BOOM!
A massive shockwave instantly tore the Forest of Hatred to shreds.
Explosions rippled through the air in all directions.
As the battlefield was flattened in an instant, all eyes turned back to the ground.
Before everyone's eyes, the shattered Forest of Hatred began to regrow rapidly.
In just a few breaths, the battlefield had returned to its original state.
At the center, atop a massive vine, Aramaki's face reappeared. Naguri, cigarette in mouth, stood on a floating rock beside Fujitora, rubbing his throbbing temple.
"These Logia-type Devil Fruit users are always a pain. Looks like this'll take some effort."
Beside him, Blue Oni Dorry and the others remained silent.
Destroying the vines wasn't hard—but dealing with Aramaki, who had fused with the island itself, was proving to be a real headache.
For a moment, everyone turned to Luo Yu.
Aramaki caught their shifting expressions and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! What's wrong? Just now realizing how powerful I am?"
"Finding my real body is like finding a needle in a haystack. I suggest you surrender now!"
"Is that so?"
Luo Yu looked at the face of Green Bull, now fully merged with the island, and smiled faintly.
"If we can't find you… then I'll make you come out on your own."
"Fujitora, I need one breath of time."
"One breath?" Fujitora raised an eyelid and smiled.
"No problem."
"Aramaki, I'd be careful if I were you. If nothing unexpected happens… something unexpected will happen very soon."
"Gravity Blade: Light Pulse!"
Fujitora's cane-sword spun into the air.
Purple rings of gravitational energy shot skyward.
The strange move left Dorry and the others momentarily stunned.
They clearly hadn't seen this kind of indirect attack before.
Just as that thought formed, a thunderous roar split the sky.
As massive meteors began to appear overhead, Dorry and the others' expressions changed drastically.
In that moment, they finally understood why Fujitora was considered Admiral-level.
Fujitora sheathed his sword and said calmly:
"Meteor Shower."
Below, Aramaki's face twisted in fury.
"Fujitora! You're really siding with that arrogant Admiral? I don't believe it—this so-called 'unexpected' won't happen!"
"Let's see how he finds me!"
BOOM!
Seven or eight blazing meteors plummeted from the sky.
With unstoppable force, they slammed into the island.
In an instant, the Forest of Hatred was torn apart again.
Explosions and firestorms swept across thousands of meters.
The sheer devastation made Dorry and the others tense up.
But around the battlefield, dozens of Aramaki clones appeared again.
Over a hundred of them, rooted like spores across the land.
"Hahaha! What now? There are over a hundred of me! Let's see how you find the real one!"
His laughter echoed across the island.
Meanwhile, at the island's edge, another Aramaki appeared atop a massive root.
Unlike the arrogant one at the center, this Aramaki looked pale and nervous.
"Damn it… this is way more trouble than I expected. If I'd known Fujitora was recruited too, I wouldn't have gotten involved. I'll deal with that disrespect to the Celestial Dragons another time."
"Let's just hope they don't find me here. Once they're exhausted, I'll slip away."
"Good thing this island's made of Yarukiman Mangroves. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to move freely."
"For now, I'll keep controlling the clones to scare them. I may lose the fight, but I won't lose face."
He looked back toward the battlefield.
But what he saw made his face change drastically.
His control over the battlefield had suddenly stalled.
His usual ability to shift into elemental form didn't respond.
His face went pale. He looked up.
The sun had been eclipsed by a black moon.
Darkness fell over the land.
Aramaki's expression twisted in horror.
His greatest strength wasn't his combat power—but his Logia-type Mori Mori no Mi, which made him nearly immortal.
As long as a single plant remained, he could regenerate.
Even if it drained his stored nutrients, he could always come back.
That was his trump card.
But now, with this sudden eclipse—this "black moon"—his connection to his Devil Fruit powers had been severed.
His confidence shattered.
He remembered Fujitora's words:
"If nothing unexpected happens… something unexpected will."
It had come far too soon.
Now, with his greatest advantage gone, he wasn't just facing the fearsome new Admiral…
He was facing a whole squad of special combatants.
Aramaki panicked.
Without thinking, he turned and fled.
But after just a hundred meters, the darkness vanished.
Light returned.
And with it came a suffocating aura of death.
He turned around in terror.
What he saw was unbelievable.
Luo Yu—who had yet to lift a finger—was now drawing his blade from tens of thousands of meters away.
That terrifying aura was coming from him.
Before Aramaki could react, Luo Yu swung his staff-blade.
"Dark Bind: Dimensional Severance – Nirvana!"
BOOM!
A pitch-black slash descended.
It didn't just tear through everything in its path—it split space itself.
What shocked Aramaki most was the sensation of being locked in place, as if dragged into a swamp.
There was no escape.
The attack filled his vision.
He still couldn't believe it.
The "unexpected" had come too fast.
All he could do was brace himself and charge forward.
BOOM!
The slash landed.
The world dimmed.
Even the air seemed to freeze.
And then, time resumed.