considerable amount of stamina.
Kizaru had no idea what had happened.
Nevertheless, he keenly seized the opportunity and struck Chen Yue with a light-speed kick, sending her flying into the ocean.
Only then did Kizaru finally breathe a sigh of relief.
There was little need to consider what would happen to a Devil Fruit user after falling into the sea.
Unfortunately, all his hard work earned him was an eye roll from Makoto.
As far as Makoto was concerned, if an experienced Player could actually drown in the ocean, her intelligence was probably inferior to that of a monkey.
He therefore created another shadow clone and sent it after Chen Yue, intending to finish her off with Haki.
Meanwhile, Lia had been desperately dodging Makoto's attacks.
However, once a second shadow clone arrived after killing Hayes, she finally ran out of room to escape and was dragged into a Domain Expansion.
She hurriedly produced some kind of defensive shield item, hoping to withstand Makoto's Spatial Slashes.
Unfortunately, the shield lasted less than a second before she was killed.
That left only Spink.
He had remained trapped inside Domain Expansion longer than anyone else.
In fact, he wasn't released until the shadow clone maintaining the Domain had completely exhausted its cursed energy.
By then, Spink had been reduced to a puddle of mangled flesh.
Yet before Kizaru's horrified eyes, that puddle of flesh began moving.
It rapidly reassembled itself into a complete human body.
Spink stood upright once again, although his expression had become exceptionally grim.
At this point, Makoto could finally confirm that Spink truly possessed Mahito's Idle Transfiguration.
'Now that's troublesome.'
There were only two reliable ways to kill someone who possessed Idle Transfiguration.
The first was to use an attack capable of directly injuring the soul.
The second was to neutralize Spink's Idle Transfiguration before attacking him.
Ryomen Sukuna's slashes could injure souls because Sukuna himself possessed the innate ability to perceive other people's souls.
It wasn't an inherent property of his slashing technique or Spatial Slashes.
As for abilities capable of neutralizing cursed techniques, examples included Simple Domain, Domain Amplification, and techniques that naturally possessed such properties.
Angel's technique and Higuruma Hiromi's technique were examples of the latter.
Unfortunately, Makoto currently possessed neither of the two necessary methods.
While he frowned and considered his options, Spink silently took out his Death Note and began writing furiously.
He looked almost as though he was desperately trying to leave behind his final words.
Makoto immediately prepared to attack.
However, the tanks that had previously been keeping Sengoku occupied suddenly redirected their fire toward him.
Even the three tanks that had remained hidden until now joined the bombardment.
Countless Seastone bullets and artillery shells rained toward Makoto.
For a moment, the deafening barrage drowned out the noise of the entire battlefield.
The Marines and pirates also shifted their attention away from Koby and toward the group that was still fighting.
The battle unfolding here had become so extraordinary that nobody could tear their eyes away.
Faced with the incoming barrage, Makoto activated intangibility without hesitation.
The bullets and shells passed through him without causing any damage.
Seeing Makoto emerge completely unharmed from such an overwhelming attack, practically everyone stared in astonishment.
As for Kizaru, he had already fled the danger with his hands over his head.
He had now regrouped with Garp, wearing an expression that suggested he had contributed tremendously to the battle.
...
The sight of Makoto surviving the bombardment made Kawa's expression turn extremely ugly.
He was currently hiding aboard a drone high in the sky, remotely controlling the tanks below.
He simply couldn't understand how a mere Veteran could simultaneously master Haki, cursed techniques, and ninjutsu to such extraordinary levels.
'Could we have encountered some kind of super-protagonist whose Fate Value is practically maxed out in their own world?'
The thought made Kawa grit his teeth.
He reached into his Storage Space.
Inside was an enormous heavy bomb approximately three meters long, with a maximum diameter of around one meter.
If Makoto had been present, he would have immediately recognized the weapon.
It came from the world of Code Geass.
It was a man-made superweapon known as the Tactical FLEIJA.
Its minimum destructive range was eight kilometers, while its maximum could reach an astonishing one hundred kilometers!
Although its battlefield role resembled that of a nuclear bomb, its underlying mechanism was completely different.
The weapon was manufactured using a special mineral from that world known as Sakuradite.
Its actual effect was to completely erase and annihilate any matter that came into contact with the expanding energy sphere.
Even the air within the explosion's central region would disappear, creating a vacuum.
The surrounding atmosphere would then rush inward at tremendous speed, generating secondary and tertiary storms that further expanded the area of destruction.
And precisely because it wasn't a conventional nuclear weapon, its activation procedure was far simpler.
Kawa merely needed to press the detonation button and drop the weapon.
It would then complete its explosion according to the parameters established beforehand.
However, Kawa didn't use it immediately.
Instead, he took out a communicator and contacted his captain.
"Captain, can you still hold on? I'm ready to provide our final support whenever you need it."
Unfortunately, Spink no longer had time to answer.
Makoto's shadow clones had already approached him and resumed their attacks.
'If I can't kill Spink directly, stealing his Death Note should solve the problem, right?'
'And even if I can't take it from him before he dies, surely I can at least stop him from writing anything!'
Three shadow clones attacked using Spatial Slashes, Armament Haki, and swordsmanship respectively.
They effortlessly severed Spink's wrists again and again, forcing him to repeatedly repair his body.
Unfortunately, the Death Note wasn't something that could be dropped so easily.
Spink immediately returned it to his Storage Space.
His eyes burned with hatred as he stared at Makoto.
He attempted to use cursed techniques to retaliate against the shadow clones.
However, seeing Makoto standing nearby, clearly prepared to intervene at any moment, Spink quickly abandoned that idea.
Direct combat had never been his specialty.
Instead, he retreated while shouting toward Makoto.
"Kitano Makoto! Are you seriously determined to force us into a fight to the death?!"
Makoto couldn't even be bothered to answer.
Instead, he picked up a long sword from the ground and used his stand ability to project his voice across the battlefield.
"Hawk-Eye, what do you think represents the highest level of swordsmanship?"
Being addressed so suddenly, Hawk-Eye looked puzzled.
He didn't seem to recognize Makoto.
However, he didn't remain silent.
Makoto had already demonstrated his strength, after all.
As someone fighting on the Marines' side, he might even become a Marine Admiral tomorrow.
Hawk-Eye therefore decided to show him some respect and answer the question.
"The highest level of swordsmanship is a single strike that concentrates your physical strength, energy, and spirit, allowing you to surpass your previous limits."
Hawk-Eye didn't offer some exaggerated answer about cutting through everything or becoming invincible.
For him, overcoming his own limitations was the greatest challenge.
His response caused many of the swordsmen among the Marines and pirates to fall into thought.
Having the opportunity to hear guidance from the World's Greatest Swordsman at such close range was undoubtedly valuable.
However, Makoto shook his head after hearing the answer.
Then he activated Making Fake Become Real.
"The strongest swordsmanship is a strike capable of severing the soul itself!"
"And my next attack will be powerful enough to cut through souls!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Makoto's aura began rising explosively.
At that moment, he imitated what Sakiko had done earlier.
He combined Armament Haki, cursed energy, chakra, and Spatial Slashes into one unified attack.
Then he swung his sword toward the fleeing Spink.
Almost instantly, a terrifying wave of sword energy more than thirty meters across erupted from the blade.
Black lightning formed from Armament Haki surged through the attack, intertwined with red cursed energy and blue chakra.
The combined power tore directly through space.
In the blink of an eye, it appeared before Spink!
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real triggered...]
[Making Fake Become Real succeeded!]
[You have successfully comprehended an exclusive sword technique.]
[Effect: By combining at least three different energy systems, you can unleash a sword technique powerful enough to sever souls.]
[You may name this technique yourself.]
'In that case, I'll call it Soul Sever!'
Makoto completed the naming process in his mind.
At the same moment, Spink was completely engulfed by the terrifying slash.
His physical body disintegrated into ash.
And this time, Idle Transfiguration, the ability he had relied upon to survive, finally failed him.
That was because his soul had also been torn apart by the violent attack!
'I'm... actually going to die?'
Even as his consciousness began fading, Spink couldn't believe what had happened.
He had invested more than 200,000 Mission Points and spent nearly half a year preparing his elaborate plan.
Yet everything had been completely ruined by Makoto's outrageously unreasonable methods!
'No! I can't accept this!'
Unfortunately, no matter how unwilling Spink was to accept his defeat, the notification confirming his death still sounded in Makoto's ears.
Only then did Makoto finally breathe a sigh of relief.
'It's finally over, right?'
However, what he heard next wasn't another system notification.
Instead, it was Hawk-Eye's evaluation.
The swordsman's previously calm voice had become solemn, carrying even a trace of excitement at finally encountering a worthy opponent.
"That strike was indeed powerful. It could consume an enemy's will and spirit..."
"But it still wasn't enough. That wasn't your strongest possible attack."
"If you truly wish to refine your swordsmanship, I would be willing to serve as your whetstone."
Hawk-Eye's hand had already moved to the hilt of his black blade.
Everyone present instinctively held their breath.
Were two world-class swordsmen about to clash right here?
However, an extremely ill-timed voice suddenly interrupted the atmosphere.
"Didn't any of you hear what I said?! Why are you still fighting?!"
"You need to stop! Every second you waste means more people are dying!"
Koby's noisy shouting reached Makoto's ears.
His words caused numerous powerful figures to frown.
Earlier, everyone had stopped fighting because Koby's speech had given them a convenient excuse to do so.
In reality, very few people genuinely agreed with what he had said.
Especially now, when two of the world's strongest swordsmen were having a serious conversation.
Even Whitebeard and Garp had refrained from interrupting out of respect.
'What right does a sniveling little soldier have to lecture powerhouses like them?'
Almost as though someone had decided to express everyone's frustration for them, a gunshot suddenly rang out.
Bang!
A bullet pierced straight through Koby's temple.
The person who had fired the shot was none other than Blackbeard, standing in the distance!
Seeing this, Makoto's eyes widened.
'Wait, what? Isn't the plot developing a little strangely now?!'
And Makoto wasn't the only one who thought so.
Even Blackbeard looked completely bewildered.
'Why the hell did I shoot that coward?'
For some reason, his hand had seemed to move on its own just now.
'Whatever. He's dead already.'
Blackbeard had killed more than enough people in his life.
Adding one more victim to the list hardly mattered.
What possible consequences could killing a pathetic little Marine have?
However, at that exact moment, everyone else began moving too.
Whitebeard suddenly erupted with his full strength and swung his enormous blade toward Garp.
Garp's face twisted into a ferocious expression as he punched toward Whitebeard's chest.
This time, his fist was even infused with Conqueror's Haki!
Hawk-Eye, who had been preparing to test his swordsmanship against Makoto just a moment earlier, suddenly drew his blade and slashed toward Sengoku.
Sengoku completely ignored the incoming strike.
Instead, he transformed into a brilliant golden Buddha and unleashed a Buddha shockwave directly toward Ace!
Even Ace and Luffy, who had only just reunited as brothers, suddenly threw powerful punches straight into each other's faces!
The other powerful fighters followed suit.
Surviving division commanders and members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea began attacking one another.
Even Aokiji and Akainu, who were supposed to be undergoing medical treatment, suddenly started exchanging blows!
The battlefield, which had finally begun calming down, instantly descended into a blood-soaked Asura Hell once again.
…